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Howdy,
Most of the list by now will be familiar with (if
not sick to death of!) reports of the Kentish Plover(s?) near Taree. Paul
Walbridge and myself travelled from Brisbane over the weekend, successfully
finding the bird late Saturday afternoon. Actually, all the hard work had
already been done by a number of observers who already had the bird well and
truly sussed, so perhaps "finding" the bird is a bit generous...
While it was great to see a new bird (and having no
immediate plans or funds to get overseas, one I'm unlikely to see again for some
time in the future), like many birders I suppose the thrill was reduced somewhat
by the sheer ease of it - sometimes the chase really is better than the
catch! The really great part of the weekend road trip was the chance to drive a
couple of roads less travelled, and see what we found on the way. To
wit:
* Dangar's Lagoon. This one's been in the news a
bit lately for the Oriental Plover that turned up there. What reports didn't
mention was what a great spot in general this is for waterbirds, at least for
the moment. All three grebes including hundreds of Hoary-heads, Blue-billed
and Musk Ducks, numerous Australian Shoveler, a party of Black-tailed Native-hen
and some spanking Red-kneed Dotterels were all highlights; extensive muddy
margins suggest great potential for waders, crakes, Painted Snipe etc. The site
is approx. 5 km south of Uralla on the Walcha/Nowenduc/Gloucester Road
(Thunderbolt's Way)and absolutely worth a quick diversion for anyone making the
Sydney-Brisbane run - I can't believe I never did it before!
* Thunderbolt's Way itself is extremely scenic, and
the high country (much of it 1000+ metres) through which it runs is a good area
to look for the northern race of Forest Raven (race boreus, sometimes known as
Relict Raven). Sorting out the corvids in this part of Australia is a great
challenge with at least three species occurring here - Torresian Crow as well as
Forest and Australian Raven. The different calls give the game away, but it's
fun trying to go on eyesight alone. We got caught out a couple of
times.
* The Old Wallangarra Road, just north of the
QLD/NSW border, has long been a favourite spot of mine. This road runs into
Girraween National Park, but many of the specialties of the area can be found in
a one kilometre stretch just off the main highway. (Look for the side road with
the railway crossing, a few kilometres north of Wallangarra township.) While we
missed Turquoise Parrot - this is usually a reliable site - we quickly found
Diamond Firetails, Plum-headed (up to 100), Double-barred and Red-browed Finch;
at least four Hooded Robins; Brown Treecreeper; Varied Sittella; Dusky
Woodswallow; White-plumed, Fuscous, White-naped, Brown-headed, Scarlet and
Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters and more Jacky Winters than I've ever
seen.
We were a little later back to Brisbane than
planned, but it was worth every minute.
Cheers and good birding, AS
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