A friend over at The Research Whisperer blog once told me that a good blog post is written in a conversational tone. I have tried to take this advice on board, but more than a decade of working in the research space has had its effect on my writing style: it still has a matter-of-fact and impersonal tone like the last paper I co-authored on “The post-repair performance of Ti-6Al-4V after foreign object damage”. (It’s a thrilling read, honest! :D) I promised to provide all sponsors with some photos from the Twitchathon, and since many of them work in the research/learning/teaching space,  I thought that I’d have some fun and write this trip report like a research paper.  😀 I’m a little bit rusty, but I hope that you enjoy it!

The Catbirders’ Participation in the 2015 Victorian Twitchathon

R. Mohammed^a*, I. Seecharan, Caesar the Cat, Cleo the Cat

^aBirdinglovers, Melbourne, Australia

^*Email: reza57@hotmail.com

Commenced 8 November 2015, Revised 10 November 2015, Available online 11 November 2015

Abstract

The Catbirders participated in the 8-hr 2015 Victorian Twitchathon on 7 November 2015. The team spotted 97 (±1) species of birds at three sites in Victoria: 70 species were recorded at the Western Treatment Plant, 17 at Serendip Sanctuary, and 10 at You Yangs Western Plantation. The day’s best bird was Rainbow Bee-eater, and the worst dip (i.e. a species expected to be seen but was surprisingly absent during the Twitchathon) was Australian Wood Duck. The team raised approximately $250 in sponsorship for the conservation of the endangered Mallee Emu-wren, and placed 9th (of 10 teams), with the winning team in the 8-hr category recording 150 species.

Introduction

The Twitchathon is an annual event organised by Birdlife Australia, the nation’s largest bird conservation organisation. Participants form teams with witty names and race around the state, via a (sometimes secret and) carefully planned route, to identify as many species of birds as possible in a set period of time (either 8-hrs or 24-hrs). In 2013, for example, the Tick Tock Twins identified 209 species in 24-hrs, and the Robin Rednecks recorded 166 species in the 8-hr category. The Twitchathon also affords an opportunity to create awareness of the the plight of Australian birds, and to raise much needed funds to aid in their conservation. In 2015, sponsors were asked to donate through the JustGiving website, and a $4,000 target amount was set.

The Catbirders team formed in October 2015, and comprised 4 amateur birders (2 humans and 2 cats, all co-authors of this ‘paper’) whose aim was to identify 100 or more species in the 8-hr category. (A total of 15 teams participated in the 2015 Victorian Twitchathon: 10 in the 8-hr category and 5 in the 24-hr category.)

Methodology

Route

With a team of only 2 humans, The Catbirders were limited by the distance they could drive in a day and so opted for a route that involved no more 300km of driving. Three sites to the west of Melbourne were chosen based on their proximity to each other, the sheer diversity/number of prospective species, and The Catbirders’ familiarity with the sites:

1. The Western Treatment Plant
   • Visited from 0800-1300, proceeding along Beach Road near Avalon Airport, then visiting T-Section Lagoon, Western Lagoon, Paradise Road, the ‘special access permit route’, and exiting via the ‘coast road’ past Lake Borrie
2. Serendip Sanctuary
   • Visited from 1330-1445, doing a return walk from the car park to the bird hide at the North Arm lake
3. You Yangs Western Plantation
   • Visited from 1500-1600, initially following the power lines, and then walking back and forth along the fence line

Equipment

A Bushnell Legacy 10×50 binoculars was used to spot birds in low-light conditions at the Western Treatment Plant, and the smaller, lighter Nikon Monarch 5 10×42 binoculars was used at Serendip Sanctuary and You Yangs Western Plantation. A Canon EOS 600D camera with a Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 SP VC USD lens was used to photograph birds for identification purposes, and a pair of Digitalk walkie-talkies was used to reconvene team members who were out of sight for more than 2-mins.

Identification and Recording

The iOS version of The Michael Morcombe and David Stewart eGuide to the Birds of Australia app was used to identify and record sightings of birds. Where the illustrations were unable to provide a conclusive identification, Google Images and the assistance of the Australian Bird Identification Facebook Group was used. Note that only birds sighted (i.e. not heard-only) were recorded.

