Final Tallies for 2011

Hi all,

The final wash-up for 2011 is;

World - 1408
Australia - 520
Australia 2011 - 349

I can't wait for 2012!

Till next time!

Mike

Trekking North to find the Western Yellow Robin and Chestnut-breasted Whiteface - December 2011

At the end of a hectic and challenging school year, I escaped for four days to go hunting for two bird species that had so far alluded me in previous visits to areas where they are found - these were the Western Yellow Robin and the Chestnut-breasted Whiteface. That they are found in opposite directions once you reach Port Augusta meant some serious driving, but my Lancer and I were up for the challenge! I also wanted to try to get 350 species for 2011, so I needed another 13 over the next four days.

Day 1 (Tuesday, 20th December 2011)

Armed with food, water, Bundy's GB, swag, binoculars, camera, deck chair and a compilation tape of Ray Charles' greatest hits, I left home at 3:00am and headed north. Three hours and one stunning sunrise over the Southern Flinders Ranges later I arrived in Port Augusta. I headed straight for the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens and was soon surrounded by some stunning avifauna - White-backed Swallows, White-browed Babblers (playing at my feet), Australian Kestrels, Chirruping Wedgebills, Mulga Parrots, Honeyeaters, Corellas, Fairy-wrens, Zebra Finches, and even a Straw-necked Ibis flying overhead. 23 species altogether, some great photos and two more to the year tally (339).

I then headed off for Lake Gilles Conservation Park, about 120 kms west of Port Augusta. I stopped at Iron Knob in search of Western Grasswren and saw nothing!! And I mean nothing! Took off again and arrived in Lake Gilles for a late lunch. I set up camp, including my brand new swag, and relaxed for a couple of hours until late afternoon. I then headed into the bush south of the main road about a kilometre from the western end of the Park. The first bird was a Rufous Treecreeper, which I had only ever seen once before. Got great views and a decent photo. Within ten minutes I was stoked to have the first of quite a few Western Yellow Robins turn up for a visit. LIFER No 1! One down - one to go! The birding wasn't prolific (21 species), but I did extend my year list to 342.

After a lovely dinner of cold meat, fresh fruit and a Bundy's GB, I settled into bed early and was soon asleep. It had been a long day!

Day 2

Early next morning I was greeted with two more WY Robins visiting me around my campsite. I again got a reasonable photo (diagnostic proof!) and then headed off back to Port Augusta. Stopped in again at Iron Knob, but apart from a small fmaily of WW Fairy-wrens, I saw absolutely nothing again. However, whilst standing in amongst the saltbush, I did recieve the Year 12 results for the school by iPhone (technology is awesome!). I checked my daughter Haylee's result (96.10 - proud dad!), and then scanned through the rest. Rang Haylee - got a bit misty on the phone (I had only been away for one day!) and also chatted with my team from school - overall very happy with the results.



OK, back to birding! Decided to head straight on to the Flinders and hopefully pick up a few there, including the ST Grasswren at Stokes Hill. Snaffled a Black-breasted Buzzard just outside of Quorn - a real surprise and a new tick for me in South Australia. No photo though - it took off before I could get the car turned around. Might possibly have been the loud screeching of tyres when I first saw it that caused it to take off! Had a massive flock of Little Corellas mob me in Hawker. Also got Inland Thornbill at Rawnsley Park. Stokes Hill was barren - it was midday and HOT! Not a ST Graawren in sight or making a sound. Cut through Brachina Gorge - bad decision, the road was awful, but I survived. Finally pulled into Leigh Creek, booked a cabin, had a long cold shower, watched a bit of TV, and fell to sleep. Year list - 344.


Day 3

Up early and off to Mt. Lyndhurst. Glorious weather - I am a summer boy! Headed straight to the Rusy Car site and started searching for Chestnut-breasted Whitefaces. Saw lots of birds - especially WW Fairwrens, Emu, Zebra Finch, Black-faced Woodswallow, Budgerigar (the way God intended them - free!), WB Swallows, Hooded Robin, Brown Songlark, Thick-billed Grasswren and Rufous Fieldwren - but no CBWFs. Headed further north and found a White-necked Heron at the Mt. Lyndhurst bore. Wandered a few of the dry river beds until I relasied that it was 1pm and I was scorched and thirsty!





