Best birding sites in Australia? A broad topic.... (1 Viewer)

Wungong Gorge

chowchilla said:

I saw Inland and Western Thornbills at Wungong Gorge just outside Armadale on the outskirts of Perth, along with a host of other SW endemics. I also saw Red-winged and the absolutely stunning Splendid Fairy Wren there.

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Looks good. I see that there are frequent trains from the middle of Perth to Armadale. Is there any public transport to anywhere nearer the gorge, or is it walkable from the railway station?

Allen

Allen S. Moore said:

Looks good. I see that there are frequent trains from the middle of Perth to Armadale. Is there any public transport to anywhere nearer the gorge, or is it walkable from the railway station?

Allen

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I got the train to Armadale and stayed in a motel about 5 minutes walk towards the gorge from the station. On my first morning there, I walked to Bungendore Park from the motel along highway 30, which is quite a long walk and almost all going uphill. I explored the park for a while and got several lifers (including Western Wattlebird, Western Spinebill, Red-capped Parrot & Dusky Woodswallow) and had excellent views of Square-tailed Kite, which I'd only seen on two previous occasions. I also tried unsuccessfully to turn some of the many Black Cockatoos around into Carnaby's or Baudin's; alas they were all Red-taileds. Then I bumped into three Canadian birders who gave me a lift to the gorge, where I had several more lifers including said Thornbills and Fairy Wrens. The walk back was several kilometres; tiring but doable and you still see birds along the way.

Bungendore Park

chowchilla said:

I got the train to Armadale and stayed in a motel about 5 minutes walk towards the gorge from the station. On my first morning there, I walked to Bungendore Park from the motel along highway 30, which is quite a long walk and almost all going uphill. I explored the park for a while and got several lifers (including Western Wattlebird, Western Spinebill, Red-capped Parrot & Dusky Woodswallow) and had excellent views of Square-tailed Kite, which I'd only seen on two previous occasions. I also tried unsuccessfully to turn some of the many Black Cockatoos around into Carnaby's or Baudin's; alas they were all Red-taileds. Then I bumped into three Canadian birders who gave me a lift to the gorge, where I had several more lifers including said Thornbills and Fairy Wrens. The walk back was several kilometres; tiring but doable and you still see birds along the way.

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Thanks, Tony, a great help. I like pottering about the parks in Barcelona, so I might just do that with Armadale, too. I've not seen any of the lifers that you saw there!

Allen

Allen S. Moore said:

I've never seen thornbills or fairy-wrens in or around Perth. Are they seen in Kings Park? I also enjoy walking the green strip between the river and the CBD.
Allen

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Splendid Fairy-wren - common in bushland areas away from the CBD and throughout the SW corner
White-winged Fairy-wren - found in coastal heath in the Perth area from about City Beach north and in salt marsh areas north of Perth
Variegated Fairy-wren - also found in coastal heath in Perth and also along the river (e.g. Pelican Point near Kings Park, Canning River Regional Park) and sometimes at Herdsman Lake, Kings Park, Lake Joondalup, and Lake Monger
Red-winged Fairy-wren - quite common in gullies in the Darling Scarp near Perth and common in wet forest in the south west
Blue-breasted Fairy-wren - not in Perth, but can be seen at Collins Rd and Wearne Rd (both c. 1hr15min from Perth) and common at Dryandra Forest

Inland Thornbill - common in most bushland areas in the south-west
Western Thornbill - moderately common, especially in jarrah-marri forest like Bungendore Park. Also seen in Kings Park apparently (I don't bird there much)
Yellow-rumped Thornbill - Common in many areas, particularly with open grassy areas
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill - Not near Perth, but common in drier areas to the north and east (e.g. Wongan Hills)
Slaty-backed Thornbill and Slender-billed Thornbill are also found well north of Perth. Slaty-backed is quite common around the Cue and Payne's Find areas. Slender-billed is not common, but is seen in samphire areas around Cue, Shark Bay etc.

Allen S. Moore said:

Is there any public transport to anywhere nearer the gorge, or is it walkable from the railway station?
Allen

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As chowchilla said, you can walk to Bungendore Park and Wungong Gorge from Armadale but it's a pretty long walk and almost all uphill on the way there !!

Silverwolf said:

I'll add another area of birding into this topic: pelagic birding. Anyone know if there are any tours available for pelagic birding in Melbourne? I've been dieing to see at least a Prion or Storm-petrel for years.

