On the 30th June I decided to visit Luggage Point, a location whose intriguing sightings have been tempting me for a while. I enjoyed a couple of hours exploring the area surrounding the exceedingly eerie abandoned town (I really would not like to be there at night!). I came upon a small swamp where I found a decent number of the regular water and reed birds, including 58 Chestnut Teal, 25 Mangrove Honeyeaters and 12 Golden-headed Cisticola, while two Black-fronted Dotterels were nice to see and a magnificent Swamp Harrier flew low over head. Some nice woodland species were also present, including a Grey Shrikethrush, a Mistletoebird and a Bar-shouldered Dove. I was immensely pleased to come upon two lifers while I was there, with a pair of Yellow-rumped Thornbills (certainly very overdue for me!) and a fantastic surprise in the form of a Pale-vented Bush-hen skulking about a boggy area adjacent to the road. It was definitely an immense bonus on my first and most likely not last trip to this interesting area. Hopefully the recently reported Beach Stone-curlews and Plum-headed Finches will reappear soon!
The next day, I headed to Slaughter Falls at Mount Coot-tha before four in the morning. My main target was the Powerful Owl, while I also held hope for an Australian Owlet-Nightjar or a White-throated Nightjar. I found a Tawny Frogmouth almost immediately perched in a tree next to the carpark.
Tawny Frogmouth at Mount Coot-tha. This picture was actually taken just before I left, thankfully the bird hadn't moved.
A short time later I heard an Owlet-Nightjar calling from deep within the forest. Sadly my attempts to find it totally failed. I can save it for another day!
A little further up the path, I was completely blown away to come upon this magnificent beast perched midway up a tree near me.
Powerful Owl!! Definitely one of the most awesome birds I have seen.
After a number of attempts at finding this bird, I was overjoyed to finally see this truly special creature. I was totally enchanted as I watched it for some time. What an amazing bird.
I then went to the nearby Simpson Falls, where I found a nice selection of forest birds, including a Fan-tailed Cuckoo, pairs of Australian King Parrots and Pale-headed Rosellas, both White-throated and White-naped Honeyeaters, over twenty Scarlet Myzomelas and Australian Golden Whistlers, a Rufous Whistler and a Rose Robin. The biggest surprise undoubtedly came in the form of bird squawking out a strange call from a eucalyptus next to the carpark. A brief moment of excitement ensued after I spotted an all-green Parrot, but sadly it wasn't the rare native I was hoping for!
An Alexandrine Parakeet! A native of the Indian Subcontinent, and a bird I certainly didn't expect to find in a state forest in West Brisbane! I hope it can quickly adapt to living wild, otherwise its freedom may end up being very short-lived indeed...
Laughing Kookaburra at Simpson Falls
On the 3rd July, I decided to have another look around Kedron Brook Wetlands. A fantastic variety of birds were present, with 49 species seen. It was very nice to find eight of these guys feeding next to the path:
Brown Quails at Kedron Brook Wetlands. They seemed not to care in the slightest about the busy traffic of cyclists travelling rapidly approximately two metres away from them.
Herons were present in good numbers once again, most being White-faced Herons, while Great and Little Egrets and three Striated Herons also present.
Striated Heron chilling by the brook
Kedron Brook Wetlands is a fantastic area for raptors, and today I saw Black-shouldered, Brahminy and Whistling Kites and two White-bellied Sea Eagles. Along with this magnificent guy:
Brown Falcon! A first for me in Brisbane, and what a beautiful bird.
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Other birds present included numerous Rainbow Bee-eaters, Mangrove and Brown Honeyeaters, Striated Pardalotes, Superb and Red-backed Fairywrens, Mangrove Gerygones, Grey Fantails, Golden-headed Cisticolas, Tawny Grassbirds, Australian Pipits and singles of Red-browed Finch and Pied Butcherbird which were surprisingly firsts for me at the reserve, taking my total there up to 92.
