birding-aus

Trip Report: South-East Australia, 23 Dec 06 – 20 Jan 07

To: birdingaus <>
Subject: Trip Report: South-East Australia, 23 Dec 06 – 20 Jan 07
From: "Graham Etherington" <>
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 11:00:05 +0000
Greeting birders!
As promised, I've finally finished my trip report for my 4-week trip
around SE Australia. I'll be loading it onto Surfbirds with some
photos once the site is back up too.

Trip Report: South-East Australia, 23 Dec 06 – 20 Jan 07

To cap off my 1-year contract at the University of Queensland,
Brisbane, I decided to do a 4-week birding trip targeting all the
birds of New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC), and Tasmania (TAS)
that I hadn't seen in Queensland (QLD). I had a target list of about
88 species, of which I managed to see 83, sometimes through pure
determination and hard work, sometimes through sheer luck!

Brief Itinerary:
23 Dec 2006 – Depart Brisbane, heading for Armindale.
24 Dec – NSW. Hunter Valley, Pitt Town Lagoon (Hawkesbury), Barren Grounds
25 Dec – NSW. Barren Grounds, Bombaderry Creek (Nowra)
26 Dec - NSW. Binya State Forest, Campbell's Swamp, Fivebough Swamp
27 Dec - NSW. Binya SF, Fivebough Swamp, Griffith Golf Links
28 Dec - NSW. Binya SF, Deniliquin
29 Dec - NSW. Deniliquin area
30 + 31 Dec - NSW. Phil Maher Plains-Wanderer Weekend.
1 Jan 2007 – VIC. Point Addis, Otway National Park, Philip Island,
Ferry to Tasmania
2 Jan– TAS. Peter Murrell Reserve, Fern Glade Track, Mount Wellington,
Truganini Reserve
3 Jan - TAS. Orford Spit, Orielton Lagoon (Sorell), Adventure Bay (Bruny Island)
4 Jan – TAS. Bruny Island
5 Jan – TAS. Bruny Island
6 Jan - TAS. Bruny Island, Dover
7 Jan – TAS. Northern TAS sites, Ferry back to Melbourne
8 Jan – VIC. Whipstick State Park (Bendigo)
9 Jan – VIC. Melville Caves, Whyperfeld NP
10 Jan – VIC. Whyperfeld NP
11 Jan - VIC. Hattah-Kulkyne NP
12 Jan – VIC. Murray Sunset NP
13 Jan – VIC. Murray Sunset NP, Fivebough Swamp (NSW)
14 Jan – NSW. Fivebough Swamp, Lake Cargelligo
15 Jan – NSW. Round Hill, Cobar
16 Jan – 20 Jan – QLD. Bowra Station (Cunnamulla)


Detailed Itinerary and bird info.


23 Dec 2006 – Depart Brisbane, heading for Armindale.
Thanks to David Geering, I had a Regent's Honeyeater site near Armindale.
En-route I stopped at a small lake on the west side of the New England
Hwy opposite Sharron Park Farmstay, 10kms south of Glen Innes. Here
there were 3 Blue-billed Duck, Hoary Grebes, and 20 Pink-eared Duck.
I arrived at the Regent's Honeyeater site mid-afternoon and within
half an hour had found up to 5 birds in a fruiting tree feeding with
Little Lorikeets. Also in the area were Rufous Songlark, Dusky
Wood-swallow, White-winged Triller, White-throated and Brown
Treecreepers, Speckled Warbler, White-winged Chough, and White-plumed
and Fuscous Honeyeaters.


