30 August 2010

When John and Sue Allison found a Red-backed Kingfisher on the east coast of Tasmania, it caused quite a stir. It is so unusual in fact, that Bill Wakefield had to check nearby Bicheno Birdland Park in case they had any in captivity. Sure enough, they had never kept any kingfishers (other than Kookaburra) and so Bill points out “this would seem to confirm the fact that it was or is a true trans-Bass Strait bird and the first documented record for the state”.

Red-backed Kingfisher at Bicheno, Tasmania. A first ever record for the state. Photo by John and Sue Allison.

John Allison writes:

The purpose of the trip was to find snow and Pink Robin. We’d previously missed this bird but this time, found him at Hellyer Gorge, within four hours of disembarking the Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport. We were travelling in a very small off-road caravan and had overnighted at Swansea. So on Saturday 10th July, we headed north, destination unknown and by morning tea had reached Bicheno. We saw the usual tourist sites, namely the Gulch and the Blowhole then pulled in at Bicheno Lions Park for a break.

We’d been discussing which endemic birds we had not yet seen when I jumped up with my bins … and Sue quickly followed. We both immediately recognised what we were looking at, even though it was sitting on a fence with its back to us. The strong wind was blowing his wing-feathers open and exposing the red back and rump. We were amazed and puzzled as to why it was here and we ran to the car to grab our camera. By this time he had moved, but we tracked him down again. He was feeding and had captured a lizard.

We checked both our bird books and understood the significance of the sighting. We hypothesized whether this was a vagrant or a possible escapee.

Thanks to John and Sue Allison (Stanthorpe, Queensland) for sharing their exciting encounter and to Bill Wakefield for his comments on the sighting.