Australia - New South Wales : Nov 2024 - Part 1

To date, I have done two proper birding trips to Queensland Australia, once to area west of Brisbane and another up to the wet tropics around Daintree area, and both trips had been an unforgettable experience. Having only been near the coast, many of the more inland species have eluded me so far, I knew a trip further inland will certainly get me a good list of lifers. Captain suggested a trip in November 2024 to Sydney, and put me in charge of planning the itinerary, so I had to include some iconic inland birds! Namely Plains Wanderer, Splendid Fairy-wren, Painted Honeyeater, Greater Bluebonnet, Superb Parrot and many more. I plan for us to briefly do two days near Sydney and drive inland towards Griffith and Deniliquin, stepping over to Victoria briefly at Chiltern on the return journey.

As there were 7 of us in total, we had to book 2 cars. We decided to book with Budget Car Rental and got 2 large 4x4, as we expect some of the sections in the national parks to be slightly off-road. Car rental in Australia is considerably cheaper than in the UK, only costing us a little over 4,000HKD per car for 10 days. For hotels we booked a mixture of Air B&B and Hotels, depending on the availability of the town we stayed in. My parents decided to join in for our first two days of the trip, meeting us in Sydney to bird with us before heading off towards Tasmania for an extended trip on their own. So, on November 1st we flew to Sydney and landed on the morning of November 2nd.

Day 1 - Sydney

Our plane landed on time in Sydney, but getting through customs took forever, as the new electronic ETA system only worked for some of us in the group, a few (me included) were given a run around to different queues by different airport staffs which wasted us a lot of time. In the end it took us nearly 2 hours from getting off the plane to getting our luggages. Car rental was fairly straight forward, and we were able to get going by 11:30am. We met my parents for lunch and started birding almost straight away. At a little urban park we had a confiding Grey Butcherbird and a couple of common parkland birds.

Grey Butcherbird

I contacted Ian Mo, a local birder in Sydney whom I met in Hong Kong last year, he knew a few sites for Powerful Owls around Sydney, he was very kind to scout out a few locations around noon and messaged me that he found an adult with a juvenile at one of his sites! We drove there immediately after lunch and got on the bird straight away, the juvenile showed especially well, as it curiously eyes us from above, while the adult only gave us half-hearted looks. Powerful Owl was a bird I have dreamt of seeing since I first looked through the field guide of Australian birds, having failed to see them twice, I was very happy to finally connect with this majestic looking creature. Since Ian did not have time to bird with us, we said our thanks and bid our goodbyes, I certainly hope to return the favour one day when he visits Hong Kong again!

Powerful Owl - juvenile

Powerful Owl - adult

Having bagged our first major target within hours of landing, we met up with Mike Kilburn, a birding friend who moved to Sydney two years ago. He decided to show us around Bicentennial Coastal Walk near Long Reef, one of his favourite local patch near him. We quickly got a good number of common species onto our trip list, including Australian Pelicans, Silver Gulls and Red Wattlebirds to name a few.

Australian Pelican

Silver Gull

Red Wattlebird

Further on we walked down towards the rocky platform, which was exposed during the low tide, we were given fantastic flight views of many Short-tailed Shearwaters! Some flew right close to the shore. Mike even scoped a distant Black-browed Albatross for us! A few Australian Gannets also drifted past, not a bad list of pelagic species from ashore! We even had fantastic views of breaching Humpbacked Whales in the distant, what a treat it was!

Short-tailed Shearwater

Black-browed Albatross

Australian Gannet

Humpbacked Whale

Along the beach were a few dead Short-tailed Shearwaters, which Mike said this was a common sight in Sydney, the beach was also littered with many Blue Bottle Jellyfish, also known as Portuguese Man ‘O War.

Short-tailed Shearwater carcass

Portuguese Man ‘O War

On the rocky platform we scanned for waders and other waterbirds, a few Pied Cormorants were present, together with a flock of Greater Crested Terns and Caspian Terns which allowed close views. An Osprey was seen carrying a fish directly overhead.

Pied Cormorant

Great Crested Tern

Caspian Tern

Osprey

A flock of Ruddy Turnstones and Pacific Golden Plovers were spotted, a few Grey-tailed Tattlers were also present. Only a flock of distant Red-necked Stints made up for the rest of the small waders present, we scanned for other waders but had no luck. 

Ruddy Turnstone

Pacific Golden Plover

Grey-tailed Tattler

Back on the golf course we added a good selection of common birds, such as Masked Lapwings, Chestnut Teals, Australian Swamphen, Dusky Moorhen, White-faced Heron and Little Pied Cormorant. Mike pished in a Little Grassbird but it never showed itself fully.