24 Dec – Hunter Valley, Pitt Town Lagoon (Hawkesbury), Barren Grounds
At a private site in the Hunter Valley I saw 3 Painted Snipe (2
females, 1 male), as well as 6 Latham's Snipe, and 3 Baillon's Crake.
Then off to Pitt Town Lagoon for a look at some more waders. Ruff, 2
Pectoral Sandpiper, c200 Sharp-tailed Sands, 2+ Black-tailed
Native-Hens, 5 Australian Spotted Crakes, 20+ Marsh Sandpipers,
Red-kneed Dotterel, Greenshank, Brown Quail, and Red-whiskered
Bullbull were all in the area. A quick look round the nearby Windsor
Turf Farms produced a family of Banded Lapwing, Brown Songlark, and a
pair of Pallid Cuckoo.
A drive through the pouring rain to the Barren Grounds turned out to
be quite a good thing, as Eastern Bristlebirds were quite easy to see
at the start of the track from the main car park to the old lodge.
Pilotbird was easily taped out by the rangers' house at the entrance
to the park.
2 Gang-gang Cockatoos flew over the main car park.
3 Southern Emu-wrens along the service road from the old lodge.




25 Dec – Barren Grounds, Bomaderry Creek (Nowra)
Morning again on the Barren Grounds brought Pilotbird at the rangers
house again, and 2 Superb Lyrebirds on the side of the road at the
park entrance.
Others (over 2 days): Eastern Spinebill, White-browed Scrubwren,
Varigated and Superb Fairy-wrens, White-headed Pigeon, White-throated
Treecreeper, New Holland Honeyeater, Little Wattlebird.
Next stop was Bomaderry Creek Walk for Rock Warbler. Although most
people have found them easily here, it took me quite a few hours to
find them. I eventually found a pair feeding just beyond 'Rock Fall
Canyon'. They were initially on the track and then on the canyon wall
and small bolders.
Others: Eastern Spinebill, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater.
Spent the rest of the day driving to Binya State Forest (near Griffith).

26 - 28 Dec - Binya State Forest, Campbell's Swamp, Fivebough Swamp
Binya – Birded mainly along the west side of the forest, along Whitton
Stock Route Road (sign posted to Cocoparra NP and Spring Hill), where
I walked up to the turning for Mt. Brogdon walking track.
Honeyeaters - 10 White-fronted, 15 Painted, 2 Striped, 30
Spiny-cheeked, 10 Singing, White-plumed, and White-eared. Splendid
Fairy-wren, Western Gerygone, Speckled Warbler, 'Mallee' Ringneck,
Southern Whiteface, White-browed Wood-swallow, Red-capped Robin,
Mullga Parrot, Varied Sittella, White-fronted Chat, Masked
Wood-swallow, Hooded Robin, Blue Bonnets, Emu, Crested Bellbird,
Rainbow Bee-eater, White-browed Babbler, and Little Eagle were all
seen in small numbers.
Inland and Chestnut-rumped Thornbill were both very common.
On the last morning I birded the eastern end of the park along Gandy's
Road, which leads to the entrance of Binya Homestead. Just through the
gate there were 3 Black Honeyeaters (2 males and a female) feeding in
bushes on the left.

Campbell's Swamp (near Lake Wyangan. Take Boorga Road north from
Griffith, go across Jones Road and park in the car park on the left) –
5 Australian Spotted Crake, Swamp Harrier, 4 Whiskered Terns.

Fivebough Swamp. Head north out of Leeton on Brobenah Road (off Palm
Avenue). Turn right on Petersham Road and at the sharp right-hand
bend, continue straight into the small car park. Take the track over
the footbridge to the swamp.
Spent 2 evenings at this great location. Numbers given below are
maximum counts on either evening.
2 Wood Sandpiper, 20 Aus Spotted Crake, 1 Baillon's Crake, 1 Spotless
Crake, 1 Blue-billed Duck, 20+ Freckled Duck, Black-fronted Dotterel,
15 Red-kneed Dotterel, Red-capped Plover, 3 Black-tailed Godwit,
Yellow-faced Spoonbill, 10 Aus Shelduck, 30 Marsh Sandpiper, 100+
Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 10 White-fronted Chat, Black-tailed Native
Hen, 1000+ Whiskered Tern (roosting), 1 Silver Gull, 6 Red-necked
Avocet, 5 Nankeen Night Heron (at dusk), 300 Glossy Ibis, 10 Zebra
Finch, 10 Little Grassbird, Hobby, and 5 Red-necked Stint.

