We travelled to Perth from Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup "long weekend" -
departing Melbourne on Friday 2nd November and returning on Tuesday 6th
November, 2007. I was keen to see the Red Bull Air Race and while we were
there, we thought we could fit in a few solid days' birding. We stayed at
the Esplanade Hotel in Freemantle (opposite the Esplanade Reserve). On
Saturday we got up reasonably early and checked out the Esplanade area in
the vicinity of the hotel. Within a few minutes we'd picked up our first
endemic - the Western Spinebill. We saw plenty of Feral Pigeons/Rock Doves
and Spotted Turtledoves but surprisingly no Laughing Turtledoves. In the
Cypress Pines along the roadside we saw a bunch of roosting Nankeen Night
Herons. Willie Wagtails were busy seeing off Red Wattlebirds and Australian
Ravens (presumably the Willie Wagtails were nesting, but we didn't see any
nests there).
After breakfast we headed to Wungong Gorge - recommended on Frank O'Connor's
website. We were after some more endemics - in particular the Long-billed
and Short-billed Black Cockatoos. We followed Frank's instructions on his
website almost to the letter. We got Australian Ringneck and Red-capped
Parrot before leaving the carpark. Within another minute or two we had
Western Thornbill and Western Gerygone. Surprisingly on this visit, there
was nothing on the "lawn" area but as soon as we got to the end of the lawn
near the large pipe we saw Splendid Fairy-wren. We headed off along the
track to find the orchard and creek. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and
wound up at the dam. We hunted for a while for Red-winged Fairy-wren and
White-breasted Robin but didn't see them. Eventually we realised we were in
the wrong place and bush-bashed up the hill near the dam to regain the
track. Once on the track we followed it to the orchard and creek crossing.
Almost immediately we came across a flock of eight Red-tailed Black
Cockatoos. Still no Long-billed or Short-billed and no Fairy-wrens or
Robins. However we did see a Wedge-tailed Eagle carrying half a wallaby or
kangaroo joey in its talons.
After spending about two hours at Wungong Gorge, we headed up the road to
Bungendore Park looking for the Rufous Treecreeper. No sign of that, but we
did see Red-capped Parrots again and several Scarlet Robins. Off the main
tracks and onto one of the walking loops we came across Brown Honeyeaters
and White-cheeked Honeyeaters. We also saw both Western and Inland
Thornbills and saw our first Western Rosella of the trip.
>From Bungendore Park we decided to head west to the Rockingham area so we
could hop over to Penguin Island. We stopped off at Forrestdale Lake, but
without a scope we really couldn't see anything. We stopped off at Point
Peron on the Rockingham Scenic Drive but nothing but Silver Gulls. We
finally saw a Laughing Turtledove on the telegraph wires on the road from
Point Peron to Rockingham. We also picked up a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
nearby. By the time we got to the Penguin Island ferry, we were ten minutes
too late for the last ferry of the day. From the shore we could see the
Pelican rookery, but there was no way we could see any penguins! Abandoning
that, we headed to the nearby Richmond Lake where we were greeted by an
immature Straw-necked Ibis - it was strange seeing just this one. We picked
up Great-crested Grebe which was a first for us. There were plenty of
Black-winged Stilts and countless Silver Gulls. Several Musk Ducks and a
Pacific Black Duck family were also seen. As we were heading back to the car
we saw a Collared Sparrowhawk being seen off by an Australian Raven.
By now it was late afternoon and we decided to head back to the hotel,
stopping at Thomsons Lake on the way. We started at the western entrance but
soon realised that the water was a long way from the path. We did see
White-necked Herons and Black Swans in the distance, but it was pretty hard
going so we decided to try the southern entrance. On the way we saw Banded
Lapwings in a field which was a first for us too (though we had intended to
pick them up on Rottnest Island). At the southern carpark we immediately saw
a pair of Rainbow Bee-eaters. Along the path from the carpark to the lake we
saw more Bee-eaters and Red-capped Parrots. From the lake path at this point
we could easily see the water and the waterbirds. We saw Great Egret,
Intermediate Egret, Australian Shelduck, Australian White Ibis and
Straw-necked Ibis.
