One of the few night birds which can be seen in the day is the weird and wonderful Tawny Frogmouth. Despite their large size (wingspan of <30cm) and relatively common status – even in urban settings – their cryptic plumage makes them difficult to find. Yesterday we did another trip round Newcastle, trying unsuccessfully to fill more holes in my Hunter List. At one site, whilst looking for something else, Dan said casually ‘there’s a Tawny Frogmouth up there’! When we looked there were actually three – possibly an adult with young.

We’re now at the end of our stay in NSW and today we fly down to Melbourne to stay with my brother Rob and Gi. It’s been great spending time with Dan and his family, catching up with friends, visiting old and new places and, of course, doing some NSW birding. During our time here we’ve managed to see (or hear) 215 species and moved my Hunter list on with a dozen or so ticks. My all-time Hunter total now stands at 338 – not bad for an occasional tourist! See you in Victoria.