Spring and the urge to see different birds caused us to journey to
Gloucester Tops on Saturday and Copeland on Sunday. We saw some highly
desirable birds. We met Murray Lord and Jane and drove to the top around 4
pm and met Pierre Charbonneau with 2 o/s visitors. We had gripping views of
Rufous Scrub-bird. All saw the bird without binoculars at 2 metres. Also at
the top were many Red-browed Treecreepers, Olive Whistlers called non stop
and a Grey Goshawk called briefly.
We hung around until dark and spotlighted down the mountain. Great night.
One of our best. We saw 50+ Greater Gliders, 4 Koalas, 1 Boobook at a nest
hole, 1 Masked Owl, 2 Sooty Owls, 1 Tawny Frogmouth, and lower down, 6
Red-necked Pademelons and 6 Red-necked Wallabies, & 1 Long-nosed Bandicoot.
We got the Masked Owl at Sharpe's Creek Road. We parked at the quarry and
walked down the road playing a Sooty Owl tape without much luck. We
returned to our cars and immediately flushed a Masked Owl which we got in
the telescope. It then flew off so we played the Masked tape and 2 Sooty
Owls commenced calling quite close. It was too exciting for words. We
couldn't see the Sootys until one flew across quite high up. All this
action took place at the saddle in the Sharpe's Creek Road.
We went further down the mountain and while looking at a Koala in the
scope, a Tawny Frogmouth started to call on one side and a Noisy Pitta on
the other. By now it was 11 pm.
At Copeland on the Sunday we visited the gold mine (sign posted from
Gloucester). Cracking views of Pale-yellow Robin (is this its southern
limit?), a Pacific Baza, and heard Wompoo Pigeons calling. We paid $4
each to enter the site and asked the lady if she knew which trees the
Wompoos were in, and she did. There is a large fruiting tree directly
south of the tea house so we set up the scope and observed about 12 birds.
Also in the tree were a pair of Regent Bowerbirds and 2 Green Catbirds.
Murray had an Echidna walk straight up to him and we had Mixophyes Balbus
calling in the creek and many, many of their tadpoles were in the ponds in
the creek.
Trevor & Annie Quested
Sydney, Australia
Phone +61 2 9955 6266
Fax + 61 2 9959 4005
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