1.12.19
Atkinson's Dam
Mr P had brought me up to date with the local birding when I had come back two weeks ago, and a small flock of Little Curlews at Lake Atkinson had been of special interest – but I had not made any effort in the interim.
I don’t like the Lockyer Valley.
I find it a bit depressing overall and very tiring. Hot, dry, flat and apart from the birds, boring.
I’m probably being unfair as there have been some great birds out there and a number of species that are reliable nowhere else in SEQ.
However, it’s not my favourite place!
I decided, though, that I needed to make the effort and so was up at 4 and on the road by 4.30 to try to beat the heat. I got to Atkinson’s at 5.30 to find the gate to the picnic area closed, but it was possible to walk in, which I did, and scanned the virtually completely dry ‘dam’. There were two small patches of water near the dam wall, but scanning produced nothing of great interest. I walked back to the car and drove to the far end of the wall, along Boyce’s Rd and scanned from there. Nothing of special interest apart from several Whistling Kites and a White-bellied Sea Eagle standing around waiting for something to die and a single Pink-eared Duck trying to avoid being part of that scenario.
No sign of any LCs, but then again, there had been no reports of them for about two weeks so I hadn’t been very optimistic.
I drove slowly along Boyce’s Rd checking the fields where a few Ibis and duck fed, but nothing else showed up until I reached the top of the hill and had a Ground Cuckoo-shrike in the field on the right. I’ve had them there before on several occasions and it was a good year tick. I saw it on the ground for a few seconds before it flew off into the distance and the building heat shimmer.
I thought about my options, but couldn’t face spending more time driving around the area so just turned the wheel and headed home, hoping to avoid the Ipswich rd early morning traffic, which I managed getting home by 8.00.
8.12.19
White's Hill, Lindum, Fuller .....and White's Hill again
Mr P picked me up, as arranged by txt, at 5.30 and we headed for White’s Hill first as Oriental Cuckoos (2) had been seen there the previous afternoon. It was a hot, but bearable morning, at about 20 degrees after a slightly cooler night following a 39 degree day……….However, a haze still hung over the city from the recent and current bushfires and generally it was not really a day I would choose to go birding, but I did want to get out and about.
We parked up near the pond and walked in seeing very little to start with. Everything was just sort of muted in the heat. However, near the back of the pond we flushed a Latham’s Snipe – a site-list tick apparently, then headed up the steep dirt track and into the dry, relatively dead, woodland at the top.
Mr P took me in to show me where the Powerful Owl roost was. It was vacant but at least I know where it is now.
Back through the woods to the pond again and no sign of any OCs. As we stood at the top of the slope Mr P called ‘What’s that? ‘, and in the same breath, ‘It’s a Square-tailed Kite!’
Fair dues to him to ID it so fast as it approached head-on and then flew overhead fairly low – another site tick for both of us.
Back down to the pond, and eventually the car, with nothing else of note.
We set off for Lindum. Halfway there and another birder, ‘Elliot’, called. He had gone to get the Snipe as a site tick for himself and had re-found at least 2 Oriental Cuckoos……..
We agreed to return there, but first checked Lindum from Burnby Rd. A handful of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and White-headed Stilts, but nothing unusual, so on to Fuller.
We parked up and walked in, stopping quietly to scan a large flock of waders on the severely reduced muddy pond. There were about 200 Sharp-tailed, 15-20 Marsh Sandpipers, 20-25 Red-kneed Dotterels, Grey and Chestnut Teal females, White-headed Stilts etc. It looked really good.
Mr P said ‘There’s a stint over here’ There were two and as we looked at them he said ‘One is definitely a Red-necked but the other one looks f…..g weird, what do you fink’?
It was clear the second bird was different and it became apparent it had yellow legs, although they were heavily mud-encrusted to the knees. Long-toed Stint!
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| Long-toed Stint - not the long toes! |
Long-toed Stint video - to come
We spent a half an hour or so taking photos and video while Mr P called and txtd others and received replies.
Then it was back to White’s Hill again with Elliot now reporting 3 Oriental Cuckoos, 2 hepatic and one grey bird..
We got back and met him there and just missed one bird perched up on a dead tree. Apparently they were very flighty and so it proved to be. Mr P caught a glimpse of one, which I missed, as it dived into the tree line, but eventually we saw another hepatic bird flying through the canopy, although it wouldn’t perch up long enough to get the scope, camera or even the bins on it for more than a second or two.
We gave it away after another half hour or so as the heat was increasing and Mr P had commitments elsewhere.
We loads of records of strange inland species turning up in and around SEQ it may yet prove to be an interesting summer.
9.12.19
Oxley
A Black-eared Cuckoo had been reported the previous day so I thought I might as well give it a go.
I’ve never been very successful on ‘twitches’, averaging about 1% success rate. Yes, ONE percent success. But somehow, like the pain of childbirth I think, you forget the agony of previous attempts and go back for more…….misery.
I walked out the path seeing a few of the usual stuff and meeting an enthusiastic, long-legged, twenty-something birder called Bryden striding out to Wagtail Way, the turn off to the ponds where the bird had been seen. I trailed along in his wake, running occasionally just to keep up…..
