ShareThis27 May 2011
By Greg Roberts
This is an annotated list of bird species on the Sunshine Coast which could be regarded generally as either rare or difficult to see in southeast Queensland. Those marked * are considered to be hard to find generally in Australia. See here for birding blog: http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com/.
VISIT THE SUNSHINE COAST BIRDING PAGES
The Sunshine Coast is defined by the boundaries of the Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
| BUSH-HEN | Uncommon in waterside thickets and well-wooded swamps. Appears to be nomadic at some sites. Sometimes very vocal. |
| *SPOTLESS CRAKE | Uncommon but regular in densely vegetated freshwater swamps. A skulker but easy to see in the right circumstances. |
| BAILLON’S CRAKE | A rare summer visitor to freshwater swamps, sometimes affording close views. |
| AUSTRALIAN SPOTTED CRAKE | Rare along rainforest streams in the hinterland. |
| *LEWIN’S RAIL | Regular in coastal wallum heath, but the density of the vegetation makes them hard to see in this habitat. Uncommon in waterside thickets and densely vegetated swamps in the hinterland. Usually detected by its distinctive call. |
| *BLACK BITTERN | Uncommon along freshwater streams in the hinterland and in coastal mangroves. |
| BROLGA | Rare but regular in swamps and on well-grassed coastal plains. |
| BLACK-NECKED STORK | Uncommon but frequently seen on wetlands and in river estuaries. |
| COTTON PYGMY-GOOSE | Uncommon but regular on well-vegetated freshwater swamps, including farm dams. |
| *WANDERING TATTLER | A regular summer visitor in small numbers to rocky headlands |
| SOOTY OYSTERCATCHER | Uncommon but regular on rocky headlands. |
| BEACH STONE-CURLEW | Rare on sandy shores in the estuaries of the coast’s main rivers. |
| EASTERN REEF EGRET | Uncommon but regular on rocky headlands. About equal numbers of white and grey birds, in contrast to further south in southeast Queensland and northeast NSW, where most are grey. |
| BRIDLED TERN | Occasionally seen offshore from headlands during strong easterly winds. |
| SOOTY TERN | Rare offshore from headlands during strong easterly winds. |
| LESSER FRIGATEBIRD | Uncommon offshore from headlands during strong easterly winds. |
| WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN | A common bird on the Sunshine Coast that is generally regarded as scarce elsewhere in southeast Queensland. |
| *SQUARE-TAILED KITE | Rare but regularly seen over wallum heath and open forest, sometimes above busy motorways. |
| *SPOTTED HARRIER | Uncommon but frequently seen hunting over short cane fields and grasslands on coastal plains. Generally very rare on the coast in southeast Queensland. |
| *MASKED OWL | Rare in wet sclerophyll and open forest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges, where it is more often heard than seen. |
| *SOOTY OWL | Rare in wet sclerophyll and rainforest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges. Can be responsive to playback at certain times of the year. |
| *EASTERN GRASS OWL | Seen frequently at several sites on dusk over the short cane fields and grasslands of coastal plains. Sometimes birds are detected hawking over fields before dusk. |
| *POWERFUL OWL | Rare in remnant lowland rainforest in the Conondale Range. |
| *MARBLED FROGMOUTH | Uncommon but regular at several sites in rainforest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges. Can be very responsive to playback. |
| *BLACK-BREASTED BUTTON-QUAIL | Rare but regularly seen at favoured sites in dry rainforest and lantana in the hinterland, and occasionally in dune vegetation along the coastal strip. |
| PAINTED BUTTON-QUAIL | Uncommon in open forest and sometimes on the fringes of vine scrub. |
| RED-BACKED BUTTON-QUAIL | Rare in tall wet coastal grasslands. |
| KING QUAIL | Uncommon in wet coastal grasslands and wallum heath. |
| *GROUND PARROT | Rare but regularly seen at favoured sites in wallum heath, sometimes far south of the Cooloola region, where the species is well-known. |
| *GLOSSY BLACK-COCKATOO | Uncommon and nomadic but regularly seen in favoured groves of Casuarina in coastal heathland. |
| SUPERB FRUIT-DOVE | Uncommon but a few are found in summer in rainforest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges. |
| ROSE-CROWNED FRUIT-DOVE | Common in coastal and foothill rainforest. |
| *NOISY PITTA | Regularly seen in rainforest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges. |
| BARRED CUCKOO-SHRIKE (YELLOW-EYED CUCKOO-SHRIKE) | Regular in summer in remnant lowland rainforest in the hinterland and on the coast. |
| SHINING FLYCATCHER | Uncommon in mangroves, especially on the water line at high tide, when the habitat can be difficult to access on foot. Appears to be present all year. |
| *EASTERN BRISTLEBIRD | Rare at high altitudes in open forest and rainforest edges in the Conondale Range. The species has probably disappeared from this site. |
| *WHITE-EARED MONARCH | Fairy common and readily seen at several lowland rainforest sites, on the coast and especially in the hinterland. |
| FAIRY GERYGONE | Regularly found in coastal vine thickets, and further inland in remnant lowland rainforest in northern parts of the Sunshine Coast. Appears to be increasing in numbers. |
| BLACK-CHINNED HONEYEATER | Rare visitor to woodlands in hinterland. |
| RED-BROWED TREECREEPER | Rare in wet sclerophyll forest in Blackall and Conondale Ranges. |
| PARADISE RIFLEBIRD | Uncommon but regularly seen in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in the Blackall and Conondale Ranges. |
