Weekends That Were - May 2015

31.5.15

Minnippi

I picked up Mr D who had been unwell during the week so we went for an easy one at Minnippi – suited me too, in my current state of motivation or lack thereof….

It was much as last week, quiet and quieter. The grass had grown even more on the airfield track and was very heavy with dew – much to Mr D’s disgust and exclamation as his joggers and legs got wet and seed encrusted.

The M1 track had a few birds on it – both Whistlers, Grey Fantails and a dose of Scarlet Honeyeaters. There were 5 Great Cormorants actively feeding in the lake and the Black Duck numbers were high at (approx) 75 – most probably surviving on the bread handouts of children.  The two Fan-tailed Cuckoos were on the airfield track again – although I only saw one - and Mr D heard a Varied Triller call, but it didn’t respond to playback and I neither heard nor saw the bugger.

We stopped off for a while at SRL – aka Stu’s Raptor Lookout – but saw nowt.

Breakfast was also at a favourite spot – Belesis, where I increased my intake of processed meats with crispy bacon and himself had a sugar hit with the pancakes….

30.5.15

Sandy Camp & Lindum

No one else available today so took myself off on a later start to Sandy Camp arriving at 7.15. The local school appeared to have a major sports day on with dozens of cars already parking all over the road and boys running round in various stages of rugby dress.

Sandy Camp was relatively same, same - nothing too exciting. I was unable to locate the Greenfinch of recent weeks, but as I consider it an escapee I wasn’t particularly worried. Best birds were probably a flock of 35 Wandering Whistle Ducks that swam off the peninsula and a growling Spotless Crake in thick grass near the start of the track into the rear pond. Motivation was low, given recent personal events.

On to Fuller and I took a chance and boldly drove in with all the other cars to overlook the pond while everyone else overlooked the rugby match. Mo one seemed to care. Nothing startling there either – usual water birds, the water surface itself somewhat reduced by overgrowing lillies.

Lindum next and best birds – 10 Red-necked Avocets – unfortunately too far away for photography. Damned hard bird to get close to actually. From Burnby Rd a Whistling Kite overhead presented for a few photos and the wetlands further down the road were full of Grey Teal. Nothing else too remarkable, so I headed home.

Whistling Kite

24.5.15

Minnippi

I met Mr P in the car park at 7.00. There were large flocks of Rainbow Lorikeets in the trees over the bridge including a few Scaly-breasted. The lake itself was almost devoid of birds apart from a trio of Great Cormorants fishing together – possibly this indicates the presence of larger fish, therefore there is less food for smaller more delicate eaters such as duck. A large flock of Welcome Swallows (c40) fed over the reed beds to one side.

30 Scarlet Honeyeaters infested the trees at the entrance to the M1 track and, at first it seemed quiet, however, a few Golden Whistlers showed as recently arrived winter visitors, along with a calling Striated Pardalote and a pair of White-throated Honeyeaters, followed by a male Leaden Flycatcher left over from summer. Olive-backed Orioles called from a couple of angles and a few Grey Fantails kept us busy checking movement.

Walking up the side of the forest Mr P spotted a flock of about 50 Topknot Pigeons flying northeast at a high altitude and 3 mobile White-faced Herons led us back to the lakeside. Good numbers of Black and Wood Duck on the lake, a couple of Coots, Grey Teal and the usual complement of Dusky Moorhens and Purple Swamphens.

The airfield track had a small bird wave going on with a mixed flock of Variegated and Red-backed Fairy Wrens, Silvereyes, Grey Fantails, White-throated Gerygones and a Fan-tailed Cuckoo. Further along and the only other bird of interest was a second Cuckoo!

Back over the hill, a rest for a while at Stu’s Raptor Lookout without incident, then back down to the track and back towards the car. A Brown Goshawk was spotted briefly flying low along the river - it looked like a large female - and, at the bridge, a tail flicking Buff-banded Rail put in a short performance before scuttling back into cover.

Mr P had family obligations so we parted company and I returned home to a good book and the couch.

23.5.15

Oxley

Mr D picked me up and we arrived on site at 6.30. A nice brisk Autumn morning – clear and cool. We walked the track with the main excitement centring on a larger than normal flock of Double-banded Finch – approx. 15 - presumably a post-breeding flock. An Oxley bird-wave occurred at one point with Golden and Rufous Whistlers and Grey Fantails and a Shining Bronze Cuckoo who showed well.  

Shining Bronze Cuckoo

Female Rufous Whistle

A poor view of a Reed Warbler in a tree who then dropped into the grass left us wondering, but we settled for an out of season Australian Reed Warbler taking advantage of the caterpillars in the foliage.

A male Mistletoebird sat up for photos – something we don’t see so well every day.

Male Mistletoebird

Mistletoebird Oxley Qld, Australia

The lakes were very quiet, a few Grey Teal and Black Duck, small numbers of Pelicans, Darters and Cormorants. A Whistling Kite put in an appearance and a Black-shouldered Kite fed on its catch on the power lines over the water.

