AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 42 - NOV 7TH - NOOSA HEADS

WALLACE PARK - MACDONALD LAKE - SUNSHINE BEACH

OUR FINAL DAY IN AUSTRALIA HAD ARRIVED AND OH SO QUICKLY!!  It was another beautiful day, cloudy at first but it soon cleared.

WALLACE PARK

A free guided birding walk is offered every Thursday at Wallace Park so we decided to join one today. We arrived late but so did most other people, the guide had a clipboard with a list of species on it, he had one arm in a sling and wasn’t wearing any binoculars, things didn’t bode well! The group amassed and 15 minutes after the designated start time we assembled and made our introductions, the group ranged from tourists with not a clue about birds to regulars with not a clue about most birds.

two shots from Dawn - Noisy Friar

 Anyway, one good thing did come of the 85 minute walk and that was the sighting of at least 5 Tawny Frogmouths, I pointed out the first after the leader walked right beneath it, the next two were on a known nest and the last two were well found by one of the regular walkers. The usual count is around 20 species for the walk, I noted 25 species, the leader spent most of his time talking about gardening, motorbikes and fishing, he saw about 10.

 

male Tawny Frogmouth at the first nest site - Dawn

parent with chick - taken by Dawn

 

One South African participant knew of a good place nearby for water fowl and gave me the directions, so after a nice coffee and biscuits Dawn and set off to MacDonald’s Lake which was about 10km away.

 The water level of the lake was very low but it held a nice selection of birds, here is the list:

1.       Black Swan

2.       Magpie Goose

3.       Little Black Cormorant

4.       Little Pied Cormorant

5.       Australian Darter

6.       Australian Pelican

7.       Royal Spoonbill

8.       White-faced Heron

9.       White-necked Heron

10.   Eurasian Coot

11.   Dusky Moorhen

12.   Purple Gallinule

13.   Black-winged Stilt

14.   Masked Lapwing

15.   Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

16.   Red-kneed Dotterel

17.   Forest Kingfisher

18.   Australasian Grebe

19.   Pacific Black Duck

20.   Australian Wood Duck

21.   Grey Teal

22.   Whiskered Tern

23.   Caspian Tern

24.   Willie Wagtail

25.   White-breasted Woodswallow

26.   Welcome Swallow

27.   Fairy Martin

 A walk along a tree-lined lane produced Noisy Friarbird, Figbird and a another ‘lifer’ in the shape of a Pallid Cuckoo, what a great find, I got a few pictures of it but none were good enough to put on the blog, this will probably be my last new bird for the list.

 

Black-winged Stilt - note black nape

 

 That little excursion finished my Australian birding, boo-hoo! I hadn’t quite reached my target of 300 species but I was close at 280. This wasn’t bad considering I had a total of only 6 days birding with local guides, the rest I had to eke out for myself.

 

a much better shot of the aptly named - Red-kneed Dotterel

For the rest of the day we enjoyed a relaxing time on the beach, the setting was lovely, white sand, turquoise sea and a beautiful blue sky. The sunset was a subtle blend of pinks, magenta and crimson red, ah bliss!

another distant shot of the White-necked Heron I could never get close to this species

We ate a local fish restaurant, both of us chose barramundi, a delicious white fish it went down well with a couple of beers.

Terrapin sp.

 We now had 5 days left, 3 of which were to be taken in Singapore whilst the other two would be spent travelling. My target for Singapore is 50 species.

280.   PALLID CUCKOO  

 

 

 

AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 41 - NOV 6TH - NOOSA NATIONAL PARK

NOOSA NATIONAL PARK

No early morning walk today, we got up at 7am and got ready for our morning excursion to Noosa Heads National Park, it wasn't a birding trip just a stroll to enjoy the scenery.

despite seeing this sign on several occasions we never saw a Koala chasing a Kangeroo across the road 

We started the walk at 9am and finished at 12:30 the track took us all around Noosa Heads with some lovely scenery and fantastic colours, we saw some Dolphins out in the bay. The return loop took us through the forest where a few birdies appeared, they were mainly Lewin's and Brown Honeyeaters, but we had excellent views of White-browed Scrubwren and a very melodic Grey Shrike-Thrush. There was no sign of the local Koala Bears and we never saw a Wallaby of any description.