One of the biggest surprises was a speculative evening visit to
Griffith Golf Links after reading a reference in a trip report to a
group failing to see Major Mitchell's Cockatoo there. A quick look
around the links at sunset provided no sightings, but a final look
around the golf clubhouse found 50+ birds roosting in the trees behind
the garages housing the golf buggies. Nice!

Midday drive down to Deniliquin.
Deniliquin Island Sanctuary – 'Yellow' Rosella, Azure Kingfisher,
Crested Shrike-Tit, Olive-backed Oriole

29 Dec – Deniliquin
First stop was the area of bush, south of Hay. Drive north from
Deniliquin towards Hay, get to the 90km marker post and then turn
round and drive 1.9 km back in direction of Deniliquin. Turn west on
the bend in the road and take the track to the locked gates. Park here
and explore the area of bush beyond the gates.
50+ Superb Parrots, 1 Painted Honeyeater, White-winded Triller,
Wedge-tailed Eagle, Black Kite, 50+ Blue Bonnet, Singing Honeyeater,
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Striped Honeyeater, Little Thornbill,
White-browed Babbler, Emu.

In the evening I paid a visit to Gulpa State Forest.
Restless Flycatcher and Scarlet Robin, both by the bridge, were the
only birds of note.


30 + 31 Dec - Phil Maher Plains-Wanderer Weekend.
As Phil makes a living out of leading bird tours and much of the
birding is done on private land, I'm going to be a bit vague on where
we saw some things, and to be honest, I'm wasn't exactly sure where we
were some of the time!
Deniliquin Dump – 2 Black Falcon and 100+ Black Kite.
Wangella Road – 1 male Black Honeyeater, White-winged Fairy-wren.
Gulpa State Park – Gilbert's Whistler, Diamond Firetail, Brown Goshawk
(male feeding well grown fledglings).
Moira State Park – Square-tailed Kite (over highway opposite park entrance)
Pools by airport – 2 Musk Duck, Little Eagle, Latham's Snipe
Other birds: 2 Painted Honeyeater, 10 Striped Honeyeater, Brown
Songlark, Singing Bushlark, 2 Hobby, 2 Spotless Crake, 8 Major
Mitchell's Cockatoo, Australian Owlet-Nightjar, 6 White-backed
Swallows.

Spotlighting: 2 Plains Wanderers (1 male, 1 female), 2 Inland
Dotterel, Australian Pratincole, 2 Banded Lapwing, Stubble Quail,
Southern Boobook, Tawny Frogmouth.
Non-birds: Fat-tailed Dunnart, Curl Snake, Tessellated Gecko, Red and,
Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroos.

31 Dec – Afternoon drive to Great Ocean Road.

1 Jan 2007 – Point Addis
Dawn at Point Addis (between Torquay and Anglesea), where my first two
birds for the year were both ticks. About 15 minutes after sunrise a
Rufous Bristlebird sauntered into the car park and fed along the edge,
being joined briefly by a Striated Heathwren. From the boardwalk
towards the lookout 2 more of each were seen.

Although the coastal area along the Great Ocean Road is good for
Blue-winged Parrot in winter, during the summer months these birds are
more often found on the higher ridges inland. So, I drove up to Otway
National Park and took the Mount Sabine – Benwerrin Road. In all I saw
6 Blue-winged Parrots, all of which I flushed from the side of the
road. The best area was by road marker post WP59, where the habitat
opens up and there is a small pool by the side of the road. Also, lots
of Crimson Rosella and a small flock of White-naped Honeyeater.

Philip Island
A pair of Cape Barren Geese were easily found next to the roundabout
at the second entrance to Penguin Parade.

Night ferry to Tasmania

2 Jan– Drive to Hobart.
Forest Raven, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, and 50 Australian Shelduck
were seen en route.