Masked Lapwing

Chestnut Teal

Australian Swamphen

Dusky Moorhen

White-faced Heron

Little Pied Cormorant

On the lawn, a Willie Wagtail came in at touching distance. a flock of Little Corellas were feeding, which allowed very close views. The best find for Mike was probably a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, a first for his local patch! All in all, a very lovely half day out with a good selection of birds. After dinner we headed to our Air B&B, which was a nicely furnished three storey house.

Willie Wagtail

Little Corella

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Day 2 - Royal National Park

We departed at 5:45am, grabbed some breakfast at a nearby supermarket and drove south towards Royal National Park. Our first location was a bit further on to Maddens Plains, where I hope to find Southern Emu-wren. Conditions weren’t favourable, as it was a very windy morning, but we tried looking in suitable habitats. We had very few birds at first, most species seen but unable to photograph, only a single Olive Oriole gave us a good look.

Maddens Plains

Olive Oriole

At the small pond we added a confding Pacific Heron and a few Maned Ducks. A few colourful parrots came through, in form of Eastern Rosellas, probably the prettiest of the Rosellas in my opinion.

Pacific Heron

Maned Duck

Eastern Rosella

After some effort, I finally located a few Southern Emu-wrens! One of my top target species of the trip! Males were exquisite looking with bright blue throat and orange brown head and neck, while females lacks the bluish throat.  Unsurprisingly they were extremely difficult to photograph, after an hour of trying we only ended up with some record photos, but it was a good lifer for everyone. A Black-shouldered Kite came by briefly and gave close flight views.

Southern Emu-wren - male

Southern Emu-wren - female

Black-shouldered Kite

After our morning session at Maddens Plains, we drove back towards Royal National Park to meet Mike there, he decided to bird along Lady Carrington Drive with us. After a spot of lunch and seeing many Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Australian Ravens looking through the bins for food, we headed onto the trail.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Australian Raven

The trail along the river provides a nice range of habitats, where on one side of the trail you get a strip of wet forest and the other side drier forest, making for an interesting area to bird. Not long after we started on the trail, a flurry of birds were added, including the fabulous looking Green Catbird, energetic Grey Fantails, and Lewin’s Honeyeaters by the dozens.

Lady Carrington Drive

Green Catbird

Grey Fantail

Lewin's Honeyeater

An Eastern Whipbird made an appearance after announcing its presence by their charismatic and explosive call, one of my favourite bird calls of the forest in Australia. Eastern Yellow Robins were added, these birds are never shy and posed nicely for photos. A few Eastern Spinebills were seen briefly, together with Black-faced Monarchs, but I failed to get any decent photo of the latter, so I will spare you with my rubbish record shot.

Eastern Whipbird

Eastern Yellow Robin

Eastern Spinebill

A flock of birds came through, in form of a few White-throated Treecreepers together with a beautiful pair of Golden Whistler, the male being quite a lot more colourful than the female. Quite a few Brown Gerygones and Brown Thornbills were also present, all species I have seen before, but nice to catchup with again.

White-throated Treecreeper

Golden Whistler - male

Golden Whistler - female

Brown Gerygone

Brown Thornbill

Star birds of the morning were however a pair of  Superb Lyrebirds that put on quite a show, though both of them were juveniles, it was still exciting to see this Australian endemic, and for me to complete the two species of Lyrebirds having seen Albert’s Lyrebird in Queensland.

Superb Lyrebird - juvenile

Along the stream a confiding Laughing Kookaburra and Sacred Kingfisher allowed good views. We also added Little Black Cormorant basking in the sun. An Azure Kingfisher added a bit of excitement for everyone, though that was a bit further away.

Laughing Kookaburra

Sacred Kingfisher

Little Black Cormorant

Azure Kingfisher

Other than birds, we had a few Eastern Short-necked Turtles on the river and a Dark-flecked Garden Sunskink to give a bit of variety in the wildlife.

Eastern Short-necked Turtle

Dark-flecked Garden Sunskink

We listened out for Rockwarblers but got nothing, Mike have seen them along suitable habitats here, but there was no sign of them. A Bassian Thrush feeding along the road gave everyone a good look, having seen Russet-tailed Thrush before, it was interesting to see the other species, which supposedly have less prominent white edges on the wing bars, and it certainly seem to be the case when I compared the photos.

Bassian Thrush

Both Superb and Variegated Fairywrens were occasionally seen along the track, both species showed well. Seeing a Fairywren is absolutely thrilling no matter how many times you have seen them, and these iconic Australian birds are often not shy! Although that doesn't make them any easier to photograph, as they are quick on their feet!

Superb Fairywren - male

Variegated Fairywren - male

On our way back we had a flock of Australian King-Parrots feeding low down! This species though fairly common, are absolute stunners, I always enjoy seeing this colourful parrot.

Australian King Parrot - male

Having not seen any Rockwarblers, I suggested we head towards Wattamolla to look for them. The scenery there was outstanding, with interesting rock formations along the coastal cliffs. New Holland Honeyeater was the dominant species here. 