The next day, Sunday, was spent at the Red Bull Air Race. A great deal of
fun and highly recommended to anyone that has the slightest interest in
aeroplanes or motorsport. We did manage a little informal birding, whilst
sitting in our seats - a Darter spent the best part of an hour in front of
the grandstand. Also a Caspian Tern flew back and forth a few times!
On Monday we headed over to Rottnest Island to see if we could pick up Rock
Parrot and Common Pheasant, amongst others. We caught the first ferry of the
day from Freemantle (at 7am) and within a few minutes of arriving at the
island we had the Rottnest Island variety of the Singing Honeyeater. This
variety is not a distinct race, but there are some physical differences
between the Island birds and the mainland birds. Once again we followed
Frank O'Connor's very detailed guide from his website. We walked to the
lakes and immediately saw Red-capped Plover and Red-necked Avocet. As we got
to the causeway we saw the Crested Tern and Caspian Tern rookery. The
Caspian Tern young are almost the size of the Crested Terns! Beyond this
rookery on a seperate islet is a Fairy Tern rookery. Along the shore of the
lakes we saw a single Ruddy Turnstone. Over the causeway we kept on walking
until we got to the crossroads with the north-south road that heads past
Pink Lake towards Parakeet Bay. Before the crossroads we saw an Osprey on a
large radio mast. At the crossroads we saw a Sacred Kingfisher. Heading
north past Pink Lake we saw a flock of hundreds and hundreds of Banded
Stilt. At one point we were setting our cameras up to catch a Welcome
Swallow that kept on landing at the same dead branch. As the bird landed we
realised that it wasn't the Welcome Swallow, but rather a very nice
Red-capped Robin that stayed long enough for quite a few photos. Eventually
we got to the road that headed towards Parakeet Bay (named after the Rock
Parrots on the island). As we headed along the road we heard a call we
didn't recognise. Looking to the left we say a Common Pheasant putting on a
show for us. From Parakeet Bay we headed back towards the settlement, via
the golf course. On the golf course we saw Banded Lapwing. Back at the
settlement we saw the obiquitous Indian Peafowl. The only other "must see"
bird we had on our list was the Rock Parrot. Someone had told us that this
bird was particularly difficult to see, so we weren't particularly hopeful.
Frank O'Connor's instructions say to head to the tennis courts to see them.
We got to the tennis courts and couldn't see the parrots, of course. We did
see a juvenile Australian Raven and watched this for a while. Eventually it
wandered off underneath a large eucalypt where we saw that a Rock Parrot had
been watching US for ages! It conveniently posed while we snapped the
necessary photographs. From the tennis courts we headed to the sewerage
treatment plant - one of the sightseeing highlights of the island (NOT!) We
noticed the gate to the plant open so walked in, and were almost immediately
confronted by the caretaker. He was most bemused that a pair of camera
festooned tourists should find the sewerage plant of interest, but once we
told him that we were interested in birds and one of the best places to find
birds was sewerage plants he relaxed. In fact I had the distinct impression
that he had spoken to no-one all day and was happy to have the human
contact! He told us that he'd seen a pair of Rainbow Bee-eaters on the fence
earlier in the day. As we walked around the perimeter of the plant we
immediately saw the Bee-eaters and on the surface of the pond itself we saw
Pacific Black Ducks. Around the edge of the pond we saw several more Rock
Parrots AND a Common Pheasant! We had just enough time to get back to the
settlement to catch our ferry back to the mainland.
Tuesday was our final day and we still hadn't seen the Short-billed and
Long-billed Black Cockatoos, so we got up particularly early and decided to
head back to Wungong Gorge again. This time we immediately saw Western
Rosellas on the lawn and as we got to the large pipe we saw the western race
of the Silvereye (Gouldi). Once again we walked to the orchard and creek,
but didn't see the cockatoos (other than Red-tailed) or the Red-winged
Fairy-wren. We did see Western Corellas in flight. Back at the edge of the
lawn, we saw both Western and Inland Thornbills, Scarlet Robins, Spotted
Pardalotes, an immature Rufous Whistler, and finally a White-breasted Robin.
On the way out we dropped in to Bungendore Park again, but failed to see the
Rufous Treecreeper - we did see a Rufous Whistler, but not quite the same!
