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Chiltern + The Rock trip report

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Subject: Chiltern + The Rock trip report
From: (Stephen Mugford)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 1997 19:20:38 +1000
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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