After a big day on Saturday, mainly around water habitats, we decided to
spend Sunday tracking down some of the more inland birds. We began in the
valley then headed about 90 minutes west into the Traprock country between
Inglewood and Texas.
It was another great day - 136 spp after 113 on Saturday. Some of us popped
up to Ravensbourne National Park before breakfast this-morning and found
Noisy Pitta, Russet-tailed Thrush and a few more. As we didn't head out till
well after breakfast on Saturday or Sunday, I consider the total of 170 spp
pretty good for two days.
It wasn't a twitch, (or a car rally with birding interspersed), just a
couple of days steady birding in a couple of wonderfully rich areas.
Some of the highlights from Sunday:
several parties of Emu, the biggest being 11 birds. Not usually so much in
evidence this far east;
Wedge-tailed and Little Eagles;
about 10 Latham's Snipe around a small farm dam, taking to the air in a
confusion of intersecting zig-zags;
an imperious Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo looking down on us from the
closest of close ranges;
immaculate Red-winged Parrot - wow!!
Bluebonnets flashing brilliantly in flight and displaying their
blood-bellies (haematogaster) when they landed;
White-winged Fairywrens, one of which looked almost black on the back and
wings, but the usual rich, rich blue on the head and breast;
White-eared, Yellow-tufted, and White-plumed Honeyeaters - among a total of
12 honeyeater spp, not counting friarbirds;
a dainty female Red-capped Robin, dropping from a post to the ground, to a
fence to the ground, to a post and so on and so on;
Hooded Robin, doing something similar but less frenetic from a tree;
Ground Cuckoo Shrike at a new location - I haven't seen them at their usual
breeding site for a couple of weeks now;
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Cicadabird and lots of White-winged Trillers;
a pair(?) of Dusky Woodswallows;
Diamond Firetails, which led to a lengthy argument about whether they or a
magnificently-coloured Spotted Pardalote seen a little earlier are more
beautiful. I give them equal first.
Bill Jolly
"Abberton",
Lockyer Valley, Queensland.
Visit our website at http://www.abberton.org
Email:
Ph: (+61) 7 4697 6111 Fax: (+61) 7 4697 6056
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