I got really excited when I found out that birds of a whole genus, as well as some other species, had batrachotoxins in their feathers... have a read of this and see what you think:
Avian chemical defense: Toxic birds not of a feather
This certainly raises a lot of questions, but nonetheless is very interesting. There seems to be few articles or scientific journals about this on the internet, and I haven't had a chance to read many, but I am keen on developing some sort of bigger picture myself for my own interest. I will definitely post anything else that I find.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC34071/#__ffn_sectitle
Brandon
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Sunday, 19 April 2015
March 2015 in Bundaberg
March was very productive around Bundaberg with plenty of interesting and noteworthy birds being recorded. In our first month of Autumn, the weather showed no sign of cooling down as we were experiencing quite hot days for almost the whole month. I did not get out and about much this month so I have no reports of my own apart from the Square-tailed Kites which were still hanging around Walker St and the TAFE campus... one was even spotted over my house, which is a fair way from TAFE and is a new bird for my house list.
The first scheduled outing was to Garnett's Lagoon with an optional campout at the nearby Wongi State Forest. I could not attend this one, however being south of Bundaberg, this is generally a popular outing for the Hervey Bay birders as well. There wasn't much of a report for this outing, so I don't know exactly what was seen this weekend but I do know Wood Sandpipers were seen and that birds like Latham's Snipe, Glossy Ibis and Black-tailed Godwits are regular there in Summer. Wongi has some excellent birding and is usually good for Black-chinned Honeyeater, Varied Sittella, Fuscous Honeyeater among others, as well as some freshwater causeways do have White-throated Nightjars hawking over on dusk.
The second outing of March was a day trip to Moore Park and surrounds, lead by me. My main objective of the morning was to look for some button-quails that I had seen off Gengers Rd before. We never located any button-quails that morning probably because birding with a group is partially a contributing factor there. The habitat off Gengers Rd is quite moist with some parts of monsoon forest being generally good for some rainforest birds. It was a drizzly morning so bird activity started slow but picked up in between showers, and produced some cracking birds indeed, such as Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Shining Flycatcher, Azure Kingfisher, Dusky Myzomela, Black-faced and Spectacled Monarch. I was also surprised to hear an Australian Owlet-nightjar call from within the mangroves, which I have never encountered before. Other birds seen on this outing include Nankeen Night-Heron, Swamp Harrier, Brown Falcon and Brown Goshawk... overall a great morning.
A couple of the locals decided to head to Cordalba State Forest one morning and reported some nice birds. Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters are apparently in good numbers and Black-chinned Honeyeaters are present. Cuckoos recorded include Brush, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, and Little and Shining Bronze-Cuckoos. Red-tailed, Yellow-tailed and Glossy Block Cockatoos were also seen that morning which is a pleasing sighting.
Some of the other birders have been scouting the area recently, including Chris Barnes who has been visiting the Port almost weekly. A Pectoral Sandpiper was found again, the Asian Dowitchers have still been around (presumably moving between Burnett Heads and our survey site with the tides) and plenty of Fork-tailed Swifts in the sky from the few storm fronts we've had. Two Brolgas have also turned up briefly, it appears and a Peregrine Falcon likes to perch on top of the huge sugar sheds. Chris says the resident Grey Goshawks have been making regular appearances over the Botanic Gardens recently and the Peregrines that have bred in the CBD in previous years are back and can be usually seen of an afternoon flying and calling anywhere from the main street. So, that's basically March in a nutshell... looking forward to posting next month's snippets.
Brandon
The first scheduled outing was to Garnett's Lagoon with an optional campout at the nearby Wongi State Forest. I could not attend this one, however being south of Bundaberg, this is generally a popular outing for the Hervey Bay birders as well. There wasn't much of a report for this outing, so I don't know exactly what was seen this weekend but I do know Wood Sandpipers were seen and that birds like Latham's Snipe, Glossy Ibis and Black-tailed Godwits are regular there in Summer. Wongi has some excellent birding and is usually good for Black-chinned Honeyeater, Varied Sittella, Fuscous Honeyeater among others, as well as some freshwater causeways do have White-throated Nightjars hawking over on dusk.