Results

The top team in the 8-hr category, ‘Phaps Around the Traps’, recorded 150 species, and ‘Manky Shearwaters’ identified 201 species in the 24-hr category.

A total of 96 birds were identified with 100% confidence by The Catbirders. The Marsh Sandpiper was identified with 95% confidence and is therefore included in the full list of species observed (as stated in Table 1). A possible Common Bronzewing was flushed at You Yangs Western Plantation and was identified with only 80% confidence, and is therefore not included in the tally.

The Western Treatment Plant yielded 70 species, with the highlight being Banded Lapwing (see Fig. 24), while the worst dip was Australian Wood Duck. A total of 17 species were recorded at Serendip Sanctuary; Purple-crowned Lorikeet (see Fig. 31) was the best bird, and Nankeen Night Heron was the worst dip. An additional 10 species were recorded at You Yangs Western Plantation with the best bird being Rainbow Bee-eater (see Fig. 37) and Sacred Kingfisher the worst dip.

 

Table 1. Full list of species recorded by The Catbirders during the 2015 Victorian Twitchathon

1	Australasian Grebe	Western Treatment Plant
2	Australasian Pipit	Western Treatment Plant
3	Australasian Shoveler	Western Treatment Plant
4	Australian Magpie	Western Treatment Plant
5	Australian Pelican	Western Treatment Plant
6	Australian Pied Oystercatcher	Western Treatment Plant
7	Australian Reed-Warbler	Western Treatment Plant
8	Australian Shelduck	Western Treatment Plant
9	Australian White Ibis	Western Treatment Plant
10	Banded Lapwing	Western Treatment Plant
11	Banded Stilt	Western Treatment Plant
12	Black Kite	Western Treatment Plant
13	Black Swan	Western Treatment Plant
14	Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike	Western Treatment Plant
15	Black-fronted Dotterel	Western Treatment Plant
16	Black-shouldered Kite	Western Treatment Plant
17	Black-winged Stilt	Western Treatment Plant
18	Blue-billed Duck	Western Treatment Plant
19	Brown Falcon	Western Treatment Plant
20	Brown-headed Honeyeater	You Yangs
21	Buff-banded Rail	Western Treatment Plant
22	Cape Barren Goose	Serendip Sanctuary
23	Chestnut Teal	Western Treatment Plant
24	Common Greenfinch	Western Treatment Plant
25	Common Greenshank	Western Treatment Plant
26	Common Myna	Serendip Sanctuary
27	Common Starling	Western Treatment Plant
28	Crested Pigeon	Western Treatment Plant
29	Crested Tern	Western Treatment Plant
30	Curlew Sandpiper	Western Treatment Plant
31	Dusky Moorhen	Serendip Sanctuary
32	Dusky Woodswallow	Serendip Sanctuary
33	Eastern Great Egret	Western Treatment Plant
34	Eurasian Coot	Western Treatment Plant
35	Eurasian Skylark	Western Treatment Plant
36	European Goldfinch	Western Treatment Plant
37	Fairy Martin	Western Treatment Plant
38	Freckled Duck	Western Treatment Plant
39	Galah	Western Treatment Plant
40	Golden Whistler	Serendip Sanctuary
41	Golden-headed Cisticola	Western Treatment Plant
42	Great Crested Grebe	Western Treatment Plant
43	Grey Fantail	You Yangs
44	Grey Shrike-thrush	Serendip Sanctuary
45	Grey Teal	Western Treatment Plant
46	Hardhead	Western Treatment Plant
47	Hoary-headed Grebe	Western Treatment Plant
48	Horsefield’s Bushlark	Western Treatment Plant
49	Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo	Western Treatment Plant
50	House Sparrow	Western Treatment Plant
51	Jacky Winter	You Yangs
52	Little Black Cormorant	Western Treatment Plant
53	Little Pied Cormorant	Western Treatment Plant
54	Little Raven	Western Treatment Plant
55	Magpie Goose	Serendip Sanctuary
56	Magpie-lark	Western Treatment Plant
57	Marsh Sandpiper	Western Treatment Plant
58	Masked Lapwing	Western Treatment Plant
59	Musk Duck	Western Treatment Plant
60	New Holland Honeyeater	Serendip Sanctuary
61	Pacific Black Duck	Western Treatment Plant
62	Pied Currawong	Serendip Sanctuary
63	Pink-eared Duck	Western Treatment Plant
64	Purple Swamphen	Western Treatment Plant
65	Purple-crowned Lorikeet	Serendip Sanctuary
66	Rainbow Bee-eater	You Yangs
67	Rainbow Lorikeet	You Yangs
68	Red Wattlebird	Serendip Sanctuary
69	Red-capped Plover	Western Treatment Plant
70	Red-kneed Dotterel	Serendip Sanctuary
71	Red-necked Avocet	Western Treatment Plant
72	Red-necked Stint	Western Treatment Plant
73	Red-rumped Parrot	Serendip Sanctuary
74	Rufous Whistler	You Yangs
75	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper	Western Treatment Plant
76	Silver Gull	Western Treatment Plant
77	Silvereye	Western Treatment Plant
78	Spotted Dove	Serendip Sanctuary
79	Spotted Pardalote	You Yangs
80	Straw-necked Ibis	Western Treatment Plant
81	Striated Pardalote	You Yangs
82	Sulphur-crested Cockatoo	Western Treatment Plant
83	Superb Fairy-wren	Western Treatment Plant
84	Swamp Harrier	Western Treatment Plant
85	Weebill	You Yangs
86	Welcome Swallow	Western Treatment Plant
87	Whiskered Tern	Western Treatment Plant
88	Whistling Kite	Serendip Sanctuary
89	White-faced Heron	Western Treatment Plant
90	White-fronted Chat	Western Treatment Plant
91	White-plumed Honeyeater	Serendip Sanctuary
92	White-winged Chough	You Yangs
93	Willie Wagtail	Western Treatment Plant
94	Yellow-billed Spoonbill	Western Treatment Plant
95	Yellow-faced Honeyeater	Serendip Sanctuary
96	Yellow-rumped Thornbill	Western Treatment Plant
97	Zebra Finch	Western Treatment Plant

