Peter Valentine | Conservation Officer
On 21 January 2025, well known bird guide Laurie Ross, from Tracks Birding, was returning home from an Iron Range birding tour when he noticed a very different little heron in a small roadside pond near Mareeba. Few others might have paid attention, but Laurie has experience in Asia and South-east Asia and immediately recognised the bird as a Pond-heron.
The problem is that Australia has no Pond-herons, and of the six species across the world, only two are anywhere near us.
The Indian Pond-heron tends to stay at home, but the Chinese Pond-heron, a very handsome bird in breeding plumage, migrates south every austral summer out of China and into South-east Asia. The species has never been seen in mainland Australia apart from one recorded Vagrant near Broome in Western Australia in 2008. It is seen occasionally in remote Christmas Island which is really part of the Indonesian archipelago and further west on Cocos Island, again, not part of Australia’s biogeographical area.
To see one at Mareeba is totally unexpected and it has made Australian birding history. It has also attracted a great deal of interest and attention from birders. This bird is undeniably a Vagrant, but its presence amounts to a “mega” record and many people would love to add it to their list of birds seen in Australia.
This is not the first time for the region. The remarkable story of “Nordy”, the Nordmann’s Greenshank, that turned up in Cairns four years ago is very well known now. And this year it has returned to Cairns from Siberia where the species breeds, for the fourth year in a row and even now can be seen on The Esplanade. It continues to attract birders.
On another occasion in 2011, an Eye-browed Thrush turned up near Malanda and drew a large number of birders to see it. The species is common in China and elsewhere in Asia and South-east Asia, but never previously seen in Australia.
But to return to the Pond-heron, as the name suggests these herons are usually seen in small shallow ponds where they hunt for fish and crustaceans, and perhaps also insects. The pond-herons are related to the well-known Cattle Egret and other native herons that are often seen near Mareeba, but are smaller and very different in appearance. Generally they are shy about people and are easily flushed although like many birds, they do not show the same concern for vehicles, and ignore passing traffic and parked cars.
Initially the Mareeba Pond-heron was recorded by a couple of sightings and one photo that showed the bird well. The next day many birders turned up and a few photos were managed before the bird flushed. These seemed to confirm the identity as a Chinese Pond-heron. It makes a certain amount of sense as it is a known migrant, and to arrive in northern Queensland it might simply overshoot its usual annual migration. Such occasional individuals might often occur here without being identified, especially if they stay in remote areas away from people, and especially well-informed birders!
By 24 January quite a few images had been obtained and some might suggest it could be a Javan Pond-heron. This species does occur closer to Australia but it is not really a migratory species. However there are records of this species being seen before in the NT near Darwin and also near Kununurra in far northern WA. But probably only two birds involved on separate occasions. The two species are not easily told apart except when in full breeding plumage.
When vagrant species are first encountered in Australia a report is usually prepared to be submitted to an expert group, BirdLife Australia Rarities Committee (BARC), which has the role of identifying any genuine vagrant species seen in Australia. Birders who encounter certain species are asked to make a report about them with evidence and the Committee will determine the outcome – should the species be added to the official record of species seen in Australia. Both these species of Pond-heron are on the list requiring notification to BARC. A report is in the process of being made about the Mareeba sightings.
Right now the situation is very exciting and remains unclear. This delightful and shy bird is definitely a Pond-heron and the first-ever record for Queensland, and indeed for all the eastern States. Numerous local birders and others from Cairns and elsewhere have already travelled to Mareeba to try and get a glimpse of this bird. Unlike Nordy, the Greenshank from Siberia down in Cairns, this bird is difficult to see without flushing it, and there are concerns that too many people getting too close might send the bird off somewhere else. But for now it is the very special Mareeba Pond-heron and already quite famous.
Sightings have dropped off since the onset of the heavy rains, so if anyone comes across it again it would be great to post it on eBird or let BLNQ members know, through our Facebook site perhaps.