A fairly quiet week saw a trickle of birds still moving east over the Obs where peak daily counts included 360 Masked Woodswallows on 4^th, 200 Budgerigars also on 4^th and 220 Zebra Finches on 6^th, in contrast to this continued passage wader visible migration out of the Bay seems to have dried up completely with the last few breeding plumaged Red Knots gradually disappearing, I’ll write a summary of this year’s migration watch in the next few days.

An adult Yellow Chat with a juvenile in tow was seen out on the saltmarsh on 2^nd (just) within walking distance of the Malurus Trail, hopefully indicating that they have bred out there (somewhere) during the last few months and once the plains dry up a bit more we’ll be able to get out far enough to be able to see some more – watch this space if you’re interested in a Yellow Chat twitch next month.

Roebuck Plains continued to produce most of the sightings this week with the rapidly drying out pools creating some impressive concentrations of waterbirds including counts of 85 Australian Pelican, 30 Jabiru, 20 Royal Spoonbills and triple figures of Great Egret and Little Egret with other birds mixed in with them such as 4+ White-necked Herons, 2 or 3 Intermediate Egrets and the last few Sharp-tailed Sandpipers hanging on.

Another Grey Fantail visited the bird baths this week and Red-tailed Black Cockatoo sightings have started to pick up while at the sewage works there is still no room for any other birds with 6000 Plumed Whistling Ducks present most days!

There’s still plenty of room and work to be done during our May Working Bee although Rita and Marcelo from Portugal are doing a brilliant job and have almost cleared the campsite of weeds already but if you fancy free camping in exchange for a few hour’s work please let us know!

Long-tailed Finch

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A very productive week saw many bird highlights which, in no particular order included a stunning Pied Heron out on the saltmarsh on 25^th while a very late Oriental Pratincole and a single Flock Bronzewing also bombed overhead, an albicauda Grey Fantail at the bird baths on 24^th and a second Grey Goshawk sighting – this time over the mangroves at Little Crab Creek, with no confirmed records of this species in the Broome area and the briefness of the two recent sightings they will unfortunately have to go down as ‘possibles’ although from our point of view both records appear to be genuine.

Wader migration may be slowing down now as most species have already left for the Northern Hemisphere (with the exception of hundreds of very red, very fat Red Knot and a few breeding plumaged Red-necked Stints which are still lingering) but other species were very obvious this week with a significant movement of Budgerigars starting on 28^th and continuing through the 29^th where many hundreds passed east accompanied by flocks of Zebra Finches.   Other obvious migrants included Masked Woodswallows on several days peaking at 140 on 25^th  a few late Fork-tailed Swift flocks including 12 on 26^th and hundreds of Tree Martins on most days.

Trips away from the Obs this week also have produced some good birds with the sewage works seeing another high count of 2550+ Plumed Whistling Ducks along with the two Radjah Shelduck, a late Barn Swallow on 24^th and a White-throated Honeyeater while a couple of trips out to the plains saw the usual array of quality sightings including 5 Brolga, 3 Australian Bustards, a Little Eagle being mercilessly hounded by two Australian Magpies, many Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and other waders showing very well on the muddy edges of the rapidly drying up pools and the regular White-winged Black Terns, Wedge-tailed Eagles, Spotted Harriers….

The campsite and accommodation are rapidly filling up now the dry season is starting and more and more tours are going out and about and with highlights this week such as watching a brilliant flock of 250 Rainbow Bee-eaters catching Dragonflies as the red sun sets over Roebuck Plains and a scope view full of glowing bright red Red Knot while Asian Dowitchers and Broad-billed Sandpipers wander through the flocks, why not!

Very red, very fat Red Knot - surely getting ready to leave?

Broad-billed Flycatcher

Broome time....

(Photos by David Flumm)

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Angry!!

Beautiful!!

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A quiet week really but with a few highlights nonetheless such as the Black Falcon seen along the road a few hundred metres from the Observatory on 20^th and a Grey Goshawk which RSPB David saw over Streeter’s Jetty in town while looking for Whistlers and Honeyeaters on 17^th.   Visible migration is still one of the main events here at the moment with flocks of waders still leaving the Bay for the Northern Hemisphere, most of the Bar-tailed Godwits have now left but have been replaced with big flocks of Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwits and Grey-tailed Tattlers moving out, despite over 17,000 birds being counted leaving over the last few weeks there are still good numbers to be seen in the Bay illustrated by the peak counts this week of 36 Asian Dowitchers and 166 Broad-billed Sandpipers in amongst the commoner species.    Our evening migration watches often reveals other species on the move as well as the waders such as the 400+ Tree Martins which moved east along the shore on 16^th.

Roebuck Plains are gradually drying out with the resultant muddy edges of the pools producing perfect wading bird habitat, 4 Marsh Sandpipers were counted on 22^nd along with many Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and a handful of Red-kneed Dotterel as well as ‘clouds’ of many hundreds of Egrets joined by three White-necked Herons and 7 Jabiru, also on 22^nd.

Our one trip to the sewage works this week was fairly quiet with the two Radjah Shelduck still present mixing with a huge count of 2050+ Plumed Whistling Ducks which also contained a single bemused looking Wandering Whistling Duck.   The only other birds of note this week were a Broad-billed Flycatcher caught during a mist-netting session at the Observatory on 21^st – an unusual record away from the Mangroves and very cooperative Red-headed Honeyeaters and Mangrove Golden Whistlers showing brilliantly drinking from a leaking pipe next to Streeter’s Jetty.

There’s also time to mention our May working-bee, during which guests can enjoy free camping or a reduced room rate in exchange for a few hour’s work each day around the property such as gardening, trail clearance or simply (or not so simply!) fixing broken things!   Please get in contact if you’re interested in spending some time with us…..

Most Bar-tailed Godwits, like these breeding plumaged individuals have already departed north.

These Black-tailed Godwits have been leaving in large numbers this week

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Sightings took an upward turn this week with the settling in of our new campground hosts, David and Gerda Flumm on their sabbatical from the RSPB in the UK who seem to have developed a knack of connecting with species that the wardens haven’t even seen yet!   We started off this week with another very productive trip out to the plains on the 9^th with the highlights being a Red-backed Kingfisher, a White-necked Heron, a Stubble Quail and a Red-backed Buttonquail while a wide range of species such as Wedge-tailed Eagle, Brolga, Red-kneed Dotterel, big numbers of Red-winged Parrots and many stunning full breeding plumaged White-winged Black Terns made for an excellent morning.    The most controversial bird however was a Gerygone sp. seen reasonably well in the bush on the edge of the plains with its overall paleness and tail pattern suggesting it was a Western Gerygone but views were as such that one of our Melaleuca loving Mangrove Gerygones couldn’t be ruled out – we might make a decision later!

Our two Assistant Wardens spent a couple of long days in the classroom this week on a First Aid course and while this kept them from seeing much in the Bay it did allow a couple of trips to the sewage works in town after the days spent acting out various tragic scenario’s!   Birds present included up to two Eastern Yellow Wagtails and two Radjah Shelduck in amongst the 800+ Plumed Whistling Ducks while waders passed through including Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Curlew Sandpipers.

The 13^th saw at least 150 Budgerigars moving east along the Bay when a few Cockatiels also moved through while other notable sightings through the week included 40+ Fork-tailed Swifts over the plains on 12^th, a good passage of 50+ Masked Woodswallows on 13^th, three Weebills together on 14^th, 4 Red-tailed Black Cockatoos on 15^th, regular Peregrine sightings in the Bay and large numbers of Egrets and Heron out on the still flooded plains including a couple of Intermediate Egrets in with a flock of at least 70 Great Egrets.

Banding highlight of the week was finally catching one of the many Great Bowerbirds that are around the Observatory, high on the want list of one Assistant Warden in particular.   Although he now considers one to be enough due to all the holes which now cover his hands from both the Bowerbirds bill and claws!

Despite thousands of waders being recorded leaving the Bay over the past few weeks, you can still see amazing sights like this with many birds still present (photo by Tony Neilson)

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Its slightly belated now (!) but we just thought we’d post some brilliant photos by Tony Neilson of the day the cyclone nearly came to town back in mid-March and displaced some pelagic species into the Bay here at BBO!

Lesser Frigatebird - the resident terns didn't know what hit them!

Especially as shortly afterwards eight Pomarine Skuas joined the Frigatebirds in the attack!

Common Noddy and Black Noddy - these produced nothing more than curious stares!

