The Day of the Shrike-Thrush
Pat O'Malley had business in Albury on Oct 14th and I had some in Wagga on
the 16th, so we decided, well, not to kill 2 birds with 1 stone (an
unfortunate metaphor, don't you think?) but certainly to combine these into
a chance for a trip to Chiltern on the 15th.
We hoped to see several specific species, not least the Turquoise Parrot
and Regent HE. The former would be a first for both of us, the latter for
Pat. I also had ambitions re Diamond Firetails -- not a rare species but
one that always seems to be where I'm not. In the event, we scored 2 of 3
of these, in a total of just over 80 species seen between 6am and 8 pm.
We left the hotel about 5:30 on Wed 15th, on a very cool morning with no
cloud and the sun rising behind us. It was to be a beautiful day, peaking
about 20 C, with light winds, mainly from the SW.
By 6, we had reached Cyanide Dam, and the very first thing we heard was
Grey Shrike Thrushes calling in all directions. Indeed, this call was our
almost constant companion throughout the day, except at the Chiltern #1 Dam
and after dark.
It was a lovely morning, with the low sun lancing through the foliage and
mist over the dam. There were lots and lots of honeyeaters calling and
chasing. Yellow-Tufted and Fuscous were in profusion, and also White-Naped
and Black Chinned. This last was a real bonus for both of us. Like the
Diamond Firetail for me -- not a rare species but one that always seems to
be where we're not, so we scored a first.
We found Little Lorikeets feeding in flowering gums (we guessed White Box,
but tree identification is a weakness we share), and spent quite a while
watching a pair of Brown TreeCreepers bringing food to their clamorous
young in a nesting hollow.
By about 8 we moved on to other parts of the nearby bush, hearing a cuckoo
(Horsfield's) and then to an adjacent open area where we saw a Pallid
Cuckoo and numerous open country birds.
>From here, we went N through Chiltern, searching for the Indigo Cemetery. A
brief visit to L Anderson in the town yielded Reed Warblers and very greedy
ducks, including Mallards.
We overshot the cemetery turning and stopped where we turned the 4WD, again
hearing cuckoos. Serendipity smiled, for on the adjacent paddock we were
greeted with a Turquoise Parrot, a very obliging bird that did not fly off
leaving us checking field guides, but instead strolled around in a sunny
patch, casually feeding off grass seeds and posing at length
Picking up the Slaughter Gap trail, we crawled through lovely areas in low
range 4 WD. No new species but just a delight to be in such lovely bush. At
the Cemetery, we spent several hours, but no Regent HEs. We were told later
that they are really much more likely to be seen in August, but by Oct have
headed out.
Still, we saw some very varied species, including Turquoise Parrots again
and a most peculiar pattern of action by a Restless Flycatcher. This bird
was acting for all the world like a tiny Kestrel. Over a paddock with
longish grass, it hovered for some while at about 1 metre, before plunging
on to some target on the ground. It then flew back to the fence, and after
a break, started the hunting cycle again.
We also came across a female Rufous Songlark that made out it could not
fly. We followed it for a little while before it took off and circled away.
We assumed it was leading us away from the nest site in the long grass.
Leaving the cemetery, we grabbed food in town and took it to the Chiltern
#1 dam. Quite a variety of birdlife here, though nothing especially
noteworthy among the waterbirds, except perhaps the Shelduck with 4
ducklings. The parking area, however, yielded a pair of Goshawks nesting,
much to the continued displeasure of the Noisy Miners who mobbed them
several times.
The area behind the dam yielded the much sought after Diamond Firetail.
When I saw it at the edge of a shallow puddle, my immediate reaction to the
size and colour was Black Fronted Dotterel, but the glasses revealed the
truth instantly. And, coincidence being what it is, the Black Fronted
Dotterel was about 3 metres along the shore! Whistling Kites wheeled over
head, and the sandy banks were host to nesting Striated Pardalotes and (we
assumed) the Rainbow Bee-eaters that were circling. Martins (Tree we
thought, but very long range) circled over the wetlands adjacent to the
Dam, and we put up a Snipe nearby as we left.
