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Dear Birders
A friend's 50th birthday gave us the excuse to do a
little bit of birding in the Blue Mountains last weekend - Evans Lookout to
be precise. We stayed at Jenby Rinjah Eco Lodge, beautifully set in the eucalypt
forest, and between festivities managed a couple of walks to the
Lookout.
There weren't a huge amount of birds present but
Rock Warblers were under the parked cars and in the middle of the road, both Sat
4-5 pm and Sunday 8-9 am, together with White-browed Scrubwrens, paying no
attention to people, just intent on finding insects. Migrating Yellow-faced and
White-naped Honeyeaters were flying over in small groups Sunday morning between
8-9 am, and both days White-eared and New Holland Honeyeaters were easy to
see, together with White-throated Treecreepers, Yellow Robins, Grey
Shrike-thrush, Crimson Rosellas, Brown and Striated Thornbills, Eastern
Spinebills, Red Wattlebirds, Spotted Pardalote, Aussie Ravens and Superb
Fairywrens. Satin Bowerbirds were around the cabins together with Pied
Currawongs and lots of Crimson Rosellas as the birds are fed each morning
at 8.30 am.
Looking down into the Gross Valley from Evans
Lookout Sat arvo, we saw another pair of Rockwarblers foraging on a track,
and could hear the calls of Bell Miners and Whipbirds echoing up from the dense
mass of trees covering the slopes down to the hidden creeks that flowed
below.
On the drive home via Bell's Line of Road Sunday
23rd, we had morning tea at Pearce's picnic spot, and were treated to 60-70
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos foraging and calling and circling over our heads,
and a Chestnut-rumped Heathwren popped up to have a look at us. The YTBCs were
making a lot of strange noises in addition to the usual funereal calls, chuckles
and giggles as described in Pizzey, with some carrying pine cones, and
others bumping each other as they flew overhead. A great
sight.
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