A year birding Oz & NZ (1 Viewer)

[podargus]

19/12/11
I hired a bike from the hostel for the day to get over to some new places. To start with I set off for Hasties Swamp, and the cycle ride over there was fairly uneventful. The swamp itself was more interesting, with numerous Plumed and Wandering Whistling-ducks and Magpie Geese. Some Glossy Ibises were also present, and there were a few Latham’s Snipe feeding around the muddy edges. This was this only spot that I saw Grey Teal, Purple Swamphen, Dusky Moorhen and Coot while I was in Northern Queensland too.
With a lot of daylight left, I decided I’d head to the northern part of Lake Tinaroo on another wild Pygmy-goose hunt – the Lake is meant to be good for Cotton Pygmy-goose (which I’d also had in mind when deciding to visit Hasties Swamp), although I later found out that the area nearer Yungaburra is the hotspot. Still, the cycle ride over gave me much more satisfactory views of a pair of Sarus Cranes feeding in a field, as well as a brief glimpse of a White-cheeked Honeyeater and two dead Eastern Barn Owls.
Getting to Tinaroo Falls Dam, the forest was notably drier than in the rainforest areas, and as a result I saw species such as Red-backed Fairy-wren, Noisy Friarbird, Scarlet, Blue-faced and Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Pale-headed Rosella and Eastern Yellow Robin, which I hadn’t been seeing elsewhere during this trip. The best sighting in this area though were a couple of Cicadabirds chasing through the forest, while an Azure Kingfisher on the pool below the dam was also nice. Cycling back I came across a few Agile Wallabies by the road, a Pacific Baza flew over, and on one of the lake’s inlets there was a Common Sandpiper.
Although tiring, it was a really nice day out, but once again I’d gone to a lot of effort to track down a Cotton Pygmy-goose, and once again I’d failed!

Birds
338. Latham’s Snipe
339. White-cheeked Honeyeater
340. Cicadabird
341. Common Sandpiper

Mammals
32. Agile Wallaby

 

[podargus]

20/12/11
I hitched a lift over to Lake Eacham with the hostel’s tour bus, and I then camped in the area for a couple of nights.
The birding in this area was very good, with many of the Atherton endemics present. Walking the trail around the lake I was able to see Grey-headed Robin, Atherton and Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Victoria’s Riflebird, numerous singing Tooth-billed Bowerbirds, Spotted Catbird, Brown and Fairy Gerygone, White-throated Treecreeper and Yellow-breasted Boatbill. I also had a few Musky Rat-kangaroos shoot across the track in front of me as I walked.

Towards the end of the trail I caught up with another Atherton endemic, Bridled Honeyeater, and later there were some feeding with Lewin’s and Dusky Honeyeaters in the picnic area. The trees here were in fruit too which had attracted a really nice selection of birds, including Barred Cuckoo-shrike, Double-eyed Fig-parrot, Wompoo and Superb Fruit-dove, Spotted Catbird and Tooth-billed Bowerbird.
At different points in the day, both Caspian Tern and Eastern Osprey were fishing over the lake.

21/12/11
I decided to make the trek to Lake Barrine in the slim hope of seeing the only other Atherton endemic that I had any realistic hope of finding – Fernwren. The walk was fairly quiet, but there was a Grey Whistler in the rainforest before reaching the lake. In the car park there were Eastern Spinebills, and again there were a few Boyd’s Forest Dragons towards the start of the walk. I did the loop around the lake seeing many of the same birds as I’d seen at Lake Eacham, but a couple of beautiful Emerald Doves feeding on the track were new ones. There were a few Great Crested Grebes out on the water, along with some Great Cormorants – not particularly exciting for a British birder but these are greatly outnumbered by the other Cormorant species just about everywhere in Oz.
There was no sign of any Fernwrens, so I set off back towards the campsite in Lake Eacham. This walk back gave the real highlight of the day, when a raptor taking off from a field turned out to be a stunning adult Spotted Harrier. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time with this, and it was a really unexpected sighting. It was also the last Australian bird of prey that I had any realistic chance of seeing, so it was nice to complete the set of ‘common’ species!
Walking back past Lake Eacham I came across a noisy group of Chowchillas stood in a circle singing to each other.

Birds
342. Bridled Honeyeater
343. Emerald Dove
344. Spotted Harrier

 

[podargus]

1. record shot of Sarus Cranes en-route to Tinaroo Falls Dam
2. Lake Eacham
3. Spotted Catbird
4. Tooth-billed Bowerbird mid-song

 

[podargus]

22/12/11
I got a lift back to Yungaburra so didn’t get far during the morning, but an afternoon walk along Peterson Creek gave me my best yet views of Platypus, with two individuals performing amazingly well. At one point, one surfaced in the water just off the bank where I was stood. I don’t think I would ever tire of watching these creatures.

