The twitches

After a bit of a break it was time to head out on a couple of twitches to try and add some ticks to the bird list. I've managed five attempts over the last several weeks with mixed results...

Twitch 1: Beach Stone-curlew, Orient Point, 180 km S

Orient Point

Emily accompanied me down to Orient Point on the coast near Nowra in search of a Beach Stone-curlew. Usually seen much further north, the odd one turns up in New South Wales and, in fact, I dipped on one a couple of years back in the Royal NP. Despite hanging around for about a week before I got there, it was a second dip and it's not been seen since. Birds 1 - Iain 0.

Australian Pelican

Grey Butcherbird

Twitch 2: White-throated Nightjar, North Turramurra, 30 km NW

Sphinx Memorial car park, North Turramurra

The White-throated Nightjars are summer visitors to the Sydney region and, although often heard, it's obviously a bit more difficult to actually see one. When you hear reports of birds flying over a particular car park at exactly 7.41pm every evening you clearly have to go and check it out. Lots of calling on the first night but no sighting and so, undeterred, we returned the next night and bagged one! White-throated Nightjar #440. Birds 1 - Iain 1.

Twitch 3: Black Bittern, Warriewood Wetlands, 30 km N

 Warriewood Wetlands

After a morning of wedding arrangements, Emily and I found ourselves a short distance from Warriewood on Sydney's Northern Beaches. A Black Bittern has been regularly seen in the small wetland reserve there and so it would have been rude not to drop in for a look. Admittedly most sightings have been early in the morning and the bird continues to be seen there but on this occasion, no sign. That one will keep though! Birds 2 - Iain 1.

Great Egret

Twitch 4: Arctic Tern, Newcastle, 160 km N

 Newcastle Nobby's Beach

An Arctic Tern then showed up in Newcastle on a rock platform in the middle of town. The decision to go for it was made easier by the fact that it was hanging out with a flock of 80 Common Terns which remarkably I hadn't ticked yet. The Common Terns are, as the name suggests, a common summer visitor but the Arctic variety is much more elusive down here. I arrived in Newcastle to find a gale blowing waves over the rocks and only a handful of hardy birds braving the wild weather. Although almost impossible to tell apart in non-breeding plumage, I'm pretty sure the little Arctic Tern wasn't one of them and the wind must have put it right off as it's not been seen since. At least a few Common Terns #441 decided to stick around and so a consolation tick into the book. Birds 3 - Iain 2.

(Nearly) All the terns - Crested, Common, and White-fronted (I think!)

Twitch 5: Franklin's Gull, Paynesville VIC, 740 km S

 Car park, Paynesville, Victoria

This was the mother of all twitches. A 1500 km round trip to get the Franklin's Gull which had just blown in from America. This would normally be a bit out of my range but such a rarity sitting on exactly the same rock every day for two weeks was surely worth the trip. Paul joined me as he's now getting alarmingly into the birding. Emily is far too sensible and stayed in Sydney.

 Pacific Gull

Pulling into the car park in Paynesville on Saturday afternoon and several twitchers were already there. The bird hadn't been seen yet but surely it was only a matter of time as it had showed up yesterday just as it always does. As the day wore on folk turned up from Adelaide, Newcastle, Melbourne, and the famous Gypsy Twitchers from no fixed abode who constantly roam Australia in a Landcruiser. By the end of the day there were about 25 people present, many from the highest echelons of Australian birding looking to break the magical 700 barrier. Esteemed company indeed! We all waited in that car park for the best part of two days and the bird didn't see it necessary to join the party. Paul and I were the last to leave just after 2pm on Sunday and the bird hasn't been seen since.   

 Platypus reserve, Bombala

On the way home we stopped off at a 'Platypus reserve' near Bombala as Paul hadn't seen them in the wild before. Lets just say that the Platypus is a much more obliging creature than the Franklin's Gull. Birds 4 - Iain 2. 

Platypus