>From the dam, we visited Donkey Hill, then Depot Road and in the late
afternoon a waterhole at the junction of Battery/Green Hill tracks. Lost of
pleasant and interesting sightings, but no new birds to speak of. We met a
couple from Inglewood, Vic, Ken and Margaret Patterson who birding the
area. We swapped notes and ideas and they gave the leaflet from the Echuca
BOCA group, of which they are members.
At dusk, we returned to Depot Road and made a meal as darkness fell. No
Barking Owls, but a bird that called 'OOO, OOO, OOO Ha ha ha ha' on a
rising note, We were pretty sure that this was the White Throated Night
Jar, but with no expert or no tape recording handy went away to consult
further in field guides.
At 7:30 we decided to do mobile spotlighting. We have only a modest
spotlight, but the truck has damn near searchlights on the front, so we
stooged the forest trails very slowly on full beam, and after a while found
a Tawny Frogmouth. It played "I am branch" for several minutes before it
decided that this was unconvincing and flapped away. What a large wingspan
-- had not seen one flying so clearly before.
By now we had been on the go for 14 hours, and enough was enough, so we
headed home very pleased.
Species List for our day:
Those marked with an asterisk were heard but not seen
Black Swan
Australian Shelduck
Australian Wood Duck
Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
Hardhead
Laughing Kookaburra
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Little Lorikeet
Galah
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Crimson Rosella
Eastern Rosella
Yellow Rosella
Red-rumped Parrot
Turquoise Parrot
Common Bronzewing
Crested Pigeon
Peaceful Dove
Purple Swamphen
Dusky Moorhen
Eurasian Coot
Latham's Snipe
Black-fronted Dotterel
Masked Lapwing
Whistling Kite
Brown Goshawk
Tawny Frogmouth
White-throated Nightjar*
Australasian Grebe
Hoary Headed Grebe
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Australian White Ibis
Straw-necked Ibis
Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Royal Spoonbill (full breeding plumage)
Intermediate Egret
Australian Pelican
Reed Warbler
White-throated Treecreeper
Brown Treecreeper
Superb Fairy-wren
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
Fuscous Honeyeater
White-plumed Honeyeater
White-naped Honeyeater
Black-chinned Honeyeater
Blue Faced Honeyeater
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Red Wattlebird
Striated Pardalote
Jacky Winter
Eastern Yellow Robin
White Throated Warbler
Western Warbler*
White-winged Chough
Crested Shrike-tit
Grey Shrike-thrush
Pallid Cuckoo
Horsfield's Cuckoo*
Fan-Tailed Cuckoo
Australian Raven
Australian Magpie
Dusky Woodswallow
Rainbow Bee-eater
Olive-backed Oriole
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike
Willie Wagtail
Grey Fantail
Restless Flycatcher
Magpie-lark
Welcome Swallow
Tree Martin
Rufous Songlark
Mistletoebird
Weebill
Diamond Firetail
White Browed Babbler
Addendum
I had a little while to spare the next morning, and visited The Rock Nature
Reseve area near Wagga. I spent about half an hour of a fine, dry but windy
morning. The area was desperately dry and, partly due to the light and
aridity, the visit reminded me strongly of a trip into the New Mexico
desert that my wife and I made one morning a couple of years back. This was
enhanced by the similarity between the native evergreens and some of the
American trees.
If Chiltern was the Yellow-Tufted HE capital of the world, the Rock must be
the Rufous Whistler capital. These birds, along with Weebills and Buff
Rumped and Brown Thornbills were calling incessantly. A large raptor flew
over the tree tops, but far too quickly for a certain ID -- maybe a Little
Eagle.
Species list
Rufous Whistler
Australian Raven
Weebill
Buff Rumped Thornbil
Brown Thornbill
Grey Fantail
Willie wagtail
Magpie
Sacred kingfisher
White Plumed Honeyeater
Superb Blue Wren
Spotted Pardalote
Western Warbler*
Silvereye
Brown Treecreeper
Kookaburra
Red-rumped Parrot
Crested Pigeon
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