Tuesday, July 21, 2009

#08 HBOC outing - Martins Creek - 19th July 2009

Fifteen HBOC (Hunter Bird Observers Club) members huddled around an imaginary campfire in the Maitland Railway Station car park, all conventionally dressed for a winter morning’s bush outing, except trip leader Rob, who sported a bright pink matted hair-do and matching pink painted nails (after effects of a night out on the town, he says!).

By 8.15 there were unlikely to be any stragglers turning up, so, after arranging car-pooling we headed for Martins Creek, northeast of Paterson. It was a pleasant rural drive, and following a frosty start to the day, we were treated to sunshine and clear skies.

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Our destination was private property; our friendly and generous host was Kathy. Kathy is a carer of neglected and unwanted pets and farm animals, and we were greeted by the enthusiastic tail-wagging component of her menagerie. Her property comprises varied ecosystems from eucalypt woodland and heath, to rainforest. Kathy is enlisting professional help to undertake weed reduction and native plant regeneration, and, as with much of the Hunter, the major shrubby weed appears to be Lantana.

Like many conservation-minded landowners, Kathy shuns the use of herbicides, so the eradication of Lantana is a labour-intensive exercise. I had not previously put much thought into the possible detrimental effects of weed eradication on our native wildlife, but as Ann pointed out, undergrowth reduction must be a gradual process in order to allow the birds and animals to adapt to the changing environment.

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As we gathered ready for our birding excursion, Rob cheerily announced, “Sorry about the hill” - (he didn't sound one bit sorry!) And as we were confronted by “the hill”, I felt a little daunted. Slowly and steadily I managed the steep, rocky, lengthy hill climb, and was relieved when the terrain levelled out.

Righto, on with the bird watching! But, as with any bushwalk, I was soon distracted by the native flora, most notably the terrestrial orchids. I was delighted to discover another amateur orchid enthusiast amid the birding group – Tom. We compared notes and observations, and together we spotted and photographed four orchid species: Pterostylis nutans (Nodding Greenhood), Taurantha concinna (Trim Greenhood), Acianthus fornicatus (Large Mosquito Orchid or Pixie Caps), and Petalochilus catenatus (White Caladenia or White Fingers). We also saw one pink-tinted specimen of Petalochilus catenatus. [For interested readers, I have information, along with my images, on my Hunter Valley Nature Blog here: Orchid Index]

The group wandered along the ridge line, binoculars pointed skywards. The Shining Bronze Cuckoo was a highlight for me, only the second time I have observed this bird in any detail.

We were all a tad amused to see a pelican fly overhead, but very pleased to admire the White-naped Honeyeaters, female Golden Whistler, Grey shrike-thrush and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters flitting through the eucalypt foliage in a flurry of activity; and then they were gone, and we moved on.

Half of the group descended a gully into rainforest country, and came back with interesting tales of a nest – a huge stick construction of an unoccupied Wedge-tailed Eagle nest.

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Negotiating the rocky downhill track back to base, a group spotted a flock of Striated Thornbills. Ann is a mine of information, which she is keen to impart to novices. I was keen to listen, observe and learn: Striated Thornbills are not normally ground-feeders, so it was interesting to note the initial ground feeding taking place.

Now that I have quality binoculars, I was able to distinguish the detail that people were pointing out. Brown and Striated Thornbills can be confusing for novices to tell apart as they both have striations leading from under the bill onto the breast, but the Striated will have striations on the crown, absent on the Brown Thornbill.

Further down the hill, Ann pointed out the identifying features of the Buff-rumped Thornbill, which I was able to recognise with the close encounters we were treated to, right down to the white iris. A Speckled Warbler was spotted, and it was all eyes following this beautiful little bird. I was fortunate to get a detailed look at the superb, heavily streaked plumage of this scrub bird.

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The thought of coffee was enticing us to continue walking, and once we were relaxing on Kathy’s veranda, she offered us freshly prepared fruit salad and whipped cream, followed by coffee and biscuits. What an exceptionally gracious host! Chat was interspersed with bird spotting in Kathy’s wild, rambling garden. And then it was time for the Bird Call, with 49 species recorded, and another three species added later.

