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Byron Bird Buddies

BELONGIL ESTUARY AND BIRD OBSERVATIONS
For 1st Sept to 5th October, 2006 - Jan Olley

Unlike a couple of years ago when conditions were much drier for September and October the intermittently opening Belongil Creek maintains an opening  into the sea. The sea rushes in, filling the creek at high tide and the tannin stained waters rush out at low tide exposing the sand and mud flats in the inner estuary. 

As the creek runs along the edge of the northern sand dunes,  dunes are continually being undermined. The garden refuse (seen in the photo) which was once on the top of a large dune is now at the bottom and is slowly being dispersed up the creek and out to sea by the tides. A large carpet python has been seen taking advantage of the changed situation by using the platform of palm fronds to bask in the warm sun. 

Since the last report at the end of August, an old Banksia which once provided nectar for Noisy Friarbirds and Little Wattlebirds has been toppled over the sandbank by the wind and the dead branches are now used by the Rainbow Bee-eater’s as a perch to survey their nest building activities in the face of the dune and also as a launch pad for their aerial displays while catching flying insects. 

The Pied Oystercatcher (POC) chick, mentioned in the last report, was banded at the beginning of October. While some BB members blocked escape routes, and the parents  of the chick kicked up a bit of a fuss and made out as if they were injured (photo left) the chick led others on a merry chase until it was finally caught by Greg Clancy.

Greg is licensed to tag birds in NSW and he applied two bands (lower photo), one yellow tag with the number A2 on it, for easy identification through binoculars, and this sits above a small silver band on the R leg.  The chick is now  two months old and is ready to fly off. We hope to track its future movements so all you birdwatchers keep your eyes peeled for a tagged (no. A2) POC as once they fledge they are on their own, the parents wanting no more responsibility.

Two more POC’s have just moved into the estuary and for a while it was war!  The original resident’s definitely did not want intruders on their patch. They seem to have come to some agreement though as the resident POC stay at the estuary mouth and the new immigrants seem to have settled on the island in the inner creek. It would be interesting to know if one of the new POC’s was a  fledged chick born at the estuary in the past two years and has returned with a partner, after checking out the world.

It’s definitely spring in the lower estuary, a couple of weeks ago I heard what sounded like woody woodpecker tapping away in the bush and after investigation I discovered the tail of a bird protruding from a hole in an ants nest, I made a slight noise, the tail disappeared then there was a rustle inside and out popped the head of a Kookaburra. Two Kookaburras are now protecting the nest and I await the results of the activity.

A number of Rainbow Bee-eaters and a pair of Striated Pardalotes are tunnelling nest into sand banks. 

This week, along with 14 other bird enthusiasts from the Brunswick Valley Birdwatchers, we were looking at the area around a small pond in what I call the modified part of the estuary and we discovered an amazing array of birds in different stages of breeding. 

A Striped Honeyeater was busy feeding chicks in a deep cup-shaped nest suspended in the leaves of a melaleuca; a Willy Wagtail was feeding a chick at the edge of the pond as was a Purple Swamphen. In the fork of a dead tree, and well camouflaged, was a Tawny Frogmouth with two fluffy chicks.  An Olive-backed Oriole was sitting on a nest suspended low in a Banksia, and a Grey Butcherbird was feeding chicks in a nest of untidy sticks mid way up another tree.

Also sitting on a nest half it’s size was a Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike  and high up in the green foliage of another tree sat a Figbird in a cup-shaped nest all surrounding a small pond of water. Nearby on a nest in the open mowed grass was a Masked Plover.  Five Latham’s Snipes were also flushed from the reeds of the pond – (see feature bird.)

Over the last two months only small numbers of migratory birds have returned from their northern migration to the estuary mouth. Dave reported the first small flock of Little Terns as well as Common Terns on the beach on Saturday October 21st but they were gone by the next day. Three days later Heather reported about 20 small Terns, unidentified but smaller then the Crested Tern, the next day only Crested Terns were sited.

Hopefully there will be more news in the next report.

We observed 54 bird species in total for the day on 25/10/06

Australasian Grebe, Australasian Gannet, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Pied Cormorant,  Great Egret, Little Egret, Australian White Ibis, Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Brahminy Kite, Whistling Kite, Osprey, Buff-banded Rail, Purple Swamphen, Masked Lapwing, Latham’s Snipe, Pacific Golden Plover, Red-capped Plover, Whimbrel, Common Greenshank, Pied Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Crested Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Crested Pigeon, Bar-shouldered Dove, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Rainbow Bee-eater, Welcome Swallow, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike,, Eastern Yellow Robin, Grey Fantail,, Willy Wagtail, Eastern Whipbird, Superb Fairy-wren, Variegated Fairy-wren, Brown Thornbill, Olive- backed Oriole, Little Wattlebird,  Blue-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Lewin’s Honeyeater, White-cheeked Honeyeater, Striated Pardalote, Red-browed Finch, Figbird, Magpie Lark, Spangled Drongo, Pied Butcherbird, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Currawong, Australian Magpie, Torresian Crow.

Our Feature Bird

Latham’s Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)

Always difficult to observe, Snipes are well camouflaged as they hide amidst low vegetation around shallow wetlands during the day.  When disturbed, they burst forth and fly off in a zigzag pattern.  They breed and migrate from Japan, spending the summer in Aust. mainly along the east coast.

These birds are distinguished by a long straight beak which they use like a sewing machine to gather food from the mud. Their plumage is  a mixture of bold buff, black and rufous  patterns and brown and cream stripes, much like the habitat they hide in.

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