KAMAROOKA

What a wonderful day I had birding yesterday at Kamarooka! May in Melbourne can be cold and unfriendly. Yesterday at Kamarooka it was sunny and welcoming. I could not in all honesty say that it was warm, but there were plenty of birds to warm my heart. Not wishing to sound too old, I must say nevertheless, that yesterday was what birding used to be like in my youth. So many beautiful birds, you didn't know which way to look first. It was better than any Christmas celebration I can ever remember.

Kamarooka is part of the Greater Bendigo National Park. I'm told the word means 'wait a while' in the local Aboriginal language. Conditions (and birds) yesterday certainly encouraged us to wait a fair while.

When we arrived, we were greeted by several Shy Heathwren. I'm used to seeing these birds on the ground, but they were calling from the bushes, and not initially very cooperative about showing themselves. (This photo, incidentally, is from my library and was not taken yesterday. It is one of Ken Haines' treasures - and he wasn't with me yesterday.) We did get good looks a little later, but it was reassuring to know that there is a very healthy population of Shy Heathwren in this area. We saw lots of honeyeaters here too. In fact we saw lots of honeyeaters everywhere - there were several species of eucaplypts flowering. There were Red Wattlebirds everywhere and a few Noisy Friarbirds sprinkled throughout the day. We saw both my favourite honeyeaters in good numbers - Brown-headed and White-eared. We admired Fuscous, Yellow-tufted, and Yellow-faced and had excellent views of Purple-gaped and Tawny-crowned. I reckon we saw hundreds of Yellow-plumed. This photo of a Yellow-plumed is also by Ken Haines from my library.

We had excellent views of Red-capped Robins (the female Red-capped Robin really is one of our most exquisite birds - too often over-shadowed by her showy mate) and also Restless Flycatchers, which lived up to their name. We had but a fleeting glimpse of a Crested Bellbird, although they serenaded us with their ventriloquial calls for quite some time. There were fairywrens (both Variegated and Superb) and Thornbills (Yellow, Inland and Yellow-rumped - but, surprisingly, no Chestnut-rumped yesterday). There were lots of fresh platelets from Painted Buttonquail and I fancy I saw some movement which was probably them, but no sighting I could confirm.

I would have liked a Southern Whiteface, a Speckled Warbler and a Gilbert's Whistler, but I clocked up a total of 66 species for the day, including one Peregrine Falcon on the way home, so I am not complaining!

200 BIRDS FOR 2023 - AT LAST!

At last I have clocked up my 200th bird for 2023! It took until 10 May to achieve a goal I'd thought I'd achieve in February. And it's not as if I wasn't really trying. Apart from my local haunts (Burke Road Billabong, Darebin Parklands, Wilson Reserve and Banyule), I've been to Blackburn Lake, Royal Park, the You Yangs, Karkarook, Braeside, Cranbourne Botanic Gardens, Werribee and Sherbrooke Forest. The 200th bird was a Superb Lyrebird in Sherbrooke Forest on a Birds Australia weekday outing. The weather was cold and grey. It alternated between rain and drizzle as I drove to Sherbrooke, and I wondered why I was bothering to go. Of course the lyrebirds (there were several) made it all worthwhile, as did the happy group of friendly birders who'd gathered to enjoy the delights of the forest. However, I confess that I'd been hoping secretly for more than just one new bird for the year. I had compiled a little wishlist, but, apart from the lyrebird, it remained unfulfilled. That, I'm afraid, has been the story of 2023: altogether an unfulfilled wishlist. My one and only trip to Werribee this year was also a disappointment. It was in April and, of course, I was hoping to see the vagrant Black Tern, a very exciting visitor from the Northern Hemisphere. I saw lots of lovely birds that morning, but unfortunately had to hurry home because I had guests for lunch (why didn't I just put them off?). I stood hopefully with a group of eager birders watching White-winged Terns swooping over the sea. We knew that the Black Tern had been seen with this flock. And it is possible that amongst those fast swooping birds I did glimpse the Black Tern, but I certainly did not get an unambiguous identifiable tickable sighting. I came home very disappointed and pretended to be a happy hostess. The bird of the day was without doubt the Australian Crake. I saw at least seven, and they were quite fearless, not exhibiting their usual shy behaviour at all. I always get a thrill out of seeing crakes. This beautiful photo was taken by Ken Haines, who took me on my unsuccessful tern hunt.

