While most teams enjoy a well planned twenty four hours to chase
Queensland bird species and hopefully attain the 200+ score, we in Bowen
enjoyed a rather relaxed pace with eleven hours for 85 Km giving us 88
species. I might still have been clocked onto TI time after my three
month in paradise as we enjoyed a relaxed pace and the full glory of our
wonderful birdlife. A bird a Km. , not bad we thought.
The restriction of hours for our team was the fact that the leader had
to go to work at 15.25 until 02.25. However this was compensated by an
early start at Frangipani Farm with the team arriving at 04.00 for the
dawn chorus.
Our hosts Maree and Bob Madison certainly turned on the birds with a
Pacific Baza almost dropping in on the breakfast table set up on the
banks of the Don River. Maree's culinary efforts, especially her sticky
rice with fresh mango and rockmelon soaked in coconut milk and palm
sugar, for our breakfast with the birds was superb, this has to be one
of the most memorable experiences for any birdo, good food and good
birding. Maree commented that it reminded her of an early start during a
visit to Africa when she and Anne Donnan counted Hippo's and Fish
Eagles.
Species observed: Aust. Brush-turkey, Brown Quail, Plumed
Whistling-Duck, Wandering Whistling Duck, Black Swan, Pacific Black
Duck, Australasian Grebe, Brown Booby, Darter, Little Pied Cormorant,
Pied Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Aust. Pelican,
White-faced Heron, Great Egret, Royal Spoonbill, Pacific Baza, Black
Kite, Whistling Kite, Brahminy Kite, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Nankeen
Kestrel, Brolga, Purple Swamphen, Dusky Moorhen, Bar-tailed
Godwit,Whimbrel, Eastern Curlew, Bush stone curlew, Pied Oystercatcher,
Sooty Oystercatcher, Masked Lapwing, Silver Gull, Crested Tern, Black
naped Tern, Little Tern, White winged Black Tern,Crested Pigeon,
Peaceful Dove, Bar shouldered Dove, Red tailed Black Cockatoo, Sulphur
crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Red winged Parrot, Pale headed
Rosella, Common Koel, Channel billed Cuckoo, Pheasant Coucal, Tawny
Frogmouth, Large tailed Nightjar, Laughing Kookaburra, Blue winged
Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee eater,Dollarbird, Helmeted Friarbird, Noisy
Friarbird, Little Friarbird, Blue faced Honeyeater, Yellow throated
Miner, Lewins Honeyeater, Varied Honeyeater, Yellow Honeyeater, White
throated Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Grey Shrike Thrush, Magpie Lark,
Spangled Drongo, Black faced Cuckoo Shrike, Varied Triller, Figbird,
White breasted Woodswallow, Black faced Woodswallow, Pied Butcherbird,
Aust. Magpie, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Great Bowerbird, Richards
Pipit, House Sparrow, Double barred Finch, Nutmeg Mannikin, Yellow
bellied Sunbird Mistletoe Bird, Welcome Swallow, Fairy Martin Golden
headed Cisticola and Common Starling [2].
Total 88.
Best sighting for us was the White winged Black Tern at Mullers Lagoon
in the centre of Bowen. This is proving quite an exceptional
birdwatching area current breeding, Aust. Grebe, Dusky Moorhen, Purple
Swamphen, Pacific Black Duck, Plumed Whistling Duck, Masked Plover,
Fairy Martin. Magpie Lark, White faced Heron, Black Kite.
One suggestion from a member of QOSI and Birds Australia is the fact
that we would prefer to do both fundraising events but find it difficult
with both being scheduled so close to one another, can the timetable be
reviewed please.
Jon Wren
PO Box 868
Bowen
Queensland
Australia 4805 Phone 07 4786 2614H
Visit the birds of Bowen, click Tourism
www.lgaq.asn.au/bowen.nsf
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
|
