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Pacific Baza chased by cockatoos
I was walking along Forty Baskets Track on Sydney Harbour when the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos started making an enormous ruckus. They took to the sky in a large flock and circled overhead screaming blue murder.
When I managed to find a gap in the tree canopy, I saw that the cockatoos were chasing a large bird of prey:
I followed the pack of birds for about 15 minutes, back and forth along the track. The bird of prey landed in the tree tops a few times, and I was able to identify it as a Pacific Baza. I managed to see the crest on its head, but didn’t get a good enough photo of the crest to post here. This is the best photo I got of the bird at rest:
Pacific Bazas are uncommon, mostly found in north and north-east Australia, and are rare in New South Wales (where I am). They eat small reptiles, and praying mantises and stick insects (both of which can be quite large in Australia).
Common name: Pacific Baza
Scientific name: Aviceda subcristata
Length: 35-45 cm
Wing span: 1 metre
Date spotted: 29 June 2025 (winter)
Location: Forty Baskets Track, Balgowlah, NSW, Australia: 33°48’18.2″S 151°16’18.2″E
White-faced Heron stretching
In the morning sun, a White-faced Heron stretches his wing. The decaying wood of his perch mirrors the pattern of his stretch.
Common name: White-faced Heron
Scientific name: Ardea novaehollandiae
Approximate length: 66-69 cm
Date spotted: 20 June 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’34.0″S 151°14’48.5″E
Neat Spotted Pardalote
Spotted Pardalotes are tiny little birds with neat patterns and colours on their heads and bodies. They flit around high in the trees or deep in the undergrowth, so it’s a treat when one stays still long enough to get a good look at you.
Pardalotes are native to Australia. There are four species in the Pardalote family, of which we have just one in our area near Sydney.
An unusual characteristic is that, although they spend much of their time high in the treetops, they build their nests in tunnels in the ground. Take a look at my other posts to see videos of these birds entering into and emerging from their tunnels.
Common name: Spotted Pardalote or Diamondbird
Scientific name: Pardalotus punctatus
Approximate length: 10 cm
Date spotted: 19 June 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam, NSW, Australia: 33°46’38.6″S 151°14’55.8″E
Pied Butcherbird singing on the beach
As I walked past this tree, on a grassy patch next to the sea at Port Macquarie, I heard a gentle experimental whistling. I thought it might be a person, but then I heard some bird sounds mixed in. It was a Pied Butcherbird, trying out its repertoire while perched in an Old Man Banksia tree. In the background is the sound of the surf, rather noisy alas.
We don’t see these birds around Sydney, so I’m not familiar with their calls. I wonder if this one is different from most, or perhaps they sing a variety of songs?
Common name: Pied Butcherbird
Scientific name: Cracticus nigrogularis
Approximate length: 33-36 cm
Date spotted: 5 June 2025 (winter)
Location: Town Beach, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia: 31°25’47.6″S 152°55’09.5″E
My first White-headed Pigeons, near Taree NSW
I was in Moto, near Taree, a few days ago, soon after the floods that have devastated much of the area. Driving along a country road next to a creek, I spotted a flock of about 7 large white-bodied, dark-winged pigeons on the side of the road. They flew up into the trees and onto the fences as I passed, but I managed to snap a shot of two of them with my phone:
They’re White-headed Pigeons, my first sighting of these birds. The one on the left is a male. The one on the right is an immature male or female.
They’re larger than most pigeons, and exude an atmosphere of calm — until they fly away! My bird book lists them as scarce, and common in NE NSW. It comments that they’re “one of the shyest and wariest of pigeons”, so I count myself lucky to have seen them. eBird lists them as “Least Concern”.
Common name: White-headed Pigeon
Scientific name: Columba leucomela
Length: 38-40 cm
Date spotted: 4 June 2025 (winter)
Location: Moto, NSW, Australia: 31°51’16.8″S 152°35’00.9″E
Red-whiskered Bulbul at Bombo Headland
A few days ago, I visited Bombo Headland Geological Site on the east coast of Australia, south of Sydney. There were several Red-whiskered Bulbuls flitting around the bushes. This one was perched on a messy clump of Lantana, with the impressive cliffs of the headland in the background.