Headed back to Lyndhurst where I popped into the pub. Decided to book a room, had a shower, and knocked back a Black Douglas Scotch and dry without anyting touching the sides! Ordered a second one and had a beef schnitzel - many thanks to Bob and the guys at the pub - you saved my life! Used their internet to check out the family and my birding mates and waited until 5pm before heading back for another go at the CBWFs.



As I am a tad OCD, I was determined not to leave the Rusty Car site until I had traversed every inch of the small gully and associated straggly bushes, even if I had to walk from the Strzelecki track to the old mine site on both sides. I stood on the Strzelecki and started off, heading north! Two metres later, a CBWF popped up. LIFER No 2!! Then he was joined by his wife, then his extended family, then the neighbours, the community choir group and the local primary school. There were CBWFs everywhere! And I had searched this area for four hours in the morning without success. Birding!! Got cripplingly good views and a couple of decent photos. Spent about an hour with them. Gave myself a high five for Jesus, coz my brother wasn't there to help, and then wandered around in a daze for a while before heading back to the pub. Dropped into bed at about 9pm and fell happily to sleep! Saw 37 species at Mt. Lyndhurst (a great result for such a tough area, especially in 37 degree heat). Year list 349. RATS!!

Day 4

Awoke at 4am, packed the car and did the mad dash home, only stopping long enough to take a photo of an amazing sunrise over the Northern Flinders Ranges, and fill up with petrol at Hawker.

Had a wonderful trip - got both birds, saw some brillaint stuff. Felt totally detoxed when I arrived home. And that was the whole point! Till next time!

Greenfield Wetlands on a lazy Saturday morning November 19th 2011

Woke up early yesterday and decided to head to Greenfields. Arrived at 6:45am - the weather (supposedly thunderstorms) was delightful. Great light and relatively warm. I was greeted by over 20 different species in the first area of water. Cool! All the usual suspects - black swan, purple swamp hen, dusky moorhen, dozens of black-tailed native-hens, hoary-headed and australasian grebe, pacific black and white-eyed duck, chestnut and grey teal, red-kneed and black-fronted dotterel, australian pelican, little pied and little black cormorant, plus my first great cormorant here, little grassbird and australian reed-warbler, eurasian coot, spotted crake, silver gull, magpie lark and welcome swallow.

    

Heading into the wetlands I quickly picked up house sparrow, crested pigeon, spotted turtle dove, singing honeyeater, little egret, great egret, royal spoonbill, australian white and glossy ibis, willie wagtail, and common starling. Then hit the next set of ponds and found a group of banded stilt and red-necked avocet - both new for me at Greenfields, along with black-winged stilt, white-faced heron, whiskered tern, caspian tern (another new one for Greenfields), masked lapwing, red-capped plover and nankeen night heron (at least six roosting in the rushes - they took off and fly above my head for ages. Nice! Finally I found the waders - sharp-tailed, wood and marsh, along with red-necked stints.



Took some photos - attached and then headed back. Stumbled on a very badly mangled sharpie flapping about on the ground. it had clearly been attacked and was in a very bad way. Couldn't even attempt to get away from me other than to flop frantically on the ground. After a quick photo, I quietly put it out of its misery (sad face), rather than leave it to the mercy of a raptor or the ants. A slightly sobering end to a lovely morning. Almost 50 species of bird in less than two hours only fifteen minutes from my home!

Totals Update

Thought I would keep you updated on my birding totals as at the 28th October 2011;

• World Total - 1406
• Africa Total - 858
• Kenya Total - 775
• Australia Total - 518
• Australia 2011 - 336
• South Africa - 261

Aims for 2012;

• World Total - Somewhere between 1450 and 1500
• Australia Total - 575 (WA, Iron Range, Lakefield NP, North-eastern Queensland, Lake Gilles, Lyndhurst, Port MacDonnell pelagic, Gluepot)
• Australia 2012 - Between 350 and 375

Here's to great birding!

