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Part 2A
We stopped for lunch at a small waterhole East of
Bowthorn station and saw our first Jabiru for the trip. Flowering
Bloodwoods revealed Varied Lorikeets* and Silver-crowned
Friarbirds*.
Kingfisher
Camp
on Bowthorn Station was a great grassed camping area with clean facilities and a
wood fire to heat the shower water morning and evening. We camped here 3 nights,
hiring a tinny for one day and chugging up and down Five-mile waterhole. We had
the water to ourselves. Each night we were entertained by the calls of
Boobooks and Barking Owls. We saw more Purple-crowned
Fairy-wrens here and a few Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. We startled a
group of Nankeen Night-herons and a single Striated Heron along
the waterhole and found 3 Johnsons crocodiles warming up on the banks. We saw a
good range of bush birds at this spot but not many waterbirds. 40
species.
We did find the waterbirds all hanging out at Goose
Swamp. Only small puddles of water left here and a lot of mud. Our first
Australian Bustards for the trip on the way there, stalking through the
grass. There were lots of both species of Spoonbill, Glossy and Straw-necked
Ibis and a large flock of Pelicans. A highlight was an Australian
Spotted Crake* that we watched for 10 minutes, as he searched for food,
flashing his distinctive under tail pattern, before he finally noticed us and
scurried for the shelter of a reed bed.
25 species at Goose
Swamp.
From KFC we travelled north to Burketown where we
enjoyed Barra burgers in the pub and saw a Red-backed Kingfisher. Several
times we saw pairs of A. Bustards, flocks of Cockatiels and flocks
of Budgies.
East of Doomadgee be started seeing lots of Australian Pratincoles
(kamikazi birds) on the road and small groups of Brolgas in the
fields.
Armraynald
Station
is happy to have birdwatchers on their property with permission and will also
allow camping. The waterhole at the homestead looked interesting but we
preferred the privacy of small waterhole they gave us directions to. It was
occupied by the biggest flock of Little Corellas I have ever seen. There
must have been a thousand of them, and several times a day they would all take
off and scream around the sky in a big mob, turning and swooping in unison. I
counted 250 Brolga down the far end of the waterhole and several groups
of Cockatiel flew in until there were about 500 of them. There were lots
of other birds in smaller numbers, a group of comical Apostlebirds
expressed there surprise at our presence and a lone Barn Swallow* perched
on a wire over the water for a while. 40 species
here.
Our first Sarus Cranes* were sighted near
Magowra Station beside the road, a family of three. We saw heaps more,
usually mixed with groups of Brolgas on the road side between Normanton and
Karumba.
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