The time was almost upon us. Weeks of preparation had led to this moment. Nathan, Henry and I rushed around, each of us figuring out where the birds were. The lone Crimson Rosella was being watched intently for any sign of taking off, and with 30 seconds left Henry spots a Dusky Woodswallow perched on a branch. With 5 seconds left, a dark shape falls over us. The time ticked over to 4:00, and our first bird ticked was a circling White-necked Heron, followed in quick succession by Dusky Woodswallow, Crimson Rosella and Restless Flycatcher. The Twitchathon had begun, and our team, the Knight Parrots, were planning to win.
Actually not really. lol.
Now, there's the corny introduction out of the way. We were in Glen Davis campground in the majestic Capertee Valley. Our first Twitchathon was last year, and had left us all hungry for more. This year, we entered the main race (to avoid the unfair advantage we had over the other "normal" children teams, who we beat by 80 birds in 2010). We weren't expecting to come anywhere near the top, but this was about having fun, and our goal was to not come last!
For those not familiar with the rules, you have 24 hours to see or hear as many birds as possible. More than 50% of your team has to get the bird for it to be ticked. Being the only real competition for twitchers, the stakes are high, with some teams travelling over 1000km to see as many birds as possible.
Our leisurely route started in Capertee Valley around the town of Glen Davis. The best birds in the next 30 minutes were Common Bronzewing, White-winged Triller, Little Lorikeet, Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous Songlark, White-browed Woodswallow and Striated Pardalote. Just before we left, a pair of Turquoise Parrots flew overhead.
We headed out of Glen Davis towards Crown Station Road. A large flock of Zebra FInches, a Black-shouldered Kite, two Pipits and a Black-fronted Dotterel were the highlights. Our hopes were high for Crown Station Road, but unfortunately a large number of our target birds didn't show. Jacky Winter, Striped Honeyeater and Pied Butcherbird helped boost the list (along with a few others), but we missed Hooded Robin, White-browed Babblers, Black-chinned Honeyeaters, and all of the more obscure birds we were hoping we'd get lucky with.
The light was fast disappearing, but we still had 45 minutes of daylight and were ahead of schedule. North of Glen Alice was Glenowan Bridge, were Regent Honeyeaters had recently been reported. No Regents to be seen in the dying light, but a single Azure Kingfisher and Grey Shrike Thrush allowed our list to grow to 58.
After a quick dinner, we headed out spotlighting. Capertee Valley is great for night birds, and we easily found Barn Own, Australian Owlet Nightjar (due to my best impersonation) and Tawny Frogmouth. Back at Glen Davis, we headed up into the bush and spend a long time listening for a bird we really wanted to see, White-throated Nightjar.
The next morning (very early start!) we headed to Pierce’s Pass, a picnic area half way over the Blue Mountains. As well as hearing Pilotbirds, we also managed to add Pallid Cuckoo, Superb Lyrebird, various Honeyeaters, and I heard a Rockwarbler, but we couldn’t tick it for the list. A few kms east of the picnic area back on the road, we fluked 2 Grey Currawongs in less than 200m and got fantastic views after a quick u-turn.
As we drove into Pitt Town, the small pond near Pitt Town Lagoon found us Sydney’s native Edwin Vella, who helpfully pointed out Red-kneed Dotterel, Latham’s Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Stubble Quail. Mitchell Park had Dollarbird, Scarlet Honeyeater, Red-browed Finch, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Bell Miner, etc, etc. Scheyville was disappointing, with only Olive-backed Oriole and Crested Shrike-tit (which flew over the car as we got out!)
At the very full Pitt Town Lagoon, we waded out to the water, and managed 6 recently returned Pink-eared Ducks, a calling Spotless Crake, and a very strange wader, which we think may have been a Ruff, but we will need someone to resight it to confirm it wasn’t just a weird Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.
The turf farms were a mistake in my opinion, as we missed the Banded Lapwings (35 the week before had turned into 0), and we didn’t add anything to the list. Sydney Olympic Park followed, with Red-necked Avocet, Pelican and Little Egret (the first record for SOP we believe). A Pacific Baza flew over the car on the way down a hill near Ryde (some slow driving caused a bit of road rage behind us), and the resident Ospreys perched well for us at Narrabeen. Deep Creek and Warriewood combined added two Fantails, Brush Turkey, Black-faced Monarch and Koel.
The finish was in sight as we pulled into Long Reef. The Kestrel caught a mouse a few metres from us, and we managed to see all the normal waders in a few minutes. A few strange tattlers turned out to be Red Knots, and a quick sea watch produced Gannet and Wedge-tailed Shearwater. Also two whales (moth and calf) only a few hundred metres off shore. A great way to finish!
Overall, 166 species in 350km. Our rarest bird is in dispute - Ruff if it is confirmed, but probably Wood Sandpiper or Little Egret as we doubt that the “Ruff” will be re-seen… Our biggest dip was Striated Thornbill. Due to school, I may have to skip the next two years of Twitchathon, but I will return! :)
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