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Birds Australia has run pelagic trips from Port Fairy and Portland in Victoria. Don't know my Vic geography that well, so not sure how far they are from Melbourne. Unfortunately, the Port Fairy trips are on hold for now as the boat owner is apparently ill (see http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/birding-aus/2009-07/msg00079.html). The Portland trips are still go as far as I know - for more info and details (see http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/birding-aus/2010-08/msg00119.html). A directory of pelagics run around Australia can also be found at http://www.tonypalliser.com/boat-dir.html

John_WA said:

Splendid Fairy-wren - common in bushland areas away from the CBD and throughout the SW corner
White-winged Fairy-wren - found in coastal heath in the Perth area from about City Beach north and in salt marsh areas north of Perth
Variegated Fairy-wren - also found in coastal heath in Perth and also along the river (e.g. Pelican Point near Kings Park, Canning River Regional Park) and sometimes at Herdsman Lake, Kings Park, Lake Joondalup, and Lake Monger
Red-winged Fairy-wren - quite common in gullies in the Darling Scarp near Perth and common in wet forest in the south west
Blue-breasted Fairy-wren - not in Perth, but can be seen at Collins Rd and Wearne Rd (both c. 1hr15min from Perth) and common at Dryandra Forest

Inland Thornbill - common in most bushland areas in the south-west
Western Thornbill - moderately common, especially in jarrah-marri forest like Bungendore Park. Also seen in Kings Park apparently (I don't bird there much)
Yellow-rumped Thornbill - Common in many areas, particularly with open grassy areas
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill - Not near Perth, but common in drier areas to the north and east (e.g. Wongan Hills)
Slaty-backed Thornbill and Slender-billed Thornbill are also found well north of Perth. Slaty-backed is quite common around the Cue and Payne's Find areas. Slender-billed is not common, but is seen in samphire areas around Cue, Shark Bay etc.

As chowchilla said, you can walk to Bungendore Park and Wungong Gorge from Armadale but it's a pretty long walk and almost all uphill on the way there !!

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Thanks for all your information, John. Plenty to think about there.

I often smile at your quote from The Fields of Athenry. In the 1980s an Irishman ran one of the pubs in the Isle of Man, and he used to sing the song as his contribution to Celtic music sessions. Memories!

Allen

I'm unsure whether this thread was built for my own wants or as a resource for everyone. Either way, I'll take advantage of it.....

I have one last area to ask about: Tasmania. About 10-20 unique endemics, and a small-ish area. Is it possible to see them all in less than a week (a single day would be simpler)?


Oh, and thanks for all that info, I'm keeping it as a reference for future trip plannings.

Silverwolf said:

I'm unsure whether this thread was built for my own wants or as a resource for everyone. Either way, I'll take advantage of it.....

I have one last area to ask about: Tasmania. About 10-20 unique endemics, and a small-ish area. Is it possible to see them all in less than a week?


Oh, and thanks for all that info, I'm keeping it as a reference for future trip plannings.

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Haven't been to Tasmania (but it's high on my to-vist-list next time I got to Australia) but I think you can see most (all?) of the Tasmanian endemics on Bruny Island.

Edward said:

Haven't been to Tasmania (but it's high on my to-vist-list next time I got to Australia) but I think you can see most (all?) of the Tasmanian endemics on Bruny Island.

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I think Edward is correct and I managed to connect with most of the endemics without any real difficulty.

Edward said:

Haven't been to Tasmania (but it's high on my to-vist-list next time I got to Australia) but I think you can see most (all?) of the Tasmanian endemics on Bruny Island.

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You can theoretically see all the endemics on Bruny island in a day if you're very lucky! Forty-spotted Pardalote is the hardest. We connected with it in the far north of the island, about 6km back down the east side from the tip, in the tall eucalypts (the other 2 pardalotes common there too). We also saw Swift Parrot at this spot, and Blue-winged Parrot not far away. Worth staying longer on Tassie as it's the easiest place for Ground Parrot.

Larry Wheatland said:

Worth staying longer on Tassie as it's the easiest place for Ground Parrot.

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but don't expect to SEE more than a blur flying away!

Larry Wheatland said:

You can theoretically see all the endemics on Bruny island in a day if you're very lucky! Forty-spotted Pardalote is the hardest. We connected with it in the far north of the island, about 6km back down the east side from the tip, in the tall eucalypts (the other 2 pardalotes common there too). We also saw Swift Parrot at this spot, and Blue-winged Parrot not far away. Worth staying longer on Tassie as it's the easiest place for Ground Parrot.

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And if you have time and money to burn, you can fly out to the South West National Park, where feeding stations have been set up to attract (reliable I believe) the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot (in the summer months of course, they winter on the mainland).

Edward said:

Haven't been to Tasmania (but it's high on my to-vist-list next time I got to Australia) but I think you can see most (all?) of the Tasmanian endemics on Bruny Island.

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I made the mistake of missing Bruny when I was there and had planned to do Tassie in a week. But, like the rest of Australia, it's bigger than you think and harder to travel round. So, Bruny sounds best and a detour through Tinderbox Peninsula will give give you a better crack at 40-spot and dusky robin.

Larry Wheatland said:

Worth staying longer on Tassie as it's the easiest place for Ground Parrot.

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From all the things I've heard about this particular bird, its become a myth to me. Same goes for Swift & Orange-bellied Parrots.

I saw all the endemics except Black Currawong on my first day on Tasmania by heading for Bruny with a brief stop at Peter Murrell reserve. Several Currawongs were seen on the first day but none stuck around for a decent view, but suspect they were all Grey, picked up the Currawong the next day at Mt Wellington. Bruny Island was also good for Little Penguin, Hooded Plover, Flame and Pink Robin's, Swift Parrot and Crescent Honeyeater.