Last Sunday, I walked the Mt Ainslie/Mt Majura saddle in search of gang-gangs (without luck). I did encounter some great mixed feeding flocks, which included speckled warblers and varied sittellas. I also briefly saw two quail and thought they looked like brown. My brother's suggestion that the Allocasuarina habitat suited painted button-quail, not brown, is what led me back to the same area today.
Despite the windier weather, the walk today was well worth it. Of 23 species seen, the first bird I saw was a male rose robin, the third a yellow-tufted honeyeater. There were also immature golden whistlers and a male rufous whistler, many silvereyes (lateralis), white-eared (and a possible white-naped) honeyeaters, spotted pardalotes, double-barred and red-browed finches, scarlet robins, varied sittellas and more. But no quail.
As I got in my car to leave, the yellow-tufted honeyeater flew up into a dead tree nearby, allowing me a good last (and warmer) view.
What I also found interesting is that the tops of five of the Lake George wind turbines are visible from the saddle, even though they must be about 30 kilometres away.
Maurits Zwankhuizen
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