Hasties Swamp monthly bird survey: April 2025

Lesley Deacon | Guest Contributor

We had been expecting the water birds to return by April, but the above average rainfall in the district has kept water levels higher than usual. Recent storms with heavy rain have water lying around the hide with the addition of swarms of mosquitoes. We have a few of our regulars adventuring to other parts of the country at present, so it was good to have three birders from Cairns join us for the April survey.

Hardhead are still the most numerous birds on the water, although we had the largest number of Eurasian Coot seen for some time.

A Eurasian Coot: it was good to see a group of them. Photo by Mary Brook.

It seems to be too late now for any waders. It is the first summer locals can remember that there have not been any visiting Sandpipers somewhere on the Tablelands.

With so much water around and long thick grass, there was only one Masked Lapwing seen and no Jacanas either. The Eastern Cattle Egret, some still with their rusty breeding colours, have returned though and there was a large roost in trees on the far bank.

I was amazed when checking this April 2025 list against the April 2024 list. It is almost as if I cheated, just copying last year with a few minor number changes for variation. Apparently, conditions were similar last year. I guess this shows that bird movements and habits are pretty standard in this area and taking surveys is quite helpful when looking at bird populations.

The smaller birds are usually easily found. The shrill whistle-chirp of Silvereyes can be heard even if they are too high in the canopy to actually be seen. Brown Gerygone is common here and their pretty twittering will show where small family groups are feeding.

The charming Brown Gerygone pausing in its insect foraging. Photo by Mary Brook.

The prolific grass growth has provided great habitat for Finches and Mannikin. We were unsure whether the Red-browed Finches showing interest in a grass nest were actually building it, dismantling it, or searching for spiders. The cheeky White-browed Scrubwren can often be found in the carpark as it tries to dissuade intruders by chasing its reflected image in car windscreens.

The White-browed Scrubwren can be found in the lower canopy if not pecking through the leaf litter under the trees. Photo by Mary Brook.

An interesting sighting was the White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike. It is not a bird we normally see here. And to see five of them probably indicated that they were passing through on migration: or that there was an insect explosion in the upper canopy.

The pristine White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike. Photo by Mary Brook.

Another bird not commonly seen, and definitely moving north on winter migration, was the Australian Rufous Fantail. It was good to see two of them swerving and diving through the trees on their insect catching forays.

Australian Rufous Fantail. Photo by Barry Deacon.

There was still some flowering occurring, mostly Eucalypt, and so nectar-feeding birds we found included the noisy Rainbow Lorikeet and Lewin’s, Yellow-faced, Scarlet, Brown and Macleay’s Honeyeaters.

All up, it was a great morning of birding. Even with the lack of waterbirds we managed 55 species.