Peter Murrell Reserve
Directions: From Hobart take the A6 (Southern Outlet) to Kingston,
then take the B68 to Huntingfield. On the left, you'll pass the HQ of
Antarctica and then come to a roundabout. Carry straight on, along the
B68, but take the first left into Huntingfield Road. After 600 meters
you come to a Vodafone call centre on the left. Immediately after the
call center, there's a gravel track running off to the left, with a
sign for Peter Murrell Reserve next to the track. Take this track and
park in the car park at the end. There's a small lake to your right.
Explore the trees around the lake, the car park, and the few
footpaths. It's probably not worth venturing too far away from the
lakes and car park.
Birds: 3 Forty-Spotted Pardalote, Black-headed Honeyeater, Yellow
Wattlebird, Green Rosella, Yellow-throated Honeyeater, Tasmanian
Thornbill, Tasmanian Native Hen, Shinning Bronze Cuckoo, Fan-tailed
Cuckoo.

Fern Glade Track (on the way up to Mt. Wellington)
Scrubtit, Tasmanian Scrubwren (common), Tasmanian Thornbill (common),
Grey Currawong, Eastern Spinebill.

Mount Wellington
Many of the birds were quite high up the mountain, with it being
summer. Most of my the birds I saw were along the road beyond 'The
Chalets'.
Crescent Honeyeater (common), 6 Flame Robin (all immature plumage
singing males), Yellow-throated Honeyeater, Black Currawong (2 before
'The Chalets') Grey Shrike-thrush.

Truganini Reserve
Directions: Located between Hobart and Taroona along the River (Sandy
Bay Rd).  Park in the Parking loop for the reserve, and walk up the
track along the creek towards Mt. Nelson.
Located the Masked Owl known to be there, roosting above the creek.
Also, Strong-billed Honeyeater, Black-headed Honeyeater, Tasmanian Thornbill.

3 Jan - Orford Spit (80km NE of Hobart)
Directions: Go north from Orford on the A3, cross over the Prosser
River, past the budget Chain Island View Motel and then turn right at
telegraph pole 80 (just after Pelican Cottage). View the spit from the
shore.
6+ Fairy Tern, 2 Hooded Plover, Black-faced Cormorant, Musk Lorikeet.

Orielton Lagoon (Sorell),
Kelp Gull colony on island in middle of lagoon, 30+ Musk Duck, Great
Crested Grebe, 15 Pacific Golden Plover, 200 Red-necked Stint, 3 Red
Knot.

Ferry to Bruny Island
3 – 6 Jan
Stayed on Bruny Island at Adventure Bay. Following are the birds seen
at different sites over these dates.

Adventure Bay (around Captain Cook Caravan Park)
100+ Swift Parrot, Strong-billed Honeyeater, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Satin
Flycatcher, Southern Boobook.

Start of road to Cape Bruny (from Adventure Bay). Stop as you enter
the first area of coniferous forest.
Olive Whistler, Pink Robin, Scarlet Robin, Strong-billed Honeyeater,
Collared Sparrowhawk

Cape Bruny Lighthouse Garden
6 Dusky Robin, 2 Beautiful Firetail, 5 Tawny-crowned Honeyeater,
White-fronted Chat, Brown Quail.

Cape Bruny – other areas
3 Shy Albatross, Sooty Oystercatcher, Brush Bronzewing.

Hotplate Café
10+ Greenfinch

Mavista Nature Trail
2 Bassian Thrush, Scrubtit, Pink Robin.

6 Jan - Afternoon ferry back to Tasmanian mainland.

Dover (near Golf Course)
Blue-winged Parrot – 2 birds perched on wires over road by dump.
Hooded Robin.

Found out that my flight to Melaleuca for Orange-bellied Parrot had
been cancelled for the next day, so headed north to bird some spots in
Northern Tasmania.

7 Jan – Northern TAS sites
Tamar Valley Wetlands (Leave Launceston north on the A7, West Tamar
Highway and the wetlands are signposted on the right).
Nankeen Night Heron, Far-eastern Curlew.

Greens Beach (mouth of the River Tamar)
6+ Fair Tern, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 10+ Curlew Sandpiper, 10 Sooty
Oystercatcher, 30 Ruddy Turnstone.
Also a Wombat feeding on open field next to the estuary.

Stanley (about 100km west of Devenport)
10 Shy Albatross, 10,000 Short-tailed Shearwater.

