Getting close to NSW!

 Dale announced that he was taking a tour up the Wallagaraugh River on 26 November, and I thought this was a good chance to add a few more species to the District list, even though a trip the previous Saturday (with 17 expert birders on board) had found 65 species.  So I joined the group on the Gipsy Princess at Gipsy Point.

Here is the route marked with orange arrows (other symbols will be explained below).  The double headed arrow marks the turning point, very close to the State border.  This was not due to fears of a check point, but the presence of a small waterfall blocking the way (after dodging a few submerged rocks in the final few hundred metres).  

This is the view in the upper parts of the trip.  The area was thoroughly burnt in the Black Summer fire but has regrown densely.

We paid close attention to the vegetation at the Johnson Bridge (red arrow) as Black Bittern has been seen there in the past.  No joy on this trip.  However when we got to the point marked with '1' an unusual looking dark Bittern-shaped bird was seen on the bank, jumping up into a tree.

Much excitement ensued as we thought we had seen what the 17 experts had dipped on: the aforementioned Black Bittern.  I tried to log on to the Mallacoota Birds Facebook page (being a caring and sharing person, not gloating at all, no Sir, not me).  Unfortunately my phone didn't have coverage so that failed.

This was actually a Good Thing, as when I compared my photos (and those of others) with the paintings in The Australian Bird Guide it was clear that what we had seen was not a Black Bittern but what we would call a Striated Heron.  eBird has renamed this Little Heron - the detailed reasons for which they demand coin (although it is summarised in this which also contains a number of threats of future changes - an ominous sign that Avibase won't stop continual random changes to taxonomy).  Wikipedia links to the 34 page Masters 'thesis' as the explanation, which is also referenced in the eBird summary.  So poor connectivity saved me from making a public chook of myself.  

That is still a very good bird as the Southern limit of their range is usually around Bateman's Bay and there are only 2 eBird records West of Mallacoota.  They have not been recorded in the District since January 2024.  Another photo.

We had a few sightings of White-bellied Sea-Eagles but they showed no interest in our boat.

This pair were in the vicinity of a nest which had been occupied by young until very recently. 

On Dale's previous trip 12 Azure Kingfishers had been recorded including a bird entering a burrow with a small fish.  We saw none on the way up, but did record 3 on the return.

The weather was growing close to ordinary by the time we turned, possibly accounting for the absence of reptiles on the banks.  One Gippsland Water Dragon was seen in the upper reaches.

Overall we recorded 41 species for the trip which was quite good.  A number of very much expected species (including Lewin's Honeyeater, Pacific Black Duck, Chestnut Teal and White-browed Scrubwren) were among the MIA.