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G'day All
Just spent the afternoon about 100k's North of
Julia Creek (North West Queensland) on the Julia Creek to Normanton Road.
The first 80k's along this road was pretty monotonous with heaps of
Brown Songlarks and Singing Bushlarks, plus a
few raptors including Brown Falcons and Spotted
Harriers.
Towards the Cloncurry River there is a flood plain
currently with a heap of water in it and a multitude (thousands) of
Whiskered terns (of various plumage including many
breeding) and White-winged Black Terns (non-breeding
plumage) plus other water birds including 12 Pied Herons,
Little, Intermediate and Great
Egrets, Glossy, Australian White and
Straw-necked Ibis, Australian Pratincoles,
Coots, Royal and Yellow-billed Spoonbill,
Pacific Black Ducks, Red-capped and
Red-kneed Dotterels, Australian
Pelicans, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Common
Greenshank. There was one spot where water ran over the road from
one mass of water to another while a heap of birds waited for anything that
flushed past - and as we drove along we were stopped by a heap of ibis, egrets,
spoonbills, herons and terns sitting on the road.
Bob Forsyth of Mt Isa has noted that many
waterbirds including thousands of ducks, ibis and waders are absent from the Mt
Isa region as widespread rainfall has filled many water holding areas including
Lake Moondarra and there is little habitat (such as mudflats) that used to
support birds. Similarly, many species that congregated at the Julia Creek
Sewerage Treatment Ponds have also dispersed, assumedly of the more flooded
areas around North-west Queensland.
A little further North on the Cloncurry River
(Sedan Dip) was Pictorella Mannikins,
Budgerigars, Varied Lorikeets,
Cockatiels, a Forest
KingFisher (usually not found so far South of the Gulf of Carpentaria),
Little Corellas, Rufous-throated and
White-plumed Honeyeaters and Ground Cuckoo
Shrike amongst the usual Magpie Larks, Crested Pigeons, Torresian
Crows, Black and Whistling Kites.
On the non-birding front, there is a huge mass of
insects about plus heaps of reptiles with many snakes (various Brown Snakes and
Stimson's Pythons) and lizards (including Downs Bearded Dragons) easily
seen. This must be a pretty good year for local species. I have a
few photos (some half bodgey) that I can email of the herons, the flood plain
and the Cloncurry River crossing at Sedan Dip for those that are
interested.
Cheers
Marc Gardner
Julia Creek QLD
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