3.8.19
Minnippi
A good morning for my first morning’s birding since I came back 2 weeks ago. Met Mr P in the carpark and we followed the usual trail, including the Airfield Track.
Calling Eastern Yellow Robins on both tracks Rufous and Australian Golden Whistlers here and there, loads of Grey and 1 Rufous Fantail, several calling Fan-tailed Cuckoos and the like. Few honeyeaters, apart from a couple of Yellow-faced, the ubiquitous Lewin’s and a Brown or two.
The best birds were on the lake. A Black-necked Stork (my 4thsite record) and a very confiding Yellow-billed Spoonbill (my 3rdsite record) provided nice opportunities for the cameras.
 |
| Mirror Image (almost) Black-necked Stork |
 |
| Yellow-billed Spoonbill |
In the raptor lookout shed a pair of Welcome Swallows had built a nest – a bit out of season I was thinking, but there it was.
Overall it was quite a birdy morning.
10.8.19
Anstead
Mr D picked me up at 6 and we headed west to Anstead. Overall it was pretty quiet – in some places there was nothing at all. The wind had picked up overnight and didn’t help but we did have most of the usual birds, plus a briefly perched up Collared Sparrowhawk and a pair of Spotted Pardalotes.
Along the bitumen stretch a Common Bronzewing flew in to a nearby tree and presented a twig to its nest building mate. They both sat there quietly providing excellent viewing – not always easy with Bronzewings.
 |
| Common Bronzewing |
We planned to breakfast at Kenmore but our usual café was closed – possibly permanently - so we stopped at the Plum in the shopping centre for the usual de-brief.
11.8.19
Oxley
This morning Mr P picked me up and we headed for Oxley.
A Black Kite presented overhead as we left the car and the track was birdy enough without being overly exciting. We had a Black-shouldered Kite, all three Fairy Wrens and a pair of White-throated Gerygones showed well. A number of paddocks have been slashed since my last visit and provided habitat for at least 15 Magpie Larks – I don’t normally record more than 4 at this site.
After we turned off for the ponds a White-necked Heron showed well in the field on the right and later we had two together in flight. At the ponds we found the main area of water almost completely covered in Water Hyacinth and, as we approached, a Latham’s Snipe flew in, landed and was immediately chased off by a Purple Swamphen. This would seem to be a relatively early record.
As mentioned some of the grass had been slashed but sufficient patches remained to harbour at least some of the remaining Brown Quail, two of whom crossed the track as we walked back to the car.
17.8.19
Minnippi
Neither of the ‘Boys’ were available this morning so I went for a walk at Minnippi.
The lake was pretty busy with numerous Hardheads, Eurasian Coots and Comb-crested Jacanas among the usual Dusky Moorhens, Australian Grebes and Pacific Black Duck. A female Pheasant Coucal sunned herself on a tree branch over to the left – the first one I’ve seen in yonks.
The M1 track was very quiet – no small passerines at all, in fact I saw very few anywhere. The Avenue was the same with just a Swamp Wallaby right up the far end.
Back at the lake the level in the ‘middle’ pond has dropped even more. The previously seen Yellow-billed Spoonbill was replaced by 3 Royal Spoonbills and there was no sign of the Black-necked Stork of two weeks ago. A large number of Grey Teal – approx 40 – mostly sleeping so there may have been a female Chestnut among them. Two pairs of Black-fronted Dotterel, one flying around calling which was display like, and 5 White-headed Stilts.
From the boardwalk I saw a Buff-banded Rail running along the muddy island edge and a Black-shouldered Kite sat up overseeing everything.
I sat at the raptor lookout for a few minutes then headed home – didn’t bother with the Airfield Track. The overall species numbers were poor – and more noticeable for missing stuff – no Grey Fantails, no Whistlers, no Fairy-wrens, only 1 calling Brown Honeyeater and a handful of Lewin’s.
24.8.19
Sandy Camp & Lindum (Kianawah mudflats)
Picked Mr D up at 6.15 and were on-site by 6.35. Lovely spring morning, cool, clear, calm, sunny and no one else there.
Mostly the usual, expected species, nothing outstanding. Wandering Whistle Ducks showed very well close to the viewing platform and the water itself was quite ‘busy’. At least one, possibly two, Water Rats swam around the pond edge.
Wandered around the usual tracks with a scattering of Grey Fantails, Rufous & Australian Golden Whistlers, 2 Leaden Flycatchers and only my second site record of Lewin’s Honeyeater – which was almost bird of the day.
Two Rufous Fantails together were quite confiding, but other than that it was much as expected.
We stopped off, fairly briefly, at Kianawah Rd, aka Lindum, but apart from ~75 White-headed Stilts and 1 Australian Pipit it was pretty average too.