The second outing of March was a day trip to Moore Park and surrounds, lead by me. My main objective of the morning was to look for some button-quails that I had seen off Gengers Rd before. We never located any button-quails that morning probably because birding with a group is partially a contributing factor there. The habitat off Gengers Rd is quite moist with some parts of monsoon forest being generally good for some rainforest birds. It was a drizzly morning so bird activity started slow but picked up in between showers, and produced some cracking birds indeed, such as Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Shining Flycatcher, Azure Kingfisher, Dusky Myzomela, Black-faced and Spectacled Monarch. I was also surprised to hear an Australian Owlet-nightjar call from within the mangroves, which I have never encountered before. Other birds seen on this outing include Nankeen Night-Heron, Swamp Harrier, Brown Falcon and Brown Goshawk... overall a great morning.
A couple of the locals decided to head to Cordalba State Forest one morning and reported some nice birds. Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters are apparently in good numbers and Black-chinned Honeyeaters are present. Cuckoos recorded include Brush, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, and Little and Shining Bronze-Cuckoos. Red-tailed, Yellow-tailed and Glossy Block Cockatoos were also seen that morning which is a pleasing sighting.
Some of the other birders have been scouting the area recently, including Chris Barnes who has been visiting the Port almost weekly. A Pectoral Sandpiper was found again, the Asian Dowitchers have still been around (presumably moving between Burnett Heads and our survey site with the tides) and plenty of Fork-tailed Swifts in the sky from the few storm fronts we've had. Two Brolgas have also turned up briefly, it appears and a Peregrine Falcon likes to perch on top of the huge sugar sheds. Chris says the resident Grey Goshawks have been making regular appearances over the Botanic Gardens recently and the Peregrines that have bred in the CBD in previous years are back and can be usually seen of an afternoon flying and calling anywhere from the main street. So, that's basically March in a nutshell... looking forward to posting next month's snippets.
Brandon
Monday, 2 March 2015
February 2015 in Bundaberg
Birding in Bundaberg this month was rather quiet, however most birding that I did involved waders... I haven't really had the motivation this summer to do some bush birding but I'm looking forward to doing so soon when the weather cools down. Earlier in the month we port surveyors were allowed to hold a shorebird identification day at the port's survey site. This was following a short outing to Gorman's Park for anyone that was interested. For many of the people who attended their best interest was seeing the Pectoral and Broad-billed Sandpipers that have been present lately. And while we all tried to find them, it wasn't until we were doing the survey and most people had left did we find the birds.
Earlier in the month a young British birder, Ros Green, visited Bundaberg as she was travelling up eastern Australia. It was organised that I show her around the area, and it was the least I could do as I helped her gain 50+ new birds! A Common Noddy on the coast was presumably a result of the miserable weather that day. But despite the weather it was a good day, and it's always great to show new people around this area.
It was very sad news on February 11 that we inevitably lost one of birding's greats, Trevor Quested, who fell victim to MND. He had been a mentor to me and many others, he was revered and will be remembered for his kind heart and incredible knowledge. RIP Trevor.
Since starting TAFE this month I have been seeing a resident pair of Square-tailed Kites, which are generally uncommon locally except for this regular pair that frequent this part of Bundaberg. Also while scouting the region, two Wood Sandpipers appeared at the wetland on Hermans Rd as well as Latham's Snipe as usual.
Later this month Cyclone Marcia threatened the region but missed, however Yeppoon and Rockhampton copped the direct hit. Although, we still had plenty of storm activity to blow in some unusual birds with Great Frigatebirds, shearwaters and offshore terns being reported along the coasts. And at Burnett Heads we also had two Asian Dowitchers appear after the storms, which were a surprise! That's all for February and I hope March is more productive.
Brandon
Earlier in the month a young British birder, Ros Green, visited Bundaberg as she was travelling up eastern Australia. It was organised that I show her around the area, and it was the least I could do as I helped her gain 50+ new birds! A Common Noddy on the coast was presumably a result of the miserable weather that day. But despite the weather it was a good day, and it's always great to show new people around this area.
It was very sad news on February 11 that we inevitably lost one of birding's greats, Trevor Quested, who fell victim to MND. He had been a mentor to me and many others, he was revered and will be remembered for his kind heart and incredible knowledge. RIP Trevor.
Since starting TAFE this month I have been seeing a resident pair of Square-tailed Kites, which are generally uncommon locally except for this regular pair that frequent this part of Bundaberg. Also while scouting the region, two Wood Sandpipers appeared at the wetland on Hermans Rd as well as Latham's Snipe as usual.
Later this month Cyclone Marcia threatened the region but missed, however Yeppoon and Rockhampton copped the direct hit. Although, we still had plenty of storm activity to blow in some unusual birds with Great Frigatebirds, shearwaters and offshore terns being reported along the coasts. And at Burnett Heads we also had two Asian Dowitchers appear after the storms, which were a surprise! That's all for February and I hope March is more productive.