 

After eating our picnic lunch we found a quiet spot on one of the beautiful beaches and spent rhe rest of the afternoon reading, sleeping and enjoying the local ice-cream.........it was a beautiful day with wall to wall sunshine and temperatures of around 27C.

A thunderstorm developed around 5pm and the sky opened up throughout the night, it's really good of the these Auzzies to arrange for it to rain only at night!!

 

 

 

AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 40 - NOV 5TH - BINNA BURRA

BINNA BURRA TO NOOSA HEADS (MARCUS BEACH)

Our short stay in the mountains at Binna Burra came to an end this morning but before we left I went out for an early morning walk. I checked the Satin Bowerbird's bower and he was still in attendance and I got lovely views of the outrageous  Rainbow Lorikeets nectar-feeding in the Gravillea and Bottlebrush bushes.



RAINBOW LORIKEET

I walked the tracks that I covered with Barry yesterday hoping for something new, I had really good views of Logrunner, Rufous Fantail, Yellow Robin, Eastern Whipbird, Wompoo Pigeon, Green Catbird and Brown Thornbill  before I started my return journey. I was about to photograph a Pademelon when a pigeon walked across the track. I 'binned' it and realised that it was a species I'd not seen before. I quickly got off some shots and from them I could see it was a Wonga Pigeon, another lifer! Hooray!

finally a WONGA PIGEON in the bag!

the book says "often seen on the ground"  --   touché

We had decided not to return to the Gold Coast for the last 3 nights of our trip, we both really disliked it there, so we booked another apt. back up in the Noosa area where had previously visited and really enjoyed.

We spent the rest of the day travelling there and loafing on the beach, our new apt was just yards from a white sand beach, perfect for us. I never went birding except for a walk around the garden and into some woods. I finally caught up with Cicadabird, having had many glimpses of it in the last few weeks I finally 'nailed' it and put it on the list.

278 - WONGA PIGEON
279 - CICADABIRD

AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 39 - NOV 4TH - BINNA BURRA

BINNA BURRA TRAILS - O'REILLY'S BIRDING LODGE

Late afternoon yesterday I met with Barry Davies, a well known local birding tour guide we talked about my future plans to run tours to the area and he offered to take me out for a walk this morning. So at 5am I met Barry outside the lodge and off we went.

It was a dry calm morning with a chill in the air and overcast conditions, the first thing Barry showed me was the 'bower' of the Satin Bowerbird, amazing, the male bird was in attendance putting finishing touches and adding bits of blue paper and more sticks, this 'bower' was over 12 years old.

 

SATIN BOWERBIRD CALLING AND BELOW AT THE BOWER
 - NOTE IT ONLY COLLECTS BLUE ITEMS TO DECORATE THE BOWER

We rhen walked to bottom of the entrance drive and entered the forest on the 'Bellbird' track. We quickly found our first few species, Noisy Miners, Pied Currawongs, Torresian Crows, Rainbow Lorikeets and I have never heard  so many Whipbirds! An Eastern Yellow Robin was very obliging then we struck gold when we found four species in one tree, Wompoo Pigeon, A male Paradise Riflebird6, Green Catbird and Satin Bowerbird all sat high up in one tree and delivered a cacophony of sound you will hear nowhere else in the world.

RED-LEGGED PADEMELON

Next we found a Noisy Pitta, it crept about in the semi-darkness but it gave much better views than my previous sighting, we also got good views of my first Logrunner, two different pairs were scratching about in the leaf litter.


On a second track we heard an Albert's Lyrebird down below us and after some patience we finally got brief glimpses of it, not too good but enough to list it. Attempts to find roosting Tawny Frogmouth and Owlet Nightjar were unsuccessful but we did see King Parrot, Spectacled Monarch, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, Lewin's Honeyeater, White-throated Treecreeper, Little Corella and a few common species.

