My son and I just returned from a weekend trip out to the Weddin Mountains
National Park near Grenfell, NSW. We had a great time and saw a number of
the birds of the dry woodlands.
Most of our time was spent in the state forest along the southern boundary
of the park which seems to be the best locality for birding. Here, in the
dry cypress and ironbark woodland, we found several Gilbert's Whistlers,
Diamond Firetails, Eastern Ringneck, Brown Treecreepers, White-browed
Babblers, Speckled Warblers, Fuscous, Brown-headed, and Striped Honeyeaters.
We encountered four species of robins including Flame which was by far the
most numerous, Red-capped, Hooded, and Yellow. Thornbills were conspicuous
birds in the area and we sighted Buff-rumped, Little, Brown, Yellow-rumped,
as well as Weebill. Turquoise Parrots were common and one of the highlights
of the trip was watching a flock of nearly 40 of these birds one evening.
In the more open areas along the western side of the park, we found several
emus and a flock of Grey-crowned Babblers.
In the farmland between Grenfell and the Weddin Mountains, we saw several
flocks of Superb Parrots. Often, these birds perched in the roadside trees
where they were easy to observe. Apostlebirds and White-winged Choughs were
also common in this area.
In total, we saw about 70 species of birds.
David Fischer,
Wollongong, NSW
|