Brandon
Sunday, 1 March 2015
January 2015 in Bundaberg
January has been quite an exciting month around Bundaberg and the Wide Bay, with lifers a plenty to keep one satisfied and numerous interesting sightings being reported around the region. My new years was spent at Tinnanbar, one of many significant wader roosting sites along our coast, which got the year going with some cracking birds.
Sunday the following weekend was spent at the Bundaberg Port where I and a few of the other local birders conduct monthly fauna surveys of the port's spoil ponds. The surveys are conducted according to the high tide as, in particular, monitoring the numbers of waders utilising the ponds are our best interest. The Broad-billed Sandpipers that had been present for the last couple of months were still here, and in addition a Pectoral Sandpiper was identified from a group of more common and very similar Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. Also of interest at the port were two Black-tailed Godwits, which were seen earlier in the morning. I usually check a lagoon on Rubyanna Rd on the way to the surveys every month, and this time in particular - the Black-necked Storks and Glossy Ibis were still present as they have for the past month or two.
Also, this week saw a fellow young birder from Sydney, Ashwin Rudder, visit Bundy. It was a pleasure meeting him and, although briefly, showing him around. On the afternoon of his arrival, we were joined by Jack Moorhead to stake out some target birds at Burnett Heads, and while there Brown Noddy was seen as well as a Common Sandpiper. This relatively uncommon Sandpiper seems to be making a regular route to Bundaberg. Also, Burnett Heads has also had Beach Stone-Curlews quite regularly reported earlier in the year, a target bird for Ashwin, but didn't find any that afternoon...
A boat trip organised by the club provided a great opportunity for many to see some seabirds and other birds of the region otherwise restricted to the sand islands and cays in the Barrier Reef. This was a few peoples' first oceanic birding trip and Birdlife Bundaberg's first official boat trip, and it was enjoyed by all who came aboard. Some of the birds that were lifers to me and many others on the boat were Black Noddy, Great Frigatebird, Wandering Tattler, Sooty Tern, Roseate Tern and Streaked Shearwater. And among these were other great birds certainly of interest and noteworthy for the Bundaberg region, such as Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Bridled Tern, Black-naped Tern and Beach Stone-Curlew.
One particular evening I did some spotlighting at dusk at the marsh at the bottom of the hill at Kirby's Rd, and just before dusk a Black Bittern flew over the road, also an uncommon sight in the area. This month proved to be a fantastic start to the year...
Brandon
Sunday the following weekend was spent at the Bundaberg Port where I and a few of the other local birders conduct monthly fauna surveys of the port's spoil ponds. The surveys are conducted according to the high tide as, in particular, monitoring the numbers of waders utilising the ponds are our best interest. The Broad-billed Sandpipers that had been present for the last couple of months were still here, and in addition a Pectoral Sandpiper was identified from a group of more common and very similar Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. Also of interest at the port were two Black-tailed Godwits, which were seen earlier in the morning. I usually check a lagoon on Rubyanna Rd on the way to the surveys every month, and this time in particular - the Black-necked Storks and Glossy Ibis were still present as they have for the past month or two.
Also, this week saw a fellow young birder from Sydney, Ashwin Rudder, visit Bundy. It was a pleasure meeting him and, although briefly, showing him around. On the afternoon of his arrival, we were joined by Jack Moorhead to stake out some target birds at Burnett Heads, and while there Brown Noddy was seen as well as a Common Sandpiper. This relatively uncommon Sandpiper seems to be making a regular route to Bundaberg. Also, Burnett Heads has also had Beach Stone-Curlews quite regularly reported earlier in the year, a target bird for Ashwin, but didn't find any that afternoon...
A boat trip organised by the club provided a great opportunity for many to see some seabirds and other birds of the region otherwise restricted to the sand islands and cays in the Barrier Reef. This was a few peoples' first oceanic birding trip and Birdlife Bundaberg's first official boat trip, and it was enjoyed by all who came aboard. Some of the birds that were lifers to me and many others on the boat were Black Noddy, Great Frigatebird, Wandering Tattler, Sooty Tern, Roseate Tern and Streaked Shearwater. And among these were other great birds certainly of interest and noteworthy for the Bundaberg region, such as Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Bridled Tern, Black-naped Tern and Beach Stone-Curlew.
One particular evening I did some spotlighting at dusk at the marsh at the bottom of the hill at Kirby's Rd, and just before dusk a Black Bittern flew over the road, also an uncommon sight in the area. This month proved to be a fantastic start to the year...
Brandon
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