On the 31st October, I headed to Boondall Wetlands Reserve. Just as I got out of the car, I enjoyed a great piece of luck as a magnificent White-throated Needletail headed overhead. This turned out to be one of several of this large Siberia-breeding Swift species heading over the reserve, presumably heading to various wintering sites across Australia. This was my first ever sighting of the bird, making it a fantastic start to the trip!
I then headed down towards the creek through the woodlands, where Noisy Miners had well and truly dominated the avifauna (a single Grey Butcherbird was the only other species seen in here!). Sadly, it was high tide and consequently there was a complete lack of any shorebirds. A walk along the board-walk over some grassland produced a large flock of Eastern Cattle Egrets, and two Whistling Kites, a Brahminy Kite and a large number of Australian White Ibises overhead. This site is a great location for Grass Owls at the right time of day, so I will certainly be back!
The next stop was Nudgee Beach. Again, high tide prevented any decent number of waders from being present, though several Whimbrels, Far Eastern Curlews and Bar-tailed Godwits, along with a single Pied Oystercatcher, were feeding a small, exposed sand bank. Several small waders had flown in by the time we left, however without my telescope, identification was impossible. Terns were common offshore, with Caspian, Gull-billed, Greater Crested and Little identified, though once again with only binoculars, my belief that another species was present could not be confirmed. A Torresian Kingfisher was seen very well, as were a fantastic number of Brown Honeyeaters and Grey Fantails in the adjacent mangrove swamp. I shall certainly be returning here with my telescope!
On the 5th November, I embarked on the extremely long walk from my house up to Kedron Brook Wetlands Reserve. Walking through various small parks surrounding Kedron Brook, I found several Australian Brushturkeys, Pacific Black and Maned Ducks, Dusky Moorhens, Little Black Cormorants and Black-fronted Dotterels on the way, along with a large number of the regular Brisbane species. I finally reached the reserve in the late morning and was immediately struck by the amazing number of birds present. Large flocks of Australian White and Glossy Ibises flew overhead, the latter the first of my 600 challenge. White-headed Stilts were abundant, a bird that had been added to my challenge total four days previously when a small group flew overhead at Brisbane Airport as we collected our dogs who had just arrived from England. It was fantastic to see such a fantastic number of this awesome bird here.
Glossy Ibises at Kedron Brook Wetlands. This species has an enormous global distribution, breeding in every continent besides Antarctica.
White-headed Stilt, a very common sight at Kedron Brook Wetlands
For one brief moment, there was an extraordinary spectacle, as a White-bellied Sea Eagle attempted to steal a snake a Brahminy Kite was carrying. The Eagle was being mobbed by Torresian Crows and the Kite by White-headed Stilts, while a large flock of Glossy Ibises and numerous White-bellied Woodswallows circled nearby. Sadly by the time I got my camera out, all of them had moved on!
Several more White-bellied Sea Eagles and Brahminy Kites, along with a Whistling Kite and three Black-shouldered Kites were seen around the reserve. Parrots were very common, with Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Little Corellas and a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo all shrieking overhead.
The large expanse of grassland was teeming with bird-life. Chesnut-breasted Mannikins, stunning Variegated and Red-backed Fairywrens, Tawny Grassbirds, Willie Wagtails and Australian Pipits were especially abundant here, while approximately 15 Golden-headed Cisticolas were also seen, a pleasing lifer for me. A single Double-barred Finch was present, surprisingly my first in Queensland.
Golden-headed Cisticola
Besides the aforementioned raptors, Ibises and White-breasted Woodswallows; Welcome Swallows, Fairy and Tree Martins and Black-faced Cuckooshrikes were a regular sight overhead. The mangroves around the reserve were teeming with Brown Honeyeaters, Mangrove Gerygones, Fairywrens, Silvereyes and Common Mynas. A Torresian Kingfisher headed down Kedron Brook rapidly, while two Whimbrel, a Common Sandpiper, an Australasian Darters, three Laughing Kookaburras, a Great White Egret and a Little Egret were also present. I was lucky to come upon several of another lifer for me in the same area, with a number of Mangrove Honeyeaters present.
Back in the swampy grassland, numerous Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Black-fronted Dotterels were feeding alongside the Stilts and Ibises. The highlight, however, was unquestionably coming upon at least 40 Red-necked Avocets wading through the largest pool of freshwater on the reserve. This was an absolutely awesome species to see, especially in such high numbers.
