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Hello birdlovers... Lorne here...
I was away in north-western NSW and outback Queensland from June 27 to July 8. Had a wonderful time. Drove from Sydney to Mt. Isa area via Mudgee, Dubbo, Nyngan, Bowra + Cunnamulla, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton and Cloncurry. Drove home pretty much the same way, but made detour to Boulia. Over 6000km covered in eleven days.
Fifteen new birds seen...
1. Kalakadoon Grasswren - Two individuals on stony, spinifex-covered hill at the end of Pamela St. in Mt. Isa. Beaut birds. Great view of one singing for three minutes. Had them within ten minutes of searching. Made up for dipping on them at Mica Creek.
2. Flock Bronzewing - circa 150 birds 20km east of Boulia on Diamantina Development Rd. Stunning tan and mauve-blue as they took to the morning air!
3. Spotted Bowerbird - Nyngan (top views from bathroom window at The Alamo Motel as birds were feeding on grapevine), Bowra, Lake Moondarra etc. A bird I've been after for year and never seen.
4. Chestnut-crowned babbler - 'the hill' at Bowra (property west of Cunnamulla). Nervy, flighty, amusing, attractive.
5. Halls Babbler - 'the hill' at Bowra. Cool bird, but not particularly exciting. Width of eyebrows interesting, and distinguishing feature. Hard to get close to.
6. Ground Cuckoo-shrike - Road to Bladensberg National Park south of Winton. Another bird I've dipped on for years. My first views were of eight or so birds dogfishting in the air. Great calls. Attractive.
7. Spinifex Pigeon - 20+ birds at Bough Shed Holw, Bladensberg NP. Also, on road between Winton and NP. After three trips to the red centre I thought I'd have had this by now, but no. Striking, nervy, odd.
8. Varied Lorikeet - Warrina Park, behind dam wall at Lake Moondarra, near Mt. Isa. Also at Mt. Isa Caravan Park. 10 or so birds at Warrina. Beautiful things. White-eye ring made me think of exotic MExican or Central American species. Their call in between a Scaly-breasted and a Purple-crowned maybe. Flighty. Excellent.
9. Long-tailed Finch - 3 birds drinking by roadside puddle opposite Clearwater Lagoon, on way out to Lake Moondarra. Lucky with these... stumbled upon them when watching zebra finches. Four-minute view, then they were gone. Exquisite plumage.
10. Spinifexbird - Along McNamara's Rd., north-west of Mt. Isa. Non-descript, not particularly exciting bird, but excellent to tick. Again, dipped on these when in the centre and WA before.
11. Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrish - 'the hill' at Bowra. Bloody lucky - a pair walked across the road in front of me when I was driving. I got out and walked after them into scrub on stony rise. They vanished!!! Barely got ten second view. Disappointed I didn't have more time with this species. Great I got it though, as other birders at Bowra when I was there dipped on it. Amazing colours on male.
12. Redthraot - one quiet female bird below a scrub hopping around and feeding ar 'the hill' at Bowra. Non-descript, unexciting bird, but cute when it hopped.
13. White-browed Treecreeper - 'the hill', yet again, at Bowra. Brief views. Cool striped black and white in undertail. Only saw one bird in my four visits to the hill. Lucy to get it I reckon.
14. Black-tailed Treecreeper - McNamara's Rd, north-west of Mt. Isa. Beaut birds. Striking, active, distinctive calls. Loved watching their tail feathers move apart and together when feeding. Quite easy to see up there.
15. Grey-fronted Honeyeater - McNamara's Rd and Lake Moondarra and Mt. Isa area. Interesting, but a not particularly exciting bird.
Along with these I had great views of painted finches at Clearwater Lagoon and Pamela St. in the Isa, brolgas and bustards in various places (three brolgas in someone's front yard in Boulia was tremendous), black falcon near Nyngan, black-breasted buzzard and slaty-backed thornbills at 'the hill' in Bowra, flocks of budgies here and there, green-pygmy goose, pink-eared duck and glossy ibis at Clearwater Lagoon, blue-winged kookaburra and whistling kites on the nest at Warrina Park, 14 Bourke's parrot at Eulo Bore, emus here and there, and tragically, a squashed malleefowl on the road at Goonoo Stae Forest, north-west of Dubbo...
Dipped on Carpentarian grasswren on McNamara's Rd, even though I searched in heat for hours and hours for it. Failed to see Rufous-crowned emu-wren at Bladensberg NP or Larks Quarry (the site of dinosaur footprints embedded in soil). No Pictorella mannikin at Clearwater or Moondarra. No Gouldians at Moondarra, although there was a report of them there a year ago. Didn't get grey falcon at Bowra, even though it had been regularly recorded over past month there...
Sat for half an hour by a twenty-metre long roadside waterpool six kms north of Boulia in the gloom of twilight, digital camera in hand, in case of a night parrot sighting. Drove for an hour along Diamantina D.R. and Donohue Highway looking out for the species. Scanned the roadsides about Boulia relentlessly during the day in case of a carcass. No luck, not surprisingly.
On the whole, an awesome trip. The spinifex, ghost gums, sunsets and warmth of outback Queenslanders will stay with me always.
Thanks to the following people for their invaluable assistance (in no particular order): Edwin Vella, Tony Russell, Marc Gardner, Bob Forsyth, Shane B, Ian Cowan, Ian and Julie at Bowra, various birding-aus archive report writers and all the motorists out there who can drive well.
Lorne
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