Archive for the 'Trip reports' Category

2007 New South Wales trip report #20

The bird life along the road to Bathurst turned up nothing new. We saw plenty of Australian Magpies, Australian Ravens, Crested Pigeons, Galahs and a large flock of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos feeding in a paddock. We stopped briefly at Bathurst to refuel before heading off to Lithgow. We had hoped to take an alternative route but must have missed the turnoff.

A few minutes out of Bathurst we took a side road through some farming country and found a nice spot for morning tea well away from the noise of the traffic. We saw several Australian Wood Ducks, Masked Lapwings, Red-rumped Parrots and more Galahs. Several Striated Pardalotes called from the nearby gum trees.

Near Bathurst, New South Wales

Further along we saw more Crimson Rosellas, Crested Pigeons and saw Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos for the first time on the trip. Also added for the first time was a Myna. I wasn’t aware this pest introduced species had spread so far from Sydney.

Probably the most distressing sight along this stretch of road was a dead Wombat on the side of the road. Another sad victim of road kill.

Just out of Lithgow we stopped at the railway station of the unique Zig – Zig railway. This railway was built by early convicts to take the railway line over a very steep mountain range. We would have liked a ride on the train but were running out of time. We found a spot nearby for lunch. During our lunch break I added White-eared Honeyeater to the trip list.

2007 New South Wales trip report #19

For the fifth day in a row on our trip the day dawned sunny and clear of clouds. We had breakfast and packed the car. We were just about to leave when we struck up a conversation with a permanent resident of the caravan park in Cowra. She occupied the cabin next to us and had lived there for several years since the death of her husband.

She had established a small native plant garden around her cabin and she was quite knowledgeable about the birds of the area as well. On the front porch she had two pet Cockatiels that had been injured and rescued some years before. We were amused by the Red-browed Finches that would come in, land on the cage of the parrots and then proceed straight through the bars, into the cage and help themselves to a free feed. This was another new species to add to my trip list.

Red-browed Finch

This friendly woman also commented that Double-barred Finches also came into her little garden. I’ve only ever seen this species once before so I was keen to hang around for a while. Alas, they didn’t show up. Nor did the Crested Shrike-tits and the Azure Kingfishers she said were regular visitors. [Postscript: I didn’t see any of these three species on the rest of the trip. You get that. It merely illustrates the sometimes hit and miss aspect of birding.]

But there were several major bonuses to spending about a half hour talking to her. Two Superb Parrots flew overhead. This was a lifer* for me and one of the species I was keen to see on this trip. I also added Noisy Friarbird in the trees in the caravan park. Yet another Brown Songlark was calling nearby and Eastern Rosellas flew through the park. Crested Pigeons came into to drink from the bird bath and White-plumed Honeyeaters were busy feeding in the tree foliage overhead.

Earlier in the morning I was delighted to hear a Peaceful Dove calling nearby. I tired a little with its call as it went on and on while I was trying to get a few extra minutes of sleep.

*Lifer: a bird seen for the first time in my life. (For a better explanation click here).

2007 New South Wales trip report #17

We headed through the town of Grenfell without stopping. The countryside approaching Cowra, a much larger centre, showed evidence of much better rainfall over recent months, to my untrained eye of course. The bright green wheat crops contrasted with the brilliant yellow of the canola in full flower with the blue mountain ranges all around. After so much dead flat country to the west of the state it was a pleasure to have a few hills to traverse.

Close to Cowra we came to the sign pointing the way to the Conimbla National Park. This we accessed some 15 kilometres along a narrow but well paved road – until we reached the park where it became a rough gravel road. No problem for our 4WD.

I had no prior knowledge of this park and its facilities, so we were driving into the unknown. After about another ten kilometres of a mixed pine and eucalypt forest we came to a small clearing where we were able to turn around and park safely. It was a very quiet part of the park and the bird life not too promising. A few more Brown Treecreepers, Striated Pardalotes, White-plumed Honeyeaters and one Grey Shrike-thrush were the main attractions while we had afternoon tea.

Grey Shrike-Thrush

On our journey back out again we saw a single kangaroo. I’m not sure which species of roo – I’d left my mammal identification book at home. We were soon in Cowra and settling into our cabin for the night.

Cowra Caravan Park, New South Wales

While we’d had some highlights during the day, it was largely a transit day putting us a few hundred kilometres closer to our first main destination, Sydney. Over the course of the day’s birding I’d added another 15 species to the Trip List. It now stands at 97. With a goal of 150 for the 23 day trip, I am increasingly confident of reaching my goal.

September 2007 Trip Report #17

Weddin Mountains New South Wales

We headed off south from Forbes for the Weddin Mountains National Park. We had also visited this park three years ago and had good memories of this lovely spot. I remember though that the birding was a little on the slow side (meaning: I didn’t see much).

On the drive in to the picnic and camping ground we saw two Emus and heard quite a few Brown Songlarks in full song. Eastern Rosellas flew across in front of the car and Galahs flew overhead. White-winged Choughs greeted our arrival with much calling.

Weddin Mountains NP Picnic ground

We pulled into a parking bay and prepared to have our lunch. An Australian Raven landed in the tree above us, but when he realised we were not about to share our lunch he flew off before I could get a photo. I realised then that I have some good photos of Little Ravens, the species common around home, but I do not yet have any shots of its larger cousin. Patience.

Apostlebirds were busy feeding on the ground just south of our lunch spot. After our lunch, a camper came over to our picnic table and talked to us for some twenty minutes. Time seemed to be getting away from us and we still wanted to visit another national park further east, so we didn’t go for a walk after lunch.

As we left the park our departure was delayed by some twenty minutes. The predominantly pine forested area along the access track seemed to suddenly fill with bird song. Many Brown Songlarks were calling. My wife saw some flowers she wanted to investigate. I took a nice shot of a male Red-capped Robin. A White-winged Triller also joined in the chorus along with some more Choughs, a Rufous Whistler, a Grey Fantail who could barely be heard and a Brown Falcon glided overhead sending the local Noisy Miners into a frenzy of alarm calls.

Red-capped Robin (male)

And to crown it all off, a majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle soared high overhead.

It was a lunch break to remember.

And the cave? High up on the cliff face above the campsite and picnic grounds is a cave. Infamous bushranger Ben Hall reputedly used this as his hideaway.

Hideaway cave of bushranger Ben Hall

2007 New South Wales trip report #16

One of the places I wanted to visit on this trip was Gum Swamp several kilometres south of the town of Forbes. I had previously visited this popular birding spot three years ago. It has a bird hide a few steps from the car park. Not that one actually needs a hide; the birds seem to ignore you anyway.

On the way there I commented to my wife that I hadn’t taken the recent dry conditions into account when planning to stop here. I shouldn’t have worried. The swamp was at near full capacity and the birdlife just as prolific as I had remembered it from three years ago.

Gum Swamp, Forbes, New South Wales

Over a twenty minute period I added the following species to my rapidly growing Trip List:

• Fairy Martin (gathering mud for nesting, as were the Welcome Swallows)
• Grey Teal
• Chestnut Teal
• Pacific Black Duck
• Pink-eared Duck
• Hardhead (White-eyed Duck)
• Australian Wood Duck
• Dusky Moorhen
• Eurasian Coot
• Australasian Grebe
• Black Swan

Probably the best sighting of all was quite unexpected; a single White-bellied Sea-eagle. I tried to get a photo but even with 12x zoom he is but a small white dot in the distance. A better photo will have to wait. Meanwhile you could have a look at a close up photo I took of one in the Taronga Park Zoo last year – click here.

White-Bellied Sea-Eagle