Eremaea Birdlines
Interesting and unusual bird observations
Birdline New South Wales

Birdline NSW is a site for the reporting of rare or unusual birds outside their normal range, unusually high or low numbers, early or late arrivals or departures for migrant species and interesting behaviour or unusual habitat usage. We may also consider publishing unusually-plumaged birds (e.g. albinistic/leucistic/melanistic) if they are considered interesting or are uncommonly seen.

Birdline New South Wales is supported by Birding NSW, Birdlife Southern NSW and Cumberland Bird Observers Club and moderated by Alan Morris, Liam Murphy, Mick Roderick and Simon Blanchflower.

We support ethical birding .

28/11/2021

Moderators' Note

Birders are encouraged to post lists to eBird Australia, where sightings are incorporated into the BirdLife Australia Atlas. To do this you need to register with eBird Australia then login. All Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot reports should be forwarded to Mick Roderick to assist in the recovery of these severely declining species: mick.roderick@birdlife.org.au. Note we will not be publishing reports of Accipiter raptors (Collared Sparrowhawk, Grey/Brown Goshawks) or Square-tailed Kites unless they are in unusual locations or are seen with unusual prey etc.

Recent Sightings

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Reports published in the past 30 hours.

highlightHighlight
March 2025
Thu 27Gould's Petrel (rescue)
Offshore--Port Stephens pelagic
The highlight of what was otherwise an extremely quiet day off Port Stephens was rescuing a Gould's Petrel that was found on the water, feathers matted by Pisonia umbellifera fruit and seeds. The bird could not fly and was waterlogged and probably wouldn't have made it through the night. It was fished out of the water and taken to a wildlife carer. Photo by James Bennett.
Mick Roderick and others aboard M.V. Imagine 28/3 #272412
Little Eagle breeding record
Kellyville
A friend of ours messaged me yesterday with this image, and an accompanying video of a begging Little Eagle, juvenile bird. Considering, we had an active breeding pair barely 6km in a straight line from this sighting (at Rouse Hill) only two years ago, it's quite possible the same pair of eagles raised a chick in a new nest in the general area, since their previous nest tree was cut down by developers straight after the eaglet fledged around mid-January in 2023. A good record for NW Sydney. And the eaglet is quite mobile, as our friend says it's been around about once a week in the same tree for at least the past month. Image from our friend Jade J.
Ákos Lumnitzer 28/3 #272411
Black-tailed Native Hen
Central Coast Wetlands (Tuggerah)
Individual showing well around 9am this morning and foraging along edge of main water body. Less than 5 records for the Central Coast LGA. Also 2 x long-staying Wood Sandpiper present.
Andrew Robinson 27/3 #272408
Tue 25Blue-winged Parrot
Living Desert Reserve and Menindee Lakes
Sightings of two seperate individual Blue-winged Parrots in inland NSW. Submitting due to lack of regular records. Single bird at Living desert Reserve 23/03/25 Single bird at lake Pamamaroo 25/03/25 (Moderator's Note: It is of interest to note that a small group of 4 immature Blue-winged Parrots were sighted at Moulamein on 25/3/2025 by Nickolas Mackinlay. AKM) eBird checklist
Theo Kemp 27/3 #272409
highlightBarred Cuckoo-shrike
Tyagarah Nature Reserve
Flock of 15 to 20, mainly immature birds circling and interacting with flock of Figbirds around eucalypts, only one adult bird sighted and one possible juvenile? per the second photo attached. Unusual sighting.
Geoff Ball 26/3 #272407
Sun 23King Parrot
Condobolin
Starting to see more and more of these birds in this area. Two birds flew over my house this morning and the female stopped briefly in my yard before following its mate. This is very unusual considering I had never seen a King Parrot here until about twelve months ago
Warren Chad 23/3 #272405
Spangled Drongo
Mona Vale Rd, Terrey Hills
2 Drongos flew across the road just before the Baha’i temple distinctive. Although the birds were only seen briefly the distinctive tail was very obvious.
Tom Wilson 23/3 #272404
Fri 21highlightAustralian Bustard
Barrier Highway, west of Dolo Hill, Wilcannia
Single bird seen flying over the Barrier highway. Large unmistakable bird heading south. (Moderator's Note: Following some good rains in western Qld and north-west NSW, there have been several recent reports including 3 near Cumbora seen by Tamara Jeffries on 28/2/25 and 1 at Narran Lake NR on 8/3/2025 seen by Patrick Johnson. AKM) eBird checklist
Theo Kemp 22/3 #272403
Glossy Ibis, Pink-eared Duck, Plumed Whistling Duck
Floodpains near East Coraki
Thanks to directions from Northern NSW Birding group, I counted 30 Glossy Ibis on East Coraki floodplain on Friday morning. Two Pink-eared Ducks sighted at a distance. Also Plumed Whistling-Ducks, Red-kneed Dotterel, etc. eBird checklist
Henry Coleman 22/3 #272402
highlightPacific Swift
Narara Ecovillage
It's Pacific Swift time! Flocks passing through ahead of a rain front; max 760 together eBird checklist
Guy Dutson 21/3 #272401
Wed 19Marsh Sandpiper
Greenwell Point, Nowra, NSW
A visit to Greenwell Point sometimes showed a single Marsh Sandpiper, over last ten years or so. Today's visit showed four of the ssp. in a group actively working the swampy and shrubby wetland. A rare number for my 'logs'! Maybe 'prepping' for a long flight?. eBird checklist
Harry Roberts 19/3 #272399
Tue 18highlightBlack Noddy
North Curl Curl
Single bird been on site since Sunday(?). Seen loafing on the railings and then fishing just off the rocks. Easily observed without getting into the edge with the railings (to reduce disturbance).
Tom Wilson 18/3 #272398
Mon 17highlightBlack Noddy
Norah Head
