Went on a bit of road trip to Bourke and back over Australia
Day long weekend. Arrived at Gundabooka St Park, 60kms S of Bourke towards
Cobar, on the day. To be specific Dry Tank campsite which was completely
inappropriate given the green vegetation and standing water along the roads and
other places.
In the mulga of this park, there was an explosion of
breeding, underlined by the sound of a Pallid Cuckoo that was going as I pulled
up at 6:25pm and did not cease until the later hours of the moonlight
night. A 5 km walk to a lookout next morning revealed lots of
breeding, particularly Red-capped Robins with juveniles every 200m or so, some
so bold that they would fly up the trail towards the insect-haloed reporter
with little apparent fear, more puzzlement at the avoidance behaviour. Hooded
Robins and smaller birds were the target of this surfeit of RC Robins in
competition for the abundant butterflies and other insects that the green
herbiage on the red dirt floor of the mulga woodland is sustaining. Saw Black
Honeyeater on mistletoe, White-faced HE, Spiny HE and what looked to be Singing
He at a pool where there were Cockatiels, Budgerygahs, Mallee Ringnecks,
Spotted Bowerbird (with bower), Rufous Songlark, Zebra Finches, Choughs, Diamond
Doves and others. Highlights for me were Chestnut-breasted Quail-Thrush running
around the mulga floor, a brief view of Crimson Chats from the lookout and strange
fungal irruptions from the red sand every so often, white-capped stalks pushing
up from the ground sometimes with an overcap of red mud on them, sometimes
totally pristine, at other times completely covered in mud – probably a
timing things but then life’s like that..
They were actually presaged by lilies alongside the road and
in paddocks from about a hundred kms from Bourke. Like the pink Naked
Ladies now blooming in our gardens but a gleaming creamy white as were the
fungi
One other highlight were Ground Cuckoo Shrikes about 29 kms
N of Griffith amongst fields that might not support much in the way of
birdlife. Beautiful but where would I go to see them in a more natural environment?
Cheers
Shaun
