CENTRAL COAST NSW TO BIRDSVILLE QLD & RETURN VIA BOULIA & WINTON 6-26 JULY
2006
Together with my wife and friend Mike Kuhl, we made the trip to Birdsville
for the purpose of birding enroute and to celebrate my son's 25th birthday
with him in Birdsville, where he is the Manager of the Warrari Information
Centre. Mike travelled from the Central Coast via Gilgandra and the
Macquarie Marshes, while we travel via Crescent Head, Burren Junction and
Walgett, meeting up together in Bourke. From Bourke we stayed at Cunnamulla
on Ian & Julie Maclean's property "Bowra", then via Charleville, Quilpie,
Windorah to Birdsville. Conditions in north-west NSw were not bad as some
recent rains had fallen but from Bourke to Birdsville Qld, conditions were
very droughtified. However once we reached 22 km south of Windorah things
changed as cyclones in north Queensland earlier in the year had done a big
dump into the catchment of the Coopers Creek, so that floodwaters had spead
out over the Coopers Channel country and everything was lush and green,
either side of Windorah.
It was here that we saw Budgerigars, Brown & Rufous Songlarks, Crimsons &
Orange Chats, Singing Bushlarks, Brolgas, woodswallows, egrets, spoonbills,
herons etc. But 20 kms west of Windorah, we were back to drought and desert
conditions as we moved onto Birdsville. For three days, we spent checking
out the area around Birdsville including the Big Red Dune, south to Goyders
Lagoon and north to the Wadi Tree Reserve. The Diamentenia River at
Birdsville was not in flood as its catchment missed out on the major rains
caused by the cyclones however, Eyre Creek to the west was in flood,
especially at Cuttaburra Crossing between Birdsville and Bedouie.On the 3rd
day of stay in Birdsville there were strong SE winds and a dust storm which
was heralding a big change from the west. The night before we were due to
leave Birdsville, up to 50 mm of rain fell across the Region, closing all
roads and flooding many creek crossings. This rain was very widespread
across inland Australia, Western and Central Queensland, northern South
Australian and north-western NSW, in some places 50-70 mm of rain fell, and
for some the most rain in in period for the past 6 years. We therefore were
stranded in Birdsville for another 3 days as were many other travellers.
However it was during our enforced stay in Birdsville that I added another
bird to my Australian List, a Yellow Chat at the Birdsville Bore. The Yellow
Chat was there feeding in the small wetland created by the bore, with
Crimson and Orange Chats and Pipits feeding in the gibber country right
along side. On the Birdsville Lagoon throughout this time, were 4 Avocets,
up to 18 Black-winged Stilts, 2 Red-kneed Dotterels, 22 Pink-ears, 18
Hardheads, 1 Australian Shelduck, and a few of the more common waterbirds.
Eyrean Grasswrens, White-backed Swallows and Banded Whiteface were seen out
at Big & Little Red Dunes by our party and others.
We returned eventually via Bedourie, Boulia, Winton, Bladensberg NP,
Longreach, Charleville, Coonabrabran and home, seeing over 173 species.
Highlights of our trip included:
* 3 Little Button-Quail near Marra Hall, Macquarie Marshes NSW 7/7/2006
(Mike Kuhl)
* Red-tailed Black Cockatoos at Nortons Rest Camp, Walgett, Bogan River
Crossing & at Bourke NSW 8/7/2006
* 80 Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Bourke STW 8/7/2006 (Mike Kuhl)
* 2 Spotted Nightjars at Bowra HSD Cunnamulla Qld 9/7/2006
* 2 White-browed Treecreepers at Bowra HSD Cunnamulla 9/7/2006
* 2 seperate parties of Slaty-backed Thornbills, Bowra HSD 9/7/2006
* 1 Black-eared Cuckoo Bowra HSD Cunnamulla 9/7/2006
* Chirruping Wedge-bill 180 km SE Windorah 10/7/2006
* 2 Brolga at Coopers Crossing, 12 km SE Windorah 10/07/06, more between
Bedourie & Boulia 15/7
* 12 Major Mitchell Cockatoos 12 km W of Windorah 11/07/06
* 2 Gibber Chats & 2 Australian Pratincoles 28 km west of Windorah
11/07/06
* Gibber Chats at 41 & 60 km W of Windorah 11/07/06
* 4 Red-necked Avocets, Birdsville Lagoon 11-14/7/06
* 2 Cinnamon Quail-thrush, the Wadi Trees, 12 km N of Birdsville 11/07/06
* 2 parties of Eyrean Grasswrens at both Big & Little Red Dunes
12-14/7/06
* 6 Banded Whiteface Big Red Dune 38 km W of Birdsville 12-14/7/06 (Mike
Kuhl and Don Howarth)
* 1 Chirruping Wedge-bill Pelican waterhole, South Australia, 96 km S of
Birdsville 13/7/06
* Owlet-Nightjar at Andrewlla Waterhole SA, 89 Km S of Birdsville13/07/06
* Yellow Chat at Birdsville Bore 14/7/06
* Musk Duck, Caspian Tern, Yellow & Royal Spoonbill in the Cuttaburra
Channel, Eyre Creek, 90 km S of Bedourie 15/7
* 2 Inland Dotterel, 29 km S of Boulia & 2 50 km E of Diamentenia
Crossing, west of Winton 17/7/06 (M.Kuhl)
* 12 Bustards 50 km E of Boulia 18/7/06
* Black Falcon, Red-backed Kingfisher and Budgerigars at Macunda Ck east
of Middleton 18/7/06
* Black-breasted Buzzard near the park entrance to Bladensberg NP 19/7/06
* 40+ Painted Firetail, Ringneck Parrot (Cloncurry Parrot) & Grey-headed
Honeyeater Baldenberg NP
* 80 Spinifex Pigeons 82 km W of Winton 11/7 & 18 at Winton STW Qld
19/7/06
* 2 Brolga at Munadoo Bridge, on Marra Creek, western Macquarie Marshes
NSW 21/7/06
More information is available on request direct to me
Alan Morris
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