I abandoned my keeping-up attempt once we reached the corner and stared in amazement at, count ‘em, 9 other birders strung along the track. NINE!! It was a massive twitch for any location in SEQ, especially on a Tuesday morning in 23 degree heat.
A number of SEQ’s birding, uncrowned, royalty were present – Matt G, Nikolas H, Duane B and Chris B I recognised - and quietly filtered into their group.
Cutting a long dragged out story of failure (once again - make that 0.1%) we spent the next two hours checking everything that moved and found a Horsfield’s and a Shining Bronze and, most likely, a fly-by Brush Cuckoo. And with Channel-billed Cuckoos calling in the background, it was an all-but-Black-eared-cuckoo-morning really.
If I hadn’t gone, I’m sure it would have performed brilliantly.
I just hope the others don’t actually realise this.
It was seen again the next morning…….
10.12.19
White's Hill revisited
Having now sworn off any further twitches – refer back to childbirth comparison, no more of that sex-stuff, you can put THAT away – I was almost at a loss.
Anywhere I went at the moment could be construed as a twitch - and I hazarded spoiling anyone’s else’s chances of seeing the target just by being there.
However, Mr P had seen three Oriental Cuckoos at White’s Hill the previous evening and as I hadn’t seen an hepatic OC well, nor do I have any photos of that form, I decided I’d go and have another look.
I was on site by 6.30 after a stormy overnight with a fair, surprising, dump of rain.
With the rain and change, they’ve probably all moved on, I figured.
The Cane Toads were blasting their mating calls so loudly I couldn’t hear helicopters overhead and the path was littered with thousands of tiny Cane Toadlets. I walked along slowly watching the skyline and stopped at a railing to give me something to lean against while I watched the trees along the cliff.
Eventually a single bird showed.
Directly in front of the sun, of course.
I risked burning out my remaining good eye to establish that it was an OC and waited until it flew to a more light-friendly perch. It was still more or less a silhouette but I was pretty sure it was an hepatic form.
I took some photos, none of which I kept as they were just shit, and when it moved off I walked up the hill and stood on the cliff edge for about half an hour but didn’t see any more sign.
I left before anyone else turned up to look for them so I wouldn’t spoil it.
14.12.19
Oxley - again
Mr D had expressed a desire to look for the Black-eared Cuckoo at Oxley so I picked him up at 5.30. I didn’t hold out much hope – refer previous posts…..- but we tried anyway.
From the parked car we could see 3 Pallid Cuckoos perched up on the distant fences which was a good start and it was a very birdy morning. On Thursday and Friday nights we had had brief, but very wet, storms pass through dumping a lot of rain (Thursday becoming the wettest day for 50+ years apparently) and this seemed to have stimulated the local birdlife after such a long dry period.
There were heaps of Red-backed and Superb Fairy Wrens and Double-barred Finches and I ended up with a list of 68 species for the morning – I think Mr D may have had a couple more – of species I failed to hear. We had a flock of approx 200 scattered White-throated Needletails including several identifiable Pacific Swifts, a Rufous Songlark (only my third site record), a probable total of at least 6 Pallid Cuckoos, a White-necked Heron (out of season a bit?), both White-winged (2) and Varied Trillers (1) and 3 Brown Falcons along with most of the usual birds.
4 Red Deer (2 females and 2 grown fawns) also showed up - a new mammal for us at this site, flushed by the Professor walking the fields.
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| White-winged Triller (male) |
All in all it was a good morning, but no sign of the BEC. Meanwhile from Minnippi Mr P rang to announce his success at finding an Oriental Cuckoo and 4 Brown Songlarks on site. (Luckily I wasn't there.....)
We retired to Café Europa in Sherwood for a much needed breakfast.
15.12.19
Minnippi
Working on the basis of Mr P’s report from yesterday and despite my stated lack of hope or interest in chasing ‘other people’s birds’ I decided to go to Minnippi and try to see them. After all Mr P’s birds are almost my own, so…
(and I can’t let him get TOO far ahead in the site listings stakes, he’s already 2 ahead so…..)
I was in the carpark at 6, it was already too warm and humid. I walked around to the sports ground to the right of the bridge as he had described and found the 4 Brown Songlarks, also as he had described. Nice views on the open short grassed field, but I didn’t try to get too close.
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| Really crappy photo of Brown Songlark |
Then back to the bridge and the usual circuit.
Highlights were:
A nice pair of Oriental Dollarbirds display flighting above the creek, along the edge of the wood backing onto the M1.
A Long-billed Corella sitting up quietly in a dead tree on the M1 track - looks like they could be nesting.
Two Channel-billed Pterodactyls Cuckoos flying around calling above the lake – always a great sight.
A Buff-banded Rail near the boardwalk.
Approx 100 White-throated Needletails accompanied by several Pacific Swifts circling high above the water.
But:
No sign of any Oriental Cuckoo.
