Striated Fieldwren

... and a Penguin Story (below the photos)

The Striated Fieldwren (Calamanthus fuliginosus) could easily be dismissed as just another little brown bird, but, on closer inspection,  it is seen to be beautifully marked and full of character.  Getting a good view through the binoculars is always a special moment. Getting a half decent photograph to capture those moments has always proven to be more difficult. I have plenty of shots of blurry flying objects and tails sticking out of bushes etc. 

There are two places where I can usually be sure to find these birds. The coastal heath at Rocky Cape and the heathland around Ronny Creek (near Cradle Mountain). Last week I was at Rocky Cape and after a bit of a picnic lunch at Burgess Cove my attention turned to the birds. The funny thing is, I was patiently scanning the area with the 'noccies  when a family member, in excited and not so quiet whispers,  pointed out the Striated Fieldwren perched on a bush directly behind me.  It turned out there was actually a pair of them. I fired off a couple of over exposed shots while the birds went about their business, flying low over the heath, moving from shrub to shrub.  Fortunately they were still fairly close and about a dozen shots later I came up with the two you see below. After years of trying, persistence and patience paid off.

Striated Fieldwren - Calamanthus fuliginosus

Striated Fieldwren - Calamanthus fuliginosus

Coastal Heath at Rocky Cape (Table Cape in the distance)

On a different subject, you can see the entrance to a cave in the middle of the large rock outcrop. That's North Cave. It's an old sea cave formed at a time of higher sea levels. It's about 6 metres in height and around 60 meters deep. You're not allowed in there these days as it contains archaeological remains of aboriginal occupation (middens, etc). However, 28 years ago (Aug. 1987) I did venture down to the very back of the cave where I found a lone Fairy Penguin (Eudyptula minor) in residence. It thus stands as the biggest penguin burrow I've ever found :-)

Linked to Wild Bird Wednesday

A Visit to the Tamar Island Wetlands Reserve

I recently visited the Tamar Island Wetlands Reserve just north of Launceston. The Tamar Estuary at 70km in length is said to be the largest in Australia and it drains Tasmania's largest catchment area which covers 18% of the state. The reserve itself protects around 60 hectares of mud flats, reeds beds, coastal paperbark forest and small islands.

Some of our small party were a little less enthusiastic about entering because as soon as we got out of the car they spied a snake slithering off the path and into the reeds. Unfortunately I missed seeing it. It was likely to be a Lowland copperhead, Austrelaps superbusas, as that is the only snake that has been recorded in the reserve.

Between the entrance and the interpretation centre you pass through an area of freshwater lagoon. Apparently this is a good place for spotting the rare Green and Gold Frog, Litoria raniformis. On sunnier days they sit basking on the bank but we "dipped out" as it seems the frogs had "dipped in". The photo below is of a captive specimen.

Green and Gold Frog - Litoria raniformis

The interpretation centre has a lot of information on the wetlands ecology and also has a spotting scope set up for watching the birds.

Interpretation Centre

About half a kilometre down the boardwalk there is a side track that takes you through some coastal paperbark forest and then to a small bird hide.



Along the main boardwalk you pass though large areas of reed beds (Phragmites australis) where I spotted a Little Grassbird, Megalurus gramineus.

Reed Beds

There are three species of skink in the reserve. Along the boardwalks we spotted two metallic skinks, Niveoscincus metallicus, and also the rare Glossy Grass Skink, Pseudemoia rawlinsoni. This species is found in other parts of south-eastern Australia too but it is rare here in Tasmania only being known from a few sites mostly in the Launceston area.

Glossy Grass Skink - Pseudemoia rawlinsoni

You also cross over a series of bridges spanning drainage channels. At low tide these areas reveal extensive mud flats.

Bridge

Drainage Channel

Some of the 53 Black Swans, Cygnus atratus, we saw at the reserve

Great Egret - Ardea modesta

Black-fronted Dotterel - Elseyornis melanops


Juvenile Welcome Swallow - Hirundo neoxena at the side of the boardwalk
(Only about 60cm from lens)

At the end of the walk you cross over to Tamar Island (1.5kms from the entrance). The island has a long history of European occupation and is dominated by exotic trees and shrubs. The birds I saw here were, not surprisingly, mostly introduced species such as Greenfinch and Goldfinch but there were also some natives like Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis and Superb Fairtywrens, Malurus cyaneus.

This was a fairly rushed trip and much of the time was spent covering the area as opposed to sitting and watching for birds. We only saw 22 of of the 63 birds that have been recorded there. My intention was mostly to spy out the land to see if it was worth visiting. The answer was an emphatic yes.

List of birds seen:

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)
Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides)
Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa)
Australasian Shoveler (Anas rhynchotis)
Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea)
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta)
White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans)
Eastern Australian Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus)
Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris)
Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)
Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae)
Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus)
Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus)
Forest Raven (Corvus tasmanicus tasmanicus)
Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena)
Little Grassbird (Megalurus gramineus)
Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

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Queechy Lake Birding

A visit to Queechy Lake in Launceston on the weekend produced a few birds which I do not get to see here in the north-west. Best by far were the three Royal Spoonbills, common in some parts of Australia but quite a rare visitor to Tasmania.

I also had good views of a Clamorous Reed Warbler but as soon as it saw my camera it took to hiding among the reeds (where else would a Reed Warbler hide). I eventually got a photo when it landed in some Crack Willow but it is still half hidden by foliage. Another more common bird, but one I don't see in my local area, was the Australasian Shoveler.

There is a small island in the middle of the lake which can be seen in the second photo below. Among the trees on the island were at least 14 roosting Great Cormorants including a couple of juveniles and many empty nests. There were also Little Pied Cormorants and at least one Little Black Cormorant. The spoonbills also roost on this island.


Royal Spoonbills in Tasmania

Michael Sharland in "Birds of Tasmania" says the first ever recording of Royals Spoonbill in Tasmania was on 7th May 1957 at Kingston Beach, south of Hobart. A flock of nine was also regularly reported near Little Swanport (East Coast) at around this time. More recently Alan Fletcher's blog reports several sightings of Royal Spoonbill in the Sorell / Orielton Lagoon area in 2006 to 2007. The spoonbills at Queechy Lake have been reported regularly on Birdline Tasmania since December 2008.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Queechy Lake at Launceston

Small Island on Queechy Lake at Launceston

Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia)

Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia)

Clamorous Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus)

Female Australasian Shoveler (Anas rhynchotis)

All up 22 species were seen in a relatively short visit. The full list is shown below. I'll have to return some time for an early morning visit and spend a little more time there. There have been 70 species recorded at Queechy Lake as shown here.

1. Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)
2. Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides)
3. Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata)
4. Australasian Shoveler (Anas rhynchotis)
5. Grey Teal (Anas gracilis)
6. Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea)
7. Hardhead (Aythya australis)
8. Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia)
9. Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)
10. Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)
11. Australasian Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae)
12. White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
13. Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus)
14. Tasmanian Nativehen (Tribonyx mortierii)
15. Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
16. Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)
17. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo(Calyptorhynchus funereus)
18. Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus)
19. Forest Raven (Corvus tasmanicus tasmanicus)
20. Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena)
21. Australian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus australis)
22. Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

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