Hi all,
At the beginning of July I travelled out to Bowra, at Cunamulla, to assist
Dean Portelli in observing and banding Hall's Babblers. While it's now a
bit belated, I thought I would post a trip report to record our sightings
during the time, and also a bit of my travel there and back from Brisbane.
On the 7th of July I headed out to Goondiwindi from Brisbane, with the
thought in mind that I might even head down to Burren Junction on my way out
to Cunamulla if the timing proved good. It did, and I actually made it to
Moree before it was too dark to keep driving. On the way birds of interest
were a flock of 30+ Red-rumped Parrots, several large flocks of Cockatiels,
and good numbers of Nankeen Kestrels and Black-shouldered Kites.
The next morning I headed straight to Burren Junction, and with the help of
Alan and Ann Stuart (who came much better prepared than me) found the
Grey-headed Lapwing about 10 minutes before I had to leave. Other things of
interest at Burren Junction were a flock of several hundred Plumed Whistling
Ducks at the local dam behind the grain piles, White-winged Fairy-Wrens, and
over a hundred Cockatiel in a flock, by far the largest I've ever seen. The
rest of the day was spent driving to Bourke and then up to Cunamulla, with
my good sighting being my first look at Bluebonnets.
My time at Bowra was spent exclusively in the Mulga woodlands, and for the
most part looking for Hall's Babblers, however over the course of the week I
had very good looks at Mulga Parrot, Varied Sitella, Chestnut-breasted
Quailthrush (lifer), Crested Bellbird (first visual encounter), White-browed
Treecreeper (lifer), Chestnut (lifer), Grey-crowned and Hall's Babblers
(second sighting). Other birds of interest for me were Spotted Bowerbird
(second sighting), Southern Whiteface (lifer), Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
(lifer), Banded Lapwings, Bluebonnets several more times, Bourke's Parrots
(lifer) and a pair of Grey Falcons (second sighting) harassing each other
one morning. Despite several attempts, no Slaty-backed Thornbills or
Redthroat were seen in the places they've been seen in the past, however no
early mornings were spent looking for these species, as this was the best
time to find or band Hall's Babblers. There were Yellow-billed Spoonbills
resident in the wetland near the accommodation on Bowra, and I saw Brolga
the day I arrived and the day I left. I also saw a single Bustard as I was
leaving. I left on the 14th of July just as the heavens opened, and rain
followed me all the way to Goondiwindi that evening. During the drive I had
very good looks at small numbers of Major Mitchell's Cockatoos feeding low
in Bluebush on the sides of the road.
The next morning was very satisfying with a visit to Coolmunda Dam at
Inglewood in heavy rain producing good looks at Musk Duck, and my first
looks at Frecked Ducks (a long time bogey bird for me). I also had good
looks at a few Singing Bushlarks along the lake's edge.
In the end I had 10 lifers for the trip, plus another 20 odd that I hadn't
seen this year. On the way back through Durakai State Forest I stopped to
look for Regent Honeyeaters, however the best I did was a family of Speckled
Warblers that showed very well for a few minutes before heading off into
denser undergrowth.
A quick plug for Bowra, and for Ian and Julie who run it. The place was
very comfortable to stay in, the birds were great and despite being a
working property there are large sections that are great for birding. Both
Ian and Julie were very friendly and happy to answer questions about the
birds. (I have no financial interest in Bowra, I just had a great time and
thought I should share it with everyone).
Regards,
Chris
Brisbane, QLD
===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
===============================
|
