Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae)
A really beautiful bird of prey. Masked and Barn Owls were introduced to the island in the 40’s to try and rid the island of rats. Breed on the island in hollow trees their nests are hard to find. You may find one on the airstrip road or near the thick forest areas around Old settlement at night.
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
A really beautiful bird of prey. Masked and Barn Owls were introduced to the island in the 40’s to try and rid the island of rats. Until recently we thought that the Masked Owl was the only Owl here. I photographed this bird in November 2011 and he has been positively identified as a Barn Owl. Has he been here since the 1940’s or do they fly through here?
White-faced Heron (Ardea novaehollandiae)
A wingspan of about 1200mm with a long neck and long yellow legs, this guy is common here. You can find them most days at the Swamp at the east end of the runway or the wet areas near the golf course. Breeds here; nest of sticks that is hard to find.
Lord Howe White-eye (Zosterops tephropleura)
Wingspan around 100mm
Only a small bird common in the lowland forest and mountains. Breeds here nest hard to find. Loves to eat fruit, not liked around local gardens. Very fast on the wing.
Australian Kestrel (Falco cenchroides)
A great little bird of prey, not a lot of them on the island. You can find them along the lagoon bank, Blinky beach dune and Malabar. Breeds here spring, summer. Will hover into the wind whilst stalking prey.
Lord Howe Island Currawong (Strepera graculina crissalis)
A unique Lord Howe Island subspecies, common in the forest around the island walking tracks. Very smart bird. Will follow you around in the forest as you walk and eye you off. Has babies by November.
Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus )
Body length of 200mm
The kingfisher is a great little bird. They breed on the island. Very fast flyer so hard to get a photo on the wing. Can be found on fence posts along the airstrip road most of the year. They will eat worms, insects and fish.
Lord Howe Golden Whistler (Pachycephala petoralis contempta)
Body length of 170mm
A beautiful little forest bird, common on the island. The male has a gold to yellow chest and belly, white throat and black band between the two colours. Female brownish in colour. They breed on the island hard to find their nest.
Woodhen (Tricholimnas sylvestris)
A flightless bird, once one of the rarest birds in the World. The Woodhen was almost made extinct by wild pigs and man; lucky for some they survived on the top of Mt Gower. They dwindled as low as 17 pairs. In the 1980’s 6 birds were taken into a captive breeding program under the instruction of Glen Fraser. The program worked a treat. Wild pigs had to be knocked out so birds could be put back into the wild. Ray Shick and Gower Wilson were employed by the LHI Board to do the job after a failed attempt by a mainland expert!! Shick and Wilson killed around 200 pigs. The Woodhen rules the ground on Lord Howe common in most resident’s gardens. Numbers now exceed 300 birds.