Our next birding stop was near
Cunnanulla so we headed west from Salvator Rosa in Carnarvon National Park in
outback Queensland. It was a long slow drive out to Tambo, a small township
located on the Landsborough Highway about half way between Blackall to the
north and Augathella to the south. The large patches of bull dust encountered
on the way in to Santa Rosa had become mud baths thanks to a road contractor
who had sprayed water on them ahead of compaction and grading. We must have
been about half an hour behind the water cart.
There was no way around most of
the wet holes so we had to drive through the mud slurry, which required four
wheel drive and care with a near 2 tonne van on the back. Given the van and
vehicle had not had a wash for a couple of months the added layers of mud were
of no great concern.
From Tambo we drove 200km south for
an overnight stay in Charleville, then in the morning another 200km south to
Cunnamulla. Here we took on fuel and
food before heading out to Bowra Sanctuary, an ex sheep and cattle station just
west of the Warrego River and a short distance north of Cunnamulla. The
property is now owned and managed by Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
For more information regarding
AWC and their important wildlife conservancy work see their web site at: http://www.australianwildlife.org/Home.aspx
This was our third time camping
and birding at Bowra and a trip report from a previous visit can be found in the
Birdlife East Gippsland newsletter, The Chat, at http://www.birdlife.org.au/locations/birdlife-east-gippsland/publications-eg
Click on Publications and then select August 2011 (see page 12).
Click on Publications and then select August 2011 (see page 12).
At
Bowra, we camped near the homestead by a small lagoon fed by artesian bore
water. This is an oasis in a dry environment attracting many species of birds, some
semi resident at the lagoon while we were there such as the Yellow Spoonbills,
Black-winged Stilts, Masked Lapwings (with four chicks), Black-tailed native-hens, Grey Teal, Hardhead and Black-fronted Dotterel. Other birds just visited
for a drink and perhaps a bath. A good list of bird species can be achieved
simply by sitting in camp with a pair of bins at hand.
The artesian bore fed lagoon where we camped at Bowra Sanctuary. |
On
paying the camping fees an information booklet is supplied which contains a map
of the 14,000 hectare property showing the 68.5kms of station tracks used to
access 8 different habitat types across the sanctuary. A bird check list is
also supplied which lists a total of 217 species recorded for the property. A
realistic total for an experienced birder staying for 3 to 5 days, assuming
fair conditions and not drought, would be around 80 to 100 species.
For
our two and a half day stay we managed a total of 72 species with 60 recorded
on the best day. It is very dry at Bowra at present and many of the water birds
are missing. Also the total may have been higher if I had not spent the best
part of one day searching without success for both the White-browed Treecreeper
and Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush in stony mulga country. This is their preferred
habitat, but it is not particularly rich in bird species, certainly not under
the current dry conditions.
Here
is a selection of bird photos captured over the two and half days at Bowra.
Collared
Sparrowhawk
Late
on the first afternoon at Bowra I went out to the Saw Pits Waterhole, a good
birding location, to see what was about. The waterhole was fast drying out with
no water birds present. The lone Whistling Kite perched above the waterhole may
have been hoping for a fish to appear in the receding water.
I
was pleased to flush four Bourke’s Parrots and as I followed them in an attempt
to take a photo, I crossed paths with two Hall’s Babblers. After failing to
photograph either species, both being very shy, I made my way back to the
vehicle. As I did I noticed a flock of Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos feeding on
the ground about one hundred metres ahead. I had just started a careful
approach when a Collared Sparrowhawk attacked a Little Friarbird in a nearby
tree. The initial unsuccessful strike was followed by a furious chase around
the tree and through the canopy several times before the Sparrowhawk gave up
and the Friarbird disappeared. I was able to slowly approach the Sparrowhawk as
it sat and recovered from the effort of the chase. It was a coincidence to find
a Sparrowhawk on the first outing at Bowra just as we did at Salvator Rosa.
The
following photos show the slender legs and elongated middle toe, not always
visible in the field but a good way of separating this species from the very
similar but larger Brown Goshawk.
The Collared Sparrowhawk after the unsuccessful attempt to catch a Little Friarbird for dinner. |
Unfortunately the bird is not all in focus however the shot does show the elongated middle toe and the slender legs which can help identify this species in the field. |
Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo
This most beautiful cockatoo is
somewhat uncommon and has a patchy distribution across large areas of arid inland
Australia. They can often be found at Bowra and as I closed in on this group I
was able to count about forty birds.