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The second Wave the Waders Goodbye course came to an end on the 8^th and even more than the previous course it did exactly what it said on the tin!   Providing some absolutely brilliant visible migration with two to three thousand birds seen leaving the bay over our heads on several evenings through the course leaving everyone pretty gobsmacked!   It’s extremely difficult after 1500 Bar-tailed Godwits have been seen to fly up from the mud, circle round a few times all the while constantly chattering to each other, assemble into a huge V-formation and head north directly over your head not to be suitably amazed, especially with the backdrop of the setting sun causing the deep red Pindan cliffs to glow and the waters of the bay flat calm…..sorry to go on but it is incredible!

Hot conditions through the middle of the day curtailed a few excursions during the course although a trip out to the plains on the 6^th (when the problem was avoiding the thunder storms rather than the heat!) was very successful with excellent views of plains species such as Brolga, Jabiru, Spotted Harrier, Black-shouldered Kite and Australian Bustard and some good bush birds including White-throated Honeyeater, Black-eared Cuckoo, Jacky Winter and White-throated Gerygone and the Crab Creek mangroves were good value with a single Redshank and an obliging group of seven Sharp-tailed Sandpipers adding to everyone’s wader ID memory banks.

With the appropriate permits now acquired it was also possible to undertake some mist-netting around the Observatory for the first time this year giving everyone a chance to see some common birds in a new light – although 40 Brown Honeyeaters caught in an hour one evening did get slightly repetitive!   Some nice birds were caught however, including Rufous Whistler, Black-eared Cuckoo and undoubtedly everyone’s favourite an incredible Tawny Frogmouth was trapped after dark on the 6^th!   What a bird!!

We think everyone on the corse left with a new understanding of the absoloute importance of Roebuck Bay, not only for the thousands of migratory shorebirds but a whole host of other wildlife and people but most of all, despite some mishaps along the way (!) a great time was had by all.

Tawny Frogmouth - this pretty much mirrors everyone's expressions as they were watching it being banded!

Black-eared Cuckoo

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The majority of this week’s sightings were made during the daily migration watch in the Bay carried out every evening from 4-6pm in order to record shorebirds starting off on their northward migration, however most of these did not consist of migrating waders but a wide range of other species including an excellent flock of 28 Australian Pelicans on 26^th when there was also an equally impressive group of 17 Red-tailed Black Cockatoos which flew in from the direction of Bush Point at dusk, single Australian Hobby and Peregrine causing havoc in the feeding flocks on 28^th and 29^th respectively with a group of 4 Lesser Frigatebirds on the last date and Black-shouldered Kite and 2 Australian Snubfin Dolphins on 30^th along with a fine array of raptors and regular large, tightly grouped flocks of White-winged Black Terns which pile into the Bay from the plains at dusk most evenings.

Perhaps the birding highlight however was an excellent passage of 40+ Masked Woodswallows which moved high to the east over the Observatory on 29^th with other sightings from the area including (a presumed) Swinhoe’s Snipe at the sewage works on 26^th with 4 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and a pair of Radjah Shelduck there on 30^th, a possible Red-chested Buttonquail on Roebuck Plain near the Observatory gate on 27^th, two cracking male Eastern Yellow Wagtails back at the sewage works on 1^st April  and regular Common Redshank sightings from the Mangroves at Little Crab Creek.

A good morning session out on Roebuck Plains on 1^st April then produced a fine selection of birds including several Australian Bustards, a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles, a Black-eared Cuckoo and a huge flock of 350 Glossy Ibis on the floodwater still covering large tracts of the plains.

While, on a more personal note, the author of this report finally saw an Australian Magpie, after two months of being in the country!   Luckily no-one was around to see his little celebratory dance out on the plains!

As mentioned above the daily migration watch had been generally disappointing with very few waders heading off to the north, although birds had been heard overhead after dark but this all changed on 2^nd April with an excellent 2300 birds counted leaving in two hours, mainly Bar-tailed Godwits but they did include a memorable flock of 400 Great Knot, flying incredibly high all in a big curved line spreading out across the sky – a fantastic sight!

