January 2025
Two Bush Stone Curlews (BSCs) have been sighted in our area recently!! The first BSC was reported by Amy who lives in suburban South Tamworth. She had just returned from holidays and spotted it in her street. Neighbours reported that it had been around for several days. She recognised the ground dwelling bird and was very concerned about the danger from cats and dogs.

Photo: Chris Kane
She contacted TBW and Chris was able to attend. The BSC was clearly uncomfortable and obviously well out of its habitat. With the help of a resident, Chris was able to catch the bird with minimal distress to the bird. The bird was taken straight to a local Vet. After a thorough check it seemed to be generally well with no apparent injuries. The Vet was able to give it a good protein feed and rehydrate it. The bird was moved to a quiet feral proof enclosure while I sort advice from the from the Woodland Bird Team at Birdlife Australia.
They put me in touch with Shoshanna Rapley at ANU. She is a researcher looking at how to increase numbers of the Bush Stone-curlew. She is fitting them with homemade backpacks to track them and better understand their behaviour and has discovered that they can fly hundreds of kilometres from their home territories.

Feeding Station ….. a dish of mealworms and a dish of earthworms in leaf litter……YUM
Shoshana felt that the markings on the wing feathers of our visitor indicated it was probably a one-year-old that fledged early last season or the season before. She was keen for us to try and weigh the bird and guided us through how to do this using kitchen scales with minimal disturbance to the bird. We were able to establish that the bird weighed about 600 grams. This is in the normal weight range for a BSC. Shoshanna encouraged us to give the bird some minimal quiet rest and release it in a suitable woodland habitat as soon as possible.
On the evening of 12th January (three nights after coming into our care) the Tamworth Bush Stone-curlew was gently put in a transfer container. Shoshanna explained that it was important that the container was then placed in a bush paddock where the bird could see clearly in all directions when it emerged.

Photo: Denise Kane
It was in no hurry to leave the container. When it did venture out it foraged in the bush paddock and was clearly consuming things (with our binoculars we could see it swallowing). Suddenly, at 8.20pm, it flew strongly west into the sunset.
The second sighting of a BSC was reported to Annabel on 16/1. Rob, the owner of a property between Duri and Gowrie reported that it had been hanging around his property for a week.
On 18/1, Annabel and Eric went to the location to see if they could find it, but alas it was not to be seen again. So, with the overlap of dates, it appears we have had two BSC’s visiting our area.
Our Group Recorder, Joan, will enter both the Tamworth sightings as “Incidental Sightings” in Birdlife Australia’s database, Birdata.
Bush Stone-curlews have not been recorded in Tamworth for decades. One was sighted near Dungowan Reserve in 1999 and another single bird at Wallabadah Service Station in 2009. Whilst the national population of this species is OK, in NSW the Bush Stone-curlew is listed as endangered under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. This listing reflects the decrease in abundance and reduction in range across the state. The main threat is predation. Clearing and modification of its preferred woodland habitat (containing litter and fallen logs) is another threat.
There have been several recent sightings of BSC’s outside their normal range in December 2024 and January 2025. Random birds have been found in the Capertee Valley, Uralla, Yarrie Lake, Wellington, and now, TAMWORTH! There was also a single bird sighted at Harrington Shopping Village. Two days after the Harrington sighting its mangled corpse was discovered in the same location. Further south on the coast there were also single birds reported at Magenta Shores and Wonboyn Lake Village.
The west dispersing birds are very unusual. It could mean that they have had a good breeding season and they are dispersing OR it could be that something has gone wrong (eg fire) at their normal location and they have left it.
Please continue to keep your eyes and ears alert for Bush Stone-curlews around our area. Every bird in the NSW population is precious and its conservation important. Remember, Bush Stone-curlews are nocturnal and call mainly at night. Their call is far reaching and eerie. They screech in flight.
These have been very interesting and very unusual sightings to start TBW’s year. Let’s hope we all enjoy many more exciting birding experiences in 2025.
Denise Kane
Lagoon near Tamworth Racecourse. 35 Australian Pelicans, 11 Great Cormorants, 1 Coot, 4 Masked Lapwings, 2 Royal Spoonbills, 1 Yellow-billed Spoonbill, 2 Magpie-larks. Annabel
Royal Spoonbill, Calala Creek, end of Campbell Rd, Calala
20+ Brown Quail, new sub-division near Calala Lane bridges (paddocks were slashed block by block over last week, leaving only small areas of tall grass)
2 Great Cormorants, flying over paddocks end of Gordon St Calala
pair Red-kneed Dotterel, Dangars Lagoon, Uralla
juvenile Swamp Harrier, paddock, end of Myrl Street, Calala (identified by Steve Debus)
juvenile Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo, paddock near end of Graham Street, Calala
juvenile Dollarbird, near Calala Lane bridges
December 2024
Ravensfield Immature White-winged Triller Eric Fair
Yarramanbully Road, Halls Creek. Farm dam with hundreds of ducks, mainly Wood Ducks, but also identified Pacific Black Duck, Grey Teal, Australian Shovelers and one Blue-billed Duck. We were astounded by the sheer numbers on this dam when nearby dams had none. Annabel and Eric
November 2024
Australian Tern, over Water Treatment Works, Calala
Tawny Grassbird, paddock end of Gordon St, Calala
Nankeen Night-Heron, on Calala Creek, end of Campbell St, Calala
Feeding behaviour by a pair of Nankeen Kestrels to their young