Some of a group of 40 Major Mitchell's Cockatoos found at Saw Pits Lagoon Bowra Sanctuary. |
I eventually got too close to the birds and they flew to a couple of nearby trees. One tree was dead affording some clear photo opportunities. |
The birds were not overly concerned by my presence and this pair took the break in feeding as an opportunity to have a cuddle? |
White-browed Woodswallow
On this trip we managed to come
across all six species of woodswallow. Four species, White-browed, Masked,
Black-faced and White-breasted were all at Bowra. For its beautiful colour and
elegance the White-browed is my favourite woodswallow and was the most numerous
of this group at Bowra. They can sometimes be found in very large numbers,
thousands, however the biggest flock I saw late one afternoon contained about
200 to 300 birds chasing insects above the woodland canopy.
Some were nesting. I came across
a nest in a eucalyptus/native cyprus pine woodland. The female flew off to a
nearby tree. I moved back a little and waited for her to return and sure enough
after a few minutes she was back. I captured a few shots of her tentative
return to the nest in a dead limb hollow about 3 metres above the ground.
The handsome male White-browed Woodswallow. |
I disturbed this female White-browed Woodswallow from her nest. However after retreating a short distance and waiting a few minutes she returned. |
She soon decided I was not a threat and approached the nest. |
Back on the nest again she keeps a close eye on me. Her soft grey plumage blends well with the grey timber of the dead limb. |
Splendid Fairy-wren
White-winged, Variegated and
Splendid Fairy-wrens are all found at Bowra. I came upon a mixed group of
Variegated and Splendid Fairy-wrens. My presence made them wary and for safety
they mostly fossicked about in some dense shrubs peeping out from time to time
to see what I was up to. Now and again some of them made bold but brief
appearances beyond the shrub when I managed to snap a few shots of one of the
young male Splendid Fairy-wrens, feathers a little blotchy but close to being
in full breeding plumage. There are three races of the Splendid and this one is
melanotus, the Black-backed Fairy-wren.
This young male Splendid Fairy-wren is looking at me from the safety of shrub. |
The male above has felt confident enough to make a brief excursion from the safety of the shrub giving a few seconds to capture some photos. |
Emu
We saw lots of emus on our drive
south and there were good numbers at Bowra in groups varying from two or three
birds up to thirty or more. Some hung around the camping area and one caught my
attention when it sat down for a drink near our camp.
The emu drinking near our camp. I am not sure "sitting down" is the right description for this bird's position? |
Yellow Spoonbill
Seven Yellow Spoonbills were in
residence at the lagoon camp area while we were there. They alternated between
feeding in the lagoon and resting and sleeping on a small island within the
lagoon or perched in a large dead tree above the lagoon. Their spoonbills are
used in a side to side sweeping motion to find and capture food on the muddy
bottoms of wetlands.
Yellow Spoonbill feeding in lagoon near our camp at Bowra. |
Black-tailed Native-hen
Three Native-hens were also in
residence at the lagoon while we were there. They alternated between hiding in
dense bush near the lagoon and feeding out in the open on the short grassed
areas around the lagoon or in the shallow water sections where there were
grasses.
One of the Black-tailed Native Hens on the lagoon at Bowra. These birds can be found in wetlands across arid Australia. |
Singing Honeyeater
A common honeyeater in both dry
and arid areas across much of mainland Australia west of the Great Dividing
Range.
It took three long days driving
to get home to East Gippsland ending our 2013 trip. It was good to be home
after 12 weeks on the road. While the trip was not about achieving a large bird
list, we did record a total of 292 species.
I enjoy looking for birds to
photograph, and as we have found on previous trips, using this as a reason to
travel often takes you to out of the way places you would not normally visit
with many pleasant discoveries along the way.
Eighteen blog posts have been
completed for the trip and this has been an enjoyable and rewarding task. I
hope you have also enjoyed the posts and especially the images of our precious
birds.
With 12 weeks away and 12,000kms behind
us we arrived home to spring and one of the first birdcalls I heard was the Pallid
Cuckoo, a nomadic species and summer migrant to southeastern Australia. They
were also calling at Bowra so some of them beat us home.
With spring underway
there should be plenty of material for some more posts in the near future – as
they say, “watch this space”.
All the best and cheers,
Avithera
Glade you made it home safe and sound thoroughly enjoyed your trip posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks Neil, glad you enjoyed the posts and thanks for the comments on this and previous posts.
DeleteGreat work J&P,
ReplyDeleteI loved the photos and reports. A bit different to our little corner of the world, hey?
Welcome back,
PW