Capertee Valley NSW Quick-trip report

["Evan Beaver" <>]

Ducked out to Capertee this morning with fellow lister and old friend
Alistair, to try and twitch the Regent Honeyeaters that have been
reported. We've only really done a couple of birding specific trips and
had an incredible success rate so far, so expectations were high. Left
appropriately early, from Lapstone and on the road before 5. Stopped
only briefly on the way to Crown Station Rd to have a quick look at
some potential Plum-Headed finch sites, only to find we were too early
even for the birds. It was pretty quiet, with some very secretive
Superb Fairies and little else to report. Picked up various honeyeaters
in the mistle toe and eucalypt blossoms above the road, but still no
Regents. Headed down Crown Station Rd to the site where there'd been a
few seen earlier in the week. It's quite obviously good habitat, the
bird life along the road was incredibly diverse and vibrant, with
constant flux of the various species inand out of the trees. Reminded
me a lot of the way schools of reef fish duck and weave together,
settling on a good food source for a few minutes, then continuing when
threatened or hungry. At first the Noisy Friarbirds obviosly ruled most
of the good flowers, raucously dominating the other birds. Fuscous
honeyeaters dabbled on the fringes of the good trees waiting for the
Friars to either get distracted or move on. Capertee Road Parrots and
Turquoise Parrots fed quietly in the smaller younger eucalypts. The
Turquoise was a big tick for both of us, a brilliant bird, quiet and
subtle when feeding in the foliage, then startlingly bright in flight.
White Browed Babblers, Hooded Robins and Yellow Tufted HE's fought
their own battles in the understorey foliage. We wandered up the road,
had coffee and gingernut biscuits and considered giving up and moving
on. Took a quick trip up the road to the end and had a good look at
some Gang-Gangs. No matter how often I see them I'm still interested. 

Headed slowly back down Crown Station to the original site, and stopped
for a quick look around. There was a remarkable change in the feel and
sounds of the area. The Friars were subdued, spread out rather than
grouped like bullies. A large flock of Capertee Roaders had moved in,
which seemed to make the other birds relax a little. The Wagtails were
more bouyant, the Robins chased each other furiously,White Browed
Babblers, Brown Treecreepers, Lewin and Yellow Faced Honeyeaters were
all out in force. So we had another thorough survey of all the likely
habitat. Al had wandered off up the road to check another stand of
trees, I was next to the road surveying the paddocks. After a little
while a call I'd not noticed got a bit more insistent above me, 3
metres up. I looked up and there it was, the most obvious Regent
Honeyeater in Capertee. He turned left and right to show off his pink
eye skin, yellow wings and scaly plumage. Al had wandered off up the
road, and I was pretty sure he would be a little dissappointed to miss
out. So I took a chance and sung out, and the Regent stayed put, even
going to get his family and pose for some photos. All in all we saw a
maximum 6 at once, living up to their regal name; we felt genuinely
honoured to have their company. They toddled off into the bush after a
few minutes, not to be seen again.

Jumped back in the car to head home, pretty keen to get back for
various reasons, stopping at the end of the Capertee valley road to
change drivers. I grabbed my bins for a quick look and added Spotted
Pardalote and Varied Stitella to my life list. I'd been keen on the
Pardalotes for a while, and it seemed too good to be true. Closing in
on Lithgow I narrowly avoided a small quailish thing which we turned
around to have a look at. Further survey revealed a Little Button
Quail, which if previous behavious is anything to go by, probably won't
see out the day. Another new bird for both of us, with both of us
adding 9ish for the day. Without counting the common birds, 32 species
for a 7 hour round trip. I think I've said it before, but Capertee is
an incredible area. Below is a species list for the trip, recording
observations digitally makes life so much easier.

STUBBLE QUAIL

LITTLE BUTTON-QUAIL

PEACEFUL DOVE

CRESTED PIGEON

GANG-GANG COCKATOO

GALAH

LITTLE LORIKEET

AUSTRALIAN KING-PARROT

EASTERN ROSELLA

RED-RUMPED PARROT

TURQUOISE PARROT

BRUSH CUCKOO

BLACK-FACED CUCKOO-SHRIKE

HOODED ROBIN

JACKY WINTER

GOLDEN WHISTLER - E RACE

WILLIE WAGTAIL

SUPERB FAIRY-WREN

BUFF-RUMPED THORNBILL

VARIED SITTELLA

BROWN TREECREEPER

NOISY FRIARBIRD

REGENT HONEYEATER

YELLOW-PLUMED HONEYEATER

FUSCOUS HONEYEATER

WHITE-PLUMED HONEYEATER

NEW HOLLAND HONEYEATER

SPOTTED PARDALOTE

DIAMOND FIRETAIL

WHITE-WINGED CHOUGH

WHITE-BREASTED WOODSWALLOW

DUSKY WOODSWALLOW

Evan Beaver
Lapstone, Blue Mountains
lat=-33.7767726144, lon=150.64057204