POTS

Below is an Osprey - taken at Coolum Beach, Sunshine Coast September 2011

Mike's Excellent Adventure to Broome - Oct 2011

Had the chance to take my lovely wife, Dani, to Broome over the third term holidays for five nights. It was a fantastic few days of sun, sand and relaxing - joy!! Dani also gave me the royal seal of approval to do a day's birding with George Swann, the resident birding guru, who graciously gave up a day to share the wonders of the birds of Broome with me. George is a wealth of knowledge and has a great love for birds, and he is a terrific guide, and I had a brilliant day with him, seeing 124 birds species, and getting 12 lifers and 14 new ones for Australia. VERY happy!!

The day started off early at 5:00am with George picking me up in his 4x4. We headed to the mangroves to the north of Broome on Roebuck Plains. We immediately heard the calls of a number of species and launched our way into the mangroves. With the use of George's knowledge and my Morcombe app, we soon called in a number of species, including Red-headed Honeyeater, Kimberely (Lemon-bellied) Flycatcher, Red-collared Lorikeet (not sure why this bird is a race of the Rainbow, but there you go!) Broad-billed Flycatcher, and a number of new ones for me - Mangrove Golden Whistler, Mangrove Grey Fantail, Dusky Gerygone and White-breasted Whistler. I got cracking views of all of them, but only managed a decent photo of the Gerygone.

We headed back for the car where I belatedly put on some mozzie repellent - my legs were smashed by the sandflies! However, undetered, we drove around the plains, picking up some great spots, including over 90 Brolga, Long-tailed Finch, Orinetal Plover, and a Brown Goshawk hunting down a Brown Quail. Two Brown Falcons then turned up and attempted to rob the Goshawk of its breakfast! The fight was on, and there was a great deal of noise and dust! To top it off, an Australian Bustard (Lifer No 5) was spotted walking away from us across the plains.

We then headed off to George's special spot number two to chase down Yellow Chats. Along the way we had a beautiful White-bellied Sea Eagle pose on a fence post. After about fifteen minutes of hunting, we found a small group of the chats, and eventually a male agreed to sit on top of a small bush long enough for me to get great views through the binoculars and a very average photo! (Lifer No 6).  

On the way back to town we stopped in a lovely section of scrub, which George said was good for White-throated Gerygone. I used my Morcombe app and managed to call in a stunning White-throated Gerygone male (Lifer No 7), along with a rather indignant Rufous Whistler within a few minutes. George was batting 7 from 7 so far, and I was in birding heaven!

Once back in town we proceeded straight to the Water Treatment Plant. This is one part of my birding hobby that my wife finds the hardest to explain to friends when they ask where I am birding. Her slightly embarrassed reply "The poo-ponds" elicits a smorgasboard of responses! However, every keen birder knows that these delightful places provide rich birding environments, and the Broome Water Treatment Plant was no exception. We picked up Barn Swallow (new for me for Australia), Pheasant Coucal and a large number of Rainbow Bee-eaters outside the  ponds and then we scanned the ponds. There were hundreds of Plumed Whistling Ducks, along with a large number of other normal water species, the most memorable of which were a lone Oriental Pratincole (Lifer No 8) and George's first for the season, along with an immature White-winged Black Tern (new for me for Australia), and three Black-tailed Godwits. The only speciality that George was hoping to find that we dipped on was the Eastern Yellow Wagtail.

We then drove to the Broome Port, where George was certain of finding a Grey-headed Honeyeater. We pulled up in the car park and George pointed out a bush that mostly devoid of foliage, saying "I often see the Honeyeaters on that bush there". As he completed the sentence, a Grey-headed Honeyeater (Lifer No 9) flew in and posed perfectly on top of the bush for a few seconds before flying off again. Birding on a platter!!

It was then off to the mudflats for high tide. Unfortunately, the high tide was fairly innocuous, and the birds were not pushed very far up Crab Creek, one of the premier wader birding spots in Australia. However, we were still able to view a large number of different species, including Red and Great Knot, Greater Sandplover, Turnstone, Whimbrel, Little Curlew, Greenshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Gull-billed, Crested, Lesser Crested, Caspian, Little and Common Tern, Little and Great Egret, Pacific Golden and Grey Plovers, and three Asian Dowitchers (Lifer No 10)!! Trekking through the mud-flats was entirely worth it, even though at times we were sinking deeply into the sludge - all part of the adventure!

