Black Bittern, Brown Goshawk

This morning I went for a walk through my local rainforest rehab plot to see what might turn up. Sadly, the council were mowing the park, so the noise prohibited birding by ear, and also meant it was unlikely I'd luck onto a Bush Hen. Butterflies were going crazy in the are, with hundreds of Blue Triangles flying around, as well as lots of other species present in smaller numbers. In the rainforest plot I did manage to see my first Golden Whistler for the season, and a family of Varied Trillers (dad, mum and several immatures) were chasing each other through the trees, calling like mad.

I came to the park for two species, and with Bush Hen being out of the question, thought I'd try my luck at Black Bittern. Heading up the creekline through the forest, I flushed something from down low which got my heart racing. When it perched in the canopy I realised it was a young Brown Goshawk, a year bird for me, but certainly no equal to bittern in terms of excitement. But all was not lost, as another hundred metres up the creek I put up a mid-sized dark bird from the edge of the water - Black Bittern! This is only my second record for the site. They move to the coast during the winter months, so I'm hopeful it might stick around for the season, but I guess we'll see.

After heading back out to the grassy area I skirted the new plantings and picked up a Leaden Flycatcher, another unusual bird for the area. All in all, a highly successful morning.

Total birds to date: 258

Photo 1: Varied Eggfly
Photo 2: Common Flatwing
Photo 3: Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Wildiaries trip report