A Black Noddy was feeding in the breakers at the end of the rock shelf directly down from Norah Head Lighthouse today for three hours between 3:30pm and 6:30 pm. The same bird was seen briefly on the 15th of March at the end of the rock shelf at Soldiers Point (Norah Head) eBird checklist
Nick Giles 17/3 #272397
Sun 16Oriental Cuckoo
Cuppitt's Lane, Richmond lowlands
Flew over Cuppitt's Lane from Windsor direction and appeared to land in the line of casuarinas towards Baker's Lagoon but we could not relocate it. Immediately drawn to the long-tailed, sharp-winged flight profile and glimpse of banded underparts. eBird checklist
Eric Finley 17/3 #272396
Fork-tailed (Pacific) Swift
Little Bay, The Coast golf club
Whilst having a cleansing ale at The Coast golf club bar on a hot early evening C.300 Fork-tailed (Pacific) Swifts passed north along the coast and partially out to sea - presumed feeding on a pressure wave before a change in the weather. Sure enough C.5 minutes later a cool southerly change came through!
Michael Ellison 16/3 #272391
Sat 15Glossy Ibis, Brolga
Flooded paddock at Cowper
50+ Ibis foraging at edge of water, 3 Brolgas nearby
Greg Clancy 16/3 #272393
Square-tailed Kite
Brushgrove
Adult Kite in heavy moult forging on the wing low over the park
Greg Clancy 16/3 #272392
highlightRed-footed Booby, White Tern, Streaked Shearwater, Sooty Tern
Offshore--Sydney Pelagic
Highlights from a terrific day on the ocean included a Streaked Shearwater, seen in ~120m before 12 mile, a White Tern seen in 400m around 1NM from our drift. At the drift we had the forty or so Flesh-footed Shearwaters we'd picked up well offshore on the trip out along with a handful of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. A Red-footed Booby made a single pass near the boat when we were in 670m. We also added a Sooty Tern and a Grey-faced Petrel before leaving +700m. Three Shy Albatrosses were encountered on the return leg as were a pod of Pygmy killer whales. See eBird checklist for other species. Photograph: Greg McLachlan eBird checklist
Sydney Pelagics and all onboard 16/3 #272390
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Gwandalan Street Emu Plains NSW 2750
Very exciting. I’ve never seen this bird before. It had a drink and a bath in my backyard birdbath.
Greg Davidson 15/3 #272389
Painted Honeyeater
Ephemeral wetland 11 km east of Pilliga
Two juveniles in this wetland that still has a bit of water in it, where a creek crosses the Wee Waa to Pilliga Road, at 9:30 this morning. No accompanying adults found.
Michael Dahlem 15/3 #272388
Thu 13Brown Booby
Terrigal Pelagic
The highlight of an impromptu Terrigal trip was a female adult Brown Booby which was only the fourth record for the Central Coast LGA and first for a Terrigal Pelagic. Also seen was a Buller’s Albatross along with several Shy Albatross, Providence Petrel (1), Grey-faced Petrel (2) and Wilson’s Storm Petrel (1). Photo by Stephanie Owen.
Central Coast Pelagics (Andrew Robinson with 15 others on board) 14/3 #272386
Sun 9Australian King Parrot
16 Charles st Balldale NSW 2646
A large King Parrot, that looked like a young male, was seen around midday feeding on a tree beside the house. Only one parrot was sited. Video was recorded. (Moderator's Note: Balldale is on the edge of the range for King Parrots in NSW, they occur in reasonable numbers further south along the Murray River, in towns like nearby Corowa, but rarely further north into the pastoral country, there is only one previous eBird record for Balldale in 2024. AKM)
Dani Kerr 11/3 #272381
highlightGreat Frigatebird
Evans Head
Adult Male & Female Great Frigatebird - seen 09/03/25 near dusk at Razorback lookout, relocated again at end of Chinamans Beach Rd, before last seen heading south along the coast toward Illuka. TC Alfred has pushed lots of different birds inshore to Evans Head, 100 + Sooty Tern, Long-tailed Jaegers, Lesser Frigate, numerous Grey Ternlets and Common Noddy all spotted in Evans River & nearby beach during past week. (Moderator's Note: It is good to get such a comprehensive report on seabirds affected by TC Alfred. The Greater Frigatebird sightings are subject to NSWORAC Review. AKM) eBird checklist
Jacob Crisp 9/3 #272380
Sat 8highlightGrey Ternlet (probable); Streaked Shearwater
Robert Dunn Reserve, Mona Vale
75 minute sea watching session (reserve is on the cliffs between Mona Vale and Warriewood beaches). Small pale tern with fast, fluttery flying style and occasional check and glide before resuming flight. Seen approx 350-400m offshore heading south approx 4:20pm). Scope views showed pale grey, not white, plumage and black bill/eye. Streaked Shearwater in with big group of all brown shearwaters following a commercial fishing boat. Obviously brown above/white below combo and even at distance clearly bigger than the all brown shearwaters.
Tom Wilson 8/3 #272377
Thu 6Grey Ternlet & Shy Albatross
Mistral Point, Maroubra
A Grey Ternlet spent 40 minutes feeding like a storm petrel, very close to the shore. It was with Silver Gulls which were also feeding. Single Shy Albatross, Caspian Tern, and Arctic Jaegers were also seen.
David Mitford 6/3 #272375
Wed 5highlightOriental Cuckoo
Lane Cove National Park
One young bird flew over the river near boat shed north-west direction
Fatih Sam 5/3 #272371
Mon 3Blue-faced Honeyeater
Mount Kembla, garden
Trail cam capture. Still pulled from 15 second video. Visiting pond alongside 2 Crimson Rosellas
Tye Purnell 4/3 #272208
Pacific Swift
Eulah Creek
Flock of maybe 100 seen overhead around 8 this morning, near the junction of Eulah Creek Road and Box Gully Road, 20 km E of Narrabri.
Michael Dahlem 3/3 #272206
Sun 2Ground Parrot
Beecroft Weapons Range
2 individuals seen about 400 m apart feeding on grass heads on trail sides, about 300m from track head. Photos. eBird checklist
Jude Gillespie 2/3 #272205

