Birdline NT 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.

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Recent Sightings

September 2010

Wed 8	Scarlet-chested Parrot 25deg 04.059'S 129deg 55.790'E After having spent two unsuccessful days searching at some of Ian Mays sites for Scarlet-chested Parrots, James and Alexander Watson gave up the search and were on their way home when they stopped the car to look at a Thorny Devil. Sheer luck because right there were five SCP's! The spot was at 25deg 04.059'S 129deg 55.790'E, 81.9 km west down the Docker River Road from its junction with the road to the Olgas. The habitat was burnt mulga and mallee. The permit to travel that road is easy to get at the Yulara visitors centre. James and Alexander Watson 8/9 #14598
Tue 7	Red Goshawk Mataranka At the nest site, we had great views of both birds - about 11:30 am. The one sitting - we believe the male- occasionally lifted itself and preened. Its mate suddenly swooped into view and landed on a branch quite close to us (about 40 metres from the nest.) She had a fresh 'kill' in her talons (I think a Peaceful Dove) and she proceeded to eat it while continually calling in between bites. The male occasionally answered. The female ate the whole dove and then cleaned herself. We watched the male fly off from the nest and then the female flew up and settled herself. This indicated to us that the egg/s have not yet hatched!!! Brian & Meg Johnson 8/9 #14596
Sun 5	Variegated Fairy-Wren (r: dulcis) Edith Falls - Leliyn Track Saw a pr on top of the escarpment on the track up to the top pools. Was surprised - did not expect to see them so far south. {Did look for them a week earlier on top of Gunlom but failed to find any}. Brian & Meg Johnson 8/9 #14597
Thu 2	Crested Shrike-tit Central Arnhem Highway Up to 3 birds seen near "Stuart Hwy 10 kms" sign on Mainoru Rd. Coords -14.5883 S, 132.7238 E Further information Tom Tarrant, Darryel 'Biggles' Binns 6/9 #14576

August 2010

Tue 31	Scarlet-chested Parrot Kaltukatjara On a recent trip to Central Australia, Pat and I discovered a local irruption of Scarlet-chested Parrot near Kaltukatjara, Northern Territory. Further information Pat and Ian May 2/9 #14533
Fri 27	Yellow-rumped Mannikin; White-quilled Rock Pigeon Escarpment Walk, Victoria Rver Crossing Family group of about 6 Yellow-rumped at base of walk in cane grass in creek bed, 2 Pigeons at top of walk on escarpement. Rob Burgoyne 28/8 #14455
Tue 24	Channel-billed Cuckoo - Immature Aurora Kakadu Resort AND Gungarre Walk First seen on the walk when calling, it was soon being fed by a crow. Back at the Resort about 5pm, saw the same thing again - being fed by a crow - have to assume the same bird (I could be wrong). This must mean either the adult Cuckoos over-wintered or their return is earlier than most suggest. Brian & Meg Johnson 28/8 #14453
Sun 22	Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo, Gull-billed Tern, Brown Goshawk, Crimson Chat Alice Springs Waste Stabilisation Ponds Full list Barbara Gilfedder 23/8 #14412
Fri 20	Cattle Egret Alice Springs Waste Stabilisation Ponds 5 birds well outside their recognised range; they have been seen for at least the last week. Full list Michael Green 20/8 #14385
Tue 17	Rufous Songlark Kings Canyon Photographed. One particular bird was hunting and singing along the walking track just near the base of the ridge climb.. Full list Rob Geraghty 29/8 #14459
Fri 13	Princess Parrot Update Mereenie - Mt Winter area The Central Land Council has just received detailed advice from traditional owners of the Mereenie - Mt Winter area. All permits for birdwatching for this area will be refused. Traditional owners have requested that police question all people visiting this region and determine if they have a valid permit. It is an offence under the land rights act to be on Aboriginal land without a valid permit. Hefty fines apply. A map of the restricted area can be found at http://www.clc.org.au/Permits/Map.pdf Further information Tim Dolby 13/8 #14327
Mon 9	Princess Parrot Permits Western NT I have just had a request from the Central Land Council to inform birders that the locations in which the Princess Parrots have been sighted is primarily on Aboriginal freehold land. To visit such areas without a special purpose permit is illegal under the Land Rights Act and incurs a hefty fine. The Central Land Council notes that at least 8 separate birding parties are currently heading to the Mt Winter area in the Haasts Bluff Aboriginal Land Trust and none have applied for a permit to do so. It should be noted that Aboriginal land is privately owned. Like other landowners in Australia , Aboriginal people have the legal right to grant or refuse permission to people wishing to enter or travel through their land. There are also areas that contains numerous sacred sites, including places that have gender-specific access restrictions. To apply for permits you should visit http://www.clc.org.au/Permits/permits.html Applications for a special purpose permit usually take several weeks or more to process and are not automatically granted. This is because the traditional owners for particular sites need to be identified and contacted as to their wishes. They may reside across a number of geographically distant communities. Further information Tim Dolby 9/8 #14306
Sat 7	Red Goshawk Bitter Springs Mataranka At Midday a single bird sitting on nest, stood to give us a good look Ken and Maureen Dredge 7/8 #14286
Fri 6	Princess Parrot Western NT We have located many hundreds, of Princess Parrots at various locations. From the observations so far, most birds are concentrated mainly within 4 or 5 areas however it is likely to be many more because our searching was somewhat restricted by difficult access. It is likely that there are many hundreds, probably thousands of birds spread over a much greater area than we could cover. When we return to Price SA next week I will post a complete report including coordinates and details of all our sightings. For those interested to have a look, two reasonably accessible areas offer high probability of locating birds if visited over a period of at least a day or two. Remember the hot weather will arrive soon and the current ideal conditions will almost certainly deteriorate quickly Please note; The following information refers to Map datum WGS 84. Coordinates are in Deg, min, sec. Time is Australian Central Standard The first location is the most south eastern population we encountered. First birds only approx. 17 km from the Meereenie Loop road at 23 56 04S, 131 22 28 E More than 100 birds scattered at various locations adjacent to and off the track for about 15 km traversing west to 23 59 01S, 131 14 08E. Approximately 65 km from Kings Canyon Resort. The birds can be found dispersed singly, in pairs and in small flocks of up to 20 frequenting open tall forest areas of Desert Oak and Eucalyptus (Bloodwood?). Many are found while feeding between dawn to about 11.00 and again from about 1500 until dusk At these times birds usually flush from the ground and fly about calling loudly often circling and settling again in nearby desert oaks. The other location offering reasonable access is approximately 60 km south west of Mt Liebig and 23 km WSW of Browns bore. Birds were scattered in pairs and flocks up to 20 birds encountered along about 7 km of track from 23 39 22S, 131 03 48E to 23 41 46S, 131 00 46E. Ian and Pat May per Tim Dolby 6/8 #14279

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