On the way out of the Park we came across an unusual bird - a single Rainbow
Lorikeet.
>From Bungendore Park, we headed back towards the city. First stop was Bibra
Lake where we saw a mixed flock of Long-billed, Little and Western Corellas
- we thought it possibly unusual to see such a mixed flock so took photos of
all the birds we could see. Another notable sighting was a single Tree
Martin flying with a small flock of Welcome Swallows. From Bibra Lake we
headed to Alfred Cove where we wanted to see the Buff-banded Rail that
inhabits the shore. Within a moment of walking out on the boardwalk to the
viewing platform we saw a bird we didn't recognise and initially thought
we'd seen the rail. After flicking though the field guides, we realised that
we had a Grey Plover - another tick for us. We also saw a Marsh Sandpiper in
one of the further ponds and a Caspian Tern flying overhead.
After Alfred Cove, it was time to head to Kings Park. We spent a couple of
hours there where we saw Wood Ducks and duckings (we'd never seen Wood Duck
ducklings before!) and Pacific Black Ducks and ducklings. We did the nature
walk and saw Rufous Whistler and Varied Sitella. Also seen in the park were
several Grey Butcherbirds and a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets. Time was running
out, so we decided to head to Lake Monger and Herdsman Lake before heading
to the airport.
As soon as we parked at Lake Monger we saw Australasian Shovellers. Then
Pink-eared Duck, Blue-billed Duck, Musk Duck, Grey Teal, Wood Duck,
Australian Shelduck - all along the shore. We'd never had such close views
of some of these ducks and never been able to get such clear and close
photographs! If anyone is missing some of these ducks from their list, then
this lake is a dead-cert! We also saw Great-crested Grebe again, in
particular one on the nest. As we walked past it came off the nest and went
foraging - giving us a great view of the four eggs in the nest. After
foraging for a few minutes it came back and settled back on the nest -
another amazing sight! Once again we saw both Little Corellas and Western
Corellas. Herdsman Lake is only a few minutes drive from Lake Monger and is
best known as the site of the Gouldian League in Perth. We stopped off there
and dropped into the office. We were told that they had seen a Swamp Harrier
earlier in the day and also a Buff-banded Rail. We wandered around the lake
for a little while and saw a pair of Swamp Harriers - but no Rail! We did
see Great Egret and Little Egret. The highlight was much simpler though - a
pair of Willie Wagtails had built a nest about a metre from the ground in a
small tree. There were three hatchlings in the nest and the parents were
taking it in turns to feed them. We got many photos of three little beaks
opening for the parents to stuff food in! Time was up - we were on the 6pm
flight to Melbourne and had to leave. Hopefully next time we'll get those
rotten Cockatoos!
Paul Dodd and Ruth Woodrow
Docklands, Melbourne
References
==========
Frank O'Connor's website: http://members.iinet.com.au/~foconnor/
Birds Australia (WA): http://www.birdswa.com.au/
Birding Sites Around Perth (Second Edition) - Ron Van Delft
Birds of Rottnest Island - Denis Saunders and Perry de Rebeira
Bird Lists
==========
Freemantle
----------
Welcome Swallow
* Western Spinebill
Rock Dove
Silver Gull
Magpie Lark
Australian Raven
Nankeen Night Heron
Red Wattlebird
Singing Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail
Spotted Turtledove
Wungong Gorge
-------------
Grey Fantail
Splendid Fairywren
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Australian Ringneck
Australian Magpie
* Western Thornbill
Magpie Lark
* Red-capped Parrot
New Holland Honeyeater
Laughing Kookaburra
* Western Rosella
Scarlet Robin
* Western Corella
Silvereye (race Gouldi)
* Western Gerygone
Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo
Spotted Pardalote
Golden Whistler
Australian Raven
Pacific Black Duck
Common Bronzewing
* Inland Thornbill