February 2025
Fri 28Pacific Swift
Royal National Park--Wattamolla
A flock with a minimum of 15 birds seen early morning eBird checklist
Peter Stevens 19/3 #272400
Pacific Swift
Kurrajong Hills
A flock of 15+ birds flying north just before 0800 this morning in clear still conditions. This is only my 2nd site record in over twenty years, the previous being Apr 2018. Also present several Large-billed Scrubwrens, which have increased significantly here in the past 3 years, and last night the local juvenile Powerful Owl was calling. eBird checklist
Eric Finley 28/2 #272203
Thu 27Glossy Black Cockatoo
Crawford Rd, Cooranbong
Had a trio of Glossys fly over this morning just before 10am. Usually it's a pair but looks like they've successfully bred recently, which is great news. Also earlier in the week there were Needltails in small numbers around 8:30 flying directly north and quite low. Not feeding but just directly flying. This happened a few times around the same time and in different locations. I'm presuming they're migrating like that, as I've never seen that sort of behaviour from them before.
Paul Schofield 27/2 #272201
Wed 26Magpie Goose
Crowsnest Swamp, Coldstream River
5+ Magpie Geese perched on tall rushes and in flight, although not confirmed, behaviour suggests breeding. This is a regular behaviour with geese that regularly roost at Clarenza. When they disappear from that site geese turn up at the Coldstream, presumably the same ones, and when they return to Clarenza they are usually accompanied by juveniles.
Greg Clancy 28/2 #272202
Sanderling
Pelican Point, Norah Head
3 Sanderling foraging on rock platform amongst Red-neck Stints. (Moderator's Note: Sanderlings are rare visitors to the Central Coast LGA, last record was Feb. 2023 at Pelican Point. AKM)
Steve Bowman 26/2 #272200
Report
Outside normal range
Early arrival; late departure
Interesting behaviour
Threatened
Hard to see
Unusual habitat
Uncommon in area
Highlight
Rare
Endangered
Vagrant
Irruption
Unusual numbers
Mega
Rare vagrant
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