Cooperation.......Little Black Cormorant

A heavily overcast day, threatening rain, I opted to catch up on one of the many chores that I usually put off to go birding. This one entailed a visit to a garden centre at Lauderdale, but with an eye to a quick birdwatch.  Purchase concluded, I made the short trip to the canal, having decided that with the tide well out, there would be little to see on the spit. The canal is less than a kilometre long, around 10 metres wide and perhaps a metre or so deep, lined with large well spaced eucalypts--it is blocked at one end. Its days as a short cut from Ralph's Bay to Frederick Henry Bay lasted a few days. A storm blocked one end and it was never re-opened. This results in small fish entering on the high tide and  provides a great place for herons, egrets, terns and cormorants to get a quick feed as tide recedes.

        As I scanned the length of the waterway, I noted a gathering of Silver Gulls near a drain about half way along, and on closer inspection I could make out a number of diving cormorants. These turned out to be a group of around 20 Little Black Cormorants, and not the usual Black-faced and Little Pied. Although Little Blacks are by no means uncommon, they are the least likely to be encountered, at least in the south east. A cormorant roost at Gould's Lagoon at Granton, is the best local spot to see them, where they share the roost with Great and Little Pieds, or in Derwent Marshes nearby. Where they are seen they are usually in flocks numbering in the tens of birds, but occasionally in the hundreds.

   Although I had my trusty camera with me (no I don't take it bed), the conditions were marginal for photographing black birds in 'dark' water, and I was content to just watch. Little Blacks work cooperatively, 'herding'  fish together or, as in this case, into shallow water, before rather frenetically diving into the school to catch their 'share'. The gulls hung around hoping to get the leftovers, and a White-faced Heron raced back and forth along the bank in excitement, but only managing to seize an occasional fish and was in turn set about by the Silver Gulls, who, despite their efforts went largely unrewarded. It was fascinating to observe the interaction between the species. An occasional Crested Tern put in an appearance, and I noticed a Pacific Gull with a small fish, which I suspect  had been pirated from a cormorant.

   So where did the photographs come from? Well I returned the following day in the hope they would return, and initially I was disappointed and went elsewhere to birdwatch. Returning a few hours later I found them drying out on the canal bank, possibly having fished in one of the nearby bays. Watching them for some 20 minutes, they must have noticed fish surfacing because they suddenly half flew, half fluttered 50 metres down the waterway and started fishing. They bunched together, one or more with head submerged, swimming rapidly. If one dived the others would quickly follow. Trying to get decent shots during this operation proved elusive as they frequently changed direction, dived or flew several metres and recommenced their efforts. It was all over in minutes and they emerged to dry out again further down the canal. I did manage the image at centre, with the bird apparently "washing". Most cormorants do this before roosting, especially the Black-faced. I had previously concluded that it was indeed "washing", but I'm pretty sure that I'm wrong. I think they are probably fluffing their feathers to get the air back in them. This would improve body insulation and aid drying. I would be pleased to get other people's thoughts on this.

Season's Greetings

                                   Have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year

                          

 I recently photographed this Australasian Grebe on a small farm dam. These grebes have made a slow and sustained increase in numbers over the last 30 or so years, thanks largely to the increase in water storages on many farms in the east and south-east of Tasmania. Unlike their near relatives, the Hoary-headed Grebe, which are usually found on large bodies of water and in flocks sometimes numbering in the hundreds, this grebe is more likely to be met with in pairs or small groups on small water storages--the largest group I've seen in Tasmania totalled only 5.

