Birding 2008

 01.3.08

Samsonvale

On a Quail hunt. Red-backed or Red-chested, either, or, in the Samsonvale grasslands. Arrived at 6.30 after the 60 minute drive and a Wild Beans coffee pick up in Enogerra to be met by Mad Ernie the guinea fowl that has survived, against all odds, in the cemetery for the last couple of years. The last of his group – the others ‘disappeared’ very quickly - he (or she?) always greets everyone very enthusiastically as if they have come to rescue him. As soon as he realises there is 1. no food and 2. you’ve not come to take him home, he disappears again! 

Lovely cool morning this first day of Autumn, warming rapidly though. The recent rain had caused a strong growth in the grass and it was thick and chest high below the cemetery. In the first 10 minutes, still in the car park, we had DOUBLE-BARRED FINCHES, MAGPIE LARKS, AUST MAGPIES, RUFOUS WHISTLERS, WILLIE WAGTAILS, GREEN FIGBIRDS, BAR-SHOULDERED DOVES, SILVEREYES, LEWIN’S & STRIPED HONEYEATER, WHITE-THROATED GERYGONE.

Walking down towards the dry lake we picked up a pair of BLACK-SHOULDERED KITES posing nicely for photos, TAWNY GRASSBIRDS and GOLDEN-HEADED CISTICOLAS and in the grass itself flocks of CHESTNUT-BREASTED MANNIKINS wherever we looked – they have obviously had a very good year. Walking out across the track to the middle of the dry lake bed, it was great to see the water cascading across the causeway slowly filling the lake. It will take a lot more rain to complete the fill, but at least there is something happening - a solitary DUSKY MOORHEN and a pair of BLACK DUCK hung out in the recently flooded channel. 

We decided the grass was too thick to push through and chose instead to take the track up and over the hill ‘south’ of the car park. Along the track we had more DB FINCHES, RED-BACKED FAIRY-WREN, SPANGLED DRONGOS, HORSFIELD’S BRONZE-CUCKOO, LITTLE WATTLEBIRD, MISTLETOEBIRD, BROWN, WHITE-THROATED & YELLOW-FACEDHONEYEATERS, GREY FANTAIL, YELLOW ROBIN, BEE EATERS, WHITE-BREASTED WOOD-SWALLOWS, RED-BROWED FINCHES & WHITE-BELLIED CUCKOO-SHRIKE.

We heard KING QUAIL calling and, at one point, R thought he heard an ‘oooming’ call – but it wasn’t repeated and seemed to have been quite distant. We returned the way we had come, back to the car park.

Crossing the road we climbed the gate and walked along the track to the Hoop Pine plantation at the top of the hill. As we emerged from the trees into the open space around the plantation a large raptor soared overhead – a LITTLE EAGLE, carrying a stick. Building material? It disappeared behind the trees and although we waited with cameras ready, did not reappear within good photography range. We did see it a few times as it circled away and higher - and a WHISTLING KITE as well. 

We circled the hoop pines, seeing VARIED TRILLER AND BLACK-FACED MONARCH, BROWN THORNBILL & SACRED KINGFISHER - checked the Owlet Nightjar’s old haunt, nothing, and returned to the car park again.

While we’re here decided we would have a look in the small public park beside the bridge a kilometre or so out of Dayboro – there have been Oriental Cuckoos seen there before….. but today nothing much except a LEADEN FLYCATCHER and a WHITE-FACED HERON.

Thought about Lacey’s creek but as it was now approaching 11.00 and the temperature had risen we decided to drop in on a good friend of mine and let R and Kerrod talk butterflies for a while. We had a late breakfast in Samford village before going to K’s and between Fritillaries and Darts K and I caught up on the last few months of our lives before R and I headed home around 1.30.