We regained the car without any more excitement and had breakfast at the Europa Café in Sherwood in true Germanic style!

17.5.15

Lockyer Valley

It’s been almost two years since I came out to the Lockyer. Seventy Five kms west of Brisbane, the breadbasket of the state, a largely flat agricultural area with a few scattered lakes which, when they have water in them, support a large number of wildfowl. It is also an area known for raptors and 8 or 10 species in a day is not uncommon.

However, it is also known for some of the more difficult species in SEQ and your day list is more what you didn’t see, than what you did. In this case, for example, we didn’t find any Banded Lapwings, Ground Cuckoo-shrikes, Babblers or Harriers. There were no Red-rumped Parrots or Blue-billed Ducks at the Uni and we saw no Woodswallows anywhere. We did still had a good morning with 81 species in total………

On the way in from the main highway Stu and I had a couple of Black and Whistling Kites. In the past Black Kites were a rarity below the range, but have increased in number in the last few years – in fact we saw a total of about 15 birds on this visit.

 We got out of the car on Banff Rd near Atkinson’s Dam. Usually a spot for honeyeaters and whistlers, this morning produced only Bar-shouldered Doves and a pair of Pale-headed Rosellas. A huge flock of Little Corellas flew overhead as approached Atkinson’s Dam. One of the larger lakes popular with campers, water skiers and powerboat operators it was, surprisingly, devoid of human life on this Sunday morning. A scattered flock of Whiskered Terns flitted over the surface while a few Grey Teal, Wood and Black Duck paddled around. The opposite shore was too far away for accurate identification of anything smaller than a Black Swan, but there didn’t appear to be much over there anyway.

We moved on to a pond on the opposite of the road from the exit to Atkinson’s car park – private property - where we climbed the fence and walked quietly through dry bush to see what might be on the water. A Restless Flycatcher buzzed in front of us and 4 Wandering Whistle Ducks panicked themselves away from the bank. A Comb-crested Jacana at the far end was the only one of the day and a pair of Peaceful Doves ditto, but there was little else of interest so we headed back to the car and over Boyce’s rd towards Seven Mile Lagoon. 

Peaceful Dove

Not much showed along the way until just before the flooded fields Stu spotted a flock of Double-barred Finches and as we checked them out, a small number of Yellow-rumped Thornbills jumped into the picture, which was nice.

We continued on to Seven Mile itself – heaps of White-headed Stilts, 4 or 5 White-necked Herons and a White-bellied Sea Eagle. Seven Mile is essentially a flooded field and the grass was growing through most of the watery areas, not much exposed mud.

On the road to Lake Clarendon, as top off at Lester Bridge as usual to check, hopelessly, for the long departed Blue-winged Kookaburra. Further up the road two Australian Hobbys perched up on the wires for photos and a very dark form of Brown Falcon got us all excited until we reluctantly agreed it wasn’t a Black……

Australian Hobby

On then to Clarendon and a walk out along the dam wall. There were, literally, hundreds of Hoary-headed Grebes and probably at least 1,000 Hardhead scattered across the dam. The water level was still high, but had dropped about 100 meters ground distance since our last visit. Stu picked up two female Australian Shovelers and there may have been other species in the distance, but nothing else was obvious.

We checked Janke’s Lagoon for waders? But none were on site.

Back to the car and we were both flagging a little. I always get quite exhausted in the Lockyer, I don’t know why, maybe its my age or the longer day or the environment, but I usually feel knackered half way throught he morning and require some sustenance. So we headed for MacDonalds and scoffed some late breakfast – and coffee….then turned back to Gatton Uni and Lake Galletly.

The usual numbers of Magpie Geese and Plumed Whistling Duck stood around the edges and on the island. Pink-eared Duck, possibly my favourite duck, were also present in numbers and Stu found a total of 3 Freckled Duck while I searched, in vain, for a Blue-billed among the Hardheads.

Magpie Goose

Pink-eared Duck

So, then it was time to head home. We got slightly lost trying to leave the Uni campus, but did finally make it to the road and the hour plus drive home.

16.5.15

North Stradbroke Island

I got the usual 6.55 water taxi from Cleveland and settled back for a choppy ride across the bay. A 25-30 knot southerly was blowing and the resulting sharp swells on the shallow water made for a wet trip. The bus trundled around to the headland and I marched out to Pt Lookout at the usual 8.00 arrival.

Two and a half hours later I packed up and headed back for the 10.55 bus. A handful of Australian Gannets – mostly, I guessed, repeat observations of the same birds cruising the coast looking for food – 7, in total, Common Noddys and a single Wedge-tailed Shearwater all heading south were the only seabirds during the watch. The wind was right, having swung more to the east during the morning, the sea was wild and messy and the cloud cover enough to cut the glare comfortably, but the birds weren’t performing.