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With rested bodies and nourished bellies, we all headed out to wander up the unsealed country road in search of more birds. A male Satin Bowerbird posed for easy identification, and Galahs finally put in an appearance, along with Crested Pigeons. A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo was cleaning out a hollow while her mate watched on, and I am reasonably sure that I correctly identified a Brown Thornbill as I recalled Ann’s earlier tips.

Following a group photo, lunch was had on the veranda, but Grahame and I had to leave at that point to head home. Many thanks to welcoming landowner, Kathy, trip leader Rob, and the friendly group of HBOC members; a special thank you to Ann who is a wonderful teacher.

Grahame also concentrated on bird watching rather than his hobby of photography, but we detoured to Clarence Town on the way home where we were entertained by a family of fairy wrens. He captured this very photogenic male - I think it is a Variegated Fairy Wren, but time will tell; he was the dominant male of his group of 6 wrens, and is beginning to colour up for breeding season. [Click to enlarge for detail - what do readers think? Variegated male or Superb male?] Edit: Alan Stuart from HBOC has identified Grahame's image as a Superb Fairy Wren ".....the Variegated has a longer tail and a cathedral effect on the edging and the male has a black stripe between the bill and the eye." Thank you, Alan.

Monday, June 22, 2009

#07 My first outing with Hunter Bird Observers Club

How delightful and refreshing it was for me to mix with such gentle people, all willing to share their knowledge and experience with new-comers to the hobby of bird-watching.

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Grahame and I have been casually interested in bird-watching as long as I can remember, but only recently have become really keen to learn how to properly identify birds in their natural habitat, and to observe and document their behaviour.

A friend made us aware of the Bird Observers Club of Australia (BOCA), of which there is a Hunter Valley branch, Hunter Bird Observers Club (HBOC). We attended the April 2009 meeting of HBOC to check it out, and we were both thrilled with what we found: ie, a well-organised and expertly officiated meeting, extremely interesting content, and a gathering of welcoming people from a wide age group all involved in various ways with our precious native birdlife and their habitat.

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A New Members Outing was held yesterday. Rain washed out original plans of a bush venue, but the Australian Wetlands Centre at Shortland proved a beaut alternative. And although rain threatened on a few occasions, we all stayed dry, (but I did end up with wet socks due to some sodden ground).

After introductions, we wandered at a very leisurely pace in a group of twenty-something around the Wetland grounds, looking, listening, and learning. Three members carried telescopes on tripods for everyone's use. I had never associated telescopes with bird-watching (except mounted scopes at tourist spots), so it was a new, and rewarding, experience for me.

I picked up bits and pieces of information along the way, and nothing was too much trouble for the experienced birders to explain; seemingly simple snippets of information, like the easiest way to distinguish male and female Magpie Larks - a bird we see every day can be overlooked because of its familiarity.

And now it will be much easier for me to tell male from female mature Superb Blue Fairy Wrens - black bill for male, and brown bill for female. Magpie Goose sexes can be loosely distinguished by the size of the bump on the crown (smaller for female).

I didn't have binoculars, but shared those of others. Thanks again to information offered, I now know where to buy binoculars locally.

One of the most exciting sightings for me was the Nankeen Night Heron - a striking bird, although well hidden. I was impressed by the ease with which many members identified birds at a glimpse, or from sound.

As the day wore on, most of us were anxious for a cup of coffee and lunch. A delicious barbecue and salad lunch was provided, along with sweets afterwards.

I was told there would be a 'bird call' at the conclusion of lunch, but I didn't know just what this involved, so was pleased to listen as a bird list of the day's sightings was compiled - 67 species either seen or heard.

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My interest in nature is broad, and it was great to find two interesting fungus species: Coprinus comatus (Lawyer's Wig) and Pseudocolus fusiformis (Stinky Squid Fungus), both of which I have featured on my Fungi Blog.

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Grahame and I are keen to go on future outings and camps after the thoroughly enjoyable day we participated in yesterday. Thank you to all members for the hospitality and the sharing of knowledge.

Hunter Bird Observers Club (HBOC) meets at the Australian Wetlands Centre at Shortland on the second Wednesday of the month (exluding January) at 7pm - new members or visitors are encouraged.