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Next stop Townsville,with quick visit to Muller's Lagoon,
Bowen only adding Cicadabird.Up bright and early to the Common,
very dry, as was all of countryside.Only one species of duck (Pacific
Black),Glossy Ibis, Royal Spoonbill.Raptors well
represented with 8 species, pair of Swamp Harriers, Brolga and
our first Australian Bustard, a solitary bird, for the trip.(We
saw upwards of 6 separate bustards on the trip, always alone).Spied a few
Diamond Doves amongst some Peaceful's , the
first of many White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes, Spangled Drongo's,
and what may have been a Satin Flycatcher but didn't get long enough
views.Leaden Flycatchers were easy, and we had
protracted,scoped views of a party of Nutmeg Mannikin,and fewer
Zebra Finch.Exactly 50 species for 4hours work.
Stayed o'nite at Balgal Beach,enjoyed
walking barefoot over the vast expanse of sand and mud as the sun set.Saw
Darter swimming in the shallows, Eastern Reef Egret
(both white and grey), Grey-tailed Tattler, Pied Oystercatcher
and Red-capped Plover.Yellow and Dusky
Honeyeaters abundant in the dunes and gardens, plus Varied
Triller and Mistletoebird.
Up to Paluma
for the obligatory morning tea at the cafe with Mcleay's, White -cheeked
Honeyeaters, Victoria's Riflebird.Undertook one of the lookout walks
and rewarded with a pair of Chowchilla scratching around by the
side of the carpark (at the END of the walk,of course). Also got
White-headed Pigeon, Grey-headed Robin and what, in retrospect,
was probably my first Bower's Shrike-thrush but I took as
Little Shrike-thrush, even though I spent 10 mins querying what
was different about it.Yes I did have a field guide,but by the time my bird
brain was engaged I'd lost the bird and hadn't been focusing on the differences
anyway.(Never fear, gentle reader, your scribe got the Bower's clearly,
certainly,deliberately, unambiguously,thankfully ,a week later after submitting
every high altitude shrike-thrush to ASIO-like scrutiny ).
Coming back down the
Range a flock of small swifts caught our eye and we enjoyed our firstever views
of White-rumped Swiftlets, a bird which was to then be seen
often and everywhere.Ended-up at Lucinda where we tried to get a guided boat
trip up Hinchinbrook Passage but the weather defeated us all.
to be cont.
Russ Lamb,Maleny,SEQ
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