Just came back from a pleasant trip in
central west NSW travelling through Cowra, West Wyalong and Forbes. The weather experience on this trip was
mainly fine, being fairly warm during the day but cold at night and early in the
morning but with heavier rain coming back to Sydney. The central western NSW
area is slowing coming out of drought and the areas between
Bathurst and West Wyalong appears to have many fields of green, yellow and
purple. Though I did not see or expect any lifers on this trip, it was good to
see again a few birds that we don?t normally see around
Sydney.
On the 4th October, I left home in
central metropolitan Sydney around 4:45 am, arrived at Cowra at about 8:15
am and finally at
West
Wyalong at about
10:30 am.
On my way to West Wyalong saw at
least 10 Superb Parrots perched in both dead and live Eucalypts about 30 km east
of Cowra (Cowra itself is approx. 300 km west of Sydney CBD). The area around
Cowra seems to be fairly reliable spot to see these parrots at this time of
year, and you just bump into them as you drive
through.
Soon after arriving just outside
West Wyalong (the town is about 500 km west of Sydney), I checked inside and
outside the Back Creek SF where Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters were numerous but also
saw White-winged Trillers, Rufous Songlarks, Mallee Ringneck, Diamond Firetails,
Double-barred Finches, Red-capped Robins, Variegated (Purple-backed) Wrens,
Speckled Warblers, Western Gerygone, Mistletoebird, as well as Chestnut-rumped
and Inland Thornbills. Despite lots of mistletoe in flower/ fruit there were no
Painted Honeyeaters and the Black, Pied and White-fronted Honeyeaters present
there a year ago may have long gone.
At The Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve
(which is about 10 km south of West Wyalong CBD along the Newell HWY and is well
sign posted) I saw 3 Shy Heathwrens but none of the other mallee specialties
(the Scrub-robins are probably extinct now from here and the Gilbert?s Whistlers
I saw here 3 years ago were not around or just quite and not in other potential
spots). Other birds present here included Cockatiels; 4 Superb Parrots flying
over; Rainbow Bee-eaters; Brown Treecreepers; White-browed Babblers; Blue-faced,
Brown-headed and Striped Honeyeaters; Red-capped Robins and Western
Gerygones.
About 2.5km down the road from the
nature reserve (towards Alleena) in an open paddock (adjacent to mallee) got
within a 10-20 metres of 3 Ground Cuckoo-shrikes feeding on the ground, 2 Banded
Lapwings and some White-fronted Chats.
In the mallee along the road to
Tallimba (about 10 km west of the Town of West Wyalong) had good views of a
Crested Bellbird calling beautifully (heard one or two others as well),
Variegated Wrens, a brilliantly coloured male Mulga Parrot, 2 Yellow-tufted and a White-naped
Honeyeater (both seem to be just or outside their normal range and also heard
Shy Heathwrens. I had good views after dusk of 3-4 Spotted Nightjars on the
ground and in flight. I could
easily see their white spots in the wings and the reddish-brown colour, white
throat and other markings of the one seen on the ground. Malleefowl have also
been seen in recent months beside a track on the other side of the road but did
not show when I was there. A few pairs of Malleefowl still hang on the edge of
town.
Along the road to Lake Cowal via
Clear Ridge saw more Cockatiels,
Mallee Ringnecks, Red-rumped and Blue Bonnets parrots (my best views of the
later species), White-winged Trillers, Rufous and Brown Songlarks, Zebra and
Double-barred Finches, Yellow-throated Miners, aswell as many White-winged
Choughs and Apostlebirds. The lake itself appeared completely dried out. On the
edge of the Clear Ridge SF saw Chestnut-rumped Thornbill and Jacky
Winter.
Finally Gum Swamp in Forbes (about
380 km north-west of Sydney) produced 3 breeding plumaged male Blue-billed Duck,
at least 10 Freckled Ducks (even saw one swimming away before I got out of the
car as I approached the bird hide), 200 plus Pink-eared Ducks, 50 or so
Hardhead, a single male Australasian Shoveler and Chestnut Teal, 15 Hoary-headed
and a few Australasian Grebes, Darters, a Whistling Kite and a Peregrine Falcon
passing through. In the eucalypts
on the edge of the lake and in surrounding woodland were Little Friarbirds,
Sacred Kingfisher, Grey-crowned Babblers, Red-rumped Parrots, Rufous Songlarks,
Brown Treecreepers, both Fairy and Tree Martins and
Cockatiels.
A Black Kite (one of a few raptors seen on
the trip) was also seen flying over the road on my approach to
Gump Swamp.
Edwin
Vella