I met a juvenile birder from Woolloongabba who went by the name of ‘Rob’ – another one, I thought - but he was pretty keen and seemed to know enough to be considered a genuine birder and not a fly-by-night photographer – he didn’t even have an obvious camera. He was on his way to see the Songlarks and, when I bumped into him again later, had also managed the Pale-vented Bush Hen under the bridge over the creek. I pointed him in the direction of the M1 track for the LB Corella and then tried for the Bush Hens myself, without success. I considered playback, but decided I didn’t need to see them and it was best to reserve playback for when I did.
By this time (8.00) it was ’27, feels like 30’ and the 74% humidity was running down my back so I headed home - enough is enough.
22.12.19
Minnippi
After a rather frustrating week chasing Cotton Pygmy Geese at Minnippi on Tuesday and Little Bloody Curlew again at Atkinson’s Dam on Thursday - both unsuccessful forays which left me considering throwing my scope, my bins and myself off the nearest birding tower - followed by a ‘waste-of-time’ morning out with Mr D to Kedron Brook and Sandgate, I was not very enthusiastic on Sunday morning.
But, I went out anyway and wandered around Minnippi again in the 24C heat and 74% humidity at 6.30am.
It wasn’t particularly exciting, but at least there were good numbers of birds. No Cotton Pygmy Geese again – they seem to either have disappeared altogether or just randomly visit the lake at odd times – did see the Brown Songlarks (3 left) in the playing fields, a Spotless Crake, a Whiskered Tern, 2 Latham’s Snipe and 14 Wandering Whistle Ducks among a total of 50 species.
And found a small dead Carpet Python on the road outside the park area which I brought home with the intention of skinning.
24.12.19
Minnippi - a brief twitch visit
At home just sitting down to two perfectly boiled eggs, toast and a top cup of tea and my phone rang - Mr P was looking at an Oriental Cuckoo at Minnippi.
Well, what do you do?
The boiled eggs would keep, the tea could be replaced so 20 minutes later I joined him at the end of The Avenue to add Oriental Cuckoo to my Minnippi list. A juvenile or possibly hepatic bird feeding low down. I got pretty close, but average views as it didn't expose itself and flew deeper into the bush fairly soon after we re-found it. Good enough to become a new addition to my list and completely destroy Mr D's 10 year stranglehold on OC at this site.......
Nice Christmas present - thanks Mr P.
28.12.19
Sandy Camp
Picked up Mr D at 5.45 and arrived on site just after 6. It was pretty birdy with the first lake very busy with Duck, Egrets, Ibis, Spoonbills, Cormorants, Grebes, Moorhens, Coots, Jacanas, Reed Warblers, 3 Nankeen Night Herons, at least 3 Striated Herons and a single Whiskered Tern (just my second site record).
We walked the usual track along the middle berm with the same stuff and Mr D found a small Keelback Tropidonophis mairii at the end of the track.
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| Keelback Tropidonophis mairii |
On around to the ‘back’ pond in hopes of a recently seen Black-backed Bittern, but being a well-publicised bird, and the resultant ‘visitors’ looking for it - and it now being a couple of hours past dawn - we had little or no chance of seeing it.
Back around the pond to the main track and a distant Horsfield’s Cuckoo was the only bird of real interest. Met up with Mike D and Terry A but they had had little of extra interest too.
Back at the car Mr D discovered he’d lost a rolled up poncho he had had attached to his belt in case of rain and we walked the track again in opposite directions but failed to find it. I did see a female White-winged Triller on this ‘second’ visit.
The morning list was at least 57 species (I think Mr D had 2 others he heard that I didn’t)
We checked Fuller - but found it full.....surprisingly the small amount of recent rain had really affected the water level - and Lindum where there were no waders, apart from White-headed Stilts and 1 Glossy Ibis.
We had breakfast at the Thynne Rd café in Morningside.
31.12.19
Minnippi yet again
I wanted to do something, but was feeling a bit drained and not very well, however I got up and went to Minnippi anyway – getting there at 5.30.
It was a birdy morning with a couple of unusual unseasonal sightings.
The lake was busy with a total of 9 Latham’s Snipe poking around the muddy edges, along with 3 Glossy Ibis. A Spotless Crake put in a brief appearance and the Whiskered Tern was still hawking insects.
Along the M1 track a Fan-tailed Cuckoo was a bit out-of-season (?) – only my second Summer sighting.
On the walk back along the cement path a Rufous Fantail also appeared to be an unseasonal observation (once again only my second summer record) and a single Red-browed Finch was a nice pick up and yet again only my second summer record!
I ended up with a list of 58 species.
It wasn’t too hot, only 22/23C but I was feeling pretty knackered by the time I got back to the car.
End of year summary
So, having birded 167 days, in 9 countries and 3 continents - Ireland, England, Spain, Finland, Norway, Spain again, Bali, Canada, USA and, of course, Australia - one would think I would have had an impressive year list - even though I hadn't set out to achieve anything special.
However, as best I can calculate I saw a total of 741 species this year with 170 lifers (only 1 of which was an Australian species - Rufous Owl, of course).
Not as impressive as maybe I would have thought? But it's been a great year and I have had some amazing experiences - but I don't think I can do that much travelling in a year again........
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