LAKE SIDE ECO VILLAGE - ELANOR WETLANDS - SPRINGBROOK PARK
Yes I was up and out at 5am! Again! The first bird I saw was a Buff-banded Rail, in the garden of Guy and Annette's lovely home in Currumbin Eco Village. Guy turned out and we both waited for John the third participant in this mornings birdathon, John is a regular local birder who also lives in the village.
We set off in John's car whilst noting a number of birds, most of them seemed to be Black and White.....Magpie, Pied Currawong, Magpie-Lark and Willie Wagtail.
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| Ducks and swans at Elanora wetlands |
We arrived at Elanora wetlands and our walk began, John led
us over a footbridge and into a wood, we walked along a well maintained track.
Our first sighting was a new species for me as we found a small flock of
White-naped Honeyeaters, about 5 of them were very high up in the canopy. Next
came Channel-billed Cuckoo, at last I could see this species perched, what a
bill, it is massive! I didn’t get a picture as my scope was still in Brisbane.
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| White-necked Heron |
Over the next half an hour we were busy tracking down
Kingfishers, we eventually found several pairs of Sacred and a pair of Collared
Kingfishers. Brown Honeyeaters, Figbirds and Olive-backed Orioles were common and
not much else appeared.
A circular lagoon held a large number of Pacific Ducks, with
Wood Duck, Hardheads, Grey Teal, Black Swan, Australasian Grebe, Purple
Gallinules, Dusky Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Little Pied and Little Black
Cormorants, Silver Gulls, Latham’s Snipe and Black-winged Stilts.
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| White-headed Pigeon |
More woodland provided us with brief sightings of Koel and
Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike as well as both the Superb and the Red-backed
Fairy-Wrens, we also found a nice flock of Red-browed Finches.
John drove back to the Eco village where we spent sometime
looking for Tawny Frogmouth and Azure Kingfisher, none of which turned up,
however we did see a White-necked Heron and a flock of White Headed Pigeons, they
were really nice to see and it was my first viewing of them perched, likewise
it was nice to see a flock of some 20 Topknot Pigeons feeding in a fig tree
back down the hill near to Guy and Annette’s home.
Back at Guy’s house we had a superb late-breakfast on the
deck overlooking the lake and after a short nap Dawn and I went sight-seeing up
the Currumbin Valley. It was a beautiful scenic drive up to Springbrook
National Park, a lush green, fertile valley with many trees in blossom, we
stopped several times to admire the view and to look at Rainbow Lorikeets, King
Parrot, Noisy Friarbirds and I got my second glimpse of Brown Cuckoo-Doves,
I’ve yet to see this species perched up and posing for my camera.
Our walk through Springbrook National Park was brief, it
proved to be a very popular spot with local visitors as there a lot of rocky
pools where many young people were swimming. Lots of bird calls but very few
sightings, the butterflies were nice as were the trees and ferns.
We got back just before it got dark and prepared ourselves
in readiness for our evening out at a Japanese restaurant with Guy, Anette and
their son Magnus. It was lovely, great food and a nice atmosphere, birding did
not dominate the conversation I hasten to add.
TOTAL SO FAR
268 White-naped Honeyeater
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