23/12/11
My final day in Yungaburra, so I headed for a morning visit to the Curtain Fig Tree. While walking an Emerald Dove shot across the road, and upon arriving I found a Boyd’s Forest Dragon clinging to a tree. Most of the usual birds were present, and I also had glimpses of a huge Wedge-tailed Eagle and a few Topknot Pigeons going over the canopy.
I also managed to find a/the Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo in almost exactly the same spot as before, and once again it showed off nicely. To complete the sense of déjà-vu, the same tour guide immediately appeared with a different group of tourists, and once again I was able to point him in the direction of the Kangaroo. Recognising me from last time he joked that he’d have to hire me as a spotter, a shame he wasn’t serious as I’d be quite happy with that job
Walking back through town, a flowering plant was attracting a nice variety of birds, including Rainbow Lorikeets, Noisy Friarbird and Dusky, Macleay’s, Scarlet, White-throated and Brown Honeyeaters.
I got back to Cairns late in the day, but I managed to get another look at the Broad-billed Sandpiper out on the mudflats.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

In case it's good news, Podargus, Emerald Dove's been split (at least by IOC).

 

[podargus]

1. Platypus, showing reasonably well
2 & 3. Boyd's Forest Dragon
4. Rainbow Lorikeet
5. Noisy Friarbird

 

[podargus]

A selection of Honeyeaters:
1. Macleay's
2. Brown
3. White-throated
4. Scarlet
5. Dusky

 

[podargus]

In case it's good news, Podargus, Emerald Dove's been split (at least by IOC).

Cheers Larry, I've only seen it in North Queensland so far, but nice to know I'll have another species to look for if I do any further travelling!

24/12/11
I made a fairly last minute decision to try and get up to the Mareeba area to see some dry country birds. I got an early morning bus which dropped me at Biboohra, right by the turn off to Mareeba Wetlands. During the drive up, we had the impressive sight of a Red-tailed Black-cockatoo flock crossing the road.
The wetlands were closed to visitors, but I thought that the entrance road might still be productive. There were a few Blue-winged Kookaburras along the track, and a nice juvenile Wedge-tailed Eagle sat up in a dead tree. There were plenty of other birds of prey around too, including Black-shouldered Kite, Eastern Osprey, Little Eagle, Brown Goshawk, Nankeen Kestrel and my first few Black Kites of the trip. There were also some Latham’s Snipe and Pacific Golden Plovers in the irrigated fields.
There was a productive patch where the road crossed a creek, with a Great Bowerbird and a Lemon-bellied Flycatcher in someone’s front garden, as well as a Black Bittern flushing from a tree. Some Agile Wallabies were hiding in the shade, and a little Northern Dwarf Tree Frog was resting on a low shrub. Pheasant Coucal and Scaly-breasted Lorikeet had been absent up until this part of the trip, and I also had a few excellent looks at the normally secretive Australian Koel. Walking back past here, a couple of small dark Quails shot off into some long grass, but although I waited around for a while I could not get another glimpse of them – frustratingly, King Quail had been reported in the area recently.
Walking back towards Biboohra, I had better views of Great Bowerbird, and a Red-winged Parrot flew through. That was basically it for the days sightings, and although I really can't complain as I’d seen a lot of really nice species I had still missed out on most of my targets. However, wait for the April accounts to see how this day should’ve gone.....

25/12/11
I was flying back to Brisbane early afternoon, which gave me one final morning in Cairns. Visiting the usual spots gave all the usual species, and a walk up Mount Whitfield gave me another view of a Buff-breasted Paradise-kingfisher. This was a slightly scruffier individual, but it was nice to start and end the trip with one of these beautiful birds. Back in Centenary Lakes I bumped into a birder called Brian who was able to give me loads of great info on the species that I’d missed out on. He also kindly offered to try and show me the Papuan Frogmouths which had been in his garden that morning when he’d left, although unfortunately when we got over there they’d moved off elsewhere. Still, he was an extremely helpful and friendly chap, and I was now armed with lots of great advice for any return trips.
Once I’d caught my shuttle to the airport and dropped off my luggage I decided to try for one last species before my flight. Walking back along the entrance road a number of Chestnut-breasted Mannikins flew up onto the fence, and then there were a couple of small red blurs as they were joined by a male and female Crimson Finch. All the Aussie finches are awesome so this was a great end to a great trip, and a very nice Christmas present :t:

Birds
345. Black Kite
346. Lemon-bellied Flycatcher
347. Great Bowerbird
348. Crimson Finch

Reptiles & Amphibians
23. Northern Dwarf Tree Frog

 

[podargus]

1. a distant Blue-winged Kookaburra
2 & 3. Northern Dwarf Tree Frog
4. Crimson Finch

 

[podargus]

08/01/12
After returning from Cairns, most of my time in Brisbane was spent searching for a place to live next term, and looking for any work/volunteering opportunities for the remainder of the summer.
This meant there wasn’t much time for birding, but a trip out let me find a nice Australian Red-eyed Tree Frog at Sherwood, and a couple of Red Deer drinking from the lake at Oxley Creek Common along with the usual birds.