Victorian Visitor......Pied Oystercatcher

 I stopped off briefly at Lauderdale Spit recently en route to Pipeclay Lagoon. It's become almost a ritual and I rarely spend more than a few minutes scanning the waders, gulls and terns from a 'respectful' distance. I noted the Pied Oystercatcher roost still consisted of 200 or more birds, a seemingly large number during the breeding season. As I passed the resident pair near the highway, I could see they were becoming agitated by a third bird nearby. I stopped to watch and as the 'interloper' closed on them, one of the pair proceeded to 'dive-bomb' it. It ran off through the shallow water, and as it did I noticed it appeared to be banded.
This wasn't unusual as many Pied Oystercatchers have been colour-banded in southern Tasmania over the years, and subsequent sightings have delivered a large amount of useful information.. I often photograph them for later identification if I can do that without unduly disturbing the roosts. I walked out into the water and slowly moved the 'intruder' onto the beach a few metres away. As you can see from the accompanying image, the oystercatcher didn't sport colour bands, but a yellow 'flag' with "8D" on it. From the flagging protocols, this bird was so marked at Corner Inlet in Victoria, around 470kms away. I'm still waiting for additional information as to when it was originally caught. From local banding efforts it appears that few of 'our' oystercatchers stray outside of the Derwent and Pittwater areas, so one wonders what drives a few to travel hundreds of kilometres.
This Victorian bird was showing interest in one of the resident pair I mentioned earlier, and one could fantasise that the journey was as a result of unrequited love. But I'm sure I'll be taken to task for even jokingly suggesting it!!
 Finally received the banding information on this bird. Originally banded at Barry Beach, Corner Inlet, Victoria on 13 August 2006, aged 4. Now 10 years old.

The Fence Sitters

A few weeks back, I had returned to Pipeclay Lagoon to try to find a single Sanderling (a small migrant wader) I had seen there a few days earlier. To say I had "seen" it, doesn't tell the whole story. I wanted to try my hand at video, and had decided that shooting a small flock of waders would be a cinch, it wasn't! But as I reviewed the footage on my PC, I realised that among the Red-necked Stint was the aforementioned Sanderling. This species is mainly found on ocean beaches, and I don't recall ever seeing one in the Hobart area. So I had returned to try taking some 'stills'. I quickly located the wader flock of around 100 stint, but clearly the Sanderling was absent. As I was walking back through the tussock grass, I became entangled in discarded old fencing wire, fell full length, saved the camera, but aggravated a recent leg injury--yes, very amusing! 
      So my recent outings have been limited to birding from my vehicle, with occasional forays close by. I guess the good news is that a vehicle makes a great hide, and it's amazing how trusting birds are to their approach. So the accompanying shots were taken from my vehicle around the perimeter of the lagoon. All of the birds were at some part of their breeding cycle. 
       The Australasian Pipit, found    Australia-wide, was carrying food, in this instance a large spider, to a nearby nest among the tussocks, stopping off atop the fence post to survey the area for possible threats. I've rarely photographed them, although quite common in many open areas of the state. They sometimes occur in close proximity to the more commonly found Eurasian Skylark, a species introduced in the mid 19th century. These 2 species are very similar in appearance, and can present an ID challenge as you flush them from grasslands. The pipits form small flocks in winter, and live a nomadic life. One winter's morning, in a gale, a flock took refuge in my and surrounding gardens, very much in suburbia. Not exactly pipit habitat.
           The White-fronted Chat, another nomad, was among several pairs feeding nestlings, again using the fence as a vantage point. They appear to breed throughout the spring and well into summer, appearing suddenly in an area, breeding, and just as quickly moving on. Usually found in family groups, they flock in the colder months, forming substantial flocks, often seen roaming the open countryside.
           Lastly, and size-wise, the least, I photographed a pair of Striated Pardalote nest building, also using the fence as a vantage point. In the open country around Pipeclay Lagoon, they nest in holes in the ground or in sandy banks, but in wooded areas, they usually choose holes in trees, sometimes several in the same tree. I spotted this pair carrying long lengths of dry grass to their nearby nest hole. Of the 3 mentioned, they are the only true migrants, moving to the Mainland in winter, although a few may remain .
           Of course these 3 species are by no means the only 'fence sitters', but I'm grateful for their cooperation!  