Night ferry back to Melbourne

8 Jan – Whipstick State Park (Bendigo)
I birded an area along the Neilborough – Eaglehawk Road, just south of
Neilborough.
2 Shy Heathwrens came easily to pishing, often in same habitat as
Variegated Fairy-wren.
Yellow-tufted, White-eared, and Brown-headed Honeyeaters, and
White-browed Babbler.

9 Jan – VIC. Melville Caves (upper campground).
Many of the following birds were to be found drinking from a dripping
tap in the campground.
Grey-fronted, White-fronted, Spiny-cheeked, Yellow-tufted, and
White-eared Honeyeaters, Scarlet Robin (pair), Eastern Spinebill,
Varied Sittella, and White-throated Treecreeper.

Drive north to Wyperfeld NP, VIC
At Hopetoun a pair of Black Falcons were at a grain silo on the west
side of town.

Wyperfeld NP
Discovery Walk – northern loop.
Redthroat – singing male after about 500 metres from start of track.
Go through and then out of the mallee woodland, over the first sand
dune and the bird was singing in the scrubby area in the valley ahead.
Also, Shy Heathwren
Australian Owlet Nightjar spotlighted in the campsite at night and
Southern Boobook calling.


10 Jan – Whyperfeld NP
Discovery Walk.
3 Mallee Ringneck, 6 Australian Shelduck, Grey Currawong, 2 Shy
Heathwren, Southern Scrub-robin (1 seen, 4 heard).

Eastern Drive.
Birded the mallee areas along this road.
Red-capped Robin, Brown Treecreeper, Southern Boobook (2 flushed from
daytime roost).

Also White-fronted Honeyeater 900 metres into park after Parks Office.


11 – 13 Jan - Hattah-Kulkyne NP
Nowingi Track
Mallee Emu-wren (1 female), Striated Grasswren.
Directions: Leave the park and turn right on the A79, Calder Highway.
After roughly 7 kms turn right onto the Old Calder Highway. After
about 1km, turn left (and then left again) into Nowingi Track. After
about 100 metres park by the big pull-in on the right and walk about
100 metres into the mallee. You might find 2 canes with yellow ribbons
separated about 50 metres apart. Look for the emu-wren and grasswren
in the bushy areas with spinifex grass after this. For European
birders, Mallee Emu-wren has a call like Long-tailed Tit.
Also Yellow-plumed Honeyeater was common in the area.

Lake Hattah Campground
Although I'd been assured that Regent Parrots were easy to see around
the campsite and picnic area, I didn't see any, despite looking for
about 11 hours over the 3 days (I did get lucky on Meridian Road
though).
Restless Flycatcher, 2 Blue-billed Duck, 1 Freckled Duck,
Great-crested Grebe, Pink-eared Duck, 3 Aus Spotted Crake,
Hoary-headed Grebe, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Hobby, Blue-cheeked
Honeyeater, 500+ Little Corella, and Wedge-tailed Eagle were all seen
around the lake.

Honeymoon Hut Track (Red-lored Whistler site in Murray-Sunset NP).
Directions: From Walpeup head north on Meridian Road for 27kms to the
end. At the T-junction with Honeymoon Hut Track turn left (west) for
4.7kms. The whistler is supposed to be in this area. I'd advise 4WD
for Honeymoon Hut Track. My 'soft-roader' handled it OK, but it's
quite sandy in places and wouldn't risk taking a 2WD along there
(remember, you're 27km from the nearest town).
Dipped on the Red-lored Whistler, but White-fronted Honeyeater and
Splendid Fairy-wren were in the area.

Meridian Road (see above)
Regent Parrot (a pair flew across the road and perched up in a tree
for a minute before flying off across the fields). Also 20
White-fronted Chat, Rainbow Bee-eater, Varied Sittella and 20 Emu.

13 +14  Jan –Fivebough Swamp (NSW)
Arrived in Leeton late afternoon and headed straight for Fivebough to
have another crack at Australian and Little Bitterns. Tried again the
next morning too, but ultimately disappointed. Lots of other good
birds though. The highlight on 14th Jan being finding an adult
Pectoral Sandpiper and watching a Peregrine bag a Pink-eared Duck no
more than 50 metres from me!
Also, 15 Freckled Duck, 2 Blue-billed Duck, Australian Shelduck,
Australian Shoveler, 20 White-fronted Chat, 7 Brown Quail, 25 Aus
Spotted Crake, 1 Baillon's Crake, Royal and Yellow-billed Spoonbill,
Little Grasswren.


