The Great Birding Adventure 2012 - Part 7: Sunshine Coast

The final leg of the trip commenced with a flight from Cairns to Brisbane and then a drive up the coast to Noosa. I booked into a cabin at the Noosa Caravan Park and then went and lay on a beach for the rest of the day! JOY!! Barely lifted my binoculars up at all, other than to watch an Osprey work its way over the surf looking for something to eat.

The next morning saw me on the road early to get up to Inskip Point - where the boats take off for Fraser Island, in the hope of seeing a Black-breasted Button-Quail and then over to Cooloola to hopefully jag a Ground Parrot. I realised at this stage that my birding opportunities had thinned significantly, but the good news was this meant that the trip had been an overwhelming success! I reached the Point, jumped out, dodged a serious number of 4X4's bashing their way through the thick sand and headed into the scrub lining the road. Within a minute a Black-breasted Button-Quail (Number 44) was darting around in the undergrowth near my feet. great views but no chance of a photo. HAPPY! Decided to go for more of a walk and came across two Noisy Pitta (numbers 4 and 5 for the trip!). Got a dodgy photo but climbed back into the car VERY happy.

Drove to the turn-off to the renowned Ground Parrot spot to be confronted with a sign reading "Road Closed for Repairs. Do Not Enter". NOT HAPPY!!!! So that was the end of that. Drove back to Noosa a little deflated, but not depressed. Decided to cheer myself up by going on a fishing charter the next day!

Headed out early on the charter the next morning - saw no birds, caught lots of fish, came across a stack of whales (breaching and playing around) - STUNNING, and generally had a very good time!! Ate out on the main street of Noosa and hit the sack early.

My final full day on the Sunshine coast dawned and I was out early birding in Tewantin near the Golf Course. This was some of the best birding I did the whole trip - and got lots of fantastic photo opportunities. I highly recommend this spot. It's listed in the Noosa Bird Trails pamphlet. Highlights were Rufous Fantail, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, and Noisy Pitta (number 6 for the trip). Spent thev rest of the day lying on a beach soaking up the sun one last time, reflecting on not much at all. BLISS!

 

And so the final day of my trip arrived. I climbed into the car, said goodbye to Noosa and headed on to Brisbane. Had just enough time to pop into a local lake near the airport and snap a photo of a couple of amorous Rainbow Lorikeets - made the thought of getting home fairly enticing!

Got to the airport, handed over the car, boarded the plane and settled into my seat. Time to reflect! I had started off in Perth exactly 30 days earlier and had travelled thousands of kilometres by plane and car - visited the Perth region, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Lamington National Park, the Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Normanton, Julatten, Musgrave, Lakefield National Park, Iron Range National Park and the Great Barrier Reef. I had done some charter fishing, snorkelled on the GBR, watched a mate pull a Barramundi out of a stagnant pond, and seen pythons and tree snakes and crocodiles. I had seen over 300 species of bird, of which 54 were new. My Australian total had gone from 523 to 577 and I had spotted some of the most beautiful, stunning and rare birds on the continent. I had some of the time alone which had been fantastic, but I had also had the privilege of spending it with my brother Steve and my mate David, plus I also met some new friends and some very interesting characters in Peter Taylor (Perth), Mat Gilfedder (Brisbane), Barry Davies (Lamington), "Chook" Crawford (Lakefield), Sue Sheppard (Artemis Station) and Del Richards (Mount Lewis). All of these folk spent time with me helping me to find new birds and I am greatly indebted to all of them. I also met a whole host of other folks on the journey who made the trip so fulfilling and special. Thanks everyone! A special note of thanks goes to my wife Dani for letting me escape for four weeks - I made it up to her by taking her to Penang a week after I got back! Birding may not be for everyone, but it sure took me places - some of the most remote and beautiful regions of Australia that you wouldn't normally visit if you weren't a birder and that was spectacular in and of itself.

And so the trek had come to an end. And the brain started thinking - what about a trek from Adelaide to the Gulf of Carpentaria and back? Or what about a few days in Tasmania to get the endemics down there? Or maybe I should do a trek to Newhaven to get the Princess Parrot? Or maybe ................