Rufous Whistler (immature)
Red Wattlebird
Galah
Willie Wagtail
Singing Honeyeater
* White-breasted Robin
Western Spinebill
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Bungendore Park
---------------
Red-capped Parrot
Australian Magpie
Scarlet Robin
Australian Raven
Magpie Lark
Red Wattlebird
Brown Honeyeater
* White-cheeked Honeyeater
Spotted Pardalote
Singing Honeyeater
Grey Fantail
Western Thornbill
Rainbow Lorikeet
Australian Ringneck
Western Rosella
Rufous Whistler
Inland Thornbill
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
Rockingham Area
---------------
Willie Wagtail
Silver Gull
Australian Pelican
Great Cormorant
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Australasian Grebe
Hoary-headed Grebe
* Great-crested Grebe
Eurasian Coot
Dusky Moorhen
Purple Swamphen
Musk Duck
Pacific Black Duck
Black-winged Stilt
Australian White Ibis
Rock Dove
* Laughing Turtledove
Australian Shelduck
Hardhead
Blue-billed Duck
Australian Magpie
Magpie Lark
Australian Raven
Black Swan
White-faced Heron
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Welcome Swallow
Straw-necked Ibis (immature)
Galah
Collared Sparrowhawk
Thomsons Lake
-------------
* Banded Lapwing
Black Swan
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
White-necked Heron
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Galah
Rainbow Bee-eater
Australian Ringneck
Red-capped Parrot
Grey Butcherbird
Australian Raven
Australian Magpie
Magpie Lark
Australian Shelduck
Pacific Black Duck
Australian White Ibis
Straw-necked Ibis
Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Laughing Turtledove
Rock Dove
Fairy Martin
Swamp Harrier
Rufous Songlark
Pied Cormorant
Welcome Swallow
South Perth
-----------
Silver Gull
Darter
Little Egret
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
Caspian Tern
Rock Dove
Laughing Turtledove
Rottnest Island
---------------
Pied Butcherbird
Silver Gull
Welcome Swallow
Indian Peafowl
Australian Raven
Laughing Turtledove
Spotted Turtledove
Red-capped Robin
* Common Pheasant
* Rock Parrot
Pied Oystercatcher
Crested Tern
Caspian Tern
Fairy Tern
Red-capped Plover
Banded Stilt
Red-necked Avocet
Banded Lapwing
Black-winged Stilt
Red-necked Stint
Ruddy Turnstone
Australian Shelduck
Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
Rainbow Bee-eater
Osprey
Singing Honeyeater
White-fronted Chat
Silvereye
Galah
Sacred Kingfisher
Little-pied Cormorant
Bibra Lake
----------
Black Swan
Australian Wood Duck
Australian Shelduck
Eurasian Coot
Pacific Black Duck
Long Billed Corella
Western Corella
Little Corella
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Welcome Swallow
Magpie Lark
Tree Martin
Red Wattlebird
Dusky Moorhen
Purple Swamphen
Hoary-headed Grebe
Straw-necked Ibis
Silver Gull
Alfred Cove
-----------
Australian Pelican
* Grey Plover
Black-winged Stilt
Caspian Tern
Marsh Sandpiper
Little-black Cormorant
Kings Park
----------
Australian Magpie
Galah
Grey Butcherbird
Australian Ringneck
Rufous Whistler
Varied Sitella
Australian Wood Duck
Pacific Black Duck
Red Wattlebird
Rainbow Lorikeet
Singing Honeyeater
Laughing Turtledove
Rock Dove
Willie Wagtail
Silver Gull
Lake Monger
-----------
Australasian Shoveler
Pink-eared Duck
Blue-billed Duck
Black Swan
Great-crested Grebe
Silver Gull
Hoary-headed Grebe
Australasian Grebe
Australian Shelduck
Australian Wood Duck
Grey Teal
Hardhead
Musk Duck
Purple Swamphen
Dusky Moorhen
Eurasian Coot
Clamorous Reed-warbler
Australian White Ibis
Willie Wagtail
Singing Honeyeater
Little Black Cormorant
Australian Pelican
Welcome Swallow
Laughing Turtledove
Western Corella
Little Corella
Herdsman Lake
-------------
White-faced Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
Dusky Moorhen
Willie Wagtail
Black Swan
Musk Duck
Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
Australian Shelduck
Pink-eared Duck
Hardhead
Australasian Shoveler
Hoary-headed Grebe
Laughing Turtledove
Spotted Turtledove
Swamp Harrier
Great-crested Grebe
Welcome Swallow
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