I've made several unsuccessful trips looking for a Tawny Frogmouth to add to my annual list. I did find a dead frogmouth in the local park and subsequently investigated every tree in that park very closely, with no result. We often see frogmouths at Royal Park, but not this year. I also have roosts to check out at Willsmere Billabong and Heidelberg. All empty so far this year. Eventually, thanks to my cousin, I was alerted to a bird roosting in Blackburn Road, Blackburn. I rushed out to see it and this time I was successful. My trip to Braeside gave me my first Australasian Shoveler for the year and my second trip to the You Yangs in 2023 delivered a White-naped Honeyeater and a Jacky Winter. I don't remember ever trying quite so hard for so many months to achieve so little! In fairness I might say that had I managed to get to Werribee earlier in the year when the Northern Hemisphere migrants were still present (say, in February) I could well have achieved my target then. Winter is almost upon us - it feels as if it's here - and I'm looking forward to back-to-back pelagics out of Eden in early June. Of course I have a little list. Let's see if I can cross more than one species off it.

KIAMA PELAGIC

Plans were already in hand for me to do my annual Kiama pilgrimage hoping for a White-necked Petrel, when I unexpectedly saw not one but two White-necked Petrels off Southport earlier in the month. Of course I still wanted to go to Kiama. Who wouldn't? We left on Wednesday and had a liesurely drive to Gundagai. The bird of the day was an Oriental Dollarbird, sitting high up on a dead tree, giving us great views. On Thursday, we drove to Gerroa, where our cabin had a first floor balcony, allowing us to admire Australasian Figbirds at eye height in the adjacent palm trees. The bird of the day was a very beautiful young Pacific Koel, also at eye height in a palm tree.

All the beautiful photos on this page were taken by Ken Haines. The other birdy highlight on Thursday was a visit to Jerrara Dam. The birding was so good that we went back again on Friday. There were Silvereyes and whipbirds, Beautiful and Red-browed Firetails, Eastern Yellow Robins and Crimson Rosellas, Black-faced Monarchs and Leaden Flycatchers, Grey Butcherbirds and Australian Golden Whistlers, and lots of Red-whiskered Bulbuls. There were several Lewin's Honeyeaters, but the only other honeyeaters we saw were a couple of Eastern Spinebills and just one New Holland and just one White-cheeked. Likewise, I saw just one Australian Reed Warbler. There were Superb Fairywrens and White-browed Scrubwrens. Most exciting (for me at least) were Topknot Pigeons, a bird I don't see often enough. We could see swans, swamphens and moorhens on the dam below. Not a bad list at all. We visited Bomaderry Creek looking for Rockwarbler. Alas, the only bird we saw or heard was a Red Wattlebird. Last year we had been unsuccessful at Bomaderry Creek too. I wonder if the Rockwarblers are still there? They are certainly not as common and easily seen as they used to be. We went to Spring Creek Wetlands, which accommodated a large colony of very noisy flying foxes. There were also Satin Bowerbirds and bulbuls, but not much else. And we went to the mouth of the Broken River, hoping for Little Terns. All we saw for our effort was Silver Gulls.

Saturday's pelagic, aboard 'Kato', was great. I had not realized just how much my recent Kiama pelagics have been influenced by my overwhelming desire (obsession?) to see a White-necked Petrel. With this bird happily on my list, I could sit back and enjoy myself. I really didn't care what we did or didn't see. What we did see were lots of shearwaters (Flesh-footed, Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed), some Grey-faced Petrels, at least one Kermadec, a couple of jaegers and at least one Wilson's Storm Petrel. We had great views of a Wandering Albatross and difficult sightings of one Black Petrel. I say difficult, because I for one, thought it looked exactly like the Flesh-footed Shearwaters beside it. Until I saw its black feet, I could not tell the difference, even when the birds were right in front of me.

And then, beleive it or not, we saw (again) not one, but two, White-necked Petrels! What is the chance of that! With a couple of terns and seagulls, I recorded a total of 16 species for the day. Others saw more. But I was extremely happy with my White-necked Petrel. The Wandering Albatross and the Black Petrel were icing on the cake. I will certainly return to do more Kiama pelagics, but I will no longer be driven to undertaken an annual summer pilgrimage. That, at least, is behind me.

The problem with setting targets is that you might not meet them! I did not achieve my target of seeing 100 new birds in February (after I'd seen 100 in January). I think I would have made it had I managed to visit Werribee. For a variety of reasons, I did not get there. However, I'm hoping to get there next week, so we will see if I can top up my total to 200 birds for the year. I am presently sitting on 175. Wish me luck!

BRITANNIA SEAMOUNT

On the weekend of 3-6 February 2023, I went to the Britannia Seamount off Southport in the Gold Coast. I was hoping for a New Caledonian Storm Petrel, and came home with a bogey bird crossed off my list! Howzat! The trip was organized by Paul Walbridge. We were on M.V. Grinner, captained by Craig Newton, and a lovely new boat it was too. It only rained at night (sounds like Camelot!) but it was a bit warmer than I'd have liked. In fact, although I wore my hat most diligently, I came home with a bright red burnt face. (Most captivating for my early morning meeting with my publisher on Tuesday I'm sure you'll agree!) I recorded 17 species, and I know I wasn't alone in secretly hoping for more. Most common were Grey-faced and Tahiti Petrels, but there were also good numbers of Flesh-footed Shearwaters and Sooty Terns. There were fewer Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and a surprisingly large number of Kermadec Petrels, all in various stages of moult. One very handsome Gould's Petrel flew past giving us all good looks, contrasting with one Long-tailed Jaeger and one White-tailed Tropicbird, which each grudgingly and fleetingly put in an appearance, just long enough to get onto the list but not to satisfy anyone. There were two Red-tailed Tropicbirds. But, sadly, no New Caledonian Storm Petrels, the main reason most of us were there. This bird was discovered in 1839, then not seen again for 169 years. It was rediscovered in 2008 off Noumea, and since 2011, 170 sightings have been documented off Southport. Most unfortunately, we were not able to add to that total. We did see three or four White-bellied Storm Petrels, each of which hung around the boat, giving everyone a good opportunity to study it. I think everyone agreed that the Bird of the Day on Saturday was one single Bulwer's Petrel, that flew by quickly giving just a fleeting glance. When photographs were examined later, opinions differed as to its identification. It wasn't a Bulwer's Petrel at all! It was a dark storm petrel, but which one? Sadly, no one had a definitive photo. As I write, the bird's identity remains a mystery. Overnight a Tahiti Petrel landed on deck and we awoke to the pleasure of letting it go. I'm delighted to report that, by the time I emerged, it had already been captured and safely placed in a crate with a towel on top. I was told it was to be measured before it was released. In the end it was released without being measured, because no one had sufficiently robust protective gloves. It was not in the least bit scared and sat on the edge of the crate eyeing us all with an interested gaze, before finally flying to freedom. We were all becoming a bit dejected by the early afternoon on Sunday, when we hadn't seen anything really exciting. Then my bogey bird appeared. I had given up and gone into the cabin to treat myself to a beer. No sooner had I sat down, than I was called outside. My bogey bird had appeared! And there it was. Unambiguously big and beautiful. As shown in these terrific photos by Paul Walbridge.

I find myself no longer able to feel any animosity towards the White-necked Petrel, which over the years I have learned not to love. I have travelled interstate on 23 occasions attempting to see this bird. Now, while attempting to see something else, I have seen it. In fact I saw two birds. And magnificent they were too. Very big and very beautiful. Perhaps not worth 23 interstate trips, or waiting twenty years to see it. On the other hand, perhaps it was worth the wait. They really were most impressive. In fact, I'd say, literally breathtaking. Included in my notes to help me identify a White-necked Petrel if I ever happened to see one, is the comment: 'more relaxed flight than smaller cookalaria.' This seems to me a most unhelpful comment. Both birds I saw flew so fast, that everytime I took my binoculars off one, I couldn't find it again without some trouble. I reckon it would be hard to describe the flight as 'relaxed.' I believe a good weekend was enjoyed by all, even those of us who didn't get a lifer. Of course I was disappointed that I didn't see my New Caledonian Storm Petrel, but I can hardly complain, can I?

A MODEST TARGET FOR JANUARY

I like setting myself targets. I like achieving them. There's no point in setting an unachievable goal. Where's the joy in that?

