Birds of Floriade 2007 Canberra
2 Comments »18th October, 2007; Category: Trip reports
Floriade 2007, Canberra
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #4
We had two main motivations for including Canberra in this holiday trip. The first was to include a visit to Floriade, the second, a visit to the Australian National Botanic Gardens. On our first afternoon in the nation’s capital we went to Floriade 2007.
Floriade 2007, Canberra
This is an annual flower festival held in Commonwealth Park just a short distance from the CBD. It features tens of thousands of flowering bulbs; tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, dutch iris, narcissus and ranunculus. Other plants include daisies, pansies, violas and poppies. It is a time of sensory overload. And it is a photographer’s paradise. I must admit I went a little crazy with the camera, but I’m also very pleased with the results.
Floriade 2007, Canberra
As the initial thrill of so much to photograph wore off I was able to concentrate on the birdlife of the park. Black Swans were accompanied by two cygnets in the nearby lake. Australian Wood Ducks and Pacific Black Ducks were both in the water and the on the lawns nearby. Superb Fairy-wrens seemed to be everywhere, despite the thronging crowds of people. Dusky Moorhens and Eurasian Coots patrolled the waterways, and weren’t shy at coming up close and personal when we sat on a park bench to enjoy an ice-cream.
Black Swan with cygnets, Canberra
Birds of Lake Burley Griffin
1 Comment »17th October, 2007; Category: Trip reports
Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #3
On our first day in Canberra we found a lovely spot on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin for lunch. This artificial lake in the heart of Canberra is a magnificent setting for this beautiful city, our national capital. From our picnic spot we could see the giant fountain shooting water high into the air, the National Library building and the old and new Houses of Parliament. A little further along the shores of the lake we could both see and hear the National Carillon playing, the tunes drifting over the lake towards us as we ate our lunch.
I only had a limited time to watch birds while having lunch. My list is rather short as a result. Local birders will probably laugh at this very short list. I am sure that the lake is home to many more species. While we had lunch Red Wattlebirds and White-plumed Honeyeaters were noisy in the trees nearby. A Willie Wagtail and some Superb Fairy-wrens could be heard in nearby bushes and several Galahs flew overhead.
A Black Swan and several cygnets were swimming in the lake nearby along with a small group of Australian Wood Ducks. Two Pacific Black Ducks flew along the shore heading south. I could hear some Sulphur-crested Cockatoos screeching from nearby trees. Several Australian Magpies searched the extensive lawns for their lunch. Occasionally two or three Silver Gulls flew over the lake.
National Library of Australia, Canberra
I don’t have any photos of birds to show you today. All of the birds I saw while having lunch were too far away to photograph.
Bush birds at the Jerrabomberra Wetlands, Canberra
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #2
Yesterday I wrote about my first visit to the Jerrabomberra Wetlands in Canberra. The water birds were a little quiet and I only saw a handful of species. The bush birds around the wetlands were quite another matter. A range of trees and bushes have been planted around the ponds and these are now creating a buffer zone between the water and the road and car-park.
This zone has a very presentable number of birds occupying this little niche, which is no more than about twenty metres wide at any one point. Probably the most prominent species is the Superb Fairy-wren; they are everywhere and very tame. The same could be said for the Grey Fantails; there must be about 6 to 8 present in the section I checked out. Infuriatingly, not one of them was prepared to pose for my camera.
Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Canberra
Yellow-rumped Thornbills were feeding young in a well camouflaged nest. I also saw a Yellow Thornbill in the same tree. According to a local birder I met also at the nest, this species is uncommon in the Canberra area. Local knowledge is always good to tap into.
Yellow-rumped Thornbill nest, Canberra
I saw a large flock of House Sparrows near the car-park. After not seeing any in Sydney I was beginning to think they had all disappeared. The same with the Common Starlings – I saw a few in Sydney and only a few around Canberra. A single Goldfinch flew overhead and landed in a tree nearby. In the flowering bushes near a hide I saw one New Holland Honeyeater. A small flock of Red-browed Finches seemed to be following me around, but they too, were a little camera shy. The only parrot I saw during my brief stay was a single Crimson Rosella feeding on the grass.
