Hi all
I have just come back from a couple of days away visiting my nephew on a
property about 60 kms east of St George in southern Queensland. I went
in my Nissan Navara, which never got out of 2wd and ate for under $10 a
plate !
An overnight stop at my niece's place at Inverell on the way up
produced a few good garden birds the next morning : Double-barred
Finches , Yellow-rumped Thornbills , Red-rumped Parrots and Musk
Lorikeets. Stubble Quail were calling in the paddock beside the house.
Apostle Birds and White-winged Choughs were the first of many to be seen
on the trip.
About 10 kms west of Moree I saw my first flock of Budgerigars and about
20 kms south of Mungindie were hundreds of White-browed Woodswallows and
2 Plum-headed Finches. At a roadside temporary water hole due to the
recent rains were many water birds , the best of which were 4 Glossy Ibis.
I arrived at my Nephews about an hour before dark, just in time to see
hundreds of White-browed Woodswallows around the dam in front of the
house and a couple of Ground Cuckooshrikes near by. Over the next two
days I spent about an hour each morning and evening, birding the "back
yard" of about 40 acres. Some time was also spent during the middle of
the days around other parts of the property interspersed with some
cattle work.
I recorded 99 species in my 2 days there with 54 recorded around the
house. Highlights were numerous but included the following :
* Hundreds of White-browed Woodswallows with 2 Masked Woodswallows and
half a dozen or so Little Woodswallows with dependant young.
* Crested Bellbirds near the house
* Brown Treecreepers near the house
* Really close looks at a very confiding female Painted Button Quail
feeding in fairly open country near the house ( definitely not an escapee!)
* Crimson Chats ,Budgerigars , Red-winged Parrots , Cockatiels
,Double-barred and Zebra Finches in the house yard.
* Numerous Red-capped Robins and 1 male Hooded Robin near the house.
* Spotted Bowerbirds , Chestnut-rumped Thornbills , Striped Honeyeaters
and Restless Flycatchers were also seen near the house.
* Apostle Birds , White-winged Choughs and several Grey-crowned
Babblers completed the best of the "back yard" birds.
Elsewhere on the property , the best birds seen were :
* Very close looks at a confiding adult Black-eared Cuckoo.
* Plumed Whistling Ducks , Black-tailed Native Hens , Darter ,
Yellow-billed Spoonbills on one of the dams.
* At another lagoon near dusk and again the next morning, were several
Australian Pelicans , Royal Spoonbill , Intermediate Egret, 2 Brolga , a
Diamond Dove and a flock of around 200 Plum-headed Finches , firstly
drinking , then feeding on grass seeds. That is the biggest flock I have
seen and it was quiet spectacular.
* On the way back to the house a Spotted Harrier was seen and upon
getting out of the car for a closer look , there were several Stubble
Quail calling.
As I was leaving the property the last bird I saw was the 1 and only Emu
of the trip .
A quick stop at Dangar's Lagoon near Uralla ( just south of Armidale ,
NSW ) on the way back added Blue-billed and Pink-eared Ducks,
Hoary-headed Grebe , Red-kneed Dotterel , and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers to
the trip list , totally 133.
No new birds for the trip but some excellent views of some fantastic birds
Cheers
Dick Jenkin
DUNGOG NSW
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