Troy,
I returned from a trip to the Atherton Tableland on the 14/11.
I tried Topaz Rd, without any luck. At the time I was just looking at flocks of red-brows. Locals I spoke to did not know of any sightings in that region for this year.
For Mt Lewis, I hired a guide (Del Richards). He taught me a lot about what to look for, but we were not able to find Blue-faced Parrot Finches. He gave me the impression they are not easy, dropping into the grass and disappearing or shooting out of the grass and disappearing. He primed me to expect only a few seconds to located the bird and focus the binoculars. Local advice was that one one had been sighted so far this year (by Del). He did get me a Black-winged Monarch though, which I had not been anticipating. It was well spotted on his part not to write it off as a black-faced, which it was in company with and he was driving at the time.
Good luck
John Moverley
> Hi Birders,
>
>
> In a week and a bit, I'm off to North Queensland for 8 days of
> birding mayhem. Everything's planned and booked, but I'm wondering
> if someone can help me with 1 tiny matter.
>
>
> One bird that I don't want to miss if I can help it is the Blue-
> faced Parrot-finch. I've set aside 2 days to hit up Mt Lewis to try
> and find them there, but I notice that in both Jo Wieneke and Lloyd
> Nielsen's guides to NEQ birding make mention of them being present
> at Butcher's Creek and Topaz. I had never even heard of Butcher's
> Creek or Topaz until about 2 months ago, and I'm hoping that
> someone out there can enlighten me as to where in the region of
> Butcher's Creek and/or Topaz is a good spot to have a look around
> for BFPF's? I've looked at Google maps and have sort of worked out
> in my mind where it may be worth checking, but I'm very much hoping
> that someone can share with me a bit of specific information.
> Ideally I'll find them on the way through from Innisfail, so that I
> can spend the time set aside looking for other birds.
>
>
> I also realise and accept that as I very much want to see these
> birds, I probably won't see them, and I'll have to return to NE Qld
> about 20 more times (if I'm lucky!) before I get on to them.
>
>
> I return in early December, and will post a trip report shortly
> after that.
>
>
> Cheers
>
> Troy
>
>
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