After a short stop at a wetland that produced very little, we headed home, tired but very happy with the day. Thanks so much George!!

The adendum to this is that the next morning I went for an early morning walk and used my app to call in a lively group of Black-chinned Honeyeaters (Lifer No 11), and a bird I have hunted for unsuccessfully on a number of occasions previously. It is hard giving your self a high five!). I also watched fascinated as a Striated Pardalote zoomed in and out of a hole in a bank on the side of a road. He and I watched each other warily, but eventually called a truce as long as I stayed where I was. Lots of Little Friarbirds, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes and Whistling Kites flew about above us. On the way into town to do non-birding stuff I did convince Dani to do a drive-by of the "poo-ponds" and I got cracking photos of a Rainbow Bee-eater and then spied an Eastern Yellow Wagtail on the grassy bank - YES!! (Lifer No 12). We then had a Collared Sparrohawk land near the car on the way to Cable Beach and it sat very still while I took a photo, and we also nabbed Blue-winged Kookaburras sitting on top of the light posts on the way home in the evening. Bird-watching can be great even when you aren't bird-watching!! 

All in all, a fantasitc birding adventure and one that I would definitely recommend. Oh and Cable Beach is pretty stunning too!! We will definitely be going back!

Mike's Excellent Adventure to the South-east - Jan 2011

Day 1

Left Salisbury East at 4am and headed for Tailem Bend and the ferry to Narrung. Huge numbers of Great Cormorants and Australian Pelicans greeted me at the ferry, along with a very cheery ferry pilot, despite it being only 6am! A Swamp Harrier circled overhead, along with a couple of Caspian Terns, against the back-drop of a beautiful morning blue sky.

I reached Pelican Point, my first stop, to discover that access to the barrage had been blocked – however, the drive in was worth it – with great sightings of Cape Barren Geese, Australian Kestrel, thousands of Australian Shelducks, Elegant Parrot (hit one with the car – sorry!), three Wedge-tailed Eagles, Black-shouldered Kite, Brown Songlark and Brown Falcon. The only casualty (apart from the Elegant Parrot!) was my camera, which I left on the back of the car when I headed on. Upon returning, after realising my error some 20kms later, it was nowhere to be seen. The verbal recriminations of myself were colourful and extended. Bird total – 40

Next stop was Salt Creek, and following Kay Parkin’s excellent directions, started off my list here with a Malleefowl, happily working on its nest. Brilliant! Followed this up with a pair of Hooded Plover so I was feeling pretty chuffed. Brush Bronzewing and three Emu wandering past (my first for the year!) completed a nice stop-over. Bird total – 52

A petrol stop at Kingston, and then on to Bool Lagoon, south of Naracoorte. Been here once before many years ago and it was a barren grassland. No more – good rains in the south-east and floods in western Victoria have filled the lagoon and the birdlife was prolific. Hundreds of Masked Lapwings, Black-winged Stilts and Magpie Geese (a first for me in South Australia) were the standouts. Just remember to have a ten dollar note on you before arriving here. Access was $8.50 and the Parks and Wildlife people received a nice $20 bucks from Potter. Bird total – 69

I arrived in Port MacDonnell in time to meet up with the team going on the Pelagic the next day at the Victoria Pub. A very nice meal and conversation and then on to the caravan park where I hit the sack, ready for a boat trip to the Southern Ocean.

Day 2

Awake at 5:00am – Colin was clear that we had to be on the boat by 6am and he wouldn’t be waiting! Took my Kwell tablet – although fortunately sea-sickness has never been a problem. A cool morning, but clear skies, greeted us and we were soon away on the Remarkable with skipper Mark and his son, Jamie. The group consisted of Colin Rogers (group leader), Stuart, Grant, Neil, Roly, Jim, Eddie (a South African chap – lots of great chats about African birding), Chris, Beatrice and Marion (sisters) and me!

We headed out to the Continental shelf – the trip took about 90 minutes. Flocks of Short-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwaters and a couple of Shy Albatrosses swept across the ocean in our wake, but the first specialty for the day was a Common Diving-Petrel, which seems to be anything but common based on the reactions of those on board. My first “lifer” so things looked positive for the day ahead. We settled on a pre-determined spot and started the task of putting the “burley” out, producing a slick of delicious goodies for the birds.

