Hello
We left Canberra
early on Saturday morning heading for a weekend at Round Hill NR. The
main places we visited are listed out in the rest of this email in roughly the
order we visited them. We really appreciate the help of people who have
written trip reports to COG and also to Birding Aus. There is so much
information on good spots hidden away in these archives. These reports
certainly improved the birding on our trip!
15 km east of Temora (on Burley
Griffin Way) at about 7am
- a flock of at least 20 Superb Parrots flying around in the wheat paddocks and
between large gum trees. Also plenty of Cockatiels, and Red-rumped
Parrots. Apostlebirds and Grey-crowned Babblers were around as well.
Near Back Creek SF (16km east of West Wyalong on
Newell Hwy) about 9:30am - Following Dion Hobcroft's post (Birding Aus: October
7 2002) about Honeyeaters, we went to investigate. After a false start,
where we actually went into the Forest
itself (with Sittellas, Red-capped Robins, and Double-barred Finches), we
eventually found the spot Dion described. It is a well signposted dirt
road which starts outside the very NW corner of the SF. 600m south along
this road (which is between paddocks and gilgai) we found several Painted
Honeyeaters and 2 male Black Honeyeaters in the thick grey mistletoe in a small
grove of very stunted black barked trees (sp?) on the east side of the
road. Also Red-capped Robins and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters there.
Charcoal Tank NR (10km south West
Wyalong on Newell
Hwy) - Plenty of birds, but not the Shy Heathwrens we
were hoping for. The Dam close to the highway was dry, but there was one
with water about a km or so back in the reserve which has water (we accessed it
from a gate on the side road). Restless Flycatcher, Brown-headed
Honeyeater, White-browed Babblers, Brown Treecreepers, and a large goanna were
the highlights here.
Lake Cargelligo Sewage Ponds (about 200m up
Showground Rd, on southern outskirts of town on the West Wyalong Road, just
south of the golf course) - Stunning! It was 1pm
and blowing a gale. Through the gate beside the mob of very scrawny
and unhappy cows, and along a raised bank. Spotted Crake in some reeds,
group of a dozen or so Glossy Ibis, hundreds of Whiskered Terns, Black-winged
Stilts, grey teals, Red-necked Avocets. Many Sharp-tailed Sandpipers,
about a dozen Marsh Sandpipers. Small groups of Red-kneed Dotterels and
the odd Red-capped Plover scattered around, with a few Red-necked Stints thrown
in as well. A couple of Australian Shelducks standing on the banks, and a
pair of Pink-eared Ducks too. What a place! We even picked out a
few Curlew Sandpipers. [as an added bonus when we passed through again on the
way home on Sunday, a Major Mitchell Cockatoo flew over us as we got back in
the car]
Chat Alley (near the start of the dirt road, at the
grid, just after the left-turn T-junction, between Lake Cargelligo and Mt Hope)
- Very windy and dusty at 2pm, but good views of male White-winged Fairy Wren
in the stunted bushes and on the fence on the north side of the road. [On
Sunday, we saw 2 male Orange Chats in the bushes on the South side of the road,
with lots of Richards Pipits, and lots of flies too].
Nombinnie NR (track in to the regrown wheat paddock
as per Thomas and Thomas) - We really like this place but haven't yet managed
to see that many birds. This place just has a nice feel about it, but for
the most part the mallee is too thick to walk through, and birds appear and
disappear very quickly. Over the Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday
morning we saw large flocks of Masked and White-Browed Woodswallows overhead,
several Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters, and a few White-eared Honeyeaters too.
Excitement was kept up with the help of explosions of flushed Common
Bronzewings, and some small groups of absolutely stunning Splendid and
Variegated Fairy Wrens. The only Whistlers we found were Rufous. On
Sunday morning at 6am, we
found a Southern Scrub-robin perched at the very top of a large Mallee singing
its brains out beside the track (near the east edge of the regrown wheat
field. We'd never seen one so far off the ground before. Also Westerm
Gerygone. As an aside, on the way to the Whoey Tanks we also saw an
absolutely enormous black boar (big humped back just like the ones in Asterix
comics) - we were happy to be in the car.
Round Hill NR: Whoey Tanks (2 concrete tanks and 2
dry dams) - Very different. In the immediate vicinity of the tanks, it
was clapped out grazing country full of goats, with plenty of Callitris and the
occasional flowering shrub. What made things easier was that in contrast
to the thick mallee, you could actually SEE THE BIRDS! We had a fantastic
time wandering around in the dust. About 100m south of the tanks we came
across Southern Whiteface, Jacky Winter, Red-capped Robin, Speckled Warbler,
with a group of White-fronted Honeyeaters feeding on some flowering
shrubs. Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters were everywhere. We saw several
Ringneck Parrots, as well as a few Mulga Parrots. Noisy and Little
Friarbirds, Singing Honeyeater, Rainbow Bee-eaters, and a single Bar-shouldered
Dove were also conspicuous. In times where there is actually water in the
dams, this place would be truly amazing! The only water we saw was near
the train crossing on the Mt Hope-Lake Cargelligo
Rd.
A great weekend, capped off by being told about, and
then actually finding 3 Painted Honeyeaters at Campbell
Park on our return to Canberra
on Sunday evening.
Regards
Mat and Cathy
