Green Cape 2020

 

View of the lightstation at Green Cape, October 2020 

Green Cape, Ben Boyd NP

Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 October 2020

This was the tenth COG visit to Green Cape. For the first, in October 1977, we camped at nearby Bittangabee Creek, but since 2004 we have used the decommissioned light-station cottages. After the lighthouse was converted to automatic operation the historic buildings were transferred to the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the peninsula incorporated in the Ben Boyd National Park. The three very comfortable and well-equipped cottages have fabulous views from their east facing verandas – much appreciated in wet and windy conditions when observations of passing whales and seabirds can be continued in reasonable comfort! COG has scheduled trips to Green Cape mostly at two year intervals but with the prospect of not being able to continue these into the future (because the cottages are being ‘repurposed’) the trip this year was likely to be our last.

Seawatch at 6:30am on Wednesday, our first morning  

Fourteen COG members made up our party with preference given to those who had not been before. On   arrival and for the next two days the wind was southerly and light with mostly clear sky and warm conditions. Our daily routine followed the now customary pattern with a seabird watch at the point to start the day. We do this ‘seawatch’ for about an hour or so from the platform, starting as soon as light is good enough. This year seabird variety was a bit disappointing with very few albatross (only one species seen a few times) although movements south of Short-tailed Shearwater occurred most days and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were seen reasonably often and in good numbers. As usual, identification of these two shearwaters proved challenging at first but the group soon got to their distinguishing characteristics of flight and became comfortable with separating them with reasonable confidence. Both species occasionally gathered in feeding rafts but these were well out from the point. A few Fluttering/Hutton’s Shearwaters were seen on Friday afternoon. Australasian Gannets were present most of the time, with a good proportion of immature birds (occasionally up to a third of those visible) and four species of cormorant, including Black-faced Cormorant were seen but no Little Pied Cormorant, Crested Terns often passed the point in reasonable numbers with rather fewer Silver Gulls, and a couple of Caspian Tern were seen most days near the point but we saw no Pacific Gulls. However, we did see a few Arctic Jaegers moving south purposefully.

Following breakfast on the verandas we spent time visiting various areas for specialist coastal heathland species such as Tawny- crowned Honeyeater, Southern Emu-wren and Striated Fieldwren. We made several visits to the Pulpit Rock track and once to City Rock track and, on the Wednesday morning, walked in perfect weather from Bittangabee Creek back to the cottages. On Thursday evening we had ‘nibbles and wine’ at a spot along the Pulpit Rock track that looked good for Ground Parrots. We were duly rewarded with at least four birds calling nearby once the sun set and the troublesome Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters had stopped calling!

Over the years we have recorded 150 species on these COG trips. This year we added Spotted Dove, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Barking Owl and Little Corella. We completed 23 eBird lists and saw in total 78 species – the third highest list behind an 81 in October 2015 and an 80 in October 2007. A few regulars were not seen. In addition to those already mentioned, we did not see any Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo, or Australian Pipit. Humpback Whales were constantly passing south in good numbers and most were cows with a dependant young close by. A group of about 25 seals, presumed to be Australian Fur Seal, were invariably loafing close to the point but were never seen ashore, thus preventing any chance of a positive identification to species. Few other mammals were noted, except at least 6 adult Wombats, including two females, each with an attendant large young alongside. A Long-nosed Bandicoot was spotted after dark, just one Eastern Grey Kangaroo seen at Bittangabee and no Rabbits were noted. We added Caper White and Imperial Jazebel to our meagre Green Cape butterfly list.

Weather conditions deteriorated from Friday late afternoon with a switch to northerly stronger winds and rain overnight, although we did manage a final dawn seawatch on the Saturday but it was disappointing with few birds.

Another most successful and enjoyable time at Green Cape. Thanks to Sue for planning and generally organising the trip and to Lia, Sandra and Steve for their eBird listing efforts shared with the group.

Peter Fullagar

The storeroom at Bittangabee used during lighthouse construction 

One of several Wombat that often grazed in broad daylight

At the point doing an early morning seawatch Thursday

Dramatic views across the rock shelves at the end of the Pulpit Rock track Thursday

Large cicada seen at the end of the Pulpit Rock Track Thursday

Masked Devil form of the Greengrocer Cyclochila australasiae ?

