2014 Has Been Another Good Year in the Ballarat Area with Around 200 Species Being Seen

2014 has been another good year in the Ballarat area with around 200 species being seen. The usual suspects have been out and about and many members have added to total

This past year Roger and Helen continued recording the birds they observed in the 40 km Ballarat area. Ian downsized to 10kms around Allendale and Murray counted the birds seen from his FussellSt home. Members of the Ballarat branch took part in the Challenge Bird Count & four of our monthly outings took place within our 40km area.

Roger not only counted birds seen for the year but also for each month, in December Roger recorded 175 species for the month, this is a very impressive achievement for one observer. In all Roger recorded 194 species for the year within our 40km area. This included a new bird for the recording area a Pied Butcherbird.

Helen recorded 175 species for the year and remember Helen does not drive so she can’t just nip out for short birding trips.

Ian kept a district list as well as his Allendale list and recorded 183 species in the 40km area and 139 species within 10kms of home.

Murray recorded 75 species from his garden, most impressive was Murray’s total of 15 species of Raptor. Not many of us can get so many species from such a small area.

The Challenge Bird Count was held on the 7thDecember.Seventeen members consisting of five teams took part in the count. Between us we recorded 160 species and counted 12,534 individual birds. I think this is the highest number of species recorded in one day in the Ballarat district.

During the process of collating the results I thought I would check out the rules, I was horrified to find that the count was supposed to be within a 25km radius not 40kms!At some point in the past the size of the recording area had been changed, and had gone unnoticed in Ballarat (who reads rules). I queried this change and was informed that all was OK and so I sent in the results. From memory the history of the counts includes a challenge against an American city and the radius was 25miles, or just over 40kms, so somewhere things have been confused.

You always miss some species on such a count and 2014 was no exception, the ones that got away included,

Darter, Collared Sparrowhawk, Little Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Black-chinned Honeyeater, Hooded Robin, Rufous and Brown Songlarks.

Some of these species were seen just before or after the count!

In the past two years we have tried to cover more of our 40kms and so for the second year in a row we have visited the Wombat forest and recorded Cicadabird, this species has been proven to have bred, by taking part in this yearly count we attempt to keep pace with the changes within our area. To cover the whole 40kms we will require even more members to take part, so remember remember the first weekend in December, and keep it free.

Results of the 2014 Challenge Bird Count

Musk Duck / 36
Freckled Duck / 6
Black Swan / 197
Australian Shelduck / 47
Australian Wood Duck / 233
Pink-eared Duck / 2000
Australasian Shoveler / 10
Grey Teal / 2171
Chestnut Teal / 9
Pacific Black Duck / 254
Hardhead / 60
Blue-billed Duck / 111
Australasian Grebe / 17
Hoary-headed Grebe / 133
Great Crested Grebe / 25
Rock Dove * / 1
Spotted Dove * / 2
Common Bronzewing / 9
Brush Bronzewing / 1
Crested Pigeon / 27
Peaceful Dove / 7
Tawny Frogmouth / 4
Little Pied Cormorant / 73
Great Cormorant / 60
Little Black Cormorant / 11
Pied Cormorant / 1
Australian Pelican / 268
White-necked Heron / 14
Eastern Great Egret / 3
Cattle Egret / 4
White-faced Heron / 22
Australian White Ibis / 163
Straw-necked Ibis / 7
Royal Spoonbill / 2
Yellow-billed Spoonbill / 5
Black-shouldered Kite / 3
Whistling Kite / 5
Black Kite / 4
Brown Goshawk / 4
Grey Goshawk / 4
Swamp Harrier / 2
Wedge-tailed Eagle / 8
Nankeen Kestrel / 2
Brown Falcon / 5
Australian Hobby / 2
Brolga / 1
Purple Swamphen / 86
Baillon's Crake / 1
Australian Spotted Crake / 1
Spotless Crake / 1
Black-tailed Native-hen / 12
Dusky Moorhen / 41
Eurasian Coot / 2329
Black-winged Stilt / 25
Red-necked Avocet / 200
Red-capped Plover / 2
Black-fronted Dotterel / 1
Red-kneed Dotterel / 4
Masked Lapwing / 68
Latham's Snipe / 5
Red-necked Stint / 35
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper / 49
Caspian Tern / 1
Whiskered Tern / 38
Silver Gull / 205
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo / 8
Galah / 199
Long-billed Corella / 419
Little Corella / 4
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo / 116
Rainbow Lorikeet / 12
Musk Lorikeet / 163
Crimson Rosella / 74
Eastern Rosella / 63
Red-rumped Parrot / 72
Blue-winged Parrot / 13
Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo / 1
Shining Bronze-Cuckoo / 4
Pallid Cuckoo / 1
Fan-tailed Cuckoo / 2
Laughing Kookaburra / 18
Sacred Kingfisher / 2
Rainbow Bee-eater / 6
White-throated Treecreeper / 24
Brown Treecreeper / 25
Superb Fairy-wren / 94
White-browed Scrubwren / 30
Striated Fieldwren / 1
Speckled Warbler / 1
Weebill / 9
Striated Thornbill / 11
Yellow-rumped Thornbill / 43
Buff-rumped Thornbill / 24
Brown Thornbill / 28
Spotted Pardalote / 4
Striated Pardalote / 24
Eastern Spinebill / 4
Yellow-faced Honeyeater / 49
White-eared Honeyeater / 4
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater / 7
Fuscous Honeyeater / 15
White-plumed Honeyeater / 8
Noisy Miner / 6
Red Wattlebird / 54
White-fronted Chat / 3
Crescent Honeyeater / 1
New Holland Honeyeater / 19
Brown-headed Honeyeater / 17
White-naped Honeyeater / 68
Blue-faced Honeyeater / 8
White-browed Babbler / 30
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike / 15
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike / 3
Cicadabird / 1
White-winged Triller / 4
Crested Shrike-tit / 4
Golden Whistler / 17
Rufous Whistler / 25
Grey Shrike-thrush / 34
Crested Bellbird / 1
Olive-backed Oriole / 3
White-browed Woodswallow / 3
Dusky Woodswallow / 47
Grey Butcherbird / 3
Australian Magpie / 264
Pied Currawong / 3
Grey Currawong / 13
Rufous Fantail / 1
Grey Fantail / 55
Willie Wagtail / 10
Australian Raven / 5
Little Raven / 209
Satin Flycatcher / 21
Restless Flycatcher / 4
Magpie-lark / 95
White-winged Chough / 32
Jacky Winter / 5
Scarlet Robin / 5
Red-capped Robin / 2
Eastern Yellow Robin / 20
Horsfield's Bushlark / 1
Eurasian Skylark * / 18
Golden-headed Cisticola / 2
Australian Reed-Warbler / 77
Little Grassbird / 2
Silvereye / 12
Welcome Swallow / 155
Fairy Martin / 48
Tree Martin / 30
Bassian Thrush / 1
Common Blackbird * / 75
Common Starling * / 141
Common Myna * / 3
Mistletoebird / 8
Red-browed Finch / 20
Diamond Firetail / 2
House Sparrow * / 59
Australasian Pipit / 12
European Goldfinch * / 35
Common Greenfinch * / 4
Total / 12534

