AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2005

AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2005 TRIP REPORT

by Robbie Fischer

 

Note: Links to many of the photos including annotations by Joe Morlan have been added - 2 July 2006.

 

Joe Morlan and I arrived in Sydney about 6:30 AM on Aug. 7 after a 15 hour flight from San Francisco.  We took a taxi to the Park Regis and left our luggage.  We had a couple hours to explore nearby Hyde Park before our room would be ready.  One of our first bird sightings was a pair of Laughing Kookaburras, a fitting introduction to Australia.  Welcome Swallows hawked insects overhead and Magpie-larks probed the ground.  Pied Currawongs called from the trees, and Noisy Miners earned their name.

 

After a short rest, we visited Royal Botanic Garden and saw our first Crested Pigeons.  Huge bats hung in the trees wrapped in their wings.  The pond contained Dusky Moorhens, White-eyed and Pacific Black Ducks and a gorgeous Chestnut Teal.  Little Pied Cormorant and Little Black Cormorant shared the trees with nesting Australian White Ibis feeding large chicks.  Masked Lapwings walked on the lawn revealing their wing spurs. We walked all the way to the Sydney Opera House on a lovely, sunny day.  It s winter in Australia but the temperature was in the fifties.

 

Monday morning we took a cab to Centennial Park and spent the day getting acquainted with some common urban birds.  Mixed flocks of Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Long-billed Corella walked on the grass and we encountered our first Willie Wagtails, a bird as ubiquitous in Australia as our Black Phoebe is in California.  Ponds in this park contained Dusky Moorhens, Black-winged Stilts, Black-fronted Dotterels, Black Swans with 6 cygnets, Gray Teal, Musk Duck, Purple Swamphens, copulating Great Cormorants, a pair of Darters and a Royal Spoonbill.  We saw a male Superb Fairy-Wren and were blown away by the intensity of the colors.  In an area near the lake, a Tawny Frogmouth held its pose for a bit of digiscoping as did a Laughing Kookaburra and a New Holland Honeyeater.

 

After a restless, jet-lagged night, Joe took the train to Olympic Park at 6 AM while I watched the sunrise over Sydney Harbor from the 45th floor with a couple Pied Currawongs hoping for a hand out.  Joe s trip turned out to be quite an adventure and he added Red Wattlebird to his growing list of photographed birds.

 

Our flight to Brisbane left at 2 PM so we had to compress our birding into just a few hours. We stayed at the Hotel Explorer s Inn, which comes highly recommended for the price but the rooms are really tiny.  Fortunately, it was in walking distance of the Roma Parklands and the Brisbane Transit Center, so it was convenient for our shuttle coach to O Reilly s Rainforest Guest House the next morning.  This was our most expensive indulgence, three nights with a great restaurant and room.  O'Reilly's is in the mountains of Lamington National Park and is well known in Australia, partly because you can hand feed Crimson Rosellas and King Parrots. O'Reilly's is also the place for bower birds; the males make a courtship structure with sticks and some even use decorations, like the Satin Bowerbird at its bower. The weather here was quite cool, probably in the 50's but the few times we saw a weather report the temperatures were in Celsius so who knew.  I learned one of my favorite Australian phrases here; instead of "You're welcome" as a response to thank you, the Aussies often say "No Worries".  I think I'll adopt that one.

 

Many birders who had visited O’Reilly’s over the years highly recommended it but times have changed and the emphasis is more on “bush walking” and catering to day trippers up from the coast.  The early morning bird walk around the lodge was enjoyable but the longer morning hikes are very strenuous and no time is allowed for seeking out birds we could hear in the forest.  Most of the species we saw here we also saw elsewhere on our trip.  Overall, O’Reilly’s was an expensive disappointment.Nevertheless we enjoyed the confiding Australian Brush-turkeys, Grey Butcherbirds, Lewin's Honeyeaters, and elegant Regent Bowerbirds on the grounds of the lodge.

 

On Saturday, the 13th, we flew back to Brisbane for one night and checked out the local parks before our flight to tropical north Queensland and Cairns mid-afternoon.  Roma Street Parkland is pleasant and we saw Buff-banded Rails here along with Pied Butcherbird and Brown Honeyeater.  The Brisbane Botanic Park was lovely, with a boardwalk through the mangroves along the Brisbane River.  This was the only place we saw Mangrove Gerygone and had our first look at Sacred Kingfisher.

 

In Cairns we stayed at Bay Village Tropical Retreat two blocks from the Esplanade, the park along the edge of the Coral Sea.  The following morning we boarded the Sea Star for a trip to Michaelmas Cay and the Great Barrier Reef.  This was winter in Australia so the water temp was high 60's but I snorkeled for a bit while Joe checked out the sea birds on the island.  We saw Brown Boobies and a Great Frigatebird among the many Sooty Terns and noddies.  Later in the afternoon we moved to a small glass-bottomed boat to check out the Hastings Reef.  Giant Clams were a hit.  The next day we birded the Esplanade in the morning and saw lots of great shorebirds, including Gray-tailed Tattler, Red-necked Stint, Great Knot and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.  Here we saw both Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, and Australian Pelicans. Welcome Swallow, Varied Honeyeater, Peaceful Dove, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike, and Australian Raven posed for pcitures. Near the hotel we saw adult male and immature Figbirds. We took a bus to Centenary Park and had a wonderful time seeing Black and Brahminy Kites, Little and Forest Kingfishers, Yellow Oriole and a pair of Bush Stone-Curlews.  As we were leaving, we encountered Brian Venables.  He surveys Centenary Park daily and he showed us a roosting Papuan Frogmouth. 