Always a Challenge....Pink Robin

One of my favourite birds is the Pink Robin, but they are often elusive, live in dense forest, and are mainly dark in colour and photographing them is often a challenge. I've found that spring is the best time to attempt photography, usually when the male is "announcing" his territorial rights. My philosophy on photographing this species is to visit various local known sites and hope. Hope for a "collision" of events--a cooperative bird, the right situation and the right light. That's not too much to hope for, is it! The other option is to wait for winter when these robins often frequent the edges of their usual wet forest habitat.
So during early spring I did the rounds of local sites, such as the Snug Falls reserve, Myrtle Forest at Collinsvale, Truganini Reserve at Taroona, and the Wielangta Forest. I found Pink Robins at all sites except the Truganini Reserve. At this reserve, much of the 'usual' site has been cleared, possibly to clear fallen trees or invasive weeds. The good news is that this area seems to have been taken over by Eastern Spinebill (several pairs) and Dusky Robins. I also found a pair of Beautiful Firetail nest building close to the track. But it was only at the W
ielangta Forest that the "collision" occurred.
I've made a few trips to the Wielangta Forest this spring, few have produced much in the way of bird images, but it's a good venue for wet forest and rainforest species if you're prepared to put in the effort. The road is now open again, but not in great nick, and care is especially needed around the new bridge. The walking tracks are generally overgrown and have numerous fallen trees across them both large and small, making a walk more like a steeple chase. But from personal experience, there's no lack of leeches.
The visit that I finally managed some shots on was about a month ago and as often happens, I wasn't expecting it. I had only walked a few hundred metres from the road, when I heard an Olive Whistler calling, and stopped to find it. This was shortly followed by first a Bassian Thrush, then a Flame Robin calling, both from nearby dense bush. I endeavoured to locate them, but failed on all counts. A Tasmanian Thornbill and a Tasmanian Scrubwren scolded me as I pushed deeper into the scrub, arriving at a small clearing surrounded by dead or dying shrubs largely covered in lichens. I stood and surveyed the area, hoping to at least find the still calling Olive Whistler. I knew from previous visits that this was a likely spot for the whistler. A movement to my right caught my eye and a Pink Robin appeared. I stood completely still to allow a hopefully close approach. He called, flew to another branch and called again. There was dappled light passing through the forest canopy, and several potential perches around the clearing, and despite the low light level, I began to get quite excited at the possibilities. However this was tempered somewhat by previous attempts which didn't exactly measure up to my expectations.

As you can see by the accompanying images, I did manage to get some useable images, but as always I was left with the feeling "maybe next time". [I could have used flash, but that would have"killed" the ambience, and affect the birds' behaviour.] Over the next 40 minutes I stood, watched, and occasionally photographed this robin as he went about his business. Mostly he took food from among the leaf litter and moss covered ground, pouncing on it from a perch, although I couldn't identify exactly what his prey was. On a number of occasions he came within a metre or so of me, looking, I thought, rather accusingly at me, but otherwise seemed unfazed by my presence. At close quarters, it's size becomes very apparent--it's small (c.12cms), as does the sheer beauty of the pink breast contrasting with the sooty colour of the head and body--so hard to adequately capture in photographs. The female put in a brief appearance, as did several Tasmanian Thornbills, gleaning insects from beneath the leaves of various shrubs. Eventually the wind rose and scudding clouds appeared followed by light rain. Time to leave. I hoped that I had not intruded in this birds' life in vain, but at the very least I had been 'privileged' to spend time watching this sometimes hard to find bird.

Wander Lust..... Wandering Whistling-Duck

A report on Birdline Tasmania at the weekend, caught my eye as much from the observers' comments as from the content. Ian Lundy reported seeing 3 ducks at Lake Dulverton, that he described in detail, believing that the birds in question were Wandering Whistling-Duck. He was not able to get any shots with his phone (photographs have become almost mandatory for rare bird sightings). He concluded by saying: "this bird is not found anywhere near here but it is what I saw--please tell me I'm not going crazy". This species breeds in the tropical north of Australia and is uncommon to rare further south, and as far as I'm aware, has not been recorded in Tasmania before, so I guess Ian's comments are not unreasonable.

Being old and sceptical, I awaited developments and they were not long in coming. Paul Brooks sent me an email saying that he had subsequently seen them, confirmed their identity, and thought that it might be possible to photograph them. I have to say I wasn't particularly enthused, my twitching days are largely behind me, but as Lake Dulverton is almost always worth a visit I gave a lukewarm reply.

