Night Parrot Discovered in Goneaway National Park, Queensland

Legendary bushman John Young has discovered the Night Parrot in Goneaway National Park in western Queensland. Young's discovery brings at to at least 10 the number of Night Parrot sites now known from a 350km arc of arid country stretching from Boulia in the west to Stonehenge in the east.

Working as a senior field ecologist for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Young and another researcher heard several calls from Night Parrots in the remote reserve last week. The site is more than 50km east of a number of places where Young and the AWC team have found Night Parrots in recent months in the Diamantina National Park.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk described the discovery as "terrific news". Environment Minister Steven Miles said the state government would consider imposing another exclusion zone over the national park. Existing zones over the eastern half of Diamantina National Park and the neighbouring Pullen Pullen Reserve, where Young took the first photographs of a Night Parrot in 2013, cover an estimated 250,000ha.

John Young

The exclusion of such a vast area of existing and potential Night Parrot habitat severely limits efforts by others to look for new parrot populations. Anyone entering the zones faces a potential two-year jail sentence and $353,000 fine. The measure was introduced largely because of fears that invading hordes of twitchers could jeopardise the bird's survival. The hordes never did materialise even when, after three years of suppressing them, recorded calls of the Night Parrot were finally released last month to help facilitate further searches.

However, Miles said the remoteness of Goneaway National Park may preclude the need for a further exclusion zone. The national park is difficult to access, with no gazetted roads to it. The government's management plan for the reserve warns: "Due to the parks extremely remote and rugged nature, significant safety issues have been identified for visitors. There is very limited potential for visitor opportunities to be developed, beyond a remote walking experience, until the issues of safety and access are resolved."  

Australian Wildlife Conservancy chief executive Atticus Fleming, said the Night Parrot calls were heard in a remote part of the national park. “The expedition to Goneaway involved exploring likely Night Parrot habitat by foot and all-terrain vehicle in extreme heat and challenging conditions, highlighting the challenges involved in studying and protecting this nocturnal parrot," Fleming said. 

“AWC has developed a habitat model which will guide further exploration by AWC ecologists of potential Night Parrot habitat in central west Queensland, in partnership with the Queensland Government, and elsewhere across Australia.”

Unfortunately, a draft press release by the Premier and Environment Minister - seen earlier today - yet again makes the mistake of claiming that the Night Parrot was considered extinct until Young's 2013 photographs. For the record, among other things, dead birds were found in 1990 and 2006. This myth seems to have morphed into accepted wisdom but the Queensland Government should know better.

Update 23/3: Although the press release was amended to "practically extinct" when it was eventually released, the myth continues to be perpetuated with The Courier Mail reporting this morning: "The species of bird was thought to be extinct until a discovery at Pullen Pullen reserve in western Queensland in 2013."

Golden-headed Cisticola All At Sea

Golden-headed Cisticola off Sunshine Coast

 The Australian Reptile Park's Tim Faulkner has drawn my attention to a strange event concerning the diminutive Golden-headed Cisticola. Last weekend off the Sunshine Coast, fishermen reported that "dozens" of cisticolas had landed on several fishing charter boats and trawlers about 30 nautical miles offshore. Deck hands were able to easily capture some of the birds.

Golden-headed Cisticola

The boats were in an area where there have been large numbers of baitfish recently with attendant flocks of terns and other seabirds. We were offshore for our March 4 pelagic at this time and although we saw some boobies perched on fishing trawlers, we did not encounter a cisticola. The area where the cisticolas landed on boats is some distance north of where we were.
This seems to me to be an extraordinary sighting. The Golden-headed Cisticola is to my knowledge not known to migrate. It is a resident of a variety of habitats that have healthy growth of grasses and other ground vegetation.

Golden-headed Cisticola offshore: Pic Jason Pietzner 

Soon after hearing from Tim, I was contacted by Paddy Dimond, our skipper on Saturday's pelagic. He also had been sent pictures from a fishing mate of this strange little bird landing on boats offshore. One fisherman described a bird that landed on his boat as "exhausted"; he said it hung around for a few days before flying off.

Golden-headed Cisticola offshore

Eastern Koel

Meanwhile, the long, hot summer is finally winding down with seasonal migrants preparing to head north for the winter. They include a recently fledged Eastern Koel in the garden at Ninderry.

Cicadabird

And a male Cicadabird on Mt Ninderry.

