Hasties Swamp monthly bird survey: May 2025
- Lesley Deacon
- Jul 9
- 3 min read
Lesley Deacon | Guest Contributor
Friday 2 May saw another wet morning at Hasties. In fact we were down on birder numbers as a warm bed proved much more inviting than wandering in quite heavy rain. Fortunately, the rain eased somewhat and more people appeared as the morning progressed. Those with the fancy cameras, though, left them dry in the car, and if it was not for Sandy seeing the radar with no rain over Atherton and driving up from Cairns, I would have no photos at all.
The waterbirds were still in low numbers although we trusted Al’s estimation of 100 Plumed Whistling-Duck right at the far northern end of the swamp. We were unable to see them clearly from the hide, but some suitable areas of drying mud sported small dots of birds. The easiest waterbirds to see from the hide are Pacific Black Duck which often hide in the reeds quite close to the hide, and Hardhead which cover a lot of territory swimming across the water before they dive for food.
The Eastern Cattle Egret still use the area for a roost, but you have to be early, before they fly out over the district to find their cattle.
One Black Swan was seen. There was possibly a pair with the mate secreting itself in the long grass. It is well worth observing them to see the show of white of their outer flight feathers when they splash and flap in sudden preening. Or to see the long powerfully flapping take-off from the water to glide so effortlessly in the air, long necks outstretched.
The Eurasian Coot remain, but the far bank of the lagoon should be closely investigated to find them. Although after commenting about them being so difficult to see, suddenly there was one swimming right out in front of the hide.
It is good to see the Australasian Grebe returning in larger numbers after their summer absence.
The farmland across the road from the swamp is not growing corn this year. But flocks of Sulphur-crested Cockatoo were flying over on their way to try and decimate a crop somewhere else. There were also quite large flyovers of Scaly-breasted and Rainbow Lorikeets.
The Swamp Harrier that has been an infrequent visitor showed himself again. The appearance results in every water bird taking to the air for the middle of the lagoon. That is always a good sign to look up for a raptor.
The abundant flowering of past months has led to abundant fruiting and there was a good number of Brown Cuckoo-Dove feasting on berries.
The wet morning lowered the numbers of bush birds seen. But the Willie Wagtail and Eastern Yellow Robin tended to follow us as we wandered up the road disturbing insects in the grass. There is a moderate number of both species and their familiarity with people makes them good targets for photography.
There were no biscuit rewards this month as we only spotted 44 species. Actually, our biscuit rewarder was away, so there were no biscuits no matter how many species we spotted. But, despite the rain, there were still birding highlights. One of the good things about Hasties is that you can always hide in the hide.