Consulting the weather forecast for the rest of the week suggested a visit might be better sooner than later, so on Wednesday morning I set forth. It's an hours drive from Hobart and although I set off in high hopes, as I approached Oatlands (where the lake is situated), the weather noticeably deteriorated. At the Mud Walls dam the wind was wiping up waves and this usually good spot for duck held absolutely nothing! Not a good omen. On to Dulverton.

I pulled in to the small carpark overlooking the spot that the previous observers had indicated the birds had been sighted. Looking along the dam wall I could see a flock of about 15 Little Pied Cormorant roosting, and close by, tucked close to and largely hidden by tufts of sedge, I could make out 2 ducks, but the limited view indicated they were almost certainly the birds in question. I then, with the benefit of hindsight, made a gross error of judgement. I got out of the car! The cormorants took off and so too did the duck. Worse, I didn't see where they headed to.

I spent the next 3 hours around the shores of the lake. I watched the very flighty flocks of Hardhead, there were over 500, by far the largest numbers that I've ever see in Tasmania. I noted a few Blue-billed duck, a single pair of Australian Shelduck, and many hundreds of Eurasian Coot. There were noticeably few 'dabblers' such as Chestnut Teal and Black Duck. I then returned to the starting point, and lo and behold, the 'whistlers' were back, and so were the cormorants. No problems this time though. I descended the bank to the shoreline and bird by bird the cormorants flew off leaving the 3 Wandering Whistlers and I shot off several images, one shown. I decided to attempt to approach along the dam wall. I fired off 3 or 4 shots before they flushed, landing about 30 metres away among the low, but dense vegetation of the lake.

I met Els Wakefield shortly afterwards, she was also after photographs of them, and reported that they were now back where she had seen (and photographed) them earlier. Comparison of notes and digital images ensued. I was if anything, relieved at managing to get a few shots, particularly in the blustery conditions which made all the duck very flighty, and I was still annoyed with myself for earlier having flushed them from the dam wall.

With the aftermath of the Mainland floods, with good conditions for waterbird breeding, it probably isn't surprising that these duck have turned up. I think there will most likely be more unusual sighting of "mainland" species. A question has been raised as to the possibility that these birds are "escapees" from a waterbird collection or zoo. While impossible to rule out, I think the behaviour of these 3 birds suggested that they are wild birds.

Chatham Albatross on Eaglehawk Neck Pelagic

Report from Els Wakefield:
The pelagic trip, led by Dan Mantle from Canberra, left Pirates Bay (Eaglehawk Neck) and headed straight to the Continental Shelf drop off on board the Pauletta. Many of the birders on board had made hundreds of trips, but declared Saturday's (3rd September) the best ever with a huge variety of birds and great viewing conditions. The highlight of the day caused a rush to the side of the boat. It was what we call a "lifer", as nobody on board had seen it before and it was Tasmania's first record ! I understand that 2 or 3 have been recorded off the Australian mainland. The bird was a Chatham Albatross (Thalassarche eremita), previously considered a form of Shy Albatross (Thalassarche cauta), commonly seen in Tasmanian waters.
It's a handsome bird, with grey head and neck and an enormous yellow-orange bill. Some called it 'banana-bill bird'. As it appeared in the distance little did we realise that it would come right up to the stern of the boat, enabling all to ID it and take photographs.
A similar trip the following day, failed to locate the bird.

Ever the Opportunist........Silver Gull

While my son and I were fishing the River Derwent recently, without much luck, we were heartened to see flocks of Silver Gulls, with the odd Kelp and Pacific Gull present too, working their way up river towards us. From previous experience, this can often be an indicator of fish, such as salmon or couta, chopping up bait fish, with the gulls picking up the odd morsel. Well the flock passed and despite much casting of lures, there was no sign of any fish. I took a few shots to see if I could ID what they were eating, but I couldn't resolve anything on the camera's LCD screen, but it did intrigue me.

