Birding Lifelist Update

My Australian lifelist (which is my WA lifelist as I haven't birded in any other states) is sitting at 239.

I was aiming to hit 250 by the end of this year (and may very well have come close had the Rottnest trip paid off and had I survived the Twitchathon*) but I'm still happy with my progress.

Thanks to Alan I finally got a decent look at a Square-tailed Kite (whilst driving down the hill from Lesmurdie, apparently this is a regular haunt).  Also finally sorted out the three Corellas that inhabit the Perth environs.  I have half decent pictures of all three now.

Some birds that are in my immediate target list:

• Little Grassbird (heard them a few times but really want a good look);
• Cattle Egret (they are around, I really need to see them in full breeding plumage);
• Royal Spoonbill (rapidly becoming a bogey-bird, Mandurah area may be my best bet);
• Red-browed Finch (I know they are a feral population but I still would like to see them);
• Chestnut Teal (I'm now double-checking all the Grey Teal I see);
• Bridled Tern (perhaps a trip to Penguin Island is in order);
• Masked Lapwing (there seems to be a couple each year that show up in the extended metropolitan area).

* - I retired sick early Sunday morning with a bout of what turned out to be tonsillitis.  It was a shame as The Big Twits went on to see 152 birds in the 24 hour race and claim the title!

Return from intermission

I have come to the realisation that it has been almost two months since I have posted anything on this blog.  Apologies to my dedicated readers for the unscheduled hiatus.

The last two months have unfortunately been dominated by work.  I had hoped to reduce the amount of site time I was doing but have found it steadily increasing.  In an effort to stay in Perth more often I am taking on more managerial roles, something that I am not too comfortable with to be honest.  I am, however, grateful to have a job.

Computer-wise, not a lot has changed.  Kylie has a "new" iMac G5 (replacing her eMac G4 which was becoming decidedly long in the tooth).  I haven't added much to the computer collection (I think a complete Apple IIC was the last acquisition).  Recent Apple announcements have been a roller-coaster of emotions for me: the new MacBook Air looks awesome (the 11 inch model in particular) but why oh why have they canned the Xserve?

The model train layout I have been building for the last year or so is progressing nicely.  The under-board wiring has been neatened up and more work on the scenery completed.  I have also started to fix the location of buildings.  Still a very long way to go but I'm not sure I ever want this project to end...

The last few months have been fantastic for me with regards to birding.  The highlight was a trip to Neale Junction with Martin Cake and John Graff.  You can read the trip report here.  It was a fantastic adventure into an area that I have never travelled before.  Already there are plans to go back.  In all I got 17 lifers.

Model Train Layout Progress Update

IMG_5590, originally uploaded by gjhmac.

I am slowly making progress with the modifications and improvements to my British N Gauge model train layout. My previous attempt at a branch line has been dismantled (I salvaged any useful parts) and I have added a more sensible and carefully constructed branch line (with storage sidings).

As can be seen from the above photograph I have painted the horizontal "rails" on all of the buffer stops - as far as I can tell (from a few Google image searches) this is the colour they should be. Eventually I will paint the wooden uprights and the stone ballasting as well.

From the point of view of locomotives and rolling stock I may have reached the point where I have everything I want/need. In fact you could probably argue I reached this point a few months back... Anyway, the latest additions are running very well. I am particularly happy with the new Graham Farish Class 08 shunter - it is a work of art (and it doesn't stall on my points when running very slowly like the older version).

Declan and the trains

IMG_5579, originally uploaded by gjhmac.

Declan REALLY enjoys watching the trains run in the study. Surprisingly he doesn't break much or try and touch the trains as they pass. The only problem is that it is difficult to get all three of them in the room at once watching trains (and none of them like to be left out when there are trains running). Of course I can fix this problem by building my dream layout in the shed....

BirdSight Australia has been updated to version 1.8

The iPhone and iPod Touch application BirdSight Australia has just been updated to version 1.8.

The good news is:

• The upgrade keeps all of your previous sightings (so don't stress about upgrading and losing all of your precious sightings that you haven't backed up because the process is too tedious);
• The location data entry form allows Google maps (if you have Internet access obviously);
• You can cache Wikipedia articles locally. This sounds like an awesome feature that I must try out.

The bad news is:

• The App now has a 17+ rating (why?);
• The main view of lists of sightings show the same information twice (once in a large black font and the again immediately below in a smaller grey font) EDIT - this behaviour is just for existing sightings made with the previous version - new sightings now show site and date/time on the main page (which is actually good news);
• The apostrophe bug I mentioned earlier is still present;
• If you click "Share Data" in an observation and then click "Cancel" the App crashes completely.

There is so much that could be done to improve this App. I guess the underlying good news is that someone is working on it again. Hopefully it'll get better. This is still the only App I have ever paid for.