Mike Potter, 2012

Mike and Steve Potter - Iron Range August 2012

The Great Birding Adventure 2012 - Part 6: Julatten, Mount Lewis and the Great Barrier Reef

Instead of being sensible and having a well-earned rest once we had reached Kingfisher Park, we instead raced down to the Cairns foreshore early the next morning to jump on a cruise ship to head out to the Great Barrier Reef! Dave came dressed in his birding gear while Steve and I went in board-shorts and T-shirts. Someone amongst has taken his birding far too seriously! We had a very pleasant trip out to Michael Cay where we were unloaded on to the beach and immediately spotted Sooty Terns (Number 35) and Common Noddy (Number 36). We also spotted Brown Boobies (not on the boat - everyone was well behaved), and Little and Black-naped Terns. We spent the rest of our time snorkelling around the reef - absolutely stunning. I've done this a few times now but the Reef never ceases to take my breath away. Dozens of different species of fish of all sizes cruised around with us. Brilliant! bird-watching on this day, and getting two new species, was a bonus. A great day!

Brown Booby

Sooty Tern

Common Noddy

The next day we met up with Del Richards, a birding expert of all the birds on Mount Lewis, and away we went again! Mount Lewis is a beautiful place covered in forest and an outstanding birding area. We had all been there before, but we were keen to add to our "life list" with Del's intimate knowledge of the area and the birdlife. 

We were in to almost immediately as we stopped at the base of the mountain to watch a flock of Barred Cuckoo-Shrikes (Number 37) swoop down from the high canopy into a fruit-tree. A great start! As we headed up the track, Del would pull over periodically and listen for particular species - many are confined to certain altitudes on the mountain which is important to know as you can spend fruitless hours hunting for something that can only be found lower or higher on the mountain. in this way, we picked up the Fernwren (Number 38), Bower's Shrike-thrush (Number 39) and Pied Monarch (Number 40). We also had great views of Chowchillas (new for David), Grey Goshawk, Tooth-billed Bowerbird, Lewin's and Bridled Honeyeaters, Atherton and Yellow-throated Scrub-wrens, Mountain Thornbill and Victoria's Riflebird. We also came across a very pretty little tree snake. Who seemed quite happy to sit up and pose for us. Snakes can be quite obliging sometimes!

Grey Goshawk

Pied Monarch

So, replete in the knowledge that I had now picked up 50 new species (including the ten in WA) over the past three weeks, I went to bed that night pretty darn happy with myself - all was well with the world!! We dipped on the Golden Bowerbird and Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo but all in all, a great day. 

I shall only describe the next day as "The Day of the Squatter Pigeon and the Ridiculously Large Burger".  We were up early again, searching with great gusto to find the Blue-faced Parrot Finch and the Squatter Pigeon. Hours later - nothing. We retired to Mount Molloy to lick our wounds and have lunch. Steve decided to order the mega-burger, unaware of just how enormous it was going to be. It came in a wheelbarrow. It had a whole container of eggs plus a side of beef and a pig in it. They gave him a shovel to eat it with. Somehow, he managed to eat the whole thing, but this consigned him to about two days permanently attached to the toilet - we set up a "Toxic Waste - No Admittance" sign outside the ablution block in the interests of public safety. however, undeterred at the time, we headed out again to continue searching for these elusive birds. 

We took a detour and decided to try for the Australian Bustard, a bird that Steve had never seen, and which was regularly sited north-west of Julatten. Following Lindsay's directions, we found "the road" and drive slowly down it. A bustard obligingly appeared and stayed around long enough for some good photos. 

Buoyed by this success we went back to all of the sites that might yield a Parrot Finch or Pigeon. All Parrot-Finch sites - nothing. Every Squatter Pigeon site - nix. This included stalking a local school and wandering around a cemetery. Sometimes I seriously wonder what non-birders think about us, and whether it is possibly true. So we decided on one last possible spot described to us by Lindsay, and headed off in the last part of the day trying to find the Pigeon (and got done for speeding - joy!). 

