In my last posting I gave a quick rundown on my week at Cunnamulla.
Naturally I had to drive there and back from Dubbo and, naturally, I was
going to see things of interest.
The trip north was a no-nonsense affair with an overnight stop in Bourke.
Nothing outstanding other than hundreds of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos in
town merrily munching on White Cedar and plenty of Sacred Kingfishers
spending the winter along the Darling River.
Heading north again the number of Emus seen made a mockery of any discussion
of declining Emus in this area. My six year old daughter told our hosts in
Cunnamulla that she counted 23045. While not being able to substantiate the
claim she may not have been far wrong! On the return trip Emu were seen
regularly as far south as Narromine with by far the largest numbers being on
the open grasslands between Cunnamulla and Enngonia.
The return trip was a bit more leisurely but, as always, there are
limitations if you want to get somewhere. The highlight was probably a
Bustard 93km south of Cunnamulla right on the roadside. At every stop (I
seem to have trained the girls to require toilet stops at good birding
spots) the six and two year old collected Emu feathers by the bucketload
which was often a good distraction while I spent 20 minutes Atlassing. The
occasional Major Mitchell's Cockatoo on the roadside was also nice.
Overnighting at Bourke again, I spent a bit of time at a small wetland near
the town's old rubbish tip. The usual suspects here - ibis and spoonbills
along with some very obliging Baillon's and Spotless Crakes. Also at Bourke
I was surprised at the number of Silvereyes. These must be at the western
limit of their range here. There were also common along the roadsides south
to Byrock. Any comment AKM?
David Geering
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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