Retired for breakfast at The Lounge, pka (previously known as) Belesis and were the only customers for some time – we were there for a couple of hours and it never actually got busy, one wonders how long it will survive. Its kinda strange considering nothing has changed - i.e. menu, coffee, charges - despite the change of ownership.
27.8.19
A Day in Cairns
There’d been reports of Rufous Owl in Cairns since I’d come back from Ireland in mid-July. I had been trying to arrange a rendezvous in Cairns for a few days but that hadn’t worked out so decided I’d just go for one day on my own. Without big-noting myself, I’ve seen everything there is to see bird-wise in the general area and although another opportunity to re-visit some of those species was attractive I wanted to keep costs to a minimum and, in the end, just didn’t have the heart to spend more time there.
I had booked a Virgin flight for nothing – used some of my points, 37,000, for return flights - and booked my car into the Airpark at the airport for 10 bucks for the day, which was the best value transport for this trip.
I left home at 5.15, parked the car at 5.45 and within 15 minutes was delivered to the domestic terminal by the free shuttle bus.
After an uneventful flight we landed at 9.30. I called an Uber and was delivered to Les Davie Park on Mackenzie street 15 minutes later. Two other guys were there and within 5 minutes I was ticking my last Australian owl species – a male Rufous Owl perched up hanging on to a recently deceased Rock Pigeon.
 |
| Rufous Owl male |
I hung around for about 30 minutes watching and filming the bird then walked down to the esplanade.
The tide was way out and the glare on the mud horrific so birding was pretty difficult – a few waders were on the mud but little of interest until just before Muddy’s café a Beach Stone Curlew flew in and alighted in a fresh water storm drain outlet.
 |
| Beach Stone Curlew |
I sat and watched it for a while then started to walk again. A few minutes and a guy on a push bike asked me if I was birding? And would I like to see a Rufous Owl? Brian Venables showed me a female in a tree right behind Muddy’s above the children’s play area. I think he’d only just found it as I had seen no records on E Bird and he was keen to tell other Cairns birders about it. He believed it was a female and certainly it looked smaller than the male I’d seen an hour previously.
 |
| Rufous Owl female |
Interestingly both owls kept one eye closed a lot of the time - both right eyes.
Two Rufous Owls in one day? I celebrated with an almond croissant and a large coffee in Muddy’s.
With little left to do really I decided to walk to the Centenary Gardens and see what was about. It took me longer than I had anticipated and it was pretty hot in the 28 degree sun, however, 45 minutes later saw me filming Orange-footed Scrubfowl scratching away in the dirt. They are always difficult birds to film – they’re either running away or hanging out in the darker sections of their habitat.
 |
| Orange-footed Scrubfowl |
I wandered around the gardens for a while, concentrating mainly around the fresh water pond, having heard there were Spotted Whistling Ducks there – but found none.
I did see a couple of Ulysses Swallowtails but couldn’t get them to land anywhere within reach. I heard a Black Butcherbird but it being around 13.00 and hot, nothing much else was active or showing.
As I sat in the shade beside the pond 3 Radjah Shelducks flew in to mingle with the Pacific Black Ducks and provided very close viewing as they seemed to be looking for human handouts.
 |
| Radjah Shelduck |
At 14.00 I ordered another Uber and headed back to the airport, hanging out there until my flight at 16.35. It was, in fact, delayed and it was almost 17.00 before it took off.
We landed at 10 to 7, I retrieved my car and was home by 10 to 8.
All in all a brief sojourn that provided some quality birds and completed my list of Australian owls.
31.8.19
Oxley
Mr D picked me up at 6 and we were on site to a ground-misty morning 15 minutes later.
It was a pretty birdy morning ending up with, by my reckoning, 67 species which wasn’t too bad, but little out of the ordinary.
We did have a distant perched up Brown Falcon and a Black-shouldered Kite and a fly over Black Kite, a ‘flock’ of 5 Latham’s Snipe flying in towards the ponds on our way out was an unusual sight and a Rose Robin pointed out to us by another birder was a nice list addition. A pair of Fan-tailed Cuckoos seemed to be preparing to start the egg-laying process, showing very well, very close, trilling away excitedly and we did have one Eastern Spinebill which was only my fourth site record – the other three all being in the winter of 2014.
A single fruit bat hanging over the river being harassed by a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo was an unusual observation – the nearest roost probably being on the Brisbane River - and appears to have been a Black Flying Fox Pteropus alecto.
Other than that, although birdy, there wasn’t much to write home about.
We retired to Café Europa in Sherwood for the usual breakfast and discussion.
No comments:
Post a Comment