Phototwitch 2012

Since 2010, the first weekend of December has seen the Phototwitch occur. For those who don't know what this is, it draws inspiration from the famous Twitchathons. Run through the fantastic Australian bird photography forum Feathers and Photos, it consists of an eight hour block in which competitors must identifiably photograph as many species as possible. Competitors can choose any eight hours over the course of the weekend.

After missing out on competing last year due to being on Bruny Island, I was especially looking forward to the event. In the 2010 version, I came third with a score of 80, but had been using little point-and-shoot camera. Since then, I had bought a proper photography setup, namely a Canon 50D and 100-400mm lens. In light of this, I set myself the pre-race target of 100 species, despite the fact that no-one had previously cracked the triple figures. And in the two weeks leading up to yesterday, I spent much time out at the sites on my route, checking out what was around. I was feeling confident until Friday evening, when the weather forecast was for 40C+ temperatures and an afternoon storm.

A good start: 9 in 1

Regardless, I set out on Saturday morning, with the planned timing to be from around 11am til 7pm. Dad had the inglorious role of driver, but would in reality be much more than that. We reached our starting location, Boat Harbour, near Kurnell, at about 10am, with enough time to stake the site out. A Pied Oystercatcher was foraging on the beach, while on the rocks, 2 Sooty Oystercatchers, a handful of Ruddy Turnstones, about 20-30 Pacific Golden Plovers and a couple of hundred Red-necked Stints were loafing. A careful scan of the roosting terns gave the usual Crested Terns but also two bonuses in the forms of Little and Common Terns. Spotting a lone Grey-tailed Tattler, I decided it was time to start the clock. I snapped the terns and waders, picked up all four cormorants, and got the only Silver Gulls of the day. The Sooty Oystercatchers were obliging, but the Pied Oyk had vanished. A pair of White-faced Herons was a nice consolation. The hurried walk back to the car yielded Golden-headed Cisticola.



 We headed off to Eastlakes, stopping along the way for Pied Oystercatcher, and to snap up Musk Lorikeet at a site I'd discovered just the week before. The hundreds of Rainbow Lorikeets that had been there then were nowhere to be seen. We arrived at Eastlakes with my tally at 24 (although I didn't know this at the time, only tallying up back at home afterwards). The expected birds were all at Eastlakes, and thankfully, due to the stiflingly heat, they couldn't be stuffed to fly away. Even a Nankeen Kestrel was seen "panting" with its mouth open, while in flight! Dad found a Spotted Crake, while I got onto Latham's Snipe and Baillon's Crake, and three difficult birds went on my list. The Pallid Cuckoo, Red-kneed Dotterel and roosting Night Herons that I had located in previous days/weeks all turned out, and we left Eastlakes 45 minutes ahead of time with pretty much everything I had hoped for, except for a pair of Brown Quail which my reactions had not been up to.

After the comfort of an air-conditioned car, it was tough to get back out at Nepean Weir (Penrith). However a steady stream of birds ensured we were distracted enough to not notice (mostly). The frustration at seeing but failing to photograph Sacred Kingfisher, Bar-shouldered Dove and Goldfinch was lessened by such goodies as Brown Gerygone, Lewin's Honeyeater, Dollarbird, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, White-plumed Honeyeater, Shining Bronze Cuckoo and Mistletoebird. This site proved so good that our 50 minutes of spare time was used completely up right here.

Following a brief stop-off at Cranebrook to pick up Great Crested Grebe (but, surprisingly, no Royal Spoonbill), we arrived at Castlereagh Nature Reserve. It was now well past 4pm but there was no sign of either the thunderstorm or a lessening in temperature. Resultantly, there was little around, however the only Buff-rumped and Striated Thornbills, Rufous Whistlers, and surprisingly, Double-barred Finches of the day were good enough to go on with. A pair of doe and a Lace Monitor were other unexpected sightings.

We fluked onto a Blackbird foraging on the streets of Richmond, before racing round the turf farms on the Richmond Lowlands. Unsurprising given the heat, we saw almost nothing, although a Banded Lapwing adult and three well-grown chicks was a fantastic sighting - Dad's first of the species in 23 years!! Leaving Windsor, I finally got onto Galahs and Goldfinches, although losing sight of a Grey Butcherbird hurt. On the way to Mitchell Park (Cattai), we added Hobby and Intermediate Egret, both unexpected, and the former my first sighting of one in Sydney. With a bit of time up our sleeve, we checked out Pitt Town Lagoon in hope of Pink-eared Ducks. Alas, none, but a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper made up for missing them at Eastlakes. The water level here is really quite low, and given the forecast summer, it could well be dry come autumn.

We arrived at Mitchell Park with 50 minutes remaining, and were quickly onto a Whistling Kite and an Olive-backed Oriole. As the light deteriorated, up went the ISO, and down went the shot quality. I finally found a Sacred Kingfisher and an Eastern Yellow Robin, as well as another Sydney first, a White-necked Heron. Dad found a Common Bronzewing, and down the end of the road, the bush was alive. Brush Cuckoo, Bar-shouldered Dove, and Eastern Rosella were all clicked, but frustratingly, the last 15 minutes were spent chasing shadows, as we failed to track down the calling Scarlet Honeyeaters, White-throated Gerygones, Eastern Spinebills, Leaden Flycatchers, Peaceful Doves or White-throated Treecreepers. Wonga Pigeon and Brown Quail were also flushed before a photo could be taken. The timer buzzed and it was shutters down. Of course, immediately a Varied Sittella showed up, followed by a Grey Butcherbird and one of the aforementioned treecreepers and Peaceful Doves. But such is the nature of birding, and twitcathons in particular.

Back at home, following an ice-cold and much-needed beer at Pitt Town pub, the photos were loaded and counted. After discounting Brown Falcon as the shots were unidentifiable, the total was an amazing 106!! In spite of the heat, we recorded 126 species for the day, seeing 113 within the eight hours. The biggest dip of the day would be a tie between Rainbow Lorikeet (seen but not photographed) and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (not even recorded). Best bird was probably Banded Lapwing - the chicks a really fantastic sight. Final results won't be known until Thursday or Friday, but I am quietly confident. We shall see.

Thank goodness for photoshop (original and after)