Later that morning I searched an area where Barry had suggested to look for Red-browed Treecreeper and sure enough I found one, another good lifer on the list.

AGILE WALLABY

Dawn and jumped into the car after breakfast and drove to O'Reilly's Lodge which as the crow flies is only 25 kilometers, but by road it is 110 km and takes 90 minutes to negotiate the narrow twisting lanes.

We stopped after a couple of clicks to look at a fruiting fig tree, Barry told me that the Regent Bowerbird was feeding there. I waited ten minutes, nothing, then a flash of yellow and a male arrived, fantastic, then two others flew in and a male Satin Bowerbird. I got off some pictures before a Pied Currawong chased them all away.

MALE REGENT BOWERBIRD

We had a wonderful time at O'Reilly's, it was a recce trip and we got a complete tour of the impressive grounds and facilities, we loved it there. I couldn't believe the size of the place, they have 130 staff!

CARPET SNAKE - ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

VERY COMMON - EASTERN YELLOW ROBIN

Anyway the place was dripping with birds, bird guides and birders, so many species were virtually tame including Regent Bowerbirds which came down to take food from people's hands, as did Rosellas, King Parrots, Red-browed Finches, Satin Bowerbirds and lots more. We also got very close to Yellow Robins, White-browed Scrubwrens, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin's Honeyeaters and several doves.

LEWIN'S HONEYEATER

EASTERN SPINETAIL

Before we left we were taken ro a little secluded area behind the main building and there we saw an Albert's Lyrebird, it came to within 2 meters of us, a fantastic way to end our visit.

the only decent picture of Albert's Lyrebird - a young female taken by Dawn

We got back in time for dinner at 6:30pm and after dinner I went out for another spot-light walk, there was a full moon so I didn't need the torch very much. I followed a call, omp......oomp......oomp, this was repeated about 10 times and then it paused before restarting, I got my torch on the bird during the second rendition, it was a Tawny Frogmouth, at last, in the bag on the list, a lifer. Time for bed, it had been a long day.



273  -  LOGRUNNER
274 -   REGENT BOWERBIRD
275 -   ALBERT'S LYREBIRD
276 -  TAWNY FROGMOUTH
277 -  RED-BROWED TREECREEPER

MORE PICS FROM O'REILLY'S -

 

 

 

LOOK THAT'S ME,  NUMBER 363,  RACE -  ELEGANS

 

 

 

REGENT ON THE FENCE!P

 

AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 38 - NOV 3RD - BINNA BURRA

BEAUDESERT RACE TRACK  -  LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK

We left the coastal metropolis and headed for the hills, it was dull and overcast, it looked darker over the mountains but if it rained we knew it wouldn’t last. Before heading off to the lodge at Binna Burra we had to check out a small lake, this was because John, our friend from Currumbin, recommended a spot where he had recently seen Pink-eared Duck, a bird well up on my most wanted list.

 The lake sat beside a large racecourse just outside the town of Beaudesert and as we arrived the sun came out, perfect. There were many species on the water and along the shore and this was despite the large amount human and equine activity adjacent to it.
 

Royal Spoonbill

Pacific Black Duck, Wood Duck, Grey Teal, Magpie Goose, Australian Pelican, Pied Cormorant, Dusky Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Purple Gallinule, Great Egret, Black-winged Stilt and Black-fronted Dotterel were quickly on the list, then I found a new species of wader for my ‘life’ list when I scoped a Red-kneed Dotterel, lovely bird. A juvenile Whistling Kite sat in a dead tree calling constantly and two Dollarbirds were squabbling above me.

White-breasted Woodswallow

Juvenile Whistling Kite

a distant record shot of my 'lifer'  -  Red-kneed Dotterel

We set off for Binna Burra enjoying the wonderful scenery along the way and stopping once or twice to watch birds or to take photos. Once at the Binna Burra Lodge we quickly unloaded the car and I went off for a birding recce. I was soon getting into some serious mountain rain forest and I got bombarded with whole new set of bird calls. It wasn’t long before I was watching a small party of Brown Cuckoo-Doves, it was the first time I had had a close view of this species and what a cracker.