A reminder that if you have any queries regarding your sightings or you have seen something that you think is rare or unusual, do seek advice from our moderators Roger Thomas and Murray Grant. If your sightings are questioned at the meetings please take it in the spirit of improvement and accuracy and not as a put down.Become familier with our local species.

The following is a list of species that should always be reported if seen, they are all rare or very uncommon in our area. Some are unlikely. The rest are unlikely in gardens or around town, some could be escapees. Some are extinct in our recording area and are not likely at all! If possible report your record to Roger or Murraybefore a meeting.

King Quail
Magpie Goose
Plumed Whistling-Duck
Cape Barren Goose
Northern Mallard
White-headed Pigeon
Diamond Dove
Superb Fruit-Dove
White-throated Nightjar
Spotted Nightjar
Pied Cormorant
Australasian Bittern
Australian Little Bittern
Intermediate Egret
Little Egret
Glossy Ibis
Letter-winged Kite
Lewin's Rail
Buff-banded Rail
Baillon's Crake
Spotless Crake
Australian Bustard
Bush Stone-curlew
Double-banded Plover
Oriental Plover
Plains-wanderer
Australian Painted Snipe
Bar-tailed Godwit
Little Curlew
Eastern Curlew
Common Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Marsh Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Red-necked Stint
Long-toed Stint
Pectoral Sandpiper
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
Ruff
Red-chested Button-quail
Little Button-quail
White-winged Black Tern
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo
Major Mitchell's Cockatoo
Cockatiel
Australian King-Parrot
Elegant Parrot
Turquoise Parrot
Eastern Koel
Barking Owl
Azure Kingfisher
Red-backed Kingfisher
Dollarbird
Satin Bowerbird
Chestnut-rumped Heathwren
Western Gerygone
White-throated Gerygone
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
Singing Honeyeater
Yellow-plumed Honeyeater
White-fronted Honeyeater
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater
Little Wattlebird
Regent Honeyeater
Crimson Chat
Black Honeyeater
Scarlet Honeyeater
Tawny-crowned Honeyeater
Noisy Friarbird
Little Friarbird
Cicadabird
Olive Whistler
Gilbert's Whistler
White-breasted Woodswallow
Black-faced Woodswallow
Pied Butcherbird
Leaden Flycatcher
Restless Flycatcher
Jacky Winter
Red-capped Robin
Pink Robin
White-backed Swallow
Song Thrush
Zebra Finch
European Tree Sparrow

Accuracy is important, note the habitat, is it right for the species, a brief description of the bird, check your field guide and its maps.