Tassie Trip Report - 24-30 Sept 2005

My girlfriend and I spent the past week
in Tassie. The aim of the trip was to see as many of the natural wonders
of the state as possible and birding wherever possible. In addition I wanted
to see many of the local mammals too.

In the end I saw 11 of the 12 endemics
missing out only on Dusky Robin! I believe the reason we didnt see any
Dusky Robins was the fact we didnt spend a whole lot of time in woodland
or rural areas. But the innumerable Pink Robin sightings (11 breeding
males at 7 locations including by the Franklin River) made up for it.

The only other birdos we ran into were
a local birdo showing 2 visitors from Alice Springs around Peter Murrell
Reserve south of Hobart. He was very surprised to see another person with
binoculars!
The Forty-spotted Pardalote was the
easiest tick of the trip as no sooner had we got out of the car and introduced
ourselves when they pointed out a pair of Forty-spotted Pardalotes
in the eucalypts above us. This reserve is well worth the trip if you cant
make it out to Bruny Island with Yellow Wattlebird, Green Rosella,
Native-hen, Tasmanian Scrubwren, Tasmanian Thornbill
and Black-headed Honeyeater seen. The Black Currawong and
Forest Raven were easy and common in most places we visited. By
far the most common raptor was the Swamp Harrier. Of interest was
an adult White-bellied Sea-Eagle fish in talon above a small farm
dam.

Highlights were visiting a 'Muttonbird'
(Short-tailed Shearwater) colony of 600+ birds at dusk at Ocean
Beach (Strahan), a Tassie Devil along Cradle Mountain Rd after several
attempts driving around that night finally getting one around 10pm, an
Eastern Barred Bandicoot along the Tyenna River, a Platypus
metres away among rocks below the amazing Russell Falls, and the breathtaking
views towards Mt Ossa and Cradle Mtn from Devils Gullet lookout on the
Central Plateau Protected Area.

I saw what I thought were 2 Intermediate
Egrets in a wetland near Triabunna. But my Tasmanian Birds guide doesnt
list them as being in Tasmania. One bird obviously had the beautiful distinctive
breeding plume down its neck and from what I could gather the neck of the
birds werent as long as their bodies. I wasnt close enough to check the
other features.

The areas we visited included:
# Freycinet NP (Wineglass Bay Lookout
Walk - my first but not last sighting of a Yellow-throated Honeyeater
- beautiful!) and Bicheno (missed out on seeing Little Penguins here despite
trying)
# Swansea (34 Black-faced Cormorants
off Meredith Beach Reserve)
# Hobart (Mt Wellington - first
Black Currawong here, Ferntee, Neika)
# Mt Field NP (Russell Falls Walk, Tall
Trees Walk, Pandani Grove Walk at Lake Dobson)
# Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers NP (Nelson
Falls Walk, Franklin River Walk, Donaghy's Lookout Walk - only sighting
of Strong-billed Honeyeaters on whole trip in car park)
# Strahan (Ocean Beach, Henty Dunes)
- big storms and windy so no birding here unfortunately, the local Little
Penguin colony had been wiped out this winter.
# Cradle Mtn-Lake St Clair NP (Dove
Lake Circuit, all short walks at Cradle, and at Lake St Clair - Watersmeet
& Platypus Bay where we had close-up views of Olive Whistler
and Scrubtit)
# Central Plateau PA (Devils Gullet
State Reserve)
# Mole Creek Karst NP (King Solomons
Cave Walk - Bassian Thrush)
# Alum Cliffs Reserve (a flock of 50+
Flame Robins in a nearby field with 4 Shelduck)
# Lake Rowallan (views to Walls of Jerusalem
NP and along Mersey River White Water)
# Launceston (Cataract Gorge - a Chestnut
Teal on a rock midstream)
 
The accommodation we stayed at during
the trip was great and cheap with free breakfasts each morning. The timber
cottage at Cradle Mountain was the pick of the bunch with possums, pademelons
and wombats at night and many birds during the day.

Cheers
Marnix


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