October 2024
Buff-banded Rail, on Calala Creek, end of Campbell St, Calala
Little Lorikeet, 2, Gordon St Calala
White-winged Triller, pair; White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike; Turquoise Parrot; Speckled Warbler; at Wondoba SCA
Tawny Grassbird, paddock, end of Gordon Street Calala
2 White-winged Trillers at “Ravensfield” Appleby Lane
Little Corellas and Galahs – a lot of them eating the thistle heads in a Calala paddock



September 2024
10 Eastern Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage, just south of Tamworth City Lights Holiday Park, New England Highway
Rufous Songlark, calling in paddock near Calala Creek (first sighting for this Spring)
Golden-headed Cisticola, paddock end of Gordon Street Calala (now in breeding plumage, with a golden head, not striped)
This evening, September 8, I went outside to see what the commotion was and there were two Masked Lapwings carrying on as they were out with their two dear little babies. Not very well behaved yet as they ran amuck on the path, along the road and in and out people’s front gates! Very entertaining even if very rowdy. Joan
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Calala Lane
Tawny Grassbird, paddock, end of Gordon Street Calala
Chestnut Teal, Calala Creek
White-winged Triller, Speckled Warbler, Bar-shouldered Dove Wondoba SCA
Channel-billed Cuckoo raiding Noisy Miner nest?, taking egg and swallowing it, Rocky Waterhole TSR
August 2024