Not much else to and fro the headland – a trio of Little Wattlebirds (this is most likely the closest reliable location to Brisbane) frolicked around in the canopy, but no Stone Curlews appeared in their usual silent stance along the bus route and the tide was still fairly high at Dunwich reducing the available mud/sand for the waders.

All in all a bit of a disappointment, but, as usual, Pt Lookout left me feeling refreshed and re-energised.

10.5.15

Trotter

Mr D picked me up at 6.15 and we arrived on site just after 6.30. It was cold – for Queensland – especially out of the sun, it was quite chilly.

We walked the track towards the lake, turned left and followed that track back around in a big loop, eventually emerging onto the lake shore. The water level was lower than I expected, but higher than on our last visit; it had been several months since I have been here and I thought, with all the rain, that the lake would be full again.

So far in our 40 minute walk through the woods we had seen approximately 12 birds. 2 or 3 Bar-shouldered Doves, 2 male Rufous Whistlers, 1 (brown) Rose Robin, 2 Grey Fantails, a male Leaden Flycatcher and a Grey Shrike Thrush, one Yellow-faced Honeyeater (heard only) and ditto for Striated Pardalote and Rainbow Bee Eater. We continued to ponder the reason for the paucity of species and numbers in, what appears to be, a perfect habitat.

On the lakeshore things did not improve much. A largish flock of Wood Duck, a single Great Egret, on the water a smaller flock of Hardhead and a Darter; a few Little Black & Little Pied Cormorants, thirty Pelicans and three Great Cormorants covered most of a small island and 2 Gull-billed Terns passed in the distance. In such a large body of water it was a tiny number of birds. The shoreline held nothing, although a weedy grass had sprung up in the mud, but, as walked through it, we noted that it held no insects whatsoever. A White-faced Heron, a White-necked Heron and an Intermediate Egret stood around looking hopeful, but hungry.

We turned the corner into the inlet and found a flock of approx. 230 Hardheads tucked into the dead end – one of the biggest flocks of single species ducks I have seen in Australia. As we walked in they became nervous and eventually most of them flew past us to more open water. An unusual sight in Queensland but it still didn’t make much of a dent in the potential environment.

Back up the track through the trees to the car adding nothing new to the list; Trotter, as usual, bewildering and disappointing. 
We stopped off at Lady Marmalade in Stones Corner for breakfast with a ‘Gringo’ meal being the choice for both of us.

9.5.15                                                                                                

Sandy Camp & Lindum

With the Port McDonnel pelagic, and the subsequent trip to SA, cancelled and both the boys indisposed I headed for Sandy Camp alone arriving at 6.45. A lovely bright, crisp autumn morning. It was quite birdy but nothing particularly outstanding – there were dozens, it seemed, of Little Friarbirds, a good number of Noisy Friarbirds and Grey Fantails everywhere I looked. A few trees were in flower but looked like they had been well hammered over the past few days. 

Little Friarbird

Juvenile Noisy Friarbird

A Whistling Kite, a Brahminy Kite (only my second site record) and a pair of Eastern Ospreys guarding a well grown fledgling in their pole nest completed the raptor count. I wandered around the lakes and tracks finally bumping into the Keats, we chatted for a while, then I moved on. A pair of Forest Kingfishers hung around the metal shelter possibly taking up residence for the winter and I settled for a video of a Brown Honeyeater.

Brown Honeyeater Sandy Camp Q

On to Lindum and in from Kianawah Rd, but no ‘brown’ waders. The usual flock of White-headed Stilts and a total of 27 Red-kneed Dotterels – all looking sleepy in the morning sun. I checked the wetland from Burnby Rd too, but still nothing of particular interest. A flock of 30 Magpie Geese honked overhead and drifted down to land on some more distant waterway. I did add Black Swan to my Lindum list, that was exciting…….not!

Oxley - A White-faced Heron perched up

and the sun shone down the track

2.5.15

Toohey Forest

Friday afternoon/evening – horrendous rain and flooding over SEQ. A huge low pressure system swung in off the ocean and dumped biblical amounts of water onto the coastal areas inland for about 40 kms. Rivers flash flooded, roads cut, cars abandoned, people drowned. I cycled home in it and, despite a couple of detours, got home by 5pm, numbers of other travellers were stuck for hours in traffic chaos and disruption.

So on Saturday morning, it being a bright and sunny follow up, Mr D and I went to Toohey for a casual morning’s birding. Nothing very exciting, but that’s Toohey. Occasionally it throws up a surprise, but its rare – and today was not one of those days. We did have a pair of Brown Goshawks hunting quietly through the trees, a Rose Robin high in a tree, and a drive around the cemetery grounds added several embarrassingly common species to my site list, but there was little to write home about in reality.

We retired to the Leaf café at Tarragindi for breakfast. Higher priced than we usually pay, average service – but the coffee was very good.