Hi All
Having read so much about the Capertee Valley on Birding-Aus, I was
really looking forward to visiting there for a day on my way home to
Melbourne from Brisbane earlier this month. Carol Probets had very
kindly offered to show me around and we had arranged to meet at Capertee
in the morning. I was coming from Coolah, and she from Katoomba.
Unfortunately, just out of Coolah I had a flat tyre and also
underestimated how long it would take to drive to Capertee, so arrived
there nearly 2 hours after our arranged time. I think Carol is the most
patient person in the world: she was still calmly waiting for me.
I left my car at Capertee and Carol drove me around the Valley stopping
from time to time at good birding spots. There were several flowering
eucalypts where numerous honeyeaters were feeding. These included
Fuscous, White-naped, White-plumed, Yellow-faced, New Holland, and
Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters, Noisy Friarbirds, and Red Wattlebirds. At one
spot, a passing motorist saw us with our binoculars and stopped to talk
about birds. She was Vicky Powys, a local keen birder, of whom Carol
had heard but not met. She directed us to where she had seen Regent
Honeyeaters a few weeks earlier.
Later in the afternoon, after several productive stops, we arrived at
the place where Vicky had seen the Regents and there were three there.
They were sallying out repeatedly from some roadside trees to catch
insects. Despite the lateness in the day, as it was nearing dusk, we
had wonderful views of the birds. Fantastic! I had never seen Regents
before and it had been some years since Carol had seen them.
It was also a pleasure to see that declining woodland species such as
Hooded Robin, Diamond Firetail, and Southern Whiteface were not too hard
to find in the Capertee Valley.
We were very lucky with the weather, as it stayed fine during the
afternoon, but rained quite heavily through the evening, starting soon
after we left.
Despite only being there for half a day, we saw a wide variety of
species. A list of these follows.
Thank you very much again to all who responded to my earlier RFI.
Cheers,
Merrilyn
Australian Wood Duck
Pacific Black-duck
White-faced Heron
Brown Falcon
Peaceful dove
Glossy Black-cockatoo
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Little Lorikeet
Crimson Rosella
Eastern Rosella
Red-rumped Parrot
Fan-tailed cuckoo
White-throated Treecreeper
Brown Treecreeper
Superb Fairy-wren
Spotted Pardalote
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Yellow Thornbill
Southern Whiteface
Red Wattlebird
Noisy Friarbird
Regent Honeyeater
Noisy Miner
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
Fuscous Honeyeater
White-plumed Honeyeater
White-naped Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
Jacky Winter
Hooded Robin
White-browed Babbler
Crested Shrike-tit
Grey shrike-thrush
Restless Flycatcher
Willie Wagtail
Grey Fantail
Pied Butcherbird
Magpie-lark
Australian Magpie
Pied Currawong
Australian Raven
White-winged Chough
Richard's Pipit
Double-barred Finch
Red-browed finch
Diamond Firetail
Welcome Swallow
Tree Martin
Common Starling
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