New Holland Honeyeater

Various Variegated Fairywrens were spotted, and Mike found a Nankeen Kestrel perched on the edge of the cliff. An Australian Water Dragon was also seen along here. We walked a loop with no Rockwarbler in sight, so we called it a day and headed back into Sydney.

Variegated Fairywren

Nankeen Kestrel - female

Australian Water Dragon

Day 3 - Mount York, Lake Wallace & Blue Mountain National Park

Having dipped on Rockwarbler the previous day, I asked Ian for help to see if he knows any good Rockwarbler site, and he suggested Mount York west of Blue Mountain National Park. We decided to give that a go and headed out early morning, on the way up I had an immature Crimson Rosella close by, it was in the process of moulting into its adult plumage, which explains its greenish back.

Crimson Rosella - immature

Once we got there, things were awfully quiet, being such a windy day, it wasn't easy listening out for birds and seeing small movements in trees. We listened out for any Spotted Quailthrush but had nothing. Having had no luck along the road for almost an hour, we walked through the small trail leading to the rocky formations near the summit to try for Rockwarblers. Although the wind was quieter here, there weren't that many birds around, with a few White-browed Scrubwren being the only photographable birds for me.

White-browed Scrubwren - male

White-browed Scrubwren - female

While everyone else took a rest on the rocky platform, Hoiling and I decided to walk around to see if we can find the Rockwarblers, as we are now in its prime habitat. After some search I finally heard their distinctive shrill! I followed the sound and soon had it in view singing on a branch above, which I did not expect as I always thought of them as ground dwelling birds. I photographed the bird as Hoiling rushed back to tell the rest of the group, and soon we were all looking at this New South Wales endemic! Which was no doubt the highlight of the entire morning!

Rockwarbler - Bird of the morning!

As we made our way back to our cars, a pair of Varied Sittellas made an appearance, this weird nuthatch like bird was once considered to be part of the Nuthatch family, which they resemble almost perfectly. They are however not related at all, and now placed in a family of their own, perfect example of convergence evolution! Before we left we added a female Leaden Flycatcher.

Varied Sittella

Leaden Flycatcher - female

After a successfully getting the Rockwarblers, we made our way towards Lake Wallace, hoping to find some ducks and waterbirds. The caravan carpark was full of Galahs and we also added a few Red-rumped Parrots upon arrival.

Galah

Red-rumped Parrot - male

The edge of the lake was filled with Maned Ducks and a few common species such as Pacific Black Ducks and Grey Teals. Australian Swamphen and Eurasian Coot were both in good numbers. A few Great Crested Grebes were also seen on the lake.

Maned Duck

Australian Swamphen

Eurasian Coot

Great Crested Grebe

Australian Reed Warblers were plentiful here, we had many of them singing in the reedbed and a few decided to show themselves to us, the last one showed especially well. A few Magpie-lark walked by us and everyone took some good photos of this common and widespread species, this weird Australian bird have now been reclassified as a monarch.

Australian Reed Warbler

Magpie-lark

The best birds were no doubt up to 6 different Musk Ducks all feeding along the bank of the lake at close range. This bizzare looking duck is unique to Australia, and look like no other duck! They have a weird bill shape that is almost conical, with a body structure more closely resembling a Cormorant. Males in breeding usually have a lobe hanging beneath its bill, but either all the ducks we saw were females or they just weren't in breeding, none of them had the black lobe, either way it was still interesting to see this species up close.

Musk Duck

After lunch, we tried our luck at Blue Mountain National Park, this is a known birding and tourist spot, especially near Katoomba. However, nothing prepared us for the emergence of the Green Grocers, which apparently is having a 'boom year' emerging in great numbers. Their sounds were deafening to say the least. There were no birds to be found anywhere while we were around the Blue Mountain area, the only few birds we found were Brown Thornbills. Research have shown that loud unison call of the cicadas may deter birds, as birds (as well as humans) may find the sound to be painful to the ear! In the end, we had no choice but to end our day early as there simply were no birds to be found, and our ears started hurting after a while...

Echo Point Lookout - Overlooking Three Sisters of Blue Mountain

Green Grocer (Masked Devil) - truly an evil culprit that ruined our birding!

Brown Thornbill

That evening, we decided to go out for a bit of spotlighting, Ian gave me a spot in Sydney to try. Our main target was the Southern Boobook, which is a fairly common and widespread species in Australia, although none of us have ever seen this species. We started off with lots of Common Ring-tailed Possums, of various colours and sizes.

Common Ring-tailed Possum

After over an hour of searching and hearing nothing, we were just about to give up, when we finally heard the call of the Southern Boobook! Following the call, we were able to pinpoint it with aid of the infrared camera, and it showed beautifully! A wonderful bird to end our day and good enough to makeup for the lost afternoon.

Southern Boobook