I think today was the first day of summer in SEQ.
Birders sometimes like to comment on unusual combinations of species in
the field of view through their nockers/scopes. Today I had a painted
button quail and a ground thrush in the leaf litter @ 800 metres.
I decided to atlas another section of the Mac [28 21, 152 48] to the
west of Levers Plateau, and went in via Back Ck and the now abandoned
Palen Ck Forestry Station. I had a quick word with the dairy farmers
living at the end of the road, and then followed a deteriorating laneway
to the state forest and then up an old road to the range.
There were over species near the forest boundary [I think they planted
hoop pine there]. The silky oaks were out in flower, and a lot of
mistletoe was in full bloom - so there were lots of honeyeaters about,
including brush wattlebirds, L honeyeaters, and E spinebills. There
were also a few GC babblers, P doves, drongos, C rosellas, OB orioles,
BF monarchs, G whistlers, R flycatchers. Round the forest edge, there
were R fantails, E whipbirds, S bowerbirds, RB firetails, log runners, G
whistlers, EY robins, RT thrush and WBS wrens.
Further in along flat, there were wompoos, topknots, BC doves, and an EG
dove on the climb up the ridge. The vine forest gave way to dry
schlerophyll @ 450 metres and FT cuckoo and K parrot hopped onto the
list.
The track then passed an old hut site [used to be a great little hut for
wet weather] and through an old clearing, before splitting, with each
branch heading up the fenceline. There were plenty of warblers and
thornbills along the range, and I came across the PB quail on the
highest point of my walk.
It fluttered onto the track and settled into the leaf litter. It was
quietly making its way along the fenceline and I was able to get within
~ 10m before it would get flustered and set off at a brisk pace. I
watched it for quite a while - it was strange to see a quail quietly
pottering about in the rainforest, and it must have gone ~100 m along
the fence before I set it flying over the fence.
I came across a male alberts lyrebird on the way back.
LK
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