And then the fun began.....Shy Albatrosses were joined by other Albatrosses – numbers of Black-browed, Indian Yellow-nosed and then a Campbell’s (which has recently been split from the Black-browed – check for the yellow eye!). Great-winged Petrels swept in, along with White-chinned Petrels (lifer No. 2). Flesh-footed Shearwaters were abundant. A Southern Royal Albatross was then spotted (lifer no.3) and it hung around for some time. Five species of Albatross – fantastic!

Black-browed Albatross

And then things hotted up – both White-faced Storm-Petrels and Wilson’s Storm Petrels turned up, the former in very large numbers (lifers No. 4 and No. 5). These were startlingly pretty birds, not much larger than starlings. They would “dance” across the water, rather than actually land – quite enchanting. The second specialty of the day then turned up – the Fairy Prion (lifer No. 6). Mark and Jamie served up a fantastic lunch – snags cooked on the BBQ, along with cold serves of Crayfish! Awesome!

Flesh-footed Shearwater

Great-winged Petrel

White-faced Storm-Petrel

After eight hours of fantastic birding, we headed back. I am greatly indebted to Grant who leant me a camera to catch a few snaps. Other birds seen were Fluttering Shearwaters (on the way back in), and Australasian Gannets and Crested Terns. Sixteen species in total! My grateful thanks go to Colin and Stuart for their invitation, patience and guidance. Thanks guys! Bird total – 83

Once back on shore, Chris and I decided to head to Telford Scrub, some thirteen kilometres north of Mount Gambier, to look for the Satin Flycatcher and White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrikes that had been reported there. Following the directions of both Kay and Eddie, we headed to the first picnic site and quickly found the Flycatcher and the Cuckoo-Shrike, along with a couple of Eastern Yellow Robins (all new ones for SA for Mike), and White-throated Treecreepers. A very pleasant afternoon of birding and chatting! Thanks Chris! I then headed back to Port Mac and the caravan park for dinner. Got to watch the first One-Dayer between Aus and England - Watson was brilliant! Then off to bed. Bird total – 90

Day 3

Up early again to chase down the Olive Whistler which is regularly seen near the caravan park. Roly turned up and we spent some time calling for the Whistler without success. Roly suggested I check out the beach at Eight Mile Creek so I headed east along the coast for about 8kms and worked my way down to the beach. Wow! Hundreds of shorebirds were on the beach, including Oystercatchers, Stints, Sanderlings, Turnstones, plus Caspian, Crested, Fairy and nesting Little Terns (the latter species a new one for Australia!). I was also chuffed to see a Kelp Gull – a species I haven’t seen for years. Buoyed with my success, I headed back to have a second go at the Whistler – I pulled out my Michael Morcombe Birds App on my phone (gotta love technology!) and played its call for about five minutes before a beautiful Olive Whistler turned up to have a chat. It came very close, providing brilliant views (lifer No. 7). Where was my camera! I also snaffled a Skylark, which was great. It’s characteristic flight pattern and calling was a great way to start the day.

The rest of the day was spent following the coastline east, and then into the Lower Glenelg National Park. Highlights included Forest Raven, Pied Currawong, Long-billed Corellas (hundreds), and three Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. That night I went owl hunting at the Dry Creek Reserve and along Grubbed Road west of Casterton. The Powerful Owl called to me at Dry Creek but refused to show itself, and the Masked Owl kept silent and hidden – so dipped badly on both. However, it had been a great day. Bird total – 119

Day 4

Spent the night at Pritchards Camp in the Lower Glenelg NP in my swag (thanks Nigel!), and then off on an early morning walk – picked up White-naped Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater, Red-browed Finch, Brush Cuckoo, a pair of Olive Whistlers and an Azure Kingfisher (spectacular). Also had Superb Fairy-wrens and Eastern Yellow Robins playing around my feet. Where was my camera!!!!

Packed the car and headed north to Wartook. I began to hear reports that I was entering flood territory. I didn’t take it too seriously until I visited the Nigretta and Wannon falls. OK – there was a LOT of water!! These photos were taken with my iPhone!

