birding-aus

Gheerulla Falls, Mapleton,SEQ

To: "birding-aus" <>
Subject: Gheerulla Falls, Mapleton,SEQ
From: "Dam Lamb" <>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2006 11:27:10 +1000
With the excitement of 30 new birds from our Broome trip now well behind me, I'm trying to regain that ticking feeling. I've decided to elevate the Superb Fruit-Dove to" next bogey bird" status. This will ensure it takes me years to get it (but I've already been trying, on and off, for a few years ) , that other birders will regale me with tales of how easy it is (sure),and that I'll develop an unusual fondness for fig trees.
 
I've identified the Gheerulla Falls track, west of Mapleton on the nortern end of the Blackall Range,as a likely spot close to home (why be frustrated with dipping thousands of kms away when you can do it more comfortably from home?). Things were looking good on arrival, the track had been cleared, it wasn't raining, and , most importantly, there were plenty of fruiting figs.Great.Well I saw Wompoo Pigeon, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Top-knot Pigeon and even heard a Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove calling from deep in the gully. I saw over 20 Pied Currawong feasting on the figs and excluding all others from their tree of choice.I saw Figbirds and Satin Bowerbirds enjoying the figs in the currawong-free zones. I saw the usual rainforest lovelies like Rufous Fantail, Pale-yellow Robin and listened to the trilling Fan-tailed Cuckoo and the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos as they flew overhead.But I didn't come close to a Superb Fruit-Dove. Not on this visit.
 
Russ Lamb, Maleny, SEQ
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU