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Sunday, 1 January 2017

A Big Birding Day on January 1


Bird Watchers, who usually preferred to be called Birders, or on occasion "Bird Nerds", are a diverse group who approach their chosen interest with varying levels of intensity. Some are very causal with their birding and simply enjoy seeing a few birds every now and then. Others are insanely dedicated twitchers who religiously track down every single avian species that they can find. I find myself somewhere towards the insanely dedicated end of the range, but with a measured sense of reservation that keeps me in check. However, each year on January 1 I tend to go a bit crazy...

For some of us that keep a "year list", January 1 is a special day. It's a chance to start the year list with a bang. For three years in a row now, I have embarked on a "big birding day" on January 1 where I have tried to record as many species as possible. This year I was hoping to record at least 100 species for the day, so I was more focused on ‘ticking’ species than I was on photographing them. 

My big day started at 4:30am when my alarm rang and I forced myself awake. I had stayed up to see in the new year, and didn't get to sleep until 1:30am when the noise from the neighbours ended. Three hours sleep wouldn't usually be enough, but I had birds to see! I was backing the car out of the driveway around 5:15am, after some strong coffee and a quick wait to make sure that I really was awake. My first destination was Anglesea, although I did a very slight detour to get some breakfast at McDonalds where I saw my first bird for the year – a male House Sparrow sitting in a shrub right where I ate my breakfast.

I arrived at Eumeralla Flora Reserve at about 6:30am. I walked to a place where I have seen and photographed Southern Emu-wren in the past, but could not locate any. In fact, I couldn’t locate very much at all. It was still a bit cold, and it was raining very slightly. Perhaps the birds were waiting for the weather to improve before coming out for the day. I stayed for a while, listening carefully to hear the soft calls of the Southern Emu-wren, but could only hear the similar sounding Superb Fairywren. I left to explore more locations, but as soon as I started to move off I heard something. Something familiar. Something that got me very excited. It was a Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. I eventually worked out exactly where the call was coming from, but unfortunately it was from behind the fence of the waste treatment plant. I have encountered this species a few times in the past where they proved extremely difficult to even see, let alone photograph. I decided to be happy (very happy) with a heard-only tick, and pushed on to another Southern Emu-wren location to try my luck there.
I eventually found a small group of Southern Emu-wren, but they were very shy, and I could only see one that was staying very low in the vegetation. I was happy to add them to the list, but I would have very much liked a photo. As I moved on, I flushed a Brush Bronzewing that I was very happy to add to my list, before time got the better of me and I decided to move on. On the way out I saw a Striated Fieldwren, and even managed to get a photo.  

Striated Fieldwren
 
My next stop was at Point Roadknight where I hoped to see a Hooded Plover. And I did. Quite an easy tick, but one that I am always very cautious of. I am far more concerned for the welfare of the birds that I am seeing than for my need to see them. As an endangered species, Hooded Plovers have needed our protection, and the volunteers that guard the nesting sites do amazing work. I found a Hooded Plover quite easily, but took my photo from a distance knowing that I could crop the photo. I also spent a moment enjoying the roosting Silver Gulls and Crested Terns, both common birds, but of course both still beautiful. 

Hooded Plover

Created Term

The third location for the day was Anglesea Heath, one of my favourite birding destinations. And the heath was full of birds, with calls coming from all directions at once. I saw and heard a lot, and had some close encounters with beautiful Blue-winged Parrots.

Blue-wined Parrot
I also found some subjects for the macro lens, although I was expecting to see a lot more insects about in the heath. In fact, there weren't very many at all.

Magpie Moth, Nyctemera amicus

Austalis pulchella


Golden drone fly, Eristalinus punctulatus
 
After birding for some time around Coalmine Road, I drove to the Anglesea Landfill and Transfer Station (also simply known as the tip) and sat in the car until I heard a Forest Raven. I’ve found that if you wait long enough, one will fly by eventually. Luckily, I only needed to wait for about five minutes until I heard two! I started the car, and moved on.

Point Addis was my next stop. Rufous Bristlebird was the target. Usually, I find them quite easily. They tend to move around the edge of the car park, sometimes coming well out into full view where in the past I have managed to get some great photos. I parked the car back a bit so that I could see the whole area, and waited. And waited. And waited. After about twenty minutes, I eventually heard one calling from the scrub surrounding the car park. I waited for it to come out, but unfortunately it didn’t. I waited for a few more minutes before being content enough with a heard only tick for the day and moved on.

My next stop (after getting petrol and some lunch) was at the You Yangs. I headed straight to the Western Plantation where I found a few more species for the day, including a female Scarlet Robin and some very vocal Australian Ravens, an unexpected bird for this location. However, I couldn't find either of the birds that I went there to find: Rainbow Bee-eater and Buff-rumped Thornbill (I usually find them there quite easily). Just as I was leaving, a Brown Goshawk soared overhead, being pursued by an angry Willie-wagtail. 

Brown Goshawk and Willie-wagtail
 
My next stop was at Serendip Sanctuary, where I was greeted by two Purple-crowned Lorikeet calling from the trees in the car park. Unfortunately the ponds at Serendip were all dry. Bone dry. I did find a small group of Magpie Geese in one of the paddocks, but usually at this time of year there are 100s of them.

My final destination for the day was the Western Treatment Plant, one of the best birding locations in all of Australia. There have been some really nice migratory waders at the treatment plant recently, so I was hoping to add them to my list. I had timed my arrival well, as it was just on high tide when I got there. I went to the Beach Road rocks to look for the waders, expecting an army of birders to be there, but I was amazed to find that I was the only one. I made my way down to the rocks where I found some Australian Pied Osyetrcatchers and a range of terns, but only one small group of waders present. Amongst them was a Red-necked Phalarope, a rare vagrant that I've been seeing reliably at the treatment plant for a few months now. 

Australian Pied Oystercatcher

Common Tern

White-winged Black Tern
Red-necked Phalarope with some Red-necked Stints
I drove to Point Kirk to see if the waders were there, but again found only a very small group of Red-necked Stints. There was another birder there who told me that all of the waders flew from the beach a few hours before I got there, and nobody seems to know where they went. I decided to go and check the Western Lagoons and see if I could find the Terek Sandpiper that had been there for a few days. When I got there, I found it teeming with birders. It seems that all of the waders had decided to spend high tide at the Western Lagoons! There was a large group of people all looking at a Ruff, a fairly rare bird in this part of the world, and I was fortunate enough to get some photos. Heavily cropped photos. The bird was quite distant. I spent some time enjoying the waders before tiredness started to kick in.

Brolga

Great Knot

Ruff
 
While at the Western Lagoons, I ran into some other birders that I know who were also having a big January 1. They were on their way to yet another location and then possibly doing some owling once it got dark. I admired their dedication, but my level of crazy had met its limits and I went home. I tried to push on, knowing that there were still birds to be seen at the treatment plant, but I had reached my 100 species goal and decided to call it quits. I did however stop off at the Racecourse Road ford, a spot that is a very slight detour on the way home, where I found two more species for the day, bringing the total to 107 species.

My birding plan for the rest of 2017 is to simply enjoy seeing and photographing birds closer to home, without worrying about 'ticking' any sorts of lists. I was glad to have a big day and meet the 100 species goal that I set myself, but I won't be chasing species for the year list this year. Last year I enjoyed trying to photograph as many species as possible in a year (see my blog of it here: http://target300birds.blogspot.com.au) but I think that by chasing a target I somehow lost some of the enjoyment and tranquility of being in the moment...

eBird checklists for the day:
Eumeralla Flora Reserve: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S33314404
Point Roadknight: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S33315560



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