Birds at the Western Treatment Plant

Figs. 1-29 are photographs taken at the Western Treatment Plant during the 2015 Victorian Twitchathon.

Birds at Serendip Sanctuary

Figs. 30-34 are photographs taken at the Serendip Sanctuary during the 2015 Victorian Twitchathon.

Birds at You Yangs Western Plantation

Figs. 35-38 are photographs taken at the You Yangs Western Plantations during the 2015 Victorian Twitchathon.

Discussion

The Catbirders’ goal was to record at least 100 species during the Twitchathon. The 2 feline members of the team were unable to accompany the human members of the team, but instead chose to bird from their home, and recorded Noisy Miner, Musk Lorikeet, Crimson Rosella and Eastern Rosella, potentially giving the team a total of 101. However, the Twitchathon rules state that all members must remain in direct voice contact at all times, and so these 4 species are not included in the final tally. Furthermore, since only birds sighted were recorded, Eastern Koel (heard-only at Serendip Sanctuary) is also not included in the final tally.

The Catbirders will modify their route and strategy in 2016. For example, less time will be spent at the Western Treatment Plant, and another location – such as Point Addis – may be visited. In addition, less time will be spent taking photographs, and more time will be spent inspecting large flocks of waders and terns. Finally, it is believed that The Catbirders skill at identifying birds (such as sandpipers) will improve in the next year, so the 2016 tally should increase as a consequence.

Acknowledgements

The Catbirders wish to thank the Victorian Birders Facebook Group for their excellent advice on a productive birding route, and the Australian Bird Identification Facebook Group for assistance with identifying ‘little brown jobs’ and waders. In addition, the authors wish to thank friends for their support and donations to help conserve the Mallee Emu-wren.