Hmmm. Was I going to get through to Wartook, a small village at the base of the Grampians? Reached the Glenelg River at Cherrypool and was relieved that the water had receded enough for me to get through. It was clear that a massive amount of water had passed through Wartook, and several sections of road had been damaged. Again, though, I was able to get through and finally arrived in Wartook. The road to Hall’s Gap, however, was totally ruined so that made birding site decisions easier!

Pulled into the Holiday Caravan Park and booked a really nice cabin – thanks Janet! After a well-deserved and needed shower (!), I headed into the Wartook State Forest for an afternoon bird-walk. What a great place – saw some really nice stuff, but best of all was a number of Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters (lifer No. 8). Mr. Morcombe’s App was invaluable again! Headed back to the cabin for dinner and a good sleep! Bird total – 130

Day 5

Up early (surprise), and back into the Forest – birds were everywhere (well worth visiting). Picked up the Fuscous Honeyeater, and saw many more Yellow-tufted, but dipped on the Black-chinned, which has been seen here. Decided to head back to the Glenelg River at Cherrypool, and almost immediately got the Little Lorikeet (lifer No. 9) – a bird I have been targeting for years. VERY happy!

Then it was a matter of holding my breath and hoping that I could get through Horsham, which had been under water for days. Made it to the southern part of the town and was advised that there was ONE track through the town that was open. I carefully made my way through roads packed with sandbags, glancing down the other roads to see them completely submerged. Emerging the other end I was then advised that the main road to Bordertown was still impassable and that I would need to go via Frances. So off I headed, crossing a number of swollen rivers, one with a house wrapped around a tree in the middle of the water!

Heading north from Frances, I stopped in at Bangham NP, but the only highlights were six more Yellow-tails, a Rufous Whistler and an indignant Echidna!

The e rest of the trip was a relaxed cruise home, with a brief visit to the Monarto CP, where Mr. Morcombe helped me call in a Purple-gaped Honeyeater, the final bird of the trip. I finally arrived home at 7:30pm, tired but content. Totals for the trip were – 139 birds, 23 new for South Australia, 10 new for Australia, and 9 lifers. A great trip – highly recommended! Below is a complete list of the birds seen.

Till next time,

Mike

22^nd January, 2011

 

Mike's Excellent Adventure to the Outback - Sep/Oct 2010

Day 1 (28^th September 2010)

We (Pots, Nigel – a mate from church, Daniel – my 14 year old son, and Jonathan – a friend of Daniel's), headed off at 4am – destination “The Outback”. We had been kindly provided with a very nice and new Toyota Prado by Jonathan’s folks, and, with the sounds of “Eagle Rock” in our ears we embarked on our intrepid journey.

We decided to take the route along the Murray to Mildura to capture as many birds as possible on the first day. Nigel had never been on a birding trip before, so almost everything we saw was a “lifer” for him. The boys dutifully got out at Cobdogla with the binoculars we had brought for them and stared at a Darter, our first bird of the trip. They then retired back to the car and that was the culmination of their bird-watching for the entire trip! (I have clearly failed as a father….).

Cobdogla put on a great show for us, and our birdlist was 40 after only a couple of hours. We next stopped at Monash to chase down the Yellow-throated Miner, which we dutifully saw. Jonathan and Nigel had a go on the big swing (Daniel and I cheered enthusiastically). As we were about to get into the car, two Blue-faced Honeyeaters flew past and conveniently landed in a nearby tree. I had not seen them in South Australia before, so this was an excellent spot.

We detoured past Mildura and headed north to Broken Hill. We stopped in at a road-side bay for lunch and were quickly mobbed by a family of Apostlebirds. They came right up to us, looking expectantly for a free feed. We also began to notice the prolific colour of the bush, and this became one of the overall highlights of the trip – I think I took as many photos of flowers as I did of birds!

