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QLD '06 Trip Report

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Subject: QLD '06 Trip Report
From: Frank Pierce / Janet Mattiske <>
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 17:20:58 +1000
QLD '06 Trip Report

We set off on 1/06/06 from Melbourne, on what was to be a 3 month trip to Queensland. When we got to Cooktown we had to cut the trip by 4 weeks, due to family reasons, but still managed time to look for most of our targets. Our aim was to mop up subspecies missed on our '03 trip, while keeping an eye out for vagrants and over-wintering summer migrant species that were on our wish-list.

We started with an unsuccessful search for the Letter-winged Kite west of Cameron's Corner. The corner country was drier than I had ever seen it. Raptor numbers were extremely low but there was a fair mix of bush birds. We passed Innamincka then headed north through western Qld, via Opalton, to Karumba.

We then went west to the Atherton Tableland then north to Iron Range. We returned via Lakefield NP to Cooktown, then down the coast to Pt Macquarie.

The weather on the Qld coast was disappointing with 3 days of sunshine in the 3 weeks from Cooktown to the NSW border. There has been a lot of rain in North Qld and at times our route and itinerary had to be modified to suit weather and road conditions.

We then headed home via Burren Junction to pick up the GHL. We travelled 14,000k and were away for 9 weeks, returning to Melbourne on 4/08/06.

361 species were seen, although most effort was focused on hunting the targets, and other sightings were generally incidental.

New Species Seen
Bush-hen, ruficrissus Broadwater Rd nw of Ingham
Lapwing, Grey-headed                                        Burren Junction

Target Subspecies Seen
Black-Cockatoo, Glossy erebus Mt Archer, 3k from base turn-off
Corella, Little                             normantoni        Karumba
Parrot, Red-rumped                    caeruleus          Cullyamyrra Waterhole
Bronze-Cuckoo, Shining lucidus Barrett's Lagoon, nw of Cooktown Owl, Rufous meesi 200m n Rainforest Camp Turnoff, Iron Range NP Swiftlet, White-rumped chillagoensis Outside Royal Arch Cave, Chillagoe Scrub-bird, Rufous ferrieri BrushyMt Weerikimbi NP NSW
Grasswren, Striated                   rowleyi              Opalton
Pardalote, Red-browed               yorki                 Split Rock s of Laura
Pardalote, Red-browed yorki 21k s on road to Jowalbinna Thornbill, Buff-rumped nesa 10.3k n Somerset Dam Thornbill, Yellow nana Kooloonbung Ck PtMacquarie Thornbill, Yellow flava Days Rd s of Herberton Thornbill, Yellow flava Tumolin Rd, s of Herberton Miner, Noisy titaniota W of Laura, 2.4k s on Palmerville Rd
Honeyeater, Fuscous                 subgermanus     Kaban Rd s of Herberton
Honeyeater, Fuscous                 subgermanus     Old Kaban Rd cnr Arbouin Rd
Chat, Yellow macgregori 12Mile Ck 47k s Rockhampton Scrub-robin, Northern superciliaris 250m s Rainforest Camp Turnoff, Iron Range NP Shrike-thrush, Little gouldii Waterpack Ck Picnic Area, Byfield NP Bushlark, Singing athertonensis Forsyth Rd e of Atherton Finch, Black-throated cincta Oak Valley Res s of Townsville Finch, Star clarescens Karumba, 400m e of K Pt turnoff Finch, Star clarescens Nifold Plain, twin palms, Lakefield NP Cisticola, Zitting normani s of Karumba Point

Other interesting Sightings
Guineafowl, Helmeted                                         Chillagoe
Heron, Great-billed 10k n 12Mile W/H Rd Lakefield NP Heron, Great-billed Saltwater Ck e of Newell Beach
Heron, Great-billed                                             Mossman River
Bittern, Black australis Road to Iron Range
Bittern, Black                            australis            Wenlock River
Falcon, Black                                                    w of Winton
Falcon, Black w of Julia Creek Lorikeet, Varied ( in 100's) Fullarton River(w of Julia Creek) and Sedan Dip
Cockatoo, Palm                         macgillivrayi       Wenlock River
Emu-wren, Rufous-crowned                                 w of Opalton
Whiteface, Banded w of Cameron's Corner
Honeyeater, White-streaked                                w of Iron Range
Honeyeater, Painted Sedan Dip (Flinders R, nnw of Julia Creek)
Quail-thrush, Cinnamon  cinnamomeum   w of Cameron's Corner
Finch, Crimson evangelinae 6.3k up 12Mile W'H track, Lakefield

Targets looked for but not seen
Monarch, Black-winged (seen once by other birders at Iron Range while we were there); Kingfisher, Little (pulsilla); Finch, Black-throated (nigrotecta); Bristlebird, Eastern (monoides); Bowerbird, Fawn-breasted

Targets not looked for (due to access or weather problems)
Honeyeater, Lewin's (amphochlora); Fig-Parrot, Double-eyed (coxeni).

Wish-list birds not seen
Kite, Letter-winged; Button-quail, Buff-breasted; Swiftlet, Glossy; Swiftlet, Uniform; White-eye, Pale; Tropicbird, White-tailed; Booby, Masked; Paradise-Kingfisher, Buff-breasted; Swallow, Red-rumped; Swallow, Pacific; Finch, Star; Pitta, Red-bellied.

We had great pleasure meeting some of the Qld birding guides and, although we generally didn't use their services, they were very friendly and generous with assistance and advice. Thanks to Del Richards, Alan Gillanders, Scott Templeton at Coen, Peter Cooper at Mossman, Keith & Lindsay at Kingfisher Park and Sue & Gary at Lotus Lodge. We have no hesitation in recommending any of them to birders who like to use guides.

Thanks also to Geoff Walker for generously supplying information on sites for some of the targets. The Birdata website was a fantastic help in deciding where to concentrate my searches.

I can provide particular details of some sightings to those who wish to contact me directly.

Frank Pierce



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