Goonoo SF and Ingalba NR

[Michael Todd <>]

Hello birdos,

After having recovered from the hectic pace of the twitchathon (in which
the Woodswallows were victorious!!- thanks David and Carol for inviting
me), I took the opportunity to visit Goonoo State Forest about 40 km
north of Dubbo. Armed with advice and maps from Judie Peet (thanks Judie)
I visited a few spots one afternoon and then spent a couple of hours
there the following morning, including a bit of spotlighting the previous
night. Being a large block of forest I only visited a relatively small
area. I still have vivid memories of my first visit to Goonoo when I was
a young birdwatcher (16) on a camping trip with my parents. It was here
that I saw my first Turquoise Parrots on 20 April 1987. Eight birds on
the 20 April and then 18 on the 21 April. I even remembered the very
plant of Spurwing Wattle at Paddy's Dam that I sat under on the 21 April
1987. I remembered it because it was this very same shrub that all the
Turks landed in, above and around my startled head, before going down to
drink. The shrub is still there 14 years later and doesn't look as though
it has grown one inch! Its amazing the little events that leave a mark on
your memory.

Anyway, I saw no Turquoise Parrots in 2001 but I enjoyed some other
interesting sightings including-
Glossy Black-cockatoos busily feeding on the cones of Casuarinas
at heights of under three metres in the late afternoon. I was able to get
surprisingly close- unfortunately photographs proved difficult to get,
poor patchy light and thick vegetation making movement difficult. Later
in the evening approximately 30 came down to drink at Paddy's Dam
treating me to a great show.

Malleefowl - I watched one bird for a couple of minutes in the
mid-afternoon and was then fortunate enough to spend over an hour
watching a bird excavating and then half filling its mound the following
morning. It seemed to wait until the rays of the sun hit its mound and
then it began its excavation moving around its mound in a clock-wise
fashion. It would work away for a couple of minutes at one spot before
moving a metre to its left and starting there. At its greatest depth the
bird was completely invisible in the bottom of its mound. Only when the
suns rays had begun to leave the mound did it begin to refill its mound.
When the depth was near its peak I watched a White-eared Honeyeater
repeatedly dive into the centre of the mound. I can only think that it
was after insects in the turned over soil.

Compared to this everything else is a bit of an anti-climax but I did
find Chestnut-rumped heathwren at one spot, and listened to
Boobook, Barn Owl, and White-throated Nightjars the night
before. It was a very full moon and the Nightjars were extremely vocal-
something I've noticed with Large-tailed Nightjars during my time on Cape
York. 

After this I had some work commitments to take care of. One of these
commitments was pleasurable- meeting the very knowledgeable Neville
Schrader, thanks Neville, I look forward to chatting to you again soon.
Eventually I had time to do a spot of birdwatching at Ingalba Nature
Reserve, just to the west of Temora. Spotlighting was a bit poor except
for the obvious highlight of two Barking Owls. Just to make sure
that I hadn't forgotten about them one decided to add its calls to the
dawn chorus the next morning. Other birds here included
Chestnut-rumped Heathwren (at its probable western limit) and
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Crested Shrike-tit and Varied
Sittella (one of my favourite birds).

After a busy week I think I might see if I can have a non-bird
weekend!

Cheers,

Mick Todd




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