Apostlebird

Broken Hill came and went as we continued on to the Paroo-Darling NP at the confluence of the two rivers. We arrived late in the evening expecting to find a sparsely inhabited camping ground near the river. Instead we stumbled into a caravan convention! Every man and his dog seemed to be heading north to see the desert in bloom! We were fortunate to find one last camping spot – so we threw out a tent and swags, had a bite to eat, and hit the sack. Bird total – 66

Day 2

An early morning walk along the Darling River produced some great birding, including White-breasted Woodswallows, Zebra Finches, Pallid Cuckoo and Sacred Kingfishers. Then we headed for Bourke. The Sturt Desert Peas along the road were stunning, as were the large numbers of Spotted Harriers. After a quick lunch just north of Bourke, we continued on to Cunnamulla in south-west Queensland, destination – Bowra Station. We stopped at a billabong near Cunnamulla and were greeted by the sight of six Brolga. Very nice!


White-breasted Woodswallows

We stopped at Cunnamulla for supplies and enjoyed the walk through the town. Then it was on to Bowra Station, a few kilometres north-west of the township. Two more Brolgas on the drive to the Station were an added bonus.

After booking in, we pitched our tent and swags by a lovely little billabong, and then Nigel and I attended the evening bird-count. We were most encouraged by the sightings of the day on the Station, including a possible sighting of the mythical Grey Falcon, and this fired us up for some great birding in the morning. The boys helped cook up a great BBQ and then we were all in bed by 9pm. Bird total – 90

Day 3

Nigel and I launched ourselves upon Bowra Station with great enthusiasm as soon as the sun was up. The birding at the “creek crossing site” on the main track was fantastic – White-winged Triller, Crested Bellbird, Mistletoebird, Olive-backed Oriole, Hooded Robin, Splendid Fairy-wren, Red-capped Robin, Brown-headed Honeyeaters, Diamond Dove, Rainbow Bee-eater, Little Friarbird, White-browed and Black-faced Woodswallows, Mulga Parrot, Pallid Cuckoo, and then great sightings of Bourke’s Parrot (lifer No. 1) and Chestnut-breasted Quail-Thrush (lifer No. 2) topped off a brilliant morning – 43 species seen all up. We retired back to the campsite – the boys had arisen and were happily kicking the footy to each other. They also had a show and tell time – during the night they had crept out of their tent and taped Nigel’s profoundly loud snoring and were delighted to play it back to us. Nigel took it well! While at the campsite we were alerted to a Spotted Bowerbird nest and had wonderful views of both the bower and at least four Bowerbirds in very close proximity (lifer No. 3).

Splendid Fairy-wren

Red-capped Robin

Black-fronted Dotterel

After a relaxing lunch by the billabong, we headed out again, this time targeting particular species. Our first target was the Hall’s Babbler (lifer No. 4) which we found without too much trouble – a small party foraged just ahead of us for at least half an hour and we were able to get great views. We also picked up Chestnut-crowned Babbler, Apostlebird, White-breasted and Masked Woodswallow, Chirruping Wedgebill, Red-backed and Sacred Kingfisher, Collared Sparrowhawk, Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo and nesting Ground Cuckoo-Shrike (our second target species – only seen once before by me in the Peterborough region).

Red-wing Parrot

We were chuffed to be able to be an active part of that night’s bird-count, and there was much animated discussions usually beginning with “Oooh, where did you see that?!!!” We collapsed into bed very happy and content. Bird total – 110

Day 4

Our target birds for Day 4 were the Plum-headed Finch and the Red-browed Pardalote. Unfortunately, we dipped on both! However, we did pick up Noisy Friarbird, Brown and Rufous Songlark, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Major Mitchell Cockatoo, White-necked Heron and Red-winged Parrot (a favourite!). We also found time to relax by a billabong and Nigel got some well-earned rest in his hammock! Birding was tiring him out! The evening bird-count was held around our campfire, during which we thanked the Birds Australia hosts for a wonderful stay and promised to return. We totalled 81 species at Bowra – a wonderful example of salvaged Mulga woodland. Bird total – 119

Day 5

We left Bowra Station early and continued on our journey, this time driving due west until we reached the town of Thurgamindah. Along the way we found a small reserve designated to “Bird-watchers” and we had great views of Bourke’s Parrots again.

Our next order of business was to tow a very large dead cow off the road. The smell was uninviting. It had clearly had a confrontation with a road-train and had come off second best. We also crossed a fantastic billabong a little further on and spent about an hour birding there – Great Crested Grebe, Plumed Whistling Duck, Budgerigar, Rainbow Bee-eater, White-winged Fairy-wren, Black-tailed Native-hen, and a great number of other water birds were all present.