This month, January 2023, I set myself the target of seeing 100 species of birds. I thought this would be easily achieved because I was starting the year on the Cocos Islands (giving me such wonderful starters as Purple Heron, White-breasted Waterhen, Asian Brown Flycatcher - photo above by Bill Russell, Rosy Starling, Common Redshank and, best of all, Common Kingfisher) and having to overnight in Perth on the way home (Western Wattlebird, Laughing Dove, Australian Ringneck). I had my name down for a January pelagic out of Port Fairy, so I figured I could achieve 100 birds without too much difficulty. Of course, I did all my normal walks around home, which includes walking to Hay's Paddock, Willsmere Billabong, Burke Road Billabong and Darebin Parklands. I visited Banyule and Wilson Reserve and I did a walk at Historic Woodlands Park. Unfortunately, my pelagic was cancelled. The captain reckoned the swells were too great, and it would have taken us five hours to reach the shelf. Suddenly I realized that January was drawing to a close and I was not going to achieve my 100 birds. I drove to Jells Park and managed to add Australasian Darter and Australian Reed Warbler to my list. I drove to Healesville, but all I saw new for the year were Silvereyes, a beautiful male Rufous Whistler and a Grey Shrikethrush.

It was 24 January and my total was 94. If only that pelagic hadn't been cancelled, I'd have made it easily. I set off for Karkarook, hoping for a Blue-billed Duck, a Greenfinch and a Goldfinch. I saw none of those. I did manage a Hoary-headed Grebe, so I was now just 5 off my target. I made lists of all the 'easy' birds I hadn't yet seen. There were lots of them! Surely I could find five in a week. I decided to visit Fern Tree Gully. I remembered Rufous Fantails flitting around, just above my head. Too easy! When I arrived at the Dandenong Ranges National Park, I saw two new birds before I left the carpark: Australian King Parrot and Gang-gang Cockatoo. With renewed confidence I set off on the comfortable walk (I think it was called 'Meanderers Track') - none of those 100 steps for me. I wasn't in training. I wanted to see some birds. I wandered around for a while. I saw lots of rabbits and one wallaby, several Eastern Yellow Robins, Grey Fantails and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, but nothing new. No hint of a Rufous Fantail. It seemed ridiculous. There were so many common birds not on my 2023 list. Yet I couldn't see any! Suddenly, I glimpsed something different with a family of fairywrens: a Red-browed Finch, number 98! Perhaps I could make it after all. But no, I was forced to go home without any more ticks for my list. I decided I would not go birding on Australia Day. There were two reasons for this: being a public holiday, I thought there'd be hoards of loud holiday-makers at any birding spot I cared to visit, and the forecast was for a grey, overcast day, with fog in the outer suburbs, conditions not really conducive to birding. However, when I did my early morning walk, the birds seemed to be particularly active. I looked at the sky, and thought I might as well have a go. So I drove to Sherbrooke, with dreams of lyrebirds and whipbirds enticing me. There was a very light misty rain as I parked the car. Immediately I heard a treecreeper, then a Fan-tailed Cuckoo, but I couldn't see either of them. I set off, determined to add just two birds to my list. It was a pleasant walk, but there were few birds. The light rain persisted and I doubted I was going to see anything other than parrots. Then I saw a female Australian Golden Whistler. At last! Number 99. Then, finally, a White-throated Treecreeper. I'd made it. I drove home happily, having achieved my modest target. The difficulty is that I want to do it all again in February!

MY FIFTH TRIP TO COCOS

After a successful week on Christmas Island with Richard Baxter, when everyone achieved at least one lifer and the newbies had about a dozen, we arrived on Cocos with great expectations. This was my fifth trip to Cocos and I'd never seen a Watercock, although I had looked every time. There were recent reports of several birds on the island, but we knew they were very sensitive and flighty. A new birdhide had been built at the lake and we spent some hours there, hoping for Chinese Sparrowhawk and Northern Pintail. This photo shows the lake when it is not raining.

As the group sat on pintail-watch at the hide, once a day, Richard took two of us to look for Watercock, in the long grass in the farm behind the lake. After the birds had been flushed, Richard gave them some peace for the rest of the day. I was lucky to be one of the first two taken to look for Watercocks on the first day. It did not take long! A bird flushed in front of us, showing unmistakable long trailing legs. It is most gratifying to finally tick a bird you have sought for many years. We saw Watercocks several times during the week. There must be quite a few birds on the island this year. Sadly, I do not have a photo of one. We had high hopes too of seeing a Cinnamon Bittern, as the locals reported seeing one every day. It was either in the green waste dump, or walking along the grassy verge beside the road. Easy! This sighting would have put me in the Bittern Club, meaning I'd seen all six species of Australian bitterns (Australasian, Black-backed, Yellow, Von Schrenck's, Cinnamon and Black). Sadly, we soon learnt that the bird had been killed by a cat. Here' the evidence.