14 Jan –Lake Cargelligo
Sewage Treatment Works
Directions: From Lake Cargelligo's main street (Forster St.) turn
south on Canada St. and then after about 1km turn right on Showground
Road. Park before the railway crossing, go through the gate by
settling ponds and follow the main track around the beds (some wet,
some dry).
This is a good site for Orange Chat and I saw about 3 families,
totaling about 15 birds.

'Land of Oz' Wildlife Reserve.
This is a private reserve, belonging to Peter Nilsson and you must get
his permission to bird there before entering his property. Take
Condobolin Road up the east side of Lake Cargelligo and then turn left
onto Nilsson's Road. Peter's property is on the left.
The highlight of this site was finding my second Pectoral Sandpiper of the day.
Also there were 300 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pink-eared Duck, 50
Australian Shelduck, 20 Whiskered Tern, 50 Black-winged Stilt, 20
Black-fronted Dotterel, 30 Red-necked Avocet, and 40 Marsh Sandpipers.


15 Jan – Round Hill
In hindsight, after reading further posts on Birding-AUS, I'm
wondering if I went to the best place. I followed the Thomas and
Thomas directions, namely take the road from Euabalong towards Mt.
Hope. This road is paved for 20km after which it's a well maintained
2WD dirt road. After taking the left turn back to Lake Cargelligo I
turned right after 1.6km into what was marked as Nombinnie Reserve. A
2WD track runs through the reserve for a number of kms (I didn't reach
the end of it). There's a bush campground on the right after about 500
metres which didn't seem to hold many birds. Most of my birding was
done along a stretch of the main track between about 3 – 6 km into the
reserve.
Arriving at dawn, my main quarry here was Chestnut Quail-thrush, which
I was assured was easy from the main track. After searching for 4.5
hours I finally found a female which ran across the track ahead of me
and showed well for 5 minutes in some open mallee. Another highlight
was a pair of Malleefowl, which walked across the track approx 3km
into the reserve.
Other birds: Grey-fronted Honeyeater, White-fronted Honeyeater, Shy
Heathwren (all of which preferred the more open areas of partially
cleared mallee on the left side of the track after a few kms),
Southern Scrub Robin, Splendid and Varigated Fairy-wren.

Cobar
I stayed overnight at Cobar, on my way to Bowra and managed to do some
birding in between the massive downpours of rain.
A Black Falcon was seen being mobbed by Gallahs at the 'new'
reservoir. Between the 'old reservoir' and Devil's Rock were a few
Fork-tailed Swifts, Southern Whiteface, Eastern Yellow Robin, and
Mulga Parrot.

16 Jan – 20 Jan – QLD. Bowra Station (Cunnamulla)
Now, you'd think that being back in my 'home' state and having
completed about 9000kms over nearly 4 weeks that my final destination
of Bowra might have only produced a couple of new birds. Well, you'd
be wrong! Bowra itself probably deserves a separate trip report
describing the fantastic diversity of birdlife on this station. I saw
10 new birds at this site plus another 9 species which I hadn't seen
until this trip and 6 species that I'd only seen once before.
To get to Bowra, leave Cunnamulla west on the Bulloo Development Road
towards Eulo. Shortly after crossing the Warrego River bridge (still
within Cunnamulla), turn right on Humeburn Road (signposted for
Bowra). Drive for 9.1km and turn left into Bowra station. There's a
big white drum with 'BOWRA' on it, so you shouldn't miss it! Drive
along the entrance track for 6km and take the left fork into the
homestead grounds. You can either stay in the converted shearers
quarters for about $20 a night or rent the air-conditioned 2 bedroom
cottage (sleeps up to 5-6) for $70 per night.
For more information please contact Julie or Ian McLaren at:
"Bowra", Cunnamulla, Qld. 4490, Australia
Phone: 07 4655 1238, International:  +61 7 4655 1238
Fax: 07 4655 2368, International:  +61 7 4655 2368
Email  

There are a number of different locations at Bowra that are great for
birds. The McLarens will give you a map when you arrive which shows
these areas and also what birds to look for. Below is a breakdown of
these sites (plus a couple of others) with notes on the birds that I
saw there during my 4-night stay. Numbers in brackets refer to maximum
count/estimate.

