Annotated List of Sunshine Coast Bird Specialties

Marbled Frogmouth

SPECIAL BIRDS OF THE SUNSHINE COAST

AND HINTERLAND

An annotated list of bird species recorded on the Sunshine Coast and in the adjoining Cooloola sector of the Great Sandy World Heritage Area which could be regarded generally as either rare or difficult to see in southeast Queensland. Those marked * are considered to be hard to find generally in Australia.

The Sunshine Coast is defined by the boundaries of the Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa Shire Council. The list does not include seabirds seen during pelagic trips offshore.

PALE-VENTED BUSH-HEN:  Uncommon in waterside thickets and well-wooded swamps. Appears to be nomadic at some sites. Sometimes very vocal. Most frequently encountered late Spring/Summer.

*SPOTLESS CRAKE: Uncommon but regular in densely vegetated freshwater swamps. A skulker but easy to see in the right circumstances.

BAILLON’S CRAKE: An infrequent but regular summer visitor to freshwater swamps, sometimes affording close views.

Baillon's Crake

AUSTRALIAN SPOTTED CRAKE: Rare along rainforest streams in the hinterland and in coastal wetlands.

*LEWIN’S RAIL: Regular in coastal wallum heath, but the density of the vegetation makes them hard to see in this habitat. Uncommon in waterside thickets and densely vegetated swamps in the hinterland and on the coast. Usually detected by its distinctive call.

BLACK-TAILED NATIVE-HEN: Rare visitor to freshwater wetlands.

*BLACK BITTERN: Rare along freshwater and mangrove streams.

BROLGA: Rare visitor to swamps and well-grassed coastal plains.

BLACK-NECKED STORK:  Uncommon but regular on wetlands and in river estuaries.

COTTON PYGMY-GOOSE: Uncommon but regular on well-vegetated freshwater swamps, including farm dams.

*WANDERING TATTLER: A regular summer visitor in small numbers to rocky headlands.

Wandering Tattler 

SOOTY OYSTERCATCHER: Regular in small numbers on rocky headlands.

BEACH THICK-KNEE: Rare but resident on sandy shores and islands in the estuaries of the coast’s main rivers.

AUSTRALIAN PAINTED SNIPE: Rare visitor to freshwater wetlands.

EASTERN REEF EGRET:  Uncommon but regular on rocky headlands. About equal numbers of white and grey birds, in contrast to further south in southeast Queensland and northeast NSW, where most are grey.

BRIDLED TERN: Occasionally seen offshore from headlands during strong easterly winds.

SOOTY TERN: Rare offshore from headlands during strong easterly winds.

LESSER FRIGATEBIRD: Uncommon offshore from headlands during strong easterly winds.

WHITE-WINGED TERN:  A common bird on the Sunshine Coast that is generally regarded as scarce elsewhere in southeast Queensland.

*SQUARE-TAILED KITE: Rare but regularly seen over wallum heath and open forest, sometimes above busy motorways.

Square-tailed Kite

*SPOTTED HARRIER: Uncommon but frequently seen hunting over short cane fields and grasslands on coastal plains. Generally rare in coastal in southeast Queensland.

*MASKED OWL: Rare in wet sclerophyll and open forest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges, where it is more often heard than seen.

*SOOTY OWL:  Uncommon in wet sclerophyll and rainforest in the Blackall and  Conondale Ranges. Can be responsive to playback at certain times of the year.

*EASTERN GRASS OWL: Seen frequently at several sites on dusk over the short cane fields and grasslands of coastal plains. Sometimes birds are detected hawking over fields before dusk. Scarce in wallum heath.

*POWERFUL OWL: Rare in remnant lowland rainforest in the Conondale Range and occasionally in coastal scrubs.

*MARBLED FROGMOUTH: Uncommon but regular at several sites in rainforest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges. Can be responsive to playback.

LARGE-TAILED NIGHTJAR: Rare visitor to lowland rainforest and grasslands.

*BLACK-BREASTED BUTTON-QUAIL: Around the Sunshine Coast, rare but regular at favoured sites in dry rainforest and lantana in the hinterland, and occasionally in dune vegetation along the coastal strip. Seen more easily at Inskip Point.

PAINTED BUTTON-QUAIL: Uncommon in open forest and sometimes the fringes of vine scrub.

Painted Buttonquail

RED-BACKED BUTTON-QUAIL: Rare in tall wet coastal grasslands.

KING QUAIL: Infrequent  in wet coastal grasslands and wallum heath.

*GROUND PARROT: Uncommon but regularly seen at favoured sites in wallum heath in the Sunshine Coast area. Scarce further north in the Cooloola sector of the Great Sandy World Heritage Area.  

*GLOSSY BLACK COCKATOO: Uncommon and nomadic but regularly seen in favoured groves of Casuarina in coastal heathland.

SUPERB FRUIT-DOVE: Uncommon but a few are found in summer in rainforest in the Blackall and Conondale Range foothills.

ROSE-CROWNED FRUIT-DOVE: Common in coastal and foothill rainforest, mainly in summer.

BRUSH BRONZEWING: Scarce in wallum heath in the Cooloola sector of the Great Sandy World Heritage Area.

*NOISY PITTA: Regular in rainforest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges, and in coastal vine scrub in winter.

BARRED CUCKOO-SHRIKE:

Regular in summer in remnant lowland rainforest in the hinterland and on the coast.

SHINING FLYCATCHER:  Uncommon but regular in mangroves, especially on the water line at high tide, when the habitat can be difficult to access on foot. Appears to be present all year.

Shining Flycatcher

*EASTERN BRISTLEBIRD:  Rare at high altitudes in open forest and rainforest edges in the Conondale Range. The species may be extinct in this area.

SOUTHERN EMU-WREN: Rare in wallum heath in the Cooloola sector of the Great Sandy World Heritage Area.

*WHITE-EARED MONARCH:  Fairy common and readily seen at several lowland rainforest sites, on the coast and especially in the hinterland.

FAIRY GERYGONE: Regularly found in coastal vine thickets, and further inland in remnant lowland rainforest in northern parts of the Sunshine Coast. Appears to be increasing in numbers.

RED-BROWED TREECREEPER:  Rare in wet sclerophyll forest in Blackall and Conondale Ranges.

BLACK-CHINNED HONEYEATR: Rare visitor to woodlands in the hinterland, mainly in winter.

PARADISE RIFLEBIRD: Uncommon but regular in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges.