Hi All,
Simon's pics brought back memories of one of the Great Birding Sights
of All Time, comparable with anything we have ever seen worldwide.
In season, we were there in early summer, Sarus Cranes and Brolgas
roost in their hundreds if not thousands in the swampy floor of this fairly
symmetrical volcanic crater/caldera called Broomfield Swamp, which is about a
km across from edge to edge. At dawn they start to leave for their feeding
grounds and can be watched from a roadside lookout.
In small groups, they take off, trumpeting, and have to circle to gain
enough height to crest the edge of the crater, more and more groups as the
morning progresses so that many birds are eventually circling together.
A few, in one or twos, walk up the fairly steep walls to the top
before taking off, they look like soldiers marching up the hill.
With outstretched legs and necks, and trumpeting as they fly, the
sounds and scene are quite fantastic, good enough for a wildlife doco.
There were no mixed groups flying, only Sarus or Brolgas together.
The trick is to get there at dawn, the spectacle is over in about
under an hour. It is close to Malanda. Take a telescope.
Cheers
Michael
Michael Hunter
MulgoaValley
80km west of Sydney Harbour Bridge
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