Bowra homestead grounds
Red-browed Pardalote (1 pair behind the cottage came to tape and
showed very well), Chestnut-crowned Babbler (30, one of the commonest
birds around the homestead), White-winged Triller, Spotted Bowerbird
(4, there's a bower next to the homestead fence), Red-necked Avocet
(1), Marsh Sandpiper (2), Restless Flycatcher, Australian Ringneck,
Pallid Cuckoo, Black-eared Cuckoo, Fork-tailed Swift (20),
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (5), Plumed Whistling-Duck (3), Major
Mitchell's Cockatoo (4), Red-winged Parrot, White-breasted and
White-browed Woodswallow, Peaceful Dove.

Hall's Babbler study site
Hall's Babbler (6), Grey-headed Honeyeater (1), Redthroat (pair).

End of track to 'wet' creek (SW part of map)
Pink-eared Duck, Aus Owlet-Nightjar, Little Eagle, Orange Chat (9),
Emu (7), Major Mitchell's Cockatoo (8), Wedge-tailed Eagle, Hall's
Babbler.

Stony Lookout (including the area from the 'dry creek')
Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush (3 - This bird was usually seen just
beyond the mounds of earth north of the track), Redthroat (a pair seen
to the north of the road. There was a large piece of card to the side
of the road with 'Redthroat' written on it. Walk in here and look for
the birds around the fence), White-browed Treecreeper (2),
Woodswallows: Masked (10), Little (3), Black-faced (5), White-browed
(100), Crimson Chat (20), Crested Bellbird (5), Horsfield's
Bronze-Cuckoo, Red-backed Kingfisher (2), Ground Cuckoo-shrike (2),
Spotted Nightjar (1 flushed from daytime roost), Splendid Fairy-wren,
Red-browed Pardalote (1 bird singing near the 'dry creek'), Hall's
Babbler, Hooded Robin, Varied Sittella.

'Wet' creek crossing
Grey-crowned Babbler (5), Rufous Songlark, Mulga Parrot (5),
Grey-headed Honeyeater,

Other birds:
Bourke's Parrot - up to 6 birds between homestead and 'wet' creek crossing.
Budgerigar – singles or small flocks were seen occasionally, usually
early morning, at various locations.
Banded Lapwing – seen mainly along the entrance track in small numbers
Brown Songlark – usually seen along fences in the open paddocks.
Diamond Dove – seen in small numbers throughout Bowra.


And so ended my 4-week, 10,000 km trip around SE Australia. I saw a
total of 301 species, which included a mammoth 83 ticks out of a
hit-list of 88! I returned home to Brisbane 1 week ahead of schedule
(initially intended to be a 5-week trip), pretty shattered but
thrilled by my birding experience.

Acknowledgments: I'd like to thank the following people for their help
in providing me with information during the planning stage of my trip.
John Tongue, Edwin Vella, Marnix Zwankhuizen, Peter Waanders, Drew
Fulton, Dave Torr, Alan McBride, Neville Schrader, Steve Clark, Keith
Stockwell, Peter Ewin, Damien Farine, Carol Proberts, Alastair Smith,
Justin Jansen, John Rawsthorne, Eileen Collins, David Geering, Russell
Woodford, Mick Roderick, Chris Lester, Matthew Rogers, Dan Mantle, and
anyone who I've forgotten.

I must also single out 3 people for putting up with my pestering
emails and supplying me with detailed information and mud-maps - Tim
Dolby, Jim O'Shea, and David Stowe. I'll single out David Stowe from
this list as he was still willing to send me info and offering to
guide me on the birth of his new child.
To everyone, I'm truly grateful.

Good birding,
Graham Etherington,
Norwich, UK
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com

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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