Australilan Owlet-Nightjar

Also on Mt Ninderry was an Australian Owlet-Nightjar perched at the entrance to its tree hollow. I was alerted to its presence mid-morning by the characteristic call near the walking path to the summit.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

The garden birdbaths have been particularly popular during the hot weather. Eastern Grey Kangaroos are regular drinkers and their attention requires continual replenishment.

Baillon's Crake

The Parklakes wetland took a battering when much of the aquatic vegetation was removed by the real estate developers early last year. It has recovered to an extent, with Baillon's Crake making a welcome return in recent weeks after an absence of a couple of years. Australian Little Bittern has also again been recorded at Parklakes and I saw one last month at the Coolum Industrial Estate, where a bird was present this time last year.

Black-necked Storks

A pair of Black-necked Storks were by a small dam near River Road, Yandina Creek, where a Grey Goshawk was flying overhead.

Grey Goshawk

Sunshine Coast Pelagic March 2017

Red-footed Booby

White Tern, Red-footed Booby, Streaked Shearwater and good numbers of Lesser Frigatebird, Pomarine Jaeger and Brown Booby were the highlights of the pelagic trip off Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, on Saturday March 4, 2017.

Pomarine Jaeger

We departed Mooloolaba Marina at 6.45am on an unseasonally warm autumn day with hopeful expectations following a prolonged period of fresh south-easterlies offshore over the preceding week. We were not to be disappointed. A gentle 5 knot easterly and a swell of .5-1m made for a relatively smooth ride as we headed east, seeing the first of many Pomarine Jaegers for the day and a dark phase Arctic Jaeger on the way out.

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters with (1) Flesh-footed Shearwater

Things started to get interesting in 120m, before reaching the shelf, when we saw a fairly distant pair of Lesser Frigatebirds. A little further on we spotted a collection of Flesh-footed and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters feeding while above them, no fewer than 10 Lesser Frigatebirds graced the sky.

Lesser Frigatebird female

Lesser Frigatebird male

Near here we saw a couple of Brown Boobies perched on a trawler before finding 2 more Brown Boobies accompanied by an intermediate phase Red-footed Booby perched on another trawler further out. A second intermediate phase Red-footed Booby flew by while we watched its perched brethren.

Brown Booby

Red-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby

After these welcome interruptions, we passed a couple of Tahiti Petrels before reaching the shelf at 10am, a little later than usual - 34 nautical miles offshore in 210m at 26.31.436S; 153.44.850E. The swell had picked up to 1.5m and the breeze to a comfortable 5-10 knots.

Tahiti Petrel

More Tahiti Petrels arrived as we began laying a berley trail and good numbers of both Flesh-footed and Wedge-tailed Sheawaters joined us for the whole time we were on the shelf. Unlike recent pelagic trips off both the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, birds appeared to be very hungry, attacking the berley voraciously.

Pomarine Jaeger

Pomarine Jaeger dark phase

We were soon joined by a smattering of Pomarine Jaegers in various plumage phases; we were to have as many as 11 at one time about the boat.

Streaked Shearwater

A single Streaked Shearwater joined the fray, coming and going as the morning progressed.

Brown Booby

A couple more Brown Boobies brought the total to 6, along with the 13th Lesser Frigatebird for the day; the highest number I have encountered for either species on a pelagic. Numbers of Pomarine Jaeger and Flesh-footed Shearwater were also unusually high.

White Tern

White Tern

Shortly after midday a single White Tern was a welcome addition to the list as it flew overhead. Other non-bird "sea monsters" included Glaucus, bluebottles, Porpita, Violet Snail, a comb jelly and a pelagic crab holding a spirula shell.

Common Terns

After drifting southwards 5.5 nautical miles we turned around to head back at 1pm, stopping for a feeding flock of Common Terns and Little Terns inshore before arriving back at the marina at 3.15pm.

PARTICIPANTS: Paddy Dimond (skipper), Greg Roberts (organiser),  Ralph Brown,  Devon Bull, Ian Cleary,  Kaya Cleary,  Malcolm Graham,  Matteo Grilli,  Nicholas Haass,  Elliot Leach,  James Martin,  Davydd McDonald,  Steve Pratt,  Raja Stephenson.

BIRDS: Total number seen. (Maximum number seen at any one time).

