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Dear aussers
Had a very busy birdie Christmas/New Year, with a
few beautiful sightings. 27-30 Dec at Coolah Tops National Park (31 43 59/150 00
53), near Coolah and Cassilis, and overlooking the Liverpool Plains, NSW.
At the Myall site 31 38 07/149 53 58) after crossing over Pandora's Pass, we
found heaps (50+?) of Red-winged Parrots with many dependent young, at
least 4 if not 6 Painted Honeyeaters, and a few Spiny-cheeked and Striped
Honeyeaters. The Mistletoe in the Myall was in very heavy
fruit. Further along, at Cox's Creek (31 31 08/149 54 28) we found a
small flock of Plum-headed Finches. It was fairly dry and hot down in the
plains, so we didn't hang around and got back quickly to the pleasant coolness
of Coolah.
On the way back to Gloucester I managed to run my
car through a barbed-wired fence! Stupid......
Then for New Year, went with many friends to a
property near Nowendoc, south of Walcha. Spent the morning of New Year's day
driving through Nowendoc State Forest, not a lot of birds but good sightings of
Black-faced Monarchs, a Satin Flycatcher and Rufous Fantails. 2nd January, we
spent all day driving through Mummel Gulf National Park and adjacent State
Forests which you pop in and out of all the time, or so it seems. Birds were
again on the quiet side - one Latham's Snipe at New Country Swamp in the NP -
this could do with some further investigation after some rain - it was a bit on
the dry side but did have water. Then on leaving the NP at the top most part of
Top Station, we heard Scarlet Honey-eaters as we were clearing trees off the
track, only to find further down a huge trunk across the track so we had to turn
round on the narrow steep track and find an alternative track which lead
eventually down to Nowendoc. On the way we saw 3 Glossy-black Cockatoos,
glimpsed a Spotted Quail-thrush, and saw a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles. We had
spent most of the day at over 1,000 metres, in mixed forest with many tall Tree
Ferns and beautiful prostanthera shrubs in full bloom. As we headed back to the
property, a farm dam on Thunberbolts Way, near Nowendoc (36 37 30/151 34 04)
contained 2 Pink-eared Ducks and 2 A.Shoverllers, a Black duck with 5 ducklings,
amongst others, with Clarmorous Reed-warblers singing their hearts out in
the reeds.
Back in Gloucester, the Latham's Snipe are still at
the wetlands but these are drying up and we have had almost no rain with all the
beautiful and promising black thunder clouds passing off to either side. Oh for
rain..... At least it's cooler today.
Happy New Year to all on birding-aus and continues
bringing in the news reports.
Penny D-B
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