Train Layout Progress

I have been spending some time tinkering with the train layout lately. I find it relaxing at the end of the day. Here is a summary of the work in progress and completed:

• I have completely removed the rather badly installed branch line track and started replacing it with a more professionally installed set of sidings and a small station. It is still a branch line but it only connects to the main line at a single junction. Eventually I plan to run separate power supplies to the main and branch lines to allow for the operation of two trains simultaneously (one train could run a continuous loop and the other perform shunting duties).
• I have started improving the scenic elements of the layout. I still have lots of work to do here. I am finding the wall plastering putty to be quite useful in creating rock shapes. I am also starting to ballast areas of the track but I am less confident with that.
• I have repaired the buffers (again) on the old Class 37 Diesel. I still have to finish painting the blue and yellow Class 31 and work out why the Class 08 shunter is misbehaving. The Class 08 shunter needs fixing as soon as possible - it's Cameron's favourite. The Class 31 was painted but I was unhappy with the result so have started again. I also discovered it could be taken apart - a fact that makes the paint job much easier!
• As a result of these upgrades I still have a fair amount of wiring left to do. Time to get the soldering iron out again...

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail (IMG_5545), originally uploaded by gjhmac.

Definitely the biggest sighting in my birding life - a female Northern Pintail at Erskine Lakes (near Mandurah, WA, Australia). Many thanks to John Graff for finding it on the day - we were there looking for a Royal Spoonbill. Apparently this bird is the third recorded Northern Pintail for Western Australia.

Apple 17" LCD Studio Display

Just scored a working and complete Apple 17" LCD/ADC Studio Display for the princely sum of $2.25. Currently paired with my Mac Cube and working very nicely. The Cube has the RAM maxed out at 1.5GB, making this quite a nice little setup.

Another rambling update...

Here's an insight into what I have been up to recently:

• Started basketball training again (with the intention to play a season on a team). I really need the exercise...
• Still tinkering with model trains. I'm in the process of re-doing a whole heap of track work I did earlier in the year (or late last year) that I'm not entirely happy with. Contemplated (briefly) a new, much larger N gauge layout but decided to continue with the one I have been working on. Still acquiring random trains/rolling stock/buildings and other miscellanea. Lots of fun.
• Not bird-watching/photographing anywhere near as much as I would like. Don't like my chances of reaching 250 species by the end of the year (currently sitting on 215).
• I have finally delved back into Mac programming. Just working on a simple project to start with but hopefully things will ramp up once I get familiar with it again. Seriously liking the new version of Xcode.
• Still working (probably too much). Got to pay the bills somehow. While the downturn means less project work it does mean we are putting together a lot more quotations and proposals.

Road Trip

A recent drive from Perth to Karratha yielded four new birds for my lifelist:

• White-eared Honeyeater (Lichenostomus leucotis);
• Little Crow (Corvus bennetti);
• Torresian Crow (Corvus orru);
• Mangrove Grey Fantail (Rhipidua phasiana).

Separating the two crows required a fair amount of preparation (as far as I can see they look identical). I had located some mp3s of the calls of both of these birds (and also the Australian Raven for good measure) and loaded them onto my iPod touch. This enabled me to compare the live call to a few typical calls on the iPod. Thankfully the crows cooperated and treated me to textbook renditions of their voices.

I did the drive to help my brother-in-law Wes get his car back up to Karratha (he works up there at the moment).


View Larger Map

Google Maps reports this trip as 1,547 kilometres. These four birds take the life list to 215.

Rottnest Island Birding Trip

On Saturday May 1st 2010 three of us (John Graff, Mark Newman and myself) headed to Fremantle to catch the ferry to Rottnest Island. We departed at 0730 and returned at 1645. The weather was overcast for most of the day. Our targets were the Rottnest specialties (Peafowl, Common Pheasant, Rock Parrot) as well as any waders or seabirds that happened to turn up.

We dipped out on Rock Parrot and Peafowl but had good sightings of both male and female Common Pheasant. We suspect that the Peafowl may have been culled out of existence (or any that are left are hiding really well). Given how common they used (and the fact that they stand out like a sore thumb) this is unusual. The following is my list for the day (Common Pheasant being my only lifer):

• Common Pheasant;
• Galah;
• Welcome Swallow;
• White-browed Scrubwren;
• Red-capped Robin;
• Silver Gull;
• Silvereye;
• Crested Tern;
• Pied Cormorant;
• Australian Raven;
• Australian Shelduck;
• Singing Honeyeater;
• Brown Skua;
• Laughing Dove;
• Spotted Dove;
• Eastern Osprey;
• Australian Pelican;
• Ruddy Turnstone;
• Australian Magpie;
• Caspian Tern;
• White-fronted Chat;
• Red-necked Stint;
• Black-winged Stilt;
• Grey Plover;
• Banded Lapwing;
• Pacific Black Duck;
• Grey Teal;
• Spotless Crake;
• Australian Pied Oystercatcher;
• Nankeen Kestrel;
• Red-necked Avocet;
• Australasian Gannet.

The Common Pheasant takes my list to 211 (bird 210 was a Wood Sandpiper that I photographed and needed a second opinion).

Red-capped Robin

IMG_5331, originally uploaded by gjhmac.

Red-capped Robin (Petroica goodenovii, Rottnest Island, WA, Australia).

