Trip Report- East Maitland ? Lake Cargelligo ? Bourke
? East Maitland
18th, Oct ? 23rd, Oct
I love western birds, don?t know why just do, so when
Nick Livanos invited me on a six day birding holiday
around Lake Cargelligo and Bourke I jumped at the
opportunity. Below is a very brief summary and
highlights of our trip. Contact me if you would like a
full list.
Day 1
East Maitland ? Cowra ? West Wyalong ? Lake Cargelligo
Kurrajong- Red-whiskered Bulbul
Clarence- Grey Currawong- 1, (I now have this
particular bird on a sting as everytime I visit this
spot it?s there waiting).
E of Cowra- Superb Parrot (tick) excellent views of a
pair above the car, all up we saw over 20 birds.
N of West Wyalong- Black-faced Woodswallow (2)
Day 2
Lake Cargelligo ? Round Hill NR ? Lake Cargelligo
c. 15km N of Lake Cargelligo- Australian Pratincole-
2, also on route we saw Blue Bonnet and Little Crow
(tick).
Round Hill NR- Five ticks: Splendid Fairy-wren, Shy
Heathwren (2), Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, White-fronted
Honeyeater (with dep. young) and Black Honeyeater
(8+).
Did glimpse a Southern Scrub-robin but not good enough
to tick. Where were the quail-thrush and Gilbert?s
Whistler (my official bogey bird)?
Day 3
Lake Cargelligo ? Round Hill NR ? Sewage Works ? drive
around the lake
To and from Round Hill- Banded Lapwing (2), Spotted
Harrier and White-winged Fairy-wren
Sewage Works- Great spot, lots of ducks including,
Shelduck (with young), Pink-ears (2), many Shoveler,
Glossy Ibis (2), Red-capped and Red-kneed Dotterel,
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (4) and a very purple looking
male Variegated Fairy-wren (so different to our
eastern race).
Drive around lake- Mallee Ringneck, Blue Bonnet,
Cockatiel, Whiskered Tern, Great-crested Grebe,
White-bellied Sea-eagle, sittella and triller. Near
the airport we stopped to look at a flock of
White-fronted Chat and to our delight we also found
Crimson Chat and a pair of Orange Chat (tick). Nearby
were White-winged Fairy-wren, Aust. Pratincole and
Banded Lapwing.
Day 4
Lake Cargelligo ? Bourke
Round Hill NR- A pair of Mulga Parrot (tick) flew off
the road.
c. 20km E of Mt. Hope- White-browed Babbler and a very
vocal Crested Bellbird (tick for Nick)
c. 15 km E of Mt. Hope- A pair of Major Mitchell?s
Cockatoo (tick). Closer to Mt. Hope we saw around 7-8
individuals.
Between Mt. Hope and Cobar- A funny noise coming for
the car lead to us pulling over and seeing a small
flock of Grey-fronted Honeyeater (tick). Further up
the road a large flock of Masked and White-browed
Woodswallow hawked insects from a fence, and near
Cobar we saw a single Dollarbird (is this unusal to
see them this far west), Crimson Chat(4) and a pair of
Red-backed Kingfisher (tick).
Gunbooka NR- Very quiet, no White-browed Treecreeper.
Bourke- Whilst looking in vain for Red-tailed
Black-cockatoo we saw another pair of Red-backed
Kingfisher.
Day 5
Bourke ? Ford?s Bridge ? Bourke
A very hot and windy day but the trip did produce some
highlights like, Chestnut-crowed Babbler (10+) (tick),
Major Mitchell?s, Caspian and Whiskered Terns,
Red-winged Parrot, Black Honeyeater (1) and Crimson
Chat (with a possible nest).
Bourke- After a quick afternoon nap we went and
visited a few local spots picking up lots of
Black-tailed Native-hen, Brolga (17), Pink-eared Duck
and Black Kite.
Day 6
Bourke ? Macquarie Marshes ? Dubbo ? East Maitland
Bourke to the marshes- Major Mitchell?s, Mulga Parrot
(3), Banded Lapwing (2+2juv), Horsfield?s
Bronze-cuckoo (2) and a male Black Honeyeater.
Macquarie Marshes- Glossy Ibis (30+), lots of Crimson
Chat and White-winged Fairy-wren, and Singing Bushlark
(3) (tick for Nick).
A quick stop at Goonoo SF failed to produce a
Malleefowl so we started the long drive home.
Over six days we saw 173 species. Nick got 15 ticks
whilst I got 13. Wonderful part of the world and would
recommend it to anyone.
Cheers,
Grant Brosie
Morpeth
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