Birdguides - Hawkesbury Region
Birds Year Round
The abundance of birds in the Hawkesbury lagoons is related to the availability of water elsewhere. In times of drought the lagoons are overflowing with birdlife which retreat to the more permanent water supplies. There may be very few bird species present in the wetter seasons as many flocking species move inland.
Winter (June-Sept) Nesting Swans can be seen amongst the reedbeds in Bushell’s Lagoon during the winter months. Late winter sees the nesting of Black-shouldered Kites in the area of Bakers Lagoon. Rose Robins come out of the mountains to Scheyville National Park. Swift Parrots migrate from Tasmania to feed in flowering Eucalypts.
Spring (Sept-Dec) Spring and summer is the time of peak bird activity as most species being nesting. Watch out for swooping Magpies between September and October, especially at the Sewage Treatment Works where a nesting pair of birds often terrorise passersby. The dawn chorus is at its best in the spring.
Summer (Dec-March) Migratory shorebirds are commonly seen at many of the lagoons in the summer months. They include species such as Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. Look for Swifts high in the air, and Dollarbirds and Cicadabirds in the tree-tops.
Autumn (March-June) Migratory species begin to leave Australia in autumn as the weather gets cooler. Look for flocks of birds heading off to their wintering grounds in the northern hemisphere. Rufous Whistlers leave, and Golden Whistlers seem to move back in. Look for wandering Regent Honeyeaters in the ironbarks.
Waterbird Spots
McGraths Hill Sewage Treatment Works is opposite Windsor High School. The best place to park is on Mulgrave Road near the dog pound. Most of the land is in a floodplain and is almost permanently covered by shallow water. Numerous ponds of various depths have been created and planted with native vegetation to attract waterbirds. A wide variety of ducks, herons and waders frequent the area, as do various raptors. Check the reeds for Little Grassbirds. You could easily spend several hours walking around the various ponds.
Baker's Lagoon is accessed from Corwalis Road west of Windsor. Continuing on Cornwalis Road and Onus Lane will bring you to Pugh's Lagoon which lies south of the Hawkesbury river and can be viewed from Old Kurrajong Road. This is a reliable spot for Azure Kingfisher and Australian Grebe and is a good place for lunch.
Bushell's Lagoon is 6km north of Windsor and can be reached from Putty Road and Freeman's Reach road.
Pitt Town Lagoon north east of Windsor and is reached by the Pitt Town Road. Access to the lagoon is from Church St. in Pitt Town.
Longneck Lagoon lies along Cattai road, and can also be reached from Dural Road and Whitmore Road. Australian Bittern was recently sighted here.
Bushbird Spots
Scheyville National Park is one of the few patches of forest left on the Hawkesbury plain which contains many bird species not found elsewhere in Sydney. Specialties include Speckled Warblers, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Fuscous Honeyeater, Crested Shrike-tit, Buff-rumped Thornbill, Double-barred Finch and many other bush birds. Best in early morning.
Maraylya is a small township near Scheyville, and the point of interest is the park on the corner of Dunns Rd. and Boundary Rd which is a good place for lunch. Pacific Bazas have been found nesting in the area.
Mitchell Park is an Area of remnant bushland along Cattai creek which is known for its Nankeen Night-heron colony, Black Bittern, Scarlet Honeyeaters, and Powerful Owl. The Owl often roosts in the area of dense forest along the creek.
Londonderry The many ironbarks around the Londonderry town centre attract many honeyeaters when in flower and are worth checking for Swift Parrots and Regent honeyeaters in Winter.
Castlereagh State Forest is located between the Northern Rd and Llandilo Rd. is good for bushbirds. Regent honeyeaters have also been seen here when the ironbarks are in flower.
Turf Farms are north of Windsor along Freeman’s Reach Rd. and elsewhere in the Hawkesbury region are good to check for Brown, Stubble and King Quail as well as Banded Lapwing and various raptors.
Common birds of the Hawkesbury Region
- Australasian Grebe
- Little Pied Cormorant
- Little Black Cormorant
- Darter
- Great Cormorant
- Australian Pelican
- Cattle Egret
- Intermediate Egret
- Great Egret
- White-faced Heron
- Spoonbills
- Straw-necked Ibis
- Sacred Ibis
- Black Swan
- Wood Duck
- Pacific Black Duck
- Grey Teal
- Chestnut Teal
- Spotted Harrier
- Whistling Kite
- Little Eagle
- Black-shouldered Kite
- Brown Falcon
- Australian Kestrel
- Painted Button Quail
- Eurasian Coot
- Dusky Moorhen
- Purple Swamphen
- Masked Lapwing
- Black-fronted Dotterel
- Marsh Sandpiper
- Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
- Black-winged Stilt
- Crested Pigeon
- Common Bronzewing
- Peaceful Dove
- Galah
- Eastern Rosella
- Crimson Rosella
- Red-rumped Parrot
- Fan-tailed Cuckoo
- Kookaburra
- Sacred Kingfisher
- Azure Kingfisher
- Tawny Frogmouth
- Welcome Swallow
- Richard’s Pipit
- Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
- Eastern Yellow Robin
- Jacky Winter
- Crested Shrike-tit
- Golden Whistler
- Rufous Whistler
- Grey Shrike-thrush
- Grey Fantail
- Eastern Whipbird
- Golden-headed Cisticola
- Clamorous Reed-warbler
- Superb Fairy-wren
- White-browed Scrubwren
- White-throated Gerygone
- Striated Thornbill
- Yellow Thornbill
- Brown Thornbill
- Yellow-rumped Thornbill
- White-throated Treecreeper
- Varied Sitella
- Noisy Miner
- White-naped Honeyeater
- Eastern Spinebill
- White-plumed Honeyeater
- New Holland Honeyeater
- Fuscous Honeyeater
- Yellow-faced Honeyeater
- Spotted Pardalote
- Silvereye
- Olive-backed Oriole
- Red-browed Finch
- Magpie Lark
- White-winged Chough
- Dusky Woodswallow
- Grey Butcherbird
- Australian Magpie
- Pied Currawong
- Australian Raven
There are some birds which may be harder to find, but are worth searching for:
- Double-banded Plover
- Red-kneed Dotterel
- Australian Shoveler
- Pink-eared Duck
- Common Sandpiper
- Black Bittern
- Powerful Owl
- Pacific Baza
- Letter-winged Kite
- Swift Parrot
- Black-eared Cuckoo
- Cicadabird
- White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike
- Little Grassbird
- Speckled Warbler
- Regent Honeyeater
- Double-barred Finch
- Zebra Finch