On the 5th July, the day of my 19th birthday, we headed south for a family road-trip towards Sydney. Sadly the first day was very much dominated by heavy rain, as we reached the freezing-cold Armidale, Australia's highest city, by the late evening. Crimson and Eastern Rosellas, Nankeen Kestrels and Black Kites had been ubiquitous by the roadside, though in the conditions few other birds were seen. Eastern Grey Kangaroos, however, were truly abundant which was fantastic to see. An early morning walk the next day in two degrees temperatures failed to produce the desired Musk Lorikeets, though numerous Eastern Rosellas and Australian King Parrots were nice to see while the presence of Red Wattlebirds and Australian Ravens highlighted how far south we had traveled. On such a cold morning it certainly felt suitable to find a number of European invasive birds present, with large numbers of House Sparrows and Common Starlings and a single Common Blackbird seen. We continued on south to Sydney through the day, and sadly once again poor weather conditions hindered any opportunities to find birds, though the numbers of Eastern Grey Kangaroos seen (sadly many road-killed) was truly extraordinary, and a magnificent Dingo crossed the road in front of us in Wollemi NP.
The next day I visited Centennial Park in east Sydney with one main target in mind, the Eastern Barn Owl that regularly roosts in a palm tree in the park. Sadly my three-hour search failed to produce this elusive birds, though heavy rain certainly did not help things. I was pleased to find this guy in amongst a large group of Little Corellas and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos:
Long-billed Corella. Though native to the southern parts of NSW, the population in Sydney is derived from escaped cage birds
Other birds seen included numerous Black Swans and the other common waterbirds, Superb Fairywrens and, undoubtedly best of all, a magnificent Peregrine Falcon which was chasing Noisy Miners low over the park. Every time I see this bird I am truly awe-inspired by its incredible speed.
It was sadly time to start heading back north the next day, and with my family flying back up to Brisbane, I was free to take my time on the trip exploring new birding areas. The first was McPherson Road Swamp, just to the south of Newcastle, where I hoped to find the recently-reported Freckled Ducks. Sadly they were nowhere to be seen, though I did manage to come across some fantastic species, including a Swamp Harrier, 12 Varied Sitellas, an Australian Golden Whistler and a large number of Red-whiskered Bulbuls, the first I have seen of this Asian invasive in nearly ten years.
My next stop was Werakata NP in the famous and stunning Hunter Valley, where a number of fantastic dry forest birds had recently been reported. Sadly the rain reappeared to seriously hamper my exploring, though a phenomenal number of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and lesser numbers of Lewin's, Yellow-tufted (a very much overdue lifer for me!), Scarlet, White-cheeked (my first this year) and Blue-faced Honeyeaters were present. A small group of Yellow Thornbills provided another well-overdue lifer for me, I was actually surprised by how bright-coloured these birds are. Red Wattlebirds, Spotted Pardalotes, Noisy Friarbirds, Brown and Striated Thornbills, Golden and Rufous Whistlers and Eastern Yellow Robins were among the other birds seen. As was this fantastic group of approximately 13 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos:
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. At approximately 65cm in length, the birds really are impressive in size and are absolutely hilarious to watch as squabble and squawk through the forest.
I reached Tamworth by early evening, where I spent a night in a freezing-cold hostel, before heading to Mulla Creek the next day. Once again, a number of interesting birds had recently been reported from the area, so I was feeling very excited by the prospect of searching the area. A large number of Peaceful Doves were flushed from the road as I arrived, and this species turned out to be very common in the area. Parrots were present in good numbers, with numerous Eastern Rosellas and Australian King and Red-rumped (my first this year) Parrots, along with Galahs and Rainbow and Little Lorikeets seen.
Red-rumped Parrots at Mulla Creek, only my second-ever sighting of the species at the time, though they turned out to be fairly common for the remainder of my trip back north until I reached Brisbane. I have no idea why they dislike it in Brisbane so much!
An Azure Kingfisher was fantastic to see perched next to the stream, while a fantastic selection of forest birds included White-plumed and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters (my first in ten years!), Spotted Pardalotes, Grey Shrikethrushes, an Australian Golden Whistler, Mistletoebirds, Eastern Yellow Robins and a magnificent group of Apostlebirds nearby.
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, a surprisingly large bird and a great treat to find at Mulla Creek.
It was, however, a pair of lifers that provided me with the highlights of the walk, the first being a magnificent Crested Shrike-tit (writing the official IOC name Shriketit doesn't seem right!), a bird I photographed later in the day, and the second being a small number of Brown Treecreepers. It had been a fantastic start to the day!
Not long later, I was very pleased to spot a group of approximately a dozen White-winged Choughs feeding next to the road. Famed for being the only birds known to enforce slavery, these rather evil-looking birds, along with the Apostlebirds, form the only members of the Australian Mud-nester family of birds, thus forming a rare complete set of a bird family for me. I had sadly brief, but good views of these extraordinary creatures, and later enjoyed a similarly-short view of one near Warwick in southern Queensland.
My next stop was Dumaresq Dam near Armidale. I only really had one target here, and I found the magnificent bird skulking behind some reeds very quickly.
The extraordinarily-unique Musk Duck. Its name come from the extremely strong odour it emits from its throat-lobe during its breeding rituals. I don't know of any other bird that does this! I was very happy indeed to have such great views of this special bird, and seeing it means that Freckled Duck is now the only regularly-occurring Australian Duck I am yet to see. I think it might be a while sadly before I do find one!
Few other birds were seen here, with the highlights being a Grey Teal and an Australian King Parrot.
I then continued north, driving for nearly three hours before my next stop. This was Old Wallangera Road just over the border in Queensland, and although a seemingly random spot to choose, it had again held some interesting birds in recent months. My choice was rewarded almost immediately, with a magnificent pair of Diamond Firetails flushed from the road, the first I had seen of this magnificent Finch. At least nine Crested Shrike-tits were quickly, allowing fantastic views as they crept along the branches in the manner of a Treecreeper.
Crested Shrike-tits. They were frustratingly difficult to photograph!
White-plumed and White-naped Honeyeaters were abundant here, while a great selection of other forest birds included White-throated Treecreepers, a Red Wattlebird (notable as a first for me in Queensland), Spotted Pardalotes, an Australian Golden Whistler and an Eastern Yellow Robin, while a small group of Brown-headed Honeyeaters provided me with my sixth lifer of the day, an incredibly pleasing total! A Spotted Harrier flew past, while it was great to find a majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle perched distantly on a dead tree.
Wedge-tailed Eagle. A truly resplendent creature.
It was, however, a mammal that provided me with what is probably the highlight of this year for me. I made my way through the bush to investigate a mixed flock of Superb Fairywrens and Red-browed Finches, and was slightly taken aback by some rustling very close to my feet. I was blown away (and somewhat relieved!) to discover that it was an Echidna!
This was how close I cam to standing on it! As one of only two members of the Monotreme (egg-laying mammal) family this is an extraordinarily unusual creature and a true privilege to find, let alone so close to me! What an amazing country this is.
Beautiful sunset at Old Wallangera Road
I spent the night and the next few days at my friend's cattle farm in Emu Vale which was absolutely fantastic! I kept my eye out for birds and enjoyed fantastic views of numerous species, including an amazing Wedge-tailed Eagle that seemed to be taking rather too much interest in one of my friend's dogs. A trip on one day to the Queen Mary Falls was an amazing experience as we were able to feed wild Crimson Rosellas by hand!
Crimson Rosella perched on my hand!
Other birds feeding in the area included Australian King Parrots, Satin Bowerbirds, Red-browed Finches, a Wonga Pigeon and, surprisingly, a pair of Buff-banded Rails. What an awesome place!
I headed home to Brisbane earlier today (the 13th), but made a couple of stops on the way, along with spotting a White-winged Chough near Warwick. My first was down a random turning at Mutdapilly, just outside Ipswich. I soon spotted a raptor heading low over the car, and stopped immediately to have a look. I was blown away to discover that it was a Square-tailed Kite, the first I have ever, and a truly stunning bird. It gave amazing views for over twenty minutes as it glided over the dry forest. I felt extremely lucky!
A truly magnificent bird, my first-ever Square-tailed Kite at Mutdapilly. What a privilege it was to see one this well!
My second stop was back in Brisbane, at Mount Coot-tha's Slaughter Falls. My target was of course the Powerful Owl, and I was extremely pleased to find one roosting after a short search around the area I had seen one early in the morning of the 1st.
Unfortunately the lighting was very poor, but it was an unbelievable experience watching this guy from so close in the middle of the day. A truly amazing bird to find in a city!
I soon returned home after what had been an immensely enjoyable and successful trip, with nine lifers seen, some fantastic places visited and of course the Echidna as well, something I will never forget!
Of course, the birding before my trip had added some species to my Brisbane year total, which is shown below.
Brisbane year total: 203; additions: 4 (Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Pale-vented Bush-hen, Powerful Owl, Brown Falcon)
its very amazing post
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