So the moral of the story is to take lots of pix of the ground in
likely areas and hope you can find a bird lurking in one of the
frames ...
Regards, Laurie.
On 18/05/2011, at 3:18 PM, Richard Baxter wrote:
Hello all,
Several years ago, Michael Hunter and I searched several
hillside areas on the western edge of the Atherton Tablelands after
waiting for the right conditions to occur.
After a couple of days of walking hillsides in oppressive heat we
flushed two Buff-breasted Button Quail late in the afternoon. In
fading light, we flushed another bird, which landed in a open area
covered in cream coloured, button quail sized rocks. We decided not
to walk through the area but instead return at first light for
further views and maybe photos.
The following morning we positioned ourselves on a rocky outcrop
only 20-30m from the clearing and waited for over an hour for some
movement in the area. During that hour I scanned that small open
area countless times. I individually checked every rock in that
small clearing and there was no grass or other plants for the bird
to hide behind.
After convincing ourselves the bird had moved to elsewhere during
the night, we climbed down and walked towards the rocky clearing.
Halfway across, the BBBQ flushed from under our feet. It had been
sitting in the middle of the clearing the entire time!
They're virtually impossible to see in a landscape of rocks the same
colour, size and shape as they are!
Good luck.
Cheers
Richard Baxter
Sent from my iPad
On 18/05/2011, at 12:18 AM, martin cachard <>
wrote:
Andrew, I heartily agree with you on the size of the females - they
ARE huge & this is what struck me the most when I saw my pair!
Painteds up here are a little smaller (about the size of a female
Black BBQ) than they are further south , but I would still say that
the female Buff BBQ I saw was easily the biggest BQ I've ever seen
- by quite a long way....
I've seen heaps of southern female Painted BQ's too & they are
still much smaller...
Let's hope for a long dry !
Cheers
Martin Cachard
Cairns
From:
Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 23:12:01 +1000
To: ;
CC:
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Photos of Buff-breasted Button-quail
I'm pretty sure myself and Peter Lansley were the last observers
to definitely see Buff-breasted BQs near Mt Molloy in early 2007.
I was speaking to Lloyd Neilsen about this at the time and he told
me it was his aim to try to take a photograph of one, as this had
never been achieved before. If Lloyd is reading this he can confirm.
At the time of the sighting (late January) FNQ was on the cusp of
its first genuine wet season in roughly seven years. So the
habitat had been very dry, but daily heavy showers at the time
were stimulating new growth. So, early in the wet (before it gets
too dense) seems to be the best time. The habitat was around the
base of low rocky hills - the birds took shelter higher up when
flushed. My "technique", such as it was, was to freeze if I
flushed one bird, and to scan the ground closely for its partner
which, over three days of observations, was always nearby.
However, I was never able to view the bird on the deck for more
than a couple of seconds before it was up and out.
There are Painted BQs in the area too, and care needs to be taken
with ID. Don't assume any BQ is the one you're after! Among other
pointers, a female Buff-breasted BQ is comparatively huge - the
first time I flushed one it was more like putting up a bronzewing!
Andrew
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