First up, thanks to all the folks from the birding lists who helped with
information. In particular, the pointer to the Murrumbidgee Field Naturalists
(MFN) website, which had excellent information on places to go in the Griffith
region.
On Friday 18 September 2009, I left Canberra to drive to Griffith in western
NSW. It's about a five hour drive from where I live. Along the way, I saw the
usual birds you tend to see at the side of the road; Starlings, Pied Mudlarks,
Australian Magpies, a Black Shouldered Kite, a group of Sulphur Crested
Cockatoos. Past Gundagai, I stopped to photograph the view looking across
fields of yellow Canola and discovered Striated Pardalotes and Rufous Songlarks
singing very loudly in the trees at the edge of the road. Maybe they increased
their volume to shout over the noise of the passing traffic?
Further west near Temora, I saw groups of White Winged Choughs. Most of the
countryside was looking surprisingly green from recent rain.
On Saturday, I drove out to Pulletop Nature Reserve in search of Splendid Fairy
Wrens. This involved driving out of Griffith on Rankins Springs road, which
was mislabelled on my GPS as Quarry Road. Eventually I did see Quarry Road; it
was actually at right angles to the road I was on. Despite the confusion, I
continued north and was eventually rewarded with the sight of Pulletop Road to
my left. Describing it as a road is a bit of a misnomer; it's a narrow track
overhung by dying mallee on both sides. Luckily I have a small 4WD or the car
would have been scratched. Without 4WD, the car could possibly have become
bogged in some of the muddy or sandy sections. It would probably be better to
approach the reserve from the south.
Pulletop Nature Reserve is a tiny patch (145 Ha) of remnant Mallee, looking
very much worse for wear after years of drought. There's no facilities and no
tracks, so you need to have a reasonable sense of direction - although in case
of doubt head for the nearest fence and follow it back! I never saw any wrens
here, but I did see a Mallee Ringneck Parrot, quite a lot of Chestnut Rumped
Thornbills, Grey Shrike Thrush, Willy Wagtail, Striated Pardalote, Grey
Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, White Eared Honeyeater, Red Capped Robin
(female) and Weebill. Near the entrance of the reserve I also saw Common
Bronzewings (which often flew off the roads all around the region along with
Crested Pigeons).
Driving back toward Rankins Springs Road, I stopped just short of the
intersection to investigate some large honeyeaters which turned out to be Spiny
Cheeked Honeyeaters. In the same area there were more Common Bronzewings and
Red Rumped Parrots. Back on the bitumen I decided to turn north and went in a
circle around Cocoparra National Park via Rankins Springs. Unfortunately I
didn't know about the birding opportunities at Rankins Springs itself, so all I
saw there were sparrows and a Masked Lapwing.
Further south I found myself at the edge of state forest, presumably logged for
the Cypress Pine. Along the way there were many of the roadside birds seen
earlier including White Winged Chough, Galah, Australian Magpie, Pied Mudlark,
Apostle bird, Common Bronzewing, Common Starling, Crested Pigeon and Masked
Lapwing. Eventually I arrived at Spring Hill Picnic Area in Cocoparra National
Park just near sunset. It's the first place I've been in Australia where
there's a sign telling you that guns are forbidden. I guess they have to try
to keep out the sporting shooters who hunt in the nearby state forest. I
didn't want to risk the kangaroos much on the way back, so I didn't have time
for the walk to the waterfall. I saw Willy Wagtail, Galah, Australian Raven,
White Plumed Honeyeater, Peaceful Dove, Common Bronzewing, Grey Fantail and
possibles included a Restless Flycatcher and Horsefield's Bronze-Cuckoo. On
the way back to Griffith in the twilight
gloom, I saw a Swamp Wallaby hesitating at the left side of the road.
Thankfully I slowed down, because of course it hopped to "safety" in front of
me.
On sunday morning, I drove out to Lake Wyangan South. I was actually aiming
for Campbell's Swamp but missed it the first time because of poor signposting.
At the lake I saw Australian Pelican, Eurasian Coot, Purple Swamphen, Little
Grassbird, Australian Reed Warbler, Chestnut Teal, Pacific Black Duck and Straw
Necked Ibis. There was also a large number of Whiskered Tern circling the
lake. It was actually the number of raptors I first stopped to look at, but
was so busy trying to photograph or get video of them, I didn't successfully
identify any of them. The best spot is at the northern end of the lake where
the edge of the water is easily accessible. Most of the western side of the
lake has farmland between it and the road.
I went back in search of Campbell's Swamp, and spotted the sign after turning
around; it was hidden by the bushes at the side of the road. The coordinates
given on the MFN sheet are not very accurate in this case. As I stopped the
car, a Singing Honeyeater stopped in the top of a bush to watch me, but only
long enough for me to get a great view with the binoculars and no photos. The
top of its head looked quite purple, which is not apparent in the field guide.
The walk in Campbell's Swamp is very well set up and a credit to the MFN who
are apparently responsible for it. There's interpretive signs and a long
boardwalk to a large hide which sadly at this point looks out into reeds but no
water. However, there were still lots of birds around, and while trying to
spot a male amongst a group of wrens, I was astonished to see a group of about
a dozen Crimson Chats. While trying to get closer to White Winged Trillers
flying from dead trees, I also saw a White Fronted Chat. The Trillers were in
both breeding and non-breeding plumage. I managed to surprise a small snake or
legless lizard, but it was in more of a hurry to escape from me than vice
versa. A Black Kite circled over my head - I'm not sure if I looked edible or
it was hoping for scraps. Other raptors circled around including Little
Eagle, Nakeen Kestrel and Brown Goshawk. There were many Spiny Cheeked
Honeyeaters, Red Rumped Parrots and Rufous
Songlarks all around. On the walk back to the car I saw a Little Grassbird
just beside the path, but failed to get a recording of its call. As soon as I
started the video camera, it stopped calling. Just after that, a White
Breasted Woodswallow flew up into a branch overhead. A pair of Blue Bonnet
Parrots hid in a bush, foiling my attempts at photos but good enough for
binoculars. Finally, just at the gate a pair of Brown Quail froze in surprise
then slipped into the grass before I could get a photo.
Leaving Griffith, I drove toward Cocoparra National Park and stopped to sample
some wines and have a picnic in the garden at Debortoli Vineyard with the
sparrows and Blackbirds. Further along the way, I paused to photograph some
ephemeral flowers brought out by the rain. Arriving at Cocoparra, I decided to
try Jack's Creek in the hope of seeing some Diamond Firetails. None of those
to be seen, but a very cooperative Double Barred Finch provided me with some
excellent photos. I also saw more White Winged Chough - a pair had nested
directly over a picnic table at the start of the track. There's an excellent
barbeque and a composting toilet at the picnic area. In addition to the
finches and a group of startled feral goats, I saw more Weebill, heard
Kookaburras in the distance and there were more birds that I sadly failed to
identify including what sounded like a Cockatoo with an unusual call - possibly
a Major Mitchell. At the top of the ridge, I
startled a pair of Emu, which came so close I thought there might get
aggressive, but they ended up running away.
On the drive back to the highway there was a lot of Bronzewings, Crested
Pigeons (nearly collided with some) and Blue Bonnets. The drive home was
uneventful except for a lovely sunset with the crescent moon setting into an
azure sky.
=======
Rob Geraghty
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