20/01/12 – Heading South
With my housing contract expiring and news of a possible volunteering opportunity down South, I made a quick decision to pack up some essentials, put the rest of my luggage into storage in Brisbane and then fly down to Melbourne. This plan was finalised on the evening of the 18th, and I left Brisbane early in the morning on the 20th.
Other than the fact I’d be getting a bus to Mildura that evening I had nothing set in stone for the rest of the trip. I did have some time to kill in Melbourne though, so headed for the Botanic Gardens to do some birding. Little Raven and Blackbird were fairly underwhelming additions to the trip list, but there were some nice birds around including a Nankeen Night Heron, Little and Red Wattlebirds, Eastern Spinebills and numerous Bell Miners.
Getting back to the station I settled in for my 9 hour coach journey inland, although as we were travelling overnight there was no opportunity to admire any scenery/birds along the way.

Birds
349. Little Raven
350. Blackbird

Mammals
33. Red Deer

Reptiles & Amphibians
24. Australian Red-eyed Tree Frog

 

[podargus]

21/01/12 – Mildura
Arriving in Mildura early in the morning I was pretty shattered (I’d had a snorer, a cougher and a crying baby sat around me on the coach, great). I managed to find a campsite just over the bridge on the banks of the River Murray, which meant that I was commuting between New South Wales and Victoria on my daily walks back into the town. I ended up spending a week in Mildura and although I may have chosen to spend a bit more time around Melbourne if I’d known I’d be waiting around for that long it turned out to be a really nice little stop, and a good opportunity to recuperate a bit after my fairly hectic departure from Brisbane.
As soon as I left the bus station a large flock of Red-rumped Parrots flew past, and these proved to be common on the outskirts of town, and around the campsite. There were plenty of birds in the parkland along the river too, including Yellow Rosellas (it doesn't seem right that these are considered the same species as Crimson Rosella), Yellow-throated Miners, Red Wattlebirds and White-plumed Honeyeaters. Whistling Kites, and the occasional Black Kite, were patrolling along the river, and these were a constant feature during my time in Mildura.

After setting up my tent, I headed off to check out Lake Ranfurly which lies just to the west of the town. The walk over produced a few Apostlebirds, and walking out through the low vegetation towards the lake gave me views of White-fronted Chats, as well as some nice White-winged Fairy-wrens. The lake itself had numerous birds on it, and I was extremely happy to find a few Banded Stilts feeding in the shallows – surely the most beautiful wader on the planet? A couple of Australian Shelducks were also new, while Red-necked Avocet, Red-necked Stint and Red-capped Plover were also present. It was very hot (during the previous week in Brisbane 35 degrees had been headline news, but it was the usual here) and there wasn’t any shelter so I didn’t spend much time here, but it was still an extremely productive visit. On the walk back, a Red Fox bolted from some low vegetation.

Birds
351. White-fronted Chat
352. Australian Shelduck
353. Banded Stilt

 

[podargus]

A couple from Sherwood Arboretum:
1. Australian Red-eyed Tree Frog
2. an alert Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

and from Mildura
3. the view from my tent
4. the river

 

[podargus]

22/01/12
I visited another spot on the outskirts of town, Etiwanda Wetlands, and it turned out to be a little gem of a site. On arrival there was a lone Australian Shelduck out on one of the pools, and a group of three Yellow-billed Spoonbills flew in and started feeding.
Walking around the perimeter of one of the pools, I spotted a cracking Black-tailed Native-hen stood on an island, and slightly further on there was an Australian Spotted Crake wandering around in an open patch between some reeds – that was 2 species that had been high on my wish list for this southern trip knocked off within a few minutes! Water levels were fairly low on the site which made things ideal for crake viewing, and I saw additional individuals of both those species as well as three Baillon’s Crakes and two Buff-banded Rails. Black-fronted Dotterels were also present around the muddy edges, and a Nankeen Night Heron flushed from a tree.
As I walked along one of the ditches a large Eastern Brown Snake shot off and swam across to the other side. My feet also suffered from numerous large, aggressive ants, and an extremely irritating plant species which had very sturdy, spiky fruits/seeds which would get stuck in, and pierce through my flip-flops (possibly not the most sensible choice of footwear ), but I was very happy with the day's birding.