Common Redshank - Little Crab Creek (sightings of up to three birds here this week suggests that this scrace Australian species is fairly regular in the Mangroves)

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Our first, albeit slightly cyclone delayed, Wave the Waders Goodbye course of the year commenced on 19^th March with the first two participants to arrive being whisked immediately on arrival down to the Bay for the evening migration watch which, as if specially written for the occasion proved to be the first notable movement with 400+ birds leaving to the north including a brilliant flock of 180 Eastern Curlew which landed on the mud for half an hour before all starting to call loudly, taking off and circling round and round in tight circles gaining height until they reached optimum altitude, formed a V and headed off north, all the time their calls echoing round the Bay – magic!   Then, shortly afterwards a White-bellied Sea-eagle dived spectacularly to the water’s surface and plucked a writhing Sea-snake from the Bay – more magic!

There were also still a few displaced seabirds lingering in the bay on the 19^th with a Lesser Frigatebird still patrolling the tide line and a couple of lost looking Common Noddies floating over the mud.

The following five days were spent getting to grips with the array of shorebirds in the Broome area with everyone towards the end picking out their own Asian Dowitchers and Broad-billed Sandpipers from the masses, distinguishing between Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers and picking up on leg flags and bands including birds from Hong Kong and South Korea which, when combined with some excellent talks from the researchers studying the shorebirds and their environment, some excellent food and company and some exploration of the local area created some very tired but happy birders and photographers at the end.

We of course visited some of the many other birding sites in the area through the week with Sanderlings and rock pools at Coconut Well on 20^th, Roseate Terns and the much appreciated Semipalmated Plover in Broome on 22^nd, Brolga, Jaribu, Spotted Harriers and large flocks of White-breasted Woodswallows out on Roebuck Plains on 23^rd and a full complement of Mangrove specialities on 24^th including White-breasted Whistler, Dusky Gerygone, Mangrove Grey Fantail and Broad-billed Flycatcher almost playing second fiddle to a glorious adult male Mangrove Golden Whistler and two Common Redshanks together at the mouth of Little Crab Creek.

Three images from Wave the Waders Goodbye course member Trevor Heath

Red-winged Parrot, White-breasted Woodswallows and waders in the Bay

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Tropical Cyclone Lua made landfall to the south of Broome on 17th March and although we were on yellow alert we only felt the edge of the bad weather but the winds on the edge made for some very exciting birding as the cyclone was approaching the coast, it started in the morning when a small Swiftlet was seen briefly over the Obs, it was soon refound but despite good views through the remainder of the day and it being joined by a second bird it was still not possible to assign it to species level.   It was all dark apart from a faint, pale band on the rump and had broad, rounded wings and flew like a bat!  

Take your pick from a selection of SE Asian Swiftlets that could turn up in front of a cyclone!

The pace picked up in the afternoon with the increasing wind and the viewing platform was the place to be as a steady stream of Lesser Frigatebirds began cruising through taking the occasional swipe at a fishing Tern, it then got worse for the Terns when the first of 9 Pomarine Skuas came through followed by the first of 8 Sooty Terns, 4 Common Noddies and a Black Noddy which spent a few hours roosting with the Crested and Lesser-crested Terns.

We were feeling pretty happy with our haul of displaced pelagic species deep in the Bay until word came from Broome Port that an incredible 73 Greater Frigatebirds had passed by!    With only three previous records for the Broome area this was indeed an extremely significant movement and was backed up by 8 Bridled Terns, 300+ Common Noddies, a Black Noddy and 2 Lesser Noddies.   Although we were very lucky to have missed the main destructive force of the cyclone, it made for some brilliant birding.

An early morning look at the Bay the next day saw a few Lesser Frigatebirds still lingering along with a single juvenile Sooty Tern but the BBO staff were keen to get out to the Port to see if any birds were still present however, it was lunchtime by the time we arrived and it was clear that most things had departed with the lessening winds as a couple of Lesser Frigatebirds, a juvenile Sooty Tern and 5 Common Noddies were all that remained of yesterdays spectacular numbers.   We finished off a brilliant couple of days with a look at the Sewage Works where there was a Crimson Chat on the perimeter fence, a Pacific Golden Plover, two Wandering Whistling Ducks with the flock of Plumed Whistling Ducks and a single stunning breeding pluamged White-winged Black Tern.

Greater Frigatebirds pouring over Broome Port (photo by Lee Tibbits)

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