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Trip report, Qld, NT, SA, NSW

To: <>
Subject: Trip report, Qld, NT, SA, NSW
From: "A Katon" <>
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 21:06:56 +1000
Hello all,

My wife and I have just recently returned from a trip starting from Sydney on 12/6/04 to Darwin via Mount Isa and return via Alice Springs and Port Augusta and back home arriving on 11/7/04. We traveled over 10000 kilometres. It was not just a birding trip (my wife thinks it was) but I did manage to do a good deal of birding along the way.

Places of interest are as follows:

 

Bowra Station at Cunnamulla: 48 species including Crested Bellbirds, however I missed out on the Hall?s Babbler which had been seen the day before we arrived.

 

Blackall: 25 species including close views of Plum-headed finches.

 

Mount Isa ? Lake Moondara area: 22 species including Varied Lorikeets, Long-tailed finch and red-winged parrots.

Mount Isa sewerage ponds: 23 species including 100+ Pink eared ducks.

 

Longreach Lagoon at Elliot: 24 species, nothing special, just the large amount of birds at the lagoon.

 

Mataranka : 28 species including Red Goshawk, Little Bronze Cuckoo and Yellow-tinted Honeyeater.

 

Gunlom: 22 species including White-lined Honeyeater. I missed out on the White-throated grasswren which had recently been seen by others in the park.

 

Yellow Water Billabong: The cruise fantastic for the sheer amount of birdlife seen but only 29 species were recorded including Radjah Shelducks, Green Pygmy Geese, Jabirus and Magpie Geese.

 

Muirella Park: 24 species including Partridge Pigeons seen 3 time on road to park. Masked finches were seen around campsite. Red-backed fairy-wren and Green Pygmy Geese seen on Bubb Billabong walk.

 

Mamukala Wetlands: 21 species including Crimson finches, Lemon-breasted Flycatchers, Long-tailed finches.

 

Fogg Dam area: 26 species including Barking Owl on rainforest walk, yellow-tinted Honeyeater and Comb-crested Jacanas.

 

Holmes Jungle, Darwin: 18 species including good views of a Rainbow Pitta, Zitting Cisticola, Little Kingfisher, and Orange-footed Scubfowl.

 

Buffalo creek, Darwin: Only a short visit and saw 10 species including Yellow-white-eyes.

 

Alice Springs area: 31 species including Major Mitchell?s Cockatoo and Gibberbird on old south Rd. At the sewerage ponds 50+ Red-necked Avocets were seen. It looks like some upgrading work is being carried out at the ponds to make it a better place for birders. I did not stay long as the Alice Springs show was on and helicopter rides coming in over the ponds caused the birds to move to the far western end and hard to view.

 

Our next stop after leaving Alice Springs was Coober Pedy. Not a birding place as only 7 species were seen.

 

Port Augusta:  Only 15 species seen in the short time we were there but I was impressed at how close you could get to the birds as they are used to people walking around. Three new sitings for me were the Splendid Fairy-Wren, Chirruping Wedgebill and the White-winged Fairy-wren.

 

Our next stop was Gluepot Reserve for 2 nights. A total of 34 species were seen including Mulga Parrots, Crested Bellbirds, Gilbert?s Whistler, Red-lored Whistler, Red-capped robins and Brown Treecreepers.

 

We headed home via Mildura and Junee, not intending to do any birding but did see Yellow Rosellas near Waddi which is 60ks west of Narrandera and Blue Bonnets at about 70 and 30ks west of Narrandera.

 

This was a very enjoyable trip for me and for my wife who is not a birder and had to put up with me slamming on the brakes and jumping out of the car with binoculars in hand.

We saw 198 native species of which 61 were new to us.

 

Cheers

Anthony Katon

 

 

 

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