 

That afternoon Joe picked up our rental car and we drove north to the Daintree River, being careful to stay on the left side of the road.  We stayed at Red Mill House in Daintree Village.  It was a great choice, walking distance to the small town and the surrounding fields and rainforest.  A wonderful breakfast on the veranda overlooking the gardens was included and Andrew and Trish Forsyth were caring hosts.  We took a walk with them our first afternoon.  Metallic Starlings had just returned from the north and we had scope views of Blue-winged Kookaburras, Sacred Kingfisher, Spangled Drongo, Green Figbirds and Bar-shouldered Doves.  We had Barramundi, a delicious local fresh water fish, for dinner in the village with a bottle of wine purchased next door at the general store.

 

Wednesday the 17th we took a river cruise with Chris Dahlberg.  It was showering in the morning and it’s an open boat so we were happy to have our rain gear as the rain became quite intense at times. At the dock we were greeted by a White-lipped Tree Frog. Some of the great birds were Rufous Night-Heron, Azure Kingfisher, Gould’s Bronze-cuckoo, Leaden and Shining Flycatchers and a Wompoo Fruit-Dove on a nest.  A full list is here. Later in the day I walked along Stewart Creek Road and found a Double-eyed Fig-Parrot nest hole in a snag.  The birds were excavating.  Luckily, Joe and I carry radios so we are able to keep in touch if either of us sees something special.  We drove out to Harlow’s Bridge in the afternoon and enjoyed Fan-tailed Cuckoo and White-breasted Woodswallows along with the Varied Triller and Rufous Shrike-Thrush.  In town a Helmeted Friarbird, Yellow-bellied Sunbird (and another photo ), and Dusky Honeyeater showed nicely. We ate dinner at Papaya Restaurant in the village and tried an appetizer of crocodile bites – not bad.

 

Thursday morning was showery, even though this is the dry season, so we did some car birding along Stewart Creek Road to Harlow’s Bridge.  Joe did some digiscoping of Rainbow Bee-eaters (here's another photo) and Forest Kingfishers which were abundant.  On our return trip we were lucky to see a Pheasant Coucal crossing the road.  We packed reluctantly for our drive south, stopping at Mossman for groceries and wine.  Many raptors were flying above the sugar cane fields, including White-bellied Sea-Eagles, Australian Kestrel, Brown Falcon and numerous Black Kites.  We pulled over on Sanitary Depot Road to try to get better looks and the left front tire of the rental car dropped into a culvert.  We were hung up on the chassis, wondering how to explain this to Eurocar.  A young Aussie cane truck driver crossed over to us and assessed the situation.  He suggested that Joe put the car in reverse and he would lift up the front.  I was skeptical but it worked and we were soon on our way, greatly relieved.

 

Later that afternoon we arrived at Kingfisher Park in Julatten.  It's a birder's dream with feeders set up to attract honeyeaters and firetails, great for photography.  Here we had a full kitchen and the now expected double bed plus a single bed.  Queens and kings are rare everywhere.  In the evening we went for a spotlighting walk with Keith Fisher, the new owner of the lodge, and saw Lesser Sooty Owl juveniles leave their nest hole in a town park.  The next morning we went down the trail at 6:30 to wait for the resident Noisy Pitta.  Many people search for these without success but we were lucky and saw this one each of our three mornings.  Macleay’s, Yellow-spotted, Graceful and Brown-backed honeyeaters all took advantage of the flowering shrubs and nectar feeders.  Emerald Doves and Orange-footed Scrubfowl added to the scene.The feeders attracted Blue-faced Honeyeters and Raibow Lorikeets.,

 

On Friday we explored surrounding areas recommended by our host.  Our first stop was for Australian Bustards on East Mary Road and Joe photographed two of them.  We also saw large black birds with funereal wing-beats off in the distance and Joe thought they might be cockatoos.  He got the scope on them and indeed they were Red-tailed Black Cockatoos (and another photo).  Late morning we visited Mt. Carbine and saw Freckled Ducks (somewhat out of range), Wandering Whistling-Ducks, Great Crested Grebe, Royal and Yellow-billed Spoonbills and Staw-necked Ibis. We stopped for lunch at the Mt. Molloy Hotel, one of the oldest in the area, and I tried oysters Kirkpatrick with barbecue sauce and bacon, an Aussie specialty.  That evening we drove to the outskirts of town and encountered a young gray kangaroo, uncommon in the area but we were delighted.   Two Squatter Pigeons and two White-throated Honeyeaters near the school didn’t object to being photographed.  At sunset we stopped at Abattoir Swamp and were rewarded with Little Bronze-Cuckoo in an acacia tree.

 

Saturday was partly cloudy with some drizzle but we chanced a drive to Mt. Lewis for some endemics on Keith Fisher’s advice.  We saw Atherton Scrubwren, Bower’s Shrike-Thrush and Mountain Thornbill along with a male Golden Whistler and a striking White-cheeked Honeyeater.  Late that afternoon we saw Magpie Geese in a pond along Mc Donough Road.

 

Sunday, the 21st we left for the drive south to the Atherton Tablelands.  Chambers Rainforest Lodge was virtually empty of visitors and we reveled in the solitude.  We had great accommodations, with a kitchen and a king-sized bed.  We filled the mesh feeders on deck with apples and bananas and had wonderful close views of male and female Victoria’s Riflebirds and Spotted Catbirds. That evening we dined at Nick’s Swiss/Italian restaurant in nearby Yungaburra, good food and friendly service.  On Monday we set out to Winfield Park in Malanda, purported to be a haven for platypus.  We missed seeing any but had wonderful views of Golden Whistler and