Looking at the images on my PC, I was able to enlarge some of the shots, and realised they were eating beetles. I mentioned this to my wife, who remembered a recent story in the local daily, The Mercury, that there had recently been an "inundation" of beetles. The
story quoted Dr. Cathy Young, the Tasmanian Museum's entomologist, as saying that these 15mm beetles, Redheaded Cockchafers (Adoryphorus couloni) were particularly common at this time of year. Apparently they spend much of the year in the ground as grubs, chomping up the roots of lawn and pasture grasses and as such they are a considerable pest. "Then as soon as we get to this time of year--late winter and early spring--they emerge (from their pupal cell), mate, reproduce and then die" she is quoted as saying. They have a lifespan (as a beetle) of only a week or so.

We had noticed a large group of several hundred beetles on shore--all dead--that was swept downstream as the tide rose, but hadn't realised they were the 'target' of the gulls. Looking at the shape of some of the gulls, they had seriously overindulged!

Gone Fishing....... Black-faced Cormorant

My son, also a keen birder, persuaded me to go fishing, and during the last week or so, we've fished various local venues with mixed results. But if you're a birder, however hard you try, you just can't help noticing the birds. So a few days ago we were fishing the River Derwent not far from the Bowen Bridge. As we arrived, my son pointed to a distant cormorant, which was silhouetted against the light from the just risen sun. It appeared to have caught a fish, which gave us some hope. The truth, as we soon discovered, was very different!
Quickly getting our lines into the water, we soon realised that there were a dozen or more cormorants apparently fishing at various spots. I opted for them being "Little-pieds", a common cormorant in the Derwent at this time of year. I had my binoculars with me, and I soon found that the passing birds were apparently carrying nesting material. I followed one as it flew up the river and landed on the bridge pontoon half a kilometre away. That seemed a very odd place for a Little-pied Cormorant to nest, as they usually nest in trees! Then the penny dropped, they were Black-faced Cormorant, (also called Black-faced Shag).

While this may not seem worthy of mention, as these birds are commonly seen in the Derwent, especially during the winter, they normally breed on isolated stacks and islets, such as Maatsuyker Island and the Hippolytes, to name two in southern Tasmanian waters. Some years back I recall visiting a colony on Little Betsy Island, close to the mouth of the Derwent. So this site, at the base of the bridge supports, is an unusual breeding site, and several kilometres 'inland' from the river mouth. I counted 16 or more nests, most with sitting birds, but as I could only see one side of the supports, I would guess that there may be twice that number in the colony.

I got the camera out of the car (I feel 'naked' without it), and I soon started taking shots of passing cormorants, which proved difficult in the prevailing light conditions, not to mention that the birds are travelling at speed. As I have mentioned, this species mainly breeds well offshore, so I suspect the activity of gathering nesting material is seldom witnessed or photographed.

The material they collected consisted mostly of seagrass, and the occasional twig, some nearly as long as the bird, which they dived for. There was a lot of it in suspension in the water, so I'm guessing that they only had to gather it up. Some dives lasted up to 40 seconds. They seemed surprisingly fussy about the material as they sometimes emerged with a bundle, which they then rejected and dived again. Mostly the material was collected by only single birds, but occasionally an apparent pair dived together. As they sped passed, I noted that some appeared to be in moult (see lower image), but thought that unlikely during breeding, as moult imposes considerable 'stress' on birds. At home, looking at HANZAB (the bible of Australasian birding), it appears that they produce these white nuptial plumes and filoplumes, (on back and neck) during the breeding season. I have to confess I've never noticed these before.

Well the fishing was ****, the birding was good and I've learnt a lot about Black-faced Cormorants!

[NB. These birds are fully protected. Some fisherman need to take note of the irritatingly frequent littering advert on TV. The amount of discarded material at many of the sites we visited, is nothing short of appalling]

Tasmanian Birding Stalwart Dies

On Thursday 28th July, following a protracted illness, Dr. W.(Bill) C. Wakefield died. Many people in the northern suburbs of Hobart will remember him as their local GP, but probably didn't know of his passionate interest in birds. In recent years, Mainland birders would have met him on one of the many seabird trips that he organised or participated in, out of Eaglehawk Neck on the Tasman Peninsula.