Back at the point for another seawatch Friday 6:36am 

Sunrise at the point Green Cape a little later on Friday 6;51am

The unusual lighthouse design in concrete Friday  

Storms brewing Friday early afternoon

Final mooring seawatch on Saturday 6:45am

Our list of birds seen October 2020 at Green Cape

BLACK SWAN Cygnus atrata

SPOTTED DOVE Spilopelia chinensis

BRUSH BRONZEWING Phaps elegans

CRESTED PIGEON Ocyphaps lophotes

WONGA PIGEON Leucosarcia melanoleuca

CHANNEL-BILLED CUCKOO Scythrops novaehollandiae

SHINING BRONZE-CUCKOO Chrysococcyx lucidus

FAN-TAILED CUCKOO Cacomantis flabelliformis

PIED OYSTERCATCHER Haematopus longirostris

SOOTY OYSTERCATCHER Haematopus fuliginosa

BAR-TAILED GODWIT Limosa lapponica

ARCTIC JAEGER Stercorarius parasiticus

SILVER GULL Chroicocephalus  novaehollandiae

CASPIAN TERN Hydroprogne caspia

 CRESTED TERN Thalassius bergii

SHY ALBATROSS Thalassarche cauta subsp.  3.

WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER Ardenna  pacifica

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER Ardenna tenuirostris

HUTTON'S/FLUTTERING

AUSTRALASIAN GANNET Morus serrator

GREAT CORMORANT Phalacrocorax carbo

LITTLE BLACK CORMORANT Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

 PIED CORMORANT Phalacrocorax varius

BLACK-FACED CORMORANT Phalacrocorax fuscescens

WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE Aquila addax

SWAMP HARRIER Circus approximans

WHISTLING KITE Haliastur sphenurus

WHITE-BELLIED SEA EAGLE Haliaeetus leucogaster

BARKING OWL Ninox connivens

YELLOW-TAILED BLACK-COCKATOO Calyptorhnchus funereus

GALAH Eolophus roseicapilla

LITTLE CORELLA Cacatua sanguinea

AUSTRALIAN KING PARROT Alisterus scapularis

EASTERN GROUND PARROT Pezoporus wallicus

CRIMSON ROSELLA Platycercus elegans

RAINBOW LORIKEET Trichoglossus haematodus

SUPERB LYREBIRD Menura novaehollandiae

SATIN BOWERBIRD Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

WHITE-THROATED TREE-CREEPER Cormobates leucophaea

SOUTHERN EMU-WREN Stipiturus malachurus

SUPERB FAIRY-WREN Malurus cyaneus

EASTERN SPINEBILL Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris

LEWIN'S HONEYEATER Meliphaga lewinii

YELLOW-FACED HONEYEATER Caligavis chrysops

BELL MINER Manuring melanophrys

LITTLE WATTLEBIRD Anthochaera chrysoptera

RED WATTLEBIRD Anthochaera carunculata

FUSCOUS HONEYEATER Ptilotula fusca

SCARLET [MYZOMELA] HONEYEATER Myzomela sanguinolenta

TAWNY-CROWNED HONEYEATER Gliciphila melanops

NEW HOLLAND HONEYEATER Phylidonyris novaehollandiae

WHITE-NAPED HONEYEATER Melithreptus lunatus

NOISY FRIARBIRD Philemon corniculatus

SPOTTED PARDALOTE Pardalotus punctatus

WHITE-BROWED SCRUBWREN Sericornis frontalis

STRIATED FIELDWREN Calamanthus fuliginosus

BROWN THORNBILL Acanthiza pusilla

STRIATED THORNBILL Acanthiza striatus

BROWN GERYGONE Gerygone mouki

BLACK-FACED CUCKOO-SHRIKE Coracina novaehollandiae

EASTERN WHIPBIRD Psephodes olivaceus

GREY SHRIKETHRUSH Colluricincla harmonica

 (AUSTRALIAN) GOLDEN WHISTLER Pachycephala pectoralis

RUFOUS WHISTLER Pachycephala rufiventris

OLIVE-BACKED ORIOLE Oriolus sagittatus

DUSKY WOODSWALLOW Artamus cyanopterus

GREY BUTCHERBIRD Cracticus torquatus

PIED CURRAWONG Strepera graculina

GREY FANTAIL Rhipidura albiscapa

BLACK-FACED MONARCH Monarcha melanopsis

LEADEN FLYCATCHER Myiagra rubecula

AUSTRALIAN RAVEN Corvus coronoides

ROSE ROBIN Petroica rosea

EASTERN YELLOW ROBIN Eopsaltria australis

WELCOME SWALLOW Hirundo neoxena

SILVEREYE Zosterops lateralis

MISTLETOEBIRD Dicaeum hirundinaceum

BEAUTIFUL FIRETAIL Stagonopleura bella