Ourimbah, Central Coast - Pigeon Outing

White-headed pigeon at Palmdale Road

This weekend we went to the Central Coast hoping to see a few birds that wouldn’t be as easily seen in the Sydney region. The mission of the day was to find Pigeons – in particular the Wonga Pigeon.

A few members decided to start at an earlier time to check out the rainforest habitat that makes up the Ourimbah RTA reserve. The birds observed at Ourimbah were:

White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela)
Topknot Pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus)
Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)
Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus)
Regent Bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus)
Lewin's Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Caligavis chrysops)
Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys)
Yellow-throated Scrubwren (Neosericornis citreogularis)
White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis)
Brown Gerygone (Gerygone mouki)
Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina)
Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)
Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides)
Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis)
Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)

With the rest of the party arriving a bit later, the group convened at the parking lot and were able to observe a number of Topknot Pigeons flying overhead. The first pigeon of the day!

The group later went down the tarmac road of Ourimbah RTA reserve trail but found that the bird activity had died down considerably. A decision was made to press on to Palmdale Road.

The bird activity on Palmdale Road was much more exciting! The species observed here were:

Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)
Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata)
Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa)
Australian Brushturkey (Alectura lathami)
White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela)
Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis)
Brown Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia phasianella)
Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis)
Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)
Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa)
Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)
Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis)
Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)
Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)
Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus)
Regent Bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus)
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)
Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus)
Lewin's Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii)
Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys)
Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala)
Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla)
Brown Gerygone (Gerygone mouki)
Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus)
Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen)
Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys)
Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)
Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca)
Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis)
Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)
Bassian Thrush (Zoothera lunulata)
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)

The notable standout was the obliging White-headed Pigeon that the group was able to observe for a while. Unfortunately the Gang-gang Cockatoos which could be reliably seen in the Liquid Ambers at the end of the road, did not make an appearance for us today. We also dipped on the Wonga Pigeon which we briefly heard along a stretch of rainforest – it eludes us again.

Report written by V, a member of our group.

PS: As a bonus, we saw some adorable alpacas on a farm along the Palmdale track! It was a great way to conclude the long walk. So cute!