Red-whiskered Bulbuls are pretty little birds, with striking black, red, and white markings. They’re native to southern Asia (India, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia), and were introduced into Sydney in the late 1800s.
Common name: Red-whiskered Bulbul
Scientific name: Pycnonotus jocosus
Approximate length: 20 cm
Date spotted: 31 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Bombo Headland Geological Site, NSW, Australia: 34°39’03.6″S 150°51’42.3″E
Bombo Headland is worth a visit, with its impressive rock formations and churning sea currents:
Would you like to know more about this amazing, slightly eery location? My bookmark, the Travelling Worm, has published a post about our visit to Bombo Headland Geological Site.
My second White-throated Treecreeper
These little birds move fast and tend to pick dim lighting for their appearances. My photo is a bit blurry, but you get the idea:
The bird sped up a tree trunk, dashing from side to side of the tree. Its white throat flashed in the dim light. The rest of the bird is mottled grey and brown, merging well with its surrounds.
This is only the second time that I’ve managed to identify a White-throated Treecreeper. The other time was at Capertee in 2023, when I managed to make a short video of a female bird. I think today’s bird is male: there’s no red spot at the top edge of the white throat.
Common name: White-throated Treecreeper
Scientific name: Cormobates leucophaeus
Approximate length: 13-15 cm
Date spotted: 18 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Golden Gully near Hill End, New South Wales, Australia: 33°00’45.4″S 149°25’05.0″E
My first White-plumed Honeyeater
White-plumed Honeyeaters are common and wide-spread, according to my bird book, but this is the first one I’ve identified. I spotted it at Mary Flynn Campground on the Turon River in New South Wales. It’s an unassuming little bird, with plumage of soft greys and yellows, and quite large eyes relatively speaking.
In the photo, below the yellow face, you can just make out the white stripe that gives the bird the name “white-plumed”. Personally, I’d expected a grander plume to match the name, but there you go.
Common name: White-plumed Honeyeater
Scientific name: Lichenostomus penicillatus
Approximate length: 15-17 cm
Date spotted: 17 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Mary Flynn Campground on the Turon River, NSW, Australia: 33°04’46.6″S 149°23’55.6″E
Crimson Rosella looking gorgeous
This stunning Crimson Rosella was browsing on the seeds of a gum tree late one afternoon. We were at the Macquarie Woods Forestry Reserve Campground, to the west of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. These parrots are quite common in eastern Australia. Even so, their beauty is always amazing.
This bird is a male, with his purple and crimson colouring. The females have more green on their bodies and wings, like the one I saw a few months ago in Whitfield, Victoria.
Common name: Crimson Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus elegans elegans
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 16 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Macquarie Woods Forestry Reserve Campground, Vittoria, NSW, Australia: 33°24’29.0″S 149°18’41.8″E
Two songs of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo
I’ve heard Fan-tailed Cuckoos several times over the years, making their pretty downward trilling call. A few days ago, I heard a different call: a haunting, mournful whistle sighing in the mist.
In this 14-second video, the bird whistles five times:
At first I didn’t know what type of bird was calling. Then I saw a Fan-tailed Cuckoo fly onto a nearby branch:
They’re rather pretty birds, with a russet chest and belly, and a startling orange mouth. On this occasion, I could see only the back of the bird. Here’s a picture of another Fan-tailed Cuckoo, which I saw in June 2020:
Shortly after I heard the whistles, the same bird or another started making the typical trilling call that I’ve heard more often. In this 17-second video, the bird calls four times:
Common name: Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Scientific name: Cacomantis flabelliformis
Approximate length: 26 cm
Date spotted: 11 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Manly Creek, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’21.3″S 151°14’34.8″E
Sydney Birder 