Red-necked Avocets at Kedron Brook Wetlands. What an incredible bird!
I then decided to walk to Nudgee Waterhole Reserve, in the hope of finding some Ducks. On the way, I came across most of the common Kedron Brook species, including numerous Mangrove Honeyeaters and Golden-headed Cisticolas. As I passed Nudgee Golf Course, I came upon a large mixed flock of passerines passing through a small woodland area. Alongside the numerous Brown Honeyeaters, Rufous Fantails and Fairywrens (of both species), I spotted a bird that I didn't recognise. After careful observation, I realised that it was a Striped Honeyeater, my fourth lifer of the day! The Honeyeaters are a fascinating family of birds, found only in New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific Islands, with 73 species present in Australia each filling tiny ecological niches. This was only my 43rd member of the family, so there are still plenty for me to find!
Finally, I arrived at Nudgee Waterhole. The lake was covered in waterfowl, though sadly I could find nothing more interesting than numerous Hardheads, Pacific Black Duck, domesticated Mallards, Eurasian Coots, Dusky Moorhens, Australasian Grebes and a Maned Duck. A Darter and several Little Black and Little Pied Cormorants were also present. I decided to check the surrounding woodlands, and was rewarded with Red-backed Fairywrens, Sacred Kingfishers, Spangled Drongos and an Olive-backed Oriole. The undoubted highlight was finding at least six Dollarbirds. I hadn't seen this fantastic species of Roller since coming upon a single roadside bird near Port Douglas when I was nine years' old!
Sacred Kingfisher
Oriental Dollarbird
Today, I visited the stunning Enoggera Reservoir in D'Aguilar National Park, just outside of Brisbane.
Enoggera Reservoir
The reservoir itself was swarming with Hardheads and Australasian Grebes, with an Australasian Darter and several Eurasian Coots and Dusky Moorhens present. It was brilliant to find a magnificent pair of Comb-crested Jacanas walking across some lilly-pads surrounding the reservoir's fringes. Jacanas are a fascinating family of birds, with their extraordinarily-long claws allowing them to walk across floating vegetation, earning them the name 'Jesus birds.' They are also (along with Painted Snipes and Phalaropes) one of the only families of bird in which the male incubates the nest.
The forest surrounding the water was teeming with birds. Among the immense number of species present, several Black-faced Monarchs and a Large-billed Scrubwren were firsts for me within the Brisbane Metropolitan area, while Variegated and Red-backed Fairywrens, Scarlet Myzomelas, Eastern Yellow Robins and Red-browed Finches added some wonderfully-bright colour. Eastern Whipbirds and White-browed Scrubwrens were creeping about the undergrowth. Spectacled Monarchs, Lewin's, Brown and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Rufous Fantails, Olive-backed Orioles, Spangled Drongos and Brown Thornbills all contributed the breath-taking cacophony of bird calls emanating from the forest, as did the fantastically-high number of Bell Miners jingling from virtually every tree. Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Rainbow Lorikeets added to the noise, with their loud shrieking as they flew overhead. In amongst these species, I found a Shining Bronze-Cukoo and a Fan-tailed Cuckoo, which, like the earlier Jacanas, were my first since I was nine years' old! It was immensely pleasing to see a member of a new family of birds for me today as well, with a White-throated Treecreeper (unsurprisingly, a species of Australasian Treecreeper) showing very well (but very briefly sadly) right next to the path. Despite bearing a strong physical resemblance to the 'non-Australian' Treecreepers, which like these birds have the remarkable ability to climb vertically up the branches and trunks of trees. Remarkably, they are not even closely related to the other Treecreeper, but rather form a part of the fascinating Australasian-songbird family, with their closest relatives being the Lyrebirds. What an extraordinary example of evolution in two different parts of the world leading to two families of such seemingly-similar families of birds with no close genetic relation.
As we headed back to the carpark, it was amazing to find a resplendent White-bellied Sea Eagle perched high in a tree next to lake. It was a great way to end a brilliant morning!
White-bellied Sea Eagle at Enoggera Reservoir
Australasian Darter and a Terrapin sharing a branch
There were loads of Goanas along the paths
This will be my final outing around Brisbane for some time, as I am heading down the Melbourne briefly next week, before heading on to Queenstown in New Zealand for potentially a couple of months after that.
Meanwhile, I need to see 23 more species to reach my target of 600 birds between school and university. With over three months left this should be very achievable!
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