![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/07\/MaleShiningFlycatche_94328_tn_w600-7.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
“The male flycatcher, with its glossy blue-black plumage, was further down the walking track, darting from branch to branch through the mangroves.”<\/p>\n
For Watson, it was his first time seeing the species in the Tweed.<\/p>\n
“As a local bird photographer, spotting the Shining Flycatcher was a first for me, so it was great to be able to record the sighting through my photography,” he said.<\/p>\n
The photographs have since attracted attention online, with Tweed Shire Council sharing them on its social media channels.<\/p>\n
Watson said the birds displayed the species’ characteristic behaviour.<\/p>\n
“The behaviour I observed was the typical behaviour of a Shining Flycatcher with its restless darting energy,” he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested the birds may have reached the Tweed by following the continuous mangrove habitat along Australia’s east coast.<\/p>\n
“The flycatchers might be found this far south as they use the eastern coast to serve as a vegetated corridor with its continuous stretches of mangroves, as the flycatchers are obligate mangrove dwellers,” he said.<\/p>\n
“While largely sedentary in the tropics, juvenile birds or non-breeding adults occasionally engage in nomadic dispersal.<\/p>\n
“Following the mangrove corridors, these individuals can wander well outside their typical tropical range.”<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/07\/FemaleShiningFlycatc_94812_tn_w600-7.jpg\")