Crimson Rosella, Canberra
Jerrabomberra Wetlands, Canberra
Purple Swamphen
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #1
One of the places I wanted to visiting to go birding while in Canberra was the Jerrabomberra Wetlands near the centre of Canberra and adjacent to Lake Burley Griffin. I’d heard quite a bit about these wetlands from the internet chat group Canberra Birds.
We were able to spend about two hours at these wetlands and although the birding was quiet and a little slow, I was able to make a pleasing list of species. An Australian Magpie was feeding two young in a nest in the car-park and this was a good start to the morning. I grabbed a cuppa and headed off to the first bird hide. There are a number of good hides scattered around the ponds.
One of the first sightings was a Black Swan with two cygnets. Later I saw a Pacific Black Duck with about half a dozen ducklings in tow. I also saw plenty of Eurasian Coots, Purple Swamphens, Dusky Moorhens, and Grey Teal. A single pair of Chestnut Teal was also present. Incredibly, I saw my first White-faced Heron for the trip, although we think we’d seen one earlier in the trip, but I hadn’t recorded it.
I heard both a Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo and a Laughing Kookaburra but failed to see either of them. Welcome Swallows swooped low over the water and a Clamorous Reedwarbler sang off and on from the reeds in the middle of the wetlands. As we left I stopped briefly at the Sewage Works on the opposite side of the road. Here I was able to add Australasian Grebe which looked as if it was in breeding plumage. I also added Blue-billed Duck on a tip-off from a local birder I met earlier at the wetlands. This latter is always a good species to add to a list, and it’s a lovely species to see anyway.
Jerrabomberra Wetlands, Canberra
Up into the mountains again
4 Comments »14th October, 2007; Category: Trip reports
2007 New South Wales trip report #31
After lunch we continued our drive through the Royal National Park south of Sydney. This drive took us through some beautiful forest areas as we continued to meander our way south towards the city of Wollongong. We didn’t stop along here and three are only a handful of parking spots anyway. Because the road was extremely windy and unfamiliar to us, and as it was now my turn to drive, the birding opportunities were very limited.
The obvious birds flying across in front of the car included Laughing Kookaburras and Pied Currawongs. Leaving the national park we took the road that hugs the coast. Here we drove through a series of small towns dotting the ocean front with some million dollar views along the way. At one stage to elevated road is actually a bridge over the ocean. This was done after landslides caused havoc a few years ago.
Near Woolongong, New South Wales
We skirted around the large city of Wollongong and headed further south, this time travelling on the motorway. I noticed a few Australian Magpies and Common Mynas, the occasional small flock of Galahs and pairs of Eastern and Crimson Rosellas if my memory is correct. I didn’t write them down because I was driving and my wife was busy navigating. (This was only the second time we’d ever been this way; the last time was over thirty years ago.)
We turned off the main road south along the coast and headed inland again. The road was relatively flat for the first fifteen kilometres or so before we climbed rapidly up the Illawarra escarpment. I estimate we went up over a thousand metres about ten kilometres. Whatever the figures it was very steep, twisty and very interesting. On some corners I had to change down to second gear; I was pleased I was not towing a caravan. Some longer trucks would have trouble actually getting around some corners, and there were signs warning about this difficulty.
As we topped the range the views back over the coast were spectacular. It was a pity we could not stop to enjoy another national park on our way up; time was getting away from us. The increased altitude soon dropped the temperature dramatically, and, combined with a cool change moving through, I donned my jumper at the next town we stopped in.
We headed down the main Sydney to Melbourne freeway and then on to Canberra and we were able to make good speed. We were aiming to reach Canberra before dark. Along this section my wife was driving and there was no navigating to attend to, so I was able to observe birds in the fading light. Just north of Canberra I saw three Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, a small family of White-winged Choughs, and more Magpies and Ravens.
I also saw a single White-necked Heron feeding by a creek in a nearby paddock. This is one species I rarely get to see and I don’t know why. It is relatively common, yet I’ve only seen it on a handful of occasions. In fact, I just checked my database – this was the second sighting in twenty years. I am obviously looking in the wrong places – or I don’t get out enough.
Near Woolongong, New South Wales