After leaving Thurgamindah behind us, we then started the journey south the Sturt National Park in north-west NSW. We came across our first Australian Pratincole and then both Crimson and Orange Chats. We passed through the Dingo Fence, and we were quite stunned at the sudden change in scenery. Desert scrub stretched to the horizon, and it was resplendent in colour.

After setting up camp at Tibooburra, we decided to venture into the town to enjoy the evening entertainment of the annual rodeo. We were welcomed warmly by the locals, who clearly do it tough on the pastoral lands of central Australia, but who were clearly enjoying both the day and the sustained rainfall of the last few months. Jono got chatted up by one of the locals so just prior to the line-dancing commenced we quietly excused ourselves and went back to camp! The music kept going till at least 4am. Bird total – 135

Day 6

Nigel and I headed out for a short drive through the national park, and had almost instant success. Six Flock Bronzewing (lifer No. 5) landed near the vehicle and we were able to get really good views of them. We then decided to go for a short walk through the scrub to see what we might flush and we came across a small party of Gibberbird (lifer No. 6). I was stoked!

The team then headed further west, almost to the South Australian border, and camped for the night at Fort Grey – the aim being to search for Grey Grasswren in the morning. An evening walk down to the Fort Grey basin – which was full, produced amazing views of both Cockatiels and Budgerigar. It seemed that every tree had a budgie hole with an expectant youngster sticking its neck out for food. An extended game of “marks up” with the footy culminated a long but fulfilling day. Bird total - 142

Little Corella

Budgerigar family

Day 7

We passed through Cameron Corner and were thrilled to see that both the Merty-Merty Road and the Strzelecki Track were OPEN. The Merty-Merty track had only recently been graded and was fantastic to drive on. We stopped on occasions to hunt for the Grey Grasswrens, but the vegetation was so thick, even on the crests of the sand dunes, that it was almost impossible to track anything down. We therefore, determined to head straight for the Track and the Montecollina Bore.

Upon reaching the track, we eventually crossed the Strzelecki River and were stunned by the amount of water that must have passed through. Further south, we followed my brother, Steve’s, directions to the old track where we had wonderful views of three Letter-wing Kites (lifer No 7). Back near the main track we also found Banded Whiteface (lifer No. 8) sitting on the very thorn bush Steve indicated in his directions. Amazing!

We arrived at the Bore to find lots of folk in 4WD vehicles heading up the track to check out the desert. We leapt in and had a great swim. Daniel had admitted earlier that morning that even he thought he was starting to stink, having not washed for a week! We readily agreed and so I produced a cake of soap and scrubbed him down! A quick jaunt into the nearby bush flushed an Australasian Bittern and about one million mozzies, so we retreated very quickly!

We then continued south, picking up a number of species along the way, including Little Button-quail and the Inland Dotterel. We stayed the night at the Mt. Lyndhurst Station shearers quarters – very pleasant indeed, and had a most welcome sleep on a bed! Bird Total – 148

Day 8

Our final birding was early the next morning. Nigel and I headed to the “rusty car” site and the “two gates” site to try our luck for the Chestnut-banded Whiteface. Unfortunately, this elusive little bird did just that, but we did have great views of the Cinnamon Quail-thrush and Rufous Fieldwren. We then did our final pack-up at Mt. Lyndhurst and began the long drive home back to Adelaide. We arrived home late in the evening after covering 3,100kms across four States, seeing a total of 152 birds.

Daniel and Jono seemed to survive it without too much fuss, and it was great to share a new adventure with my son. Nigel had a brilliant time away, collecting 118 lifers!! Now that’s birding! Thanks for being such a great mate and such an enthusiastic student! I was really pleased with the eight new ones I saw, although you always wonder about the ones that got away – the Plum-headed Finch, Red-browed Pardalote, Painted Honeyeater, Grey and Eyrean Grasswrens, Chestnut-banded Whiteface, Australian Bustard and the mythical Grey Falcon, but that’s why there must always be a next time! Thanks finally to the Lloyds for the loan of the vehicle – it was awesome!

Till next time!

Mike