23/01/12
I returned to Etiwanda Wetlands to try and get some crake photos, but didn’t have any success. I did still have some good sightings though, with multiple individuals of Buff-banded Rail, and Baillon’s and Australian Spotted Crake seen once more. No sign of the Native-hens this time, but a Red-kneed Dotterel had joined the Black-fronted Dotterels, and the Yellow-billed Spoonbills and Australian Shelduck were still present. A juvenile Swamp Harrier caused a bit of panic at one point, and it was quite strange to encounter a Brown Hare along one of the tracks.

Birds
354. Black-tailed Native-hen
355. Australian Spotted Crake

Mammals
34. Brown Hare

 

[podargus]

A few from Etiwanda:
1 & 2. Yellow-billed Spoonbill
3. Yellow Rosella
4. Black-fronted Dotterel

 

[podargus]

24/01/12
A long walk over to King’s Billabong to the east of the town wasn’t particularly productive, but there were a few nice birds around. The highlight was completing my set of Aussie Woodswallows with some nice Dusky Woodswallows, but Hooded Robin, Collared Sparrowhawk, Rainbow Bee-eater and White-winged Chough were good too. I also came across a few Eastern Grey Kangaroos, and a small Lace Monitor.
Back at the campsite, another group of White-winged Choughs were working their way through the woodland.

25/01/12
I considered it a good start to the day when I found a nice female Redback in the camp kitchen at breakfast. I wanted to get some photos, but this species is generally hated by the Aussies and I thought it was likely that she would’ve been trodden on if anyone had seen her. As a result I spent the next hour sat at the table teasing her out from her resting spot when the kitchen was empty, and then trying to act innocent whenever anyone else came to grab something from the fridge. Although Redbacks are massively overrated, leaving one under the rim of a dining table in a campsite full of children seemed like an accident waiting to happen, so after that I managed to capture her in a pot and release her well away from the site.

In the afternoon I walked along the perimeter fence of the Mildura Wastewater Plant until I could get a view over the water. The light wasn’t great and there was a heat haze, but fortunately you don’t really need to see plumage details when you're looking at something with the profile of a male Musk Duck :t: It was also great to see a couple more distinctively shaped ducks - Freckled Duck and Australasian Shoveler. I was particularly pleased about the Freckled Ducks, and there were quite a number sat around on logs and cruising the lake. I also managed to pick out a couple of Hoary-headed Grebes, and Australian Shelduck and Pink-eared Duck were also present. There were a few Yellow Thornbills in the surrounding trees.
It’s a real shame that the water company no longer allow access to this site (I’d been to ask earlier in the day) as the number and variety of birds was excellent.

Birds
356. Dusky Woodswallow
357. Australasian Shoveler
358. Musk Duck
359. Freckled Duck
360. Hoary-headed Grebe

 

[podargus]

1. Redback at breakfast
2-4. Red-rumped Parrots at the campsite (4 is a female)

 

[podargus]

28/01/12 – AWC Scotia Sanctuary
I was picked up in the morning to get a lift up to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s Scotia Sanctuary where I would be volunteering for a few weeks. The reserve covers a huge area in far South-west New South Wales, and I believe that there is no public access so volunteering is the only way to spend time there.
White-necked Heron and Emu were seen on the drive in, and on reaching the sanctuary there were a few Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters flitting around near the shearer’s quarters where I was staying. This place really is isolated, with a 4 hour drive to get to the nearest town and 60km of unsealed road between it and the main Mildura-Broken Hill road.
The main work at Scotia Sanctuary has involved the removal of invasive species (Cats, Foxes, Goats and Rabbits), and after an incredible effort they have created a few very large, invasive-free enclosures. Intensive invasive control is also being done outside of the main fenced areas in an attempt to create a safe haven for native species. Anyway, the predator-free enclosures have meant that a number of extremely rare native marsupial species could be reintroduced, and these species are now thriving. That evening I went on a night drive to see some of these species, and we had outstanding spotlight views of Bridled Nailtail Wallabies, Burrowing Bettongs (a.k.a. Boodies), Mala and Bilbies. All of these species have suffered catastrophic declines: Bridled Nailtail Wallabies were thought to be extinct for almost 40 years until the discovery of a tiny population in Queensland in the 70s, while Boodies were previously one of the most abundant and widespread mammals in Australia, but both Boodies and Mala have ended up being entirely confined to small offshore islands in Western Australia. Bilbies were probably the highlight for me though - I never expected I’d get the chance to see those. Driving around here at night gave a taste of what outback Australia should be like, and it really is sad how much the native marsupials have suffered across the country.
We also saw a nice Beaded Gecko, and House Mice were seen here and later on back in my bedroom!