Although our paths rarely crossed in recent years, for over 40 years I've always considered Bill a close friend. I and my family still have fond memories of our holidays at Coles Bay that we shared with both his and Mike Newman's family. Of Bill, Mike and myself pushing his "tinnie" across Moulting Lagoon on an extremely hot day, probably wondering why we were doing it, only to find a small flock of waders that included both a Little and Long-toed Stint, both first records for the state! Of the wee drop (or two) of Glenfiddich that he produced to round off the day.

I first met Bill at Bird Observer's meetings (forerunner to Birds Tasmania), but got to know him better during the heady days of the Tasmanian Shorebirds Study Group in the 70s, when the group started cannon netting gulls and waders. Our enthusiasm sometimes got the better of us as I recall the pair of us using a small cannon net on Lauderdale Beach to catch and band Silver Gulls. I assumed he had the necessary "authority" by way of permits, and he assumed I had--suffice to say that neither of us had! I also recall that he insisted on continuing long after dark, and we could only read the band numbers by the light cast from a neighbouring petrol station.

I have many other memories of course, and they all illustrate Bill's great enthusiasm and care about Tasmania's birds. I, and I'm sure many others, will miss him. My condolences go to his wife, Els, and his three sons, Gavin, Andrew and David.

Thank Goodness for Auto-focus

About a month ago, I received an email telling me about a sighting of 4 Crested Grebe at Orielton Lagoon, seen during the annual winter gull count conducted by Birds Tasmania. The note mentioned 2 adults, an immature and a juvenile. The latter quite unusual here. Crested Grebe are not that common in Tasmania, with most sightings from Lake Dulverton, the Derwent River in the Granton area and at Orielton Lagoon. At times, at the latter site, they have numbered up to 40 or more, but in recent times, they have been conspicuous by their absence.
I've found that early morning on still days is the best, or at least the easiest time to look for ducks and grebes at this venue. As luck would have it, the day following receipt of the email, was ideal if cool (around freezing point) and I set forth.
Early morning on Sorell causeway is not the ideal birding spot, with the commuter traffic whistling past, but fortunately there's a 'lay-by' mid way from which much of the lagoon can be scanned. (Watching from within your vehicle is a good option here). A quick look suggested that there wasn't much about, save for several Musk Duck and a raft of Hoary-headed Grebe, numbering perhaps a dozen. The numbers of both the Crested and Hoaryheads have been low recently, and I suspect that the high Mainland rainfall is to blame. The numbers of grebes and also the Eurasian Coot seen in Tasmania, fluctuate widely, and they only breed here in small numbers, so it's reasonable to assume that most are Mainland bred birds. When I first came to Tasmania, over 40 years ago, I didn't see a single Coot for over 2 years, and this puzzled me as Sharland's Tasmanian Birds declared it to be "generally common". But when they did appear they were 'everywhere', with some flocks in the Derwent River consisting of over a thousand birds.
A visual sweep of the lagoon showed no sign of the Crested Grebes. Alongside where I had parked, a single male Musk Duck was diving for food. I haven't had much luck trying to photograph this species, not that they rate highly on my "must do" list, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I've been waiting for minor eye surgery, as luck would have it, on my "good" eye, the right--I can't actually see whether the image is in focus or not, something of a handicap using a telephoto lens. The low angle light didn't help photographing an all black bird either. Well as you can see from the accompanying images, I did manage a few shots, nothing to write home about, but definitely thanks to the benefits of auto-focus. One of the images shows the duck eating a crab, and in the several dives that I witnessed, crabs were obviously the food of choice. I'm not sure what I thought Musk Duck's diet is, but I didn't expect it to include crabs. Literature suggests aquatic insects, but also crayfish, so perhaps crabs aren't that unusual. The lower shot taken as the bird dived, shows the stiff tail, peculiar to both this species and also Blue-billed Duck.
Later views of the lagoon suggested that the sought after Crested Grebes had moved on, but it's often worth a look as you cross this causeway.
[I've had my eye surgery and I can "see" again, what a difference!]