Brown Cuckoo-Dove

 

Next I found a female Paradise Riflebird it clung to a tree trunk trying to tear something from it, my first lifer at Lamington. Then it got very noisy as a party of Green Catbirds came near and I also saw Satin Bowerbird, Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Whipbird, Brown Thornbill and Spectacled Monarch. I did see a flash of yellow zoom across the track in front of me which I assume was a Regent Bowerbird but I couldn’t be certain, it may have been the very rare Regent Honeyeater! The light rapidly faded and it started to rain so I left to return to our cabin.

 Dinner was served at 6:30pm, it was delicious, really good food here, by 8pm I was out again with a small group on a guided spotlight walk. It was cold, a bit windy and still trying to rain, but it was very productive and most enjoyable. We saw many Red-legged Pademelons, a few Bushy-tailed Possums and a single Frogmouth, it wasn’t the common Tawny Frogmouth but instead we found the rarer Marbled variety, another lifer in the bag.

The entrance drive to Binna Burra Lodge - the grassy verges are covered in
Red-legged Pademelons at night.

 

 

Back at the cabin I was soon tucked up beside a very warm wifey, I needed some sleep as my alarm was set for 4am!

 
270 - RED-KNEED DOTTEREL
271 - PARADISE RIFLEBIRD
272 - MARBLED FROGMOUTH

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 37 - NOV 2ND - CURRUMBIN

 

CURRUMBIN ECO VILLAGE - COASTAL MANGROVE SWAMP

After a late night last night I got up at 7am and went for a walk around the village and down to the lake. I looked first at the fig tree where a flock of Topknot Pigeons were joined by Figbirds, Noisy Friarbirds, Lewin’s Honeyeater and a few Crested Pigeons. Lots of Kangaroos loafed around on the grass verges in the village they have become unafraid of humans allowing close approach before they hop off.

another photo of those very large Australian Rabbits - amazing

 Down at the lake I concentrated on the grassy margin at the west end where I found small groups of Superb Fairy-Wrens, Red-backed Fairy-Wrens and also Golden-headed Cisticola and Tawny Grassbird. A pair of Brahminy Kites flew over and a hawk, which looked very much like our Eurasian Sparrowhawk, circled the hillside but as I never had my scope so I couldn’t  ID it.

After another lovely, leisurely breakfast on the deck Guy and I set off for a canoeing adventure, we took one of Guy’s two-man canoes down to the creek and jumped in, our plan was to canoe down the creek looking for the Azure Kingfisher. It was a marvellous trip, what a way to watch wildlife,  a lot of species allowed close approach and within 10 minutes we found a pair of Azure Kingfishers, another lifer for my list. I was using Dawn’s new camera and whilst I was photographing the Azure Kingfisher her battery ran out and the spare wasn’t charged, how annoying, so no more pictures.

great guiding by Guy,  he led us straight to this species - Azure Kingfisher

 

 

Over the next kilometer or so we found 3 pairs of Sacred Kingfishers and another great sighting for me, a Dollarbird flew around us showing off its wonderful greenish/blue plumage and its circular white wing patches (the dollars), it landed right above is, wonderful and although it wasn’t a lifer it was my first good viewing of this species. Our luck continued when the very next bird was a Masked Woodswallow, a great sighting and another lifer, this bird also posed well for us.

Straw-necked Ibis

 We rowed for about 4 kilometers before pulling over for a bite to eat and a drink before heading back. Sightings came thick and fast throughout the journey, Striated Herons, White-faced Herons, Darters, Little, Intermediate and Great Egrets, Pelicans, Cormorants, ducks and lots more kingfishers, we added Forest Kingfisher a little later on the trip. Large flocks of Little Corellas fed on the banks of mangrove swamp and Rainbow Lorikeets regularly flew over.