Adding a load of reintroduced, fenced-in marsupials to the mammals list might be a bit dodgy but hey, in a lot of ways the situation inside those enclosures is more ‘authentic’ than the rest of Australia :t:

Mammals
35. Bridled Nailtail Wallaby
36. Burrowing Bettong
37. Bilby
38. Mala
39. House Mouse

Reptiles & Amphibians
25. Beaded Gecko

 

[podargus]

29/01/12
I was being introduced to the work that I would be doing for the next couple of weeks, which focussed on monitoring the progress of radio-collared Bridled Nailtail Wallabies which had been released outside of the main paddocks. After my introductory day I was mainly working on my own, buzzing around in a 4x4 and recording the locations of the Wallabies from three different monitoring stations – pretty fun work!
This first day was busy so there was little opportunity for birding, but Singing and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Red-capped Robin and Southern Whiteface were seen around the homestead.

30/01/12
I woke early on this day, and was able to add Splendid Fairy-wren, Mulga Parrot, Southern Whiteface and Black-shouldered Kite to the ‘breakfast table list’: life doesn’t get much better :t:

After a bit of data entry in the morning I had the rest of the day free. It felt wrong that I’d been here for a full day and not seen any new species of bird, so I set off for a walk along one of the trails within the housing compound. Inland and Chestnut-rumped Thornbills were encountered frequently on the track along with a few more stunning Splendid Fairy-wrens, and it was good to see another large Shingleback basking beside the path. I didn’t have to wait long for my first new species, with a nice pair of Shy Heathwrens flitting around under a low bush. Honeyeaters were common, and as well as the usual Singing and Spiny-cheeked I was really pleased to come across a White-fronted Honeyeater. I saw a few others later on the walk, and over the next couple of weeks they turned out to be abundant just about everywhere on site. Continuing the Honeyeater theme, it took me longer than expected to catch up with my first Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters but after that they also proved to be common in the taller mallee areas, and a few attractive White-eared Honeyeaters were great to see too. A highlight was seeing my first couple of stripy Numbats (another of Scotia’s reintroduced species), and there was also a Bridled Nailtail Wallaby which flushed from some scrub. There were a few impressive Red Kangaroos around too, while a cracking male Chestnut Quail-thrush was probably the best bird of the day. Weebills were common, and Crested Bellbird and Australian Ringneck were also seen.
Wandering back through the trees towards my quarters gave me a final two new species for the day – a pair of (surprisingly distinctive) White-browed Treecreepers, and a party of White-browed Babblers to complete my set of Aussie Babblers. All in all, a pretty good day B

Birds
361. Shy Heathwren
362. White-fronted Honeyeater
363. White-eared Honeyeater
364. Yellow-plumed Honeyeater
365. Chestnut Quail-thrush
366. White-browed Treecreeper
367. White-browed Babbler

Mammals
40. Numbat

 

[podargus]

1. the view from my breakfast table
2. Scotia headquarters
3-5. Shingleback - 3 is a terrible photo, but shows the threat display

 

[podargus]

01/02/12
Driving along to one of the monitoring sites I spotted a few small birds bouncing through some spinifex - Striated Grasswrens :t: Knowing that I’d be birding by public transport for most of the year, Grasswrens were yet another thing which I never thought I’d have to chance to see. Striated may be one of the easier ones, but it was still awesome to see a member of this notoriously tricky group. I saw these on a few other days too, and got some really great views on a couple of occasions. Grey Currawong (the mallee subspecies, Black-winged Currawong) was another new species, and many of the previously seen species were around again, including numerous White-fronted Honeyeaters.
That evening, a group of Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos came past my quarters as I was having dinner.

02/02/12
No new species today, but I got to visit many new parts of the site as I was out tracking missing wallabies. Notable species seen included Varied Sitella, Mulga Parrot, Australian Ringneck, Brown and White-browed Treecreepers, Diamond Doves and Red-backed Kingfisher. On one of the dams I had good views of a Hoary-headed Grebe, and there was a Black-tailed Native-hen dashing around the edges.
Another Shingleback was seen too, and there were plenty of large Sand Monitors around. A few Rabbits, arch nemeses of the Wallabies, were also seen.

Birds
368. Striated Grasswren
369. Grey Currawong

Mammals
41. Rabbit