Noisy Friarbird and a few other birds

On our current trip to Sydney to visit family, we stopped a few times along the way. As I said yesterday, the journey is over 1300km, so we need to stop a few times for fuel and to change drivers. We also stop occasionally for a cup of tea and a meal break. On these occasions we usually choose a place well away from towns and in a bush setting; the birding is often better.

On the second morning of our trip we stopped at an unnamed rest area on the side of the Sturt Highway between Hay and Narrandera, NSW, in the locality of Tubbo Station. While having morning tea and a cuppa I saw a number of bird species, including Australian Ravens, Australian Magpies, Willie Wagtails, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes, Grey Shrike Thrush, White-winged Choughs and the tiny Weebill. All lovely birds but very common in this area, and all birds I’d seen many times while driving along.

We also saw several Yellow Rosellas, a beautiful bird and less widespread than many parrots. Another interesting bird is the Apostlebird, one I always enjoy seeing on the journey over to Sydney. Undoubtedly the highlight of this brief stop was to see several Noisy Friarbirds, one of the honeyeaters of Australia. While this is a common species in the eastern parts of Australia, it’s not one I’ve seen very often, making it an extra special sighting. I didn’t get a photo of it, but you can read more about this species and see a photo here.

Apostlebird