We saw Common Sandpipers most days. I thank Bill Russell for this lovely photo.

This Asian Brown Flycatcher led us a merry dance. They like to hide high in the canopy sitting perfectly still for hours, then perversely, come out into the open and show themselves well. Photo again by Bill Russell.

Of course we did the requisite motorised canoe trip to look for Saunders's Terns. I'm not sure why I dislike these canoes so much; suffice it to say that I do. Nevertheless I girded my loins and gritted my teeth and was rewarded with the best possible sightings of Saunders's Terns. Not only must birders undergo the canoe trip (although in fairness I should say that I think I was the only person present who did not enjoy the canoe trip) but then there is another wet walk through water in the hot sun before birders arrive at the Saunders's Tern viewing area. I've seen these birds a couple of times before, but never like this. The birds actually came to investigate us, flying low over our heads. It was wonderful! Then, of course, we celebrated with champagne. It took great skill to actually notice birds that came to investigate us, so we figured that we'd earned our champagne. Another Bill Russell photo shows us setting off on our journey. I'm in front in the red canoe.

On New Year's Eve, we attended a fancy dress party at Scout Park. The theme was 'the jungle' and some people went to a fair amount of trouble. With space and weight restrictions in my luggage, I wimped out and wore a teeshirt showing rainforest frogs. The fireworks were nothing short of spectacular, and, most unusual for me, I managed to stay awake to see the New Year in. My reward was the chance at another tick on 2 January. A Common Kingfisher had been seen on the island. I had looked unsuccessfully for this bird before. But this time, we thought we knew where it was. It involved (inevitably) a wade through water. I do not enjoy walking through water. I find it uncomfortable and disconcerting when you don't know where you are putting your foot down. On the way back, Richard found a pineapple puffer fish and I was pleased that I hadn't trodden on it! Or known it was there on the walk out. Lucky for me, Ted offered me his arm, and this assistance made a difficult walk quite bearable. That's me, second from the right, hanging on for dear life! (Photo again by Bill Russell.)

A great start for the New Year: a lifer! I took this photo from the RSPB's 'Birds of Britain and Europe'. For me, the most outstanding feature was the bright blue back, which really stood out.

So I came home with three ticks in all: one on Christmas and two on Cocos. That's not bad, I'm sure you'll agree.

CHRISTMAS ON CHRISTMAS

On 20 December 2022 I flew to Christmas Island. This was my sixth visit to this tiny piece of utopia. Of course I've always loved Christmas Island: I've seen 27 lifers there. On my first trip in 2002, I saw seven lifers driving from the airport to our accommodation! There's not many places in Australia you can do that. On this occasion, I had learnt that an Amur Stonechat had been seen recently at North West Point, so of course I wanted that. When I arrived, it was two weeks since the bird had been seen, but I was still keen to look for it.

As you can see, I got wet! This photo was taken by a fellow intrepid searcher, Bill Russell, and that's me in front. I am not enjoying myself. Apart from the rain and the deep puddles, there were creepers across the track designed to trip me up, not to mention the lack of any stonechats. There are better ways to spend a morning on Christmas Island. The red crabs are famous on Christmas, and rightly so, because of the incredible numbers of them. They can be a breathtaking spectacle. On this trip, we saw millions of teeny tiny crabs, which looked like red paint spilled across the road. Workmen were blowing them out of harm's way with leaf blowers. Many roads were closed throughout our week on the island, limiting the spots we could visit.

There are nearly 100 different species of crabs on Christmas. Perhaps the most impressive is the huge robber crab. I've never actually been brave enough to pick one up before, but this time I did, more than once!

Sadly, I dipped on two very exciting birds on this trip. One was a Yellow-breasted Bunting, which I thought I'd earned, having spent a couple of very hot hours waiting for it to return to the chook pen where it had been sighted. The other was a Northern Boobook, which I also thought I'd earned, as I stood beside Elliot Leach while he admired it! I had better luck on Christmas day. I received the best possible Christmas present: a lifer! It was a Eurasian Hobby, flying overhead and saving me a trip to Western Australia to look for it. A most welcome present indeed, and my 28th lifer for the island. Like MacArthur, I will return!