Steve and I were having an earnest conversation about something very important that we missed the turn-off to the site. Recriminations abounded as to whose fault it was while Mike did a quick u-turn and then took a slightly huffy, and definitely too fast left onto the correct road. A brotherly spat broke out but was rudely interrupted by Kowalick bellowing hoarsely from the back seat, "On the Road! On the Road!" and then attempted to fling himself from the car, binoculars in hand. Confusion reigned, until we realised that a party of Squatter Pigeons were quietly crossing the road in front of us and were about to be run over! Almost rolled the car trying to bring it to a stop without killing the birds and then we all threw ourselves out to chase them down. Reading this back makes me realise that everything that non-birders think about us is probably true! However, we got GREAT views and we were all deliriously happy. The brotherly spat was forgotten and there were hugs all round! Number 41! 

Squatter Pigeons! 

Wandered aimlessly but happily home, and decided to go for a stroll down to the dam just before dinner. To complete the day, a Little Kingfisher (Number 42) came out to play and I was a happy boy! A responsible but sufficient amount of wine was consumed that night! And after a great sleep, and a casual morning bird-watch up Mount Lewis, I dropped the lads back at the airport and headed for the foreshore. I am incredibly grateful for the company they provided for eleven days and we had an absolute blast!! Lots of memories that will stay with me forever. Thanks lads!!! However, this didn't mean that the birding was done! Back at the Cairns foreshore I went in search of the Nutmeg Mannikin and finally found a lovely flock of them on the grass. Number 43! I also had a chance to get a decent picture of Pied Imperial Pigeons which was rather nice! I retired to a local B&B and then caught a flight early the next morning for the last part of my trip - four days on the Sunshine Coast! 

The Great Birding Adventure 2012 - Part 5: Iron Range

We left Musgrave Roadhouse early and made great time along an excellent graded dirt road. We stopped for a road-side breakfast at Coen, before heading on to the turn-off to Lockhart River and the Iron Range NP. Arrived at the Park by about 10:30am, and, having read other reports, expected awesome and exotic birds to appear in their droves. Reality check finally hit us - this was rainforest in the dry season. This was no easy picking session. This was rainforest birding as it usually is. Hard, consistent effort hopefully bringing good results. We did spot Eclectus Parrot, an absolutely stunning bird (Number 17), but that was it before lunch.

We headed on and arrived at Portland Roads. If the morning birding had been a tad disappointing, the Portland Roads Guest House was not! A stunning place overlooking a beautiful tropical bay, complete with fishing boats, palm trees and mangroves. Gorgeous. Just as good, was the cafe next door which provided brilliant meals (calamari, prawns, fish and chips) for very reasonable prices set in a lovely garden full of Olive-backed Sunbirds, and Yellow-spotted and Brown Honeyeaters. Our humour was restored and we set out again to "work" the forest for new species.

This proved to be by far the least productive birding session we had done. We did pick up Tropical Scrub-wren (Number 18) soon after starting, but got nothing new until we snaffled a White-faced Robin (Number 19) just before dusk. We heard lots of other calls, and saw a couple of Eclectus Parrots fly overhead, but that was it. As we headed back, we stopped at the local rubbish tip, supposedly a good spot for Palm Cockatoo. We didn't see them, but we did pick up both Large-tailed Nightjar and White-throated Nightjar (Number 20). OK, three lifers was actually rather good, but I think we were expecting all sorts of stunning beauties literally parading themselves before us. Back home for more delightful seafood and then we settled in for the night after making a cunning plan for the next day and having a close encounter with a Papuan Frogmouth that had clearly made the trees around the guest-house its home. Steve and I shared a room again - enough said.

Photo courtesy of Steve Potter

Photo courtesy of Steve Potter

Our second full day began with great promise. We identified both Greater and Lesser Frigatebirds flying overhead (Numbers 21 and 22), along with large numbers of Brown Booby's and Crested Terns. We then drove back to the start of the Old Coen track and headed into the forest - made up of different strands of lowland rainforest, monsoon forest and riverine forest. We quickly spotted a Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, a pretty little thing and an encouraging start (Number 23) and then picked up Shining Flycatcher by the river and Yellow Orioles and Spotted Catbirds were calling high in the canopy. After crossing the river, we came across some monsoon forest - lower and thinner than the rainforest, and suddenly we were amongst a "bird party". The three undoubted highlights were the Superb Fruit-Dove (Number 24), Yellow-breasted Boatbill (Number 25) and the Fawn-breasted Bowerbird (Number 26) - the former was just stunning, and the latter is now considered rare so we were thrilled to see it. Steve also picked up White-eared Monarch so he was an extra happy chap! We also came across a lovely Black-headed Python which posed beautifully for us.