These birds are all common in Tamworth, but the fact that they are in my garden is special. Thanks to a resident Red Wattlebird and Pied Butcherbird, I rarely see other species apart from parrots. Thanks to a profusely flowering ironbark, and grevilleas in the last 24 hours I have had Eastern Spinebills, Brown, White-plumed, and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters as well as Rainbow Lorikeets and Noisy Friarbirds. I am over the moon! Annabel
On 6th August I was fortunate enough to see a White Goshawk in Johnston Street North Tamworth. It was a female in white morph. I thought it was a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo sitting in a dead cypress but after it had taken off and circled over me twice, I realised what it was. We had them breed on our farm at Apollo Bay and this is the first I have seen in our area. Joan
4 Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos, over Myrl Street, Calala
8 Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, paddock at end of Gordon Street, Calala (first time seen for 11 weeks)
Dusky Woodswallow, Crested Shrike-tit, Brown Treecreeper, Wondoba SCA
6 Great Cormorant, flying over Gordon St, Calala
Brown Quail, paddock at end of Gordon Street Calala
7 Torresian Crows, Gordon Street Calala
Striated Pardalote, Gordon Street Calala
17 Purple Swamp Hens, Lampada dams, Calala
July 2024
Black Falcon, Gordon Street Calala
2 Yellow Thornbills, Gordon Street Calala
3 Brown Quail, paddock at end of Gordon Street Calala
39 species sighted on paddock walk Calala, including Brown Goshawk and Flame Robin pair
2 Peaceful Doves, near bridges on Calala Lane
Male Flame Robin, end of Myrl Street Calala
3 Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Gordon Street Calala
Hobby, Pied Currawong, Pied Butcherbird and juvenile Collared Sparrowhawk all sitting in same bare tree, Gordon Street Calala
June 2024
Hobby, The Outlook, Myrl Street Calala. In Myrl Street early in the morning, a pair of Hobbies were in display flight, when interrupted by a third. Two (I assume the males) then were swooping and attacking each other, while the third (presumably the female) sat on a lamp post, tearing the feathers off a small bird, completely unconcerned about the others!
Pair of Flame Robins, in paddock near bridges on Calala Lane.
3 Peaceful Doves, in trees near bridges on Calala Lane.
Whistling Kite, pair Black-shouldered Kites, Collared Sparrowhawk, Nankeen Kestrel – all seen on walk around paddock north of The Outlook, Calala.
Golden-headed Cisticola, in paddock end of Gordon Street Calala
Australian Pelican X 12 on Tamworth Racecourse Dam
Pair of Striated Pardalotes in Liquid Amber, Gordon Street Calala
May 2024
Pair Whistling Kites, Gordon Street Calala
Female / juvenile Golden Whistlers (2)
Wedge-tailed Eagle pair being chased by Australian Ravens at Moore Creek
Red-rumped Parrot 87 going to roost just on dusk at Daruka Road Tamworth
Black Falcon, Myrl Street Calala
Collared Sparrowhawk on prey, Gordon Street Calala
Juvenile Golden Whistler, Gordon Street Calala
3 Black Falcons over Myrl Street Calala (a pair, chased by a third)
Restless Flycatcher, near bridges on Calala Lane
Little Eagle (pale morph), being harassed by a pair of Black-shouldered Kites, paddock near bridges on Calala Lane
Little Eagle (dark morph), paddock end of Gordon Street Calala
10 Pelicans, flying over Gordon Street Calala
April 2024
Juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle, flying over Gordon Street Calala
White-backed Swallows at Moore Creek
Singing Honeyeater, Gordon Street Calala
Brown Quail, Jacky Winter, paddock at end of Graham Street Calala
Grey Fantail, Gordon Street Calala
Golden Whistler near Tamworth Lookout
Brown Quail, Peaceful Dove, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, near bridges on Calala Lane
March 2024
Sacred Kingfisher at ‘Gunagulla’, Loomberah
Great Cormorant at Bridge Club Lagoon Tamworth Crested Shrike-tit, Olive-backed Oriole, Little Eagle, Jacky Winter, Red-capped Robin – Attunga State Forest
2 Reed Warblers – near bridges on Calala Lane
Speckled Warbler, ‘Ravensfield’, Appleby
2 Golden-headed Cisticola in non-breeding plumage (striped head, not golden); in paddock end of Graham Street Calala
Dead Tawny Frogmouth – Davidsons Road (middle of the road) Moore Creek
February 2024
Golden-headed Cisticola in paddock end of Gordon Street Calala
Painted Honeyeater, Rangari Roadside (near Rangari Creek)
2 Magpies attacking 6 Common (Indian) Mynas Riverside Playing Fields (near baseball clubhouse)
Collared Sparrowhawk; Gordon Street Calala
Black Falcon, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, 5 Brown Quail, Golden-headed Cisticola; in paddocks near Gordon Street Calala
Golden-headed Cisticola in tall grass Swan Street North Tamworth
Speckled Warbler 2 at Tamworth Botanic Gardens
Cattle Egret 100+ in dead tree in Barnes Gully Tamworth
Purple-backed Fairy-wren at Glengarvin Reserve, Peel River, Oxley Vale
Golden-headed Cisticola at Glengarvin Reserve, Peel River, Oxley Vale
January 2024
Great Egret on Tamworth Racecourse Lagoon
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, 1 male, 7 female / immature, near bridges on Calala Lane
Black Swan 2 on Tamworth Race Course Lagoon
Plum-headed Finch, 2 adult, 2 immature, first sighting for this area, in paddock at end of Graham Street Calala
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, Australian Hobby, Golden-headed Cisticola (first sighting for area), near bridges on Calala Lane
Striped Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Speckled Warbler, Turquoise Parrot, Attunga SF
White-necked Heron, Moore Creek Rd. near Browns Lane
Juvenile Collared Sparrowhawk, took Spotted Dove in my backyard, Calala
Plum-headed Finch, 6, in paddock at end of Graham Street Calala
White-browed Scrubwren, near bridges on Calala Lane, first sighting for this area
Crested Shrike-tit, Turquoise Parrot, Olive-backed Oriole, Bar-shouldered Dove, Speckled Warbler, Wondobah SCA
Brown Quail, 3, in paddock at end of Graham Street Calala
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, Golden-headed Cisticola, Black-shouldered Kite, Dollarbird, near bridges on Calala Lane