Review of iPod Touch Software I Use

• BirdSight AU (Natural Guides, LLC) - the only app I have paid for, unfortunately it cannot handle any strings with apostrophes in it (ie. Thomson's Lake, a fairly basic bug in a database app I would of thought), otherwise this is a good app, would be better if there was a way to get all of the sightings out of it in one email (as opposed to one "observation" collection at a time);
• Files lite (Olive Toast) - does what it does perfectly, highly recommended, I am seriously considering buying the full version;
• Mactracker (Ian Page) - awesome, highly recommended, very slick interface;
• TouchCalc (Alexander Clauss) - very good, I use it regularly;
• To Do's (AustinBull Software) - basic ToDo app, does what it needs to do well;
• Sudoku (Mighty Mighty Good Games) - addictive;
• Solitaire (MobilityWare) - very good fun.

Upgrading to Snow Leopard

I have finally gotten around to updating the MacBook to Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6). Just running the Software Updates now (thank goodness we have decent broadband). I've still got to install some applications and copy across all my data but so far so good.

Also took the opportunity to upgrade the 120GB HDD to a 320GB HDD. Compared to the 12" G4 PowerBook HDD changeout procedure the process was trivial (take battery out, remove panel fixed with 3 screws, pull HDD sled out, replace disk, put everything back together). This future-proofs my MacBook for at least a few years (hopefully).

Birds #208 and #209

After the somewhat unsuccessful Cheynes Beach trip I had good birding day on Saturday picking up two new species:

• On the BAWA walk at Woodman Point we saw Arctic Jaegers (Stercorarius parasiticus) - thanks to the crew that ran this walk! The majority of the jaegers kept very high up but a few passed by at low altitudes offering great views.
• As the walk finished mid-morning I headed on to Herdsman Lake with John Graff and we located a pair of Red-kneed Dotterels (Erythrogonys cinctus). Thanks John!

I didn't get any photographs of these - too focused on getting a good view of them. I don't like my chances of hitting 250 by the end of 2010 (we are in April already) but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.

Rainbow Bee-eater

IMG_5187, originally uploaded by gjhmac.

Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus, Dampier, WA, Australia).

Recent (Apple) Purchases

No, I haven't gone and bought an iPad. They do look good though...

Just picked up a copy of Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) and one of the wired (USB) Apple keyboards with a full number pad. I'm using the keyboard now and it is awesome. Very minimal yet almost impossibly sturdy. Snow Leopard will be installed on the MacBook when I get the chance. I'm going to do a full (format the disk) install so it could take a while to get everything up and running again.

A positive story about ISPs and Telcos

Recently we upgraded our Internet connection to TPG ADSL 2+. This was an effortless transaction with TPG providing good progress feedback and the required modem/router settings.

Our house has always had a very noisy telephone line (to the point of making it difficult to hear the other person in a conversation) so the ADSL connection had issues from the start. Connections would drop out after a few minutes and take multiple retries to re-connect (and then drop out anyway). The best connection we had would have been less than an hour in duration. Having inspected some of the internal telephone wiring in the house I wasn't convinced the problem was with the Telstra side of the wiring (Telstra provide our home telephone line).

At this point I was spending a fair amount of time away with work and didn't get a chance to look at the issue any further. TPG telephoned us (without me contacting them) and said that they had noticed the connection dropping out and suggested a few configuration changes. They also speed limited the connection in an attempt to increase uptime. Needless to say I was very impressed (I knew at this stage TPG were not at fault).

After talking to TPG I lodged a line quality complaint with Telstra. This was a bit of a gamble on my part as if the problem was on our side Telstra would charge a $405 callout fee and I would have to get an Austel electrician to look at the house (costing hundreds more). Telstra came out two days early (I was staggered at this) and fixed the fault in the line at the street a few houses down. The technician was very polite and everything was sorted in an hour or two. We now had a crystal clear phone line!

A quick email to TPG and a modem reboot removed the speed limit on the line and the ADSL hasn't dropped out since! Given the horror stories that circulate on the Internet regarding Internet service providers and telo-communications companies I thought it would be good to share a positive story.

Black-faced Woodswallow

IMG_4753, originally uploaded by gjhmac.

Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus, Dampier, WA, Australia).

This is one of the first photographs I took with my "new" Sigma 170-500mm 5-6.3 APO DG lens. Needless to say I am very happy.

Beach Stone-curlew at Dampier

IMG_5000, originally uploaded by gjhmac.

Beach Stone-curlew (Esacus neglectus, Dampier, WA, Australia). Now I have seen both the Bush and Beach Stone-curlews at Dampier - another lifer!

I have turned on the image verification security feature for the comments on this blog as I seem to be getting a fair amount of spam posts. At least someone is reading my blog I guess...

Brown Falcon at Miaree Pool

IMG_4933, originally uploaded by gjhmac.

Brown Falcon (Falco berigora, Miaree Pool, WA, Australia). Another lifer for me!

Rocks near Miaree Pool, WA, Australia.

IMG_4614, originally uploaded by gjhmac.

Rocks near Miaree Pool, WA, Australia. There was a reasonably large rain front coming through too, hence the cloudy sky.