Black-headed Python

Headed back to home base a little more satisfied, and determined to continue a steady, concerted attack on the list of target birds, which was slowly getting shorter. Calamari was duly consumed, and we decided to take a little siesta time to recuperate. Steve and I found a Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove and I was able to take a couple of very pleasing photos.

Photo courtesy of Steve Potter

Back into the forest and some seriously hard work ensued in the main forest along Portland Roads. Numbers of Red-cheeked Parrots flew overhead, but the views were very unsatisfactory, and we debated over whether we had seen enough - the prognosis was "no". However, after slogging through some undergrowth following various calls, we were able to spot a female Magnificent Riflebird (Number 27). As we headed back to Portland Roads we popped into Chilli Beach and walked along the small rainforest walk - and jagged a Green-backed Honeyeater (Number 28). As we headed back "home", we finally came across some Palm Cockatoos (Number 29) - a fantastic bird, and Steve got a couple of great pictures. All in all, a very good day. The Cafe was frequented again, and we were all in bed early. Had to roll Steve over a couple of times to stop the snoring, and no, we were not in the same bed at the time.

Our third day had us back on Portland Roads. We stopped at the top of a ridge to see if we could find White-streaked Honeyeaters. David locked on to one, but by the time Steve and I arrived, it had gone. And that was the only sighting of this bird the entire trip. It became a sore point. I then walked into a Paper-Nest Wasp nest, and they hammered me in the small gaps between the mozzie and sand-fly bites. Steve got stung too (on the lip, which reminded me of a Vegietales song about lips), while David fled at a ridiculously quick pace to the safety of the road. This also became a sore point - the stings, not David's flight. However, we then worked the main road again and came across Yellow-legged Flycatcher (a pretty little thing - Number 30) and Frilled Monarch (Number 31). Then after following a cuckoo-like call through the undergrowth for some time, we were thrilled to finally track down a Yellow-billed Kingfisher (Number 32 and a new favourite bird)! There was great rejoicing in the forest!

The afternoon consisted of some initial birding around the guest-house, where we picked up Lovely Fairy-wren, and then another attempt at the WS Honeyeater. No sign, but the Red-cheeked Parrots did another fly-over and we were all able to get enough of a view to confirm these elusive little birds (Number 33). We also came across an Eclectus Parrot nest in a very tall tree and got some cracking views of the female in the hole and the male hovering around nearby, having an animated conversation with some Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. We stopped in at Chilli Beach again, and this time scoped some Black-naped Terns (Number 34) roosting on a nearby rocky outcrop. Home to a lovely seafood dinner, and bed. I was tired - fell to sleep almost immediately despite the racket going on around me.

Day four shall forever be remembered as "The Day We Saw Nothing". Despite our best attempts, the Trumpet Manucode, Northern Scrub-Robin and the White-streaked Honeyeaters and Chestnut-breasted Cuckoos (the only targets left on our list!) remained elusive. However, I snaffled eighteen of the twenty-two targets, so I really can't complain. Just means I am going to have to go back there one day to get the other four (plus the Pitta!!). After another yummy seafood dinner, we hit the sack in time for an early start the next day.

Day five consisted of a visit by a Green Tree Frog, a quick check of the Cook's Hut camp-site - nothing, a photo session at the Iron Range sign, and then a long drive back to Julatten and Kingfisher's Park. Getting eighteen lifers in four days anywhere is outstanding, especially ones that are limited to such a small part of Australia, so while the birding was "hard work" at times - Iron Range more than delivered and I am extremely grateful that I had the chance to visit this pearl of a place. I will be back!

Dave Kowalick and  Steve Potter