 The whole experience was wonderful and I really enjoyed it, thank you Guy. After lunch Dawn and I had to pack because ae were due to go back to the coast at ‘Concrete’ Beach to finish our holiday there. It was only 15 kilometers away from the tranquil setting of the Eco Village.

 My ‘scope’ had been deposited at our apt and I was eager to collect it. Guy and Annette decided to join us and after I collected my scope we all went for a walk along the boardwalk at Tugan. It was late afternoon by now so we didn’t have much time. The Mangrove Honeyeater was our target, which failed to appear. However we did find a superb Osprey perched in the mangroves, we also saw Mangrove Gerygone very well, also Lewin’s Honeyeater.

The majestic Osprey - spotted by Annette

Very soon the light faded and mosquitos came out so we called it a day. We said goodbye to Guy and Annette, they had been wonderful hosts and great friends we really enjoyed our time with them, it was sad parting ways.

Annette and Guy our good friends, wonderful hosts and bird-watchers extraordinaire

 After a quick stop at the supermarket we went to our apt on the ‘Miami’ Beachfront, it was a stark contrast to the peaceful setting of the Eco-village, but all was not lost because as from tomorrow we are staying for two nights at Binna Burra Lodge in Lamington National Park.

 269. Azure Kingfisher

 

 

 

 

 

AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 36 - NOV 1ST - CURRUMBIN

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.

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.
 

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.

 

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
 

AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 35 - OCT 31ST - BRISBANE/CURRUMBIN

WYNNUM MANGROVES - PALM BEACH - LAKE VIEW ECO VILLAGE CURRUMBIN


I love the boardwalk through the mangroves at Wynnum beach and so I made my third visit there first thing this morning. I was a little later than usual but the birding was just as good. My beach scan didn't produce any new species but the boardwalk was quite productive. A new Cuckoo species was an exciting find, I only got a short view of it as it was chased off by Figbirds, but my view was good enough to ID it as a HORSFIELD'S BRONZE-CUCKOO another lifer!

Next I saw a female Black-faced Monarch, followed by Leaden Flycatcher, Mangrove Gerygone, Collared Kingfisher, Rainbow Lorikeet, Olive-backed Oriole and the usual Laughing Kookaburra.



Tawny Grassbird

Out on the 'heath' I was treated to great views of Golden-headed Cisticola, Superb Fairy Wren, Red-backed Fairy Wren and Tawny Grassbird. A couple of Brahminy Kites flew over as did a White-bellied Sea-Eagle.

Golden Headed Cisticola (female above, male below)

 

The next stage of our journey was beginning today, we had to pack and clean up our current 'home' and set off southward to Currumbin to stay a couple of nights with Guy and Annett. Guy is the brother of Sarah who put us up for our first 3 nights way back in September in Sydney.

We drove down to the Gold Coast spent sometime on the beach where we ate sand and sandwiches before we drove ro Currumbin. Guy and Annette live in an Eco Village in a magnificent house build about 50 meters from a lake. What a fantastic place a huge open plan Eco-house in an unbelievable  setting. I'm gonna like it here!

Galah in the garden about 5 meters from where we sat on the deck - Dawn's picture

Guy is a birder although he doesn't admit to it, he knows all the local birds and had binoculars at the ready when I arrived. We took a walk to the lake, a flock of 20 Topknot Pigeons dropped into a fig tree as we walked down. All the usual common waterfowl were present plus Comb-crested Jacana, Latham's Snipe and Royal Spoonbill.

In the garden we found Galah, Little Corella, Brown Honeyeater, Lewin's Honeyeater, Little (Brush) Wattlebird, Noisy Friarbirds, Figbirds and Olive-backed Orioles. Unfortunately I had left my scope back in Brisbane and so I couldn't take any pictures.

We had a lovely dinner with Guy and Annette and discussed our plans for tomorrow, which included a 5am start for birding..........Dawn and Annette opted out of that one!

267-. HORSFILED'S BRONZE-CUCKOO