Wedge-tailed Shearwater 90 (30)
Flesh-footed Shearwater 40 (15)
Streaked Shearwater 1 (1)
Tahiti Petrel 12 (5)
Brown Booby 6 (2)
Red-footed Booby 2 (2)
Lesser Frigatebird 13 (10)
Arctic Jaeger 1 (1)
Pomarine Jaeger 26 (11)
White Tern 1 (1)
Crested Tern 30 (6)
Common Tern 80 (40)
Little Tern 8 (4)
Silver Gull 1 (1)

Hervey Bay & Boonooroo 2017

Asian Dowitcher with Bar-tailed Godwits & Grey-tailed Tattler

Radjah Shelduck and nice shorebirds including 2 Asian Dowitchers, Common Sandpiper, Wandering Tattler, Grey Plover and exceptional numbers of Greater Sand-Plover were the highlights of a 3-day visit to Hervey Bay, calling in at Boonooroo on the way home.

Greater Sand Plover & Lesser Sand Plover

 Hervey Bay was visited this time last year and also in 2015. The sand-plovers were concentrated at the high tide roost at Gables Point at the north-east end of Pt Vernon. This area is easily disturbed and the birds were constantly put to flight by human interlopers and their dogs.

Greater Sand Plover & Lesser Sand Plover

Of interest was the large number of Greater Sand-Plover, with a couple of counts arriving at a figure of about 200 birds on two visits, with much smaller numbers of Lesser Sand-Plover among them. Many sand-plovers were in full or partial breeding plumage.

Wandering Tattlers

 A short distance along the shoreline at the headland north of Gatakers Bay is a smaller roost, where 3 Wandering Tattlers were present.

Sooty Oystercatcher & Pied Oystercatcher

Pied Oystercatcher and Sooty Oystercatcher, a pair of each, were roosting together here.

Pacific Golden Plover

A flock of 50 Pacific Golden Plovers was also roosting at the headland.

Rainbow Bee-eater

While Rainbow Bee-eaters were active in the adjoining Allocasuarina trees.

Common Sandpiper

At the other end of Gatakers Bay, a Common Sandpiper was roosting behind the mangroves. Tides were very high (3m), giving the birds little space to roost. I've listed the birds at these Pt Vernon sites together on ebird here.

Radjah Shelduck

I visited Arkarra Lagoons but as in south-east Queensland generally, water levels were very low due to prolonged dry conditions. I had to cancel plans to visit Garnett's Lagoon because it was bone dry. Water was present in the Anembo Lakes area - a series of artificial lagoons immediately north and east of Hervey Bay Botanic Gardens at Urangan.

Radjah Shelduck

On one of these pools I found a Radjah Shelduck - a rare visitor to south-east Queensland.

Little Egret

All 4 species of egrets were common in the lagoons but they were surprisingly devoid of many waterbird species that could be expected here. A list of Anembo Lakes birds seen is here.  The shelduck site is pinpointed in this ebird post.

Krefft's Turtles

Water levels in the lagoons were also low and large numbers of evidently hungry Krefft's Turtles were concentrated in the shallows.

Little Red Flying-Fox

A large colony of Little Red Flying-Foxes was present at one lagoon; these normally nomadic animals were also present in 2015 and 2016. A few Grey-headed Flying-Fox were among them. A separate colony at Pialba was comprised mainly of Black Flying-Fox.

Asian Dowitcher with Bar-tailed Godwits & Grey-tailed Tattler

Asian Dowitcher pair with Bar-tailed Godwits 

At Boonooroo while returning home, towards the end of Davies Road on the right, I found two Asian Dowitchers among Bar-tailed Godwits and Great Knots in the same spot where saw saw 2 dowitchers in January. This site is best checked about 2 hours before high tide.

Bar-tailed Godwits in breeding plumage

Curlew Sandpipers & Great Knot

Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlew-Sandpipers & Grey-tailed Tattlers

Many waders are coming into nice breeding plumage including Curlew-Sandpiper, Great Knot, Grey-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit.

Great Knots, Greater Sand Plovers, Lesser Sand Plovers, Little Terns

At the main wader roost at the end of Adair Street (not Bates Street as I incorrectly wrote in my January post) was a large roosting flock of Greater Sand-Plover, Lesser Sand-Plover, Great Knot and Red-necked Stint; unlike Gables Point, Lesser was far more common than Greater here. Little Terns were numerous.

Grey Plovers

About 30 Grey Plovers were also present at what has proved to be a reliable site for this species.
A full list of the Boonooroo birds can be found here. I also visited the high tide roost at nearby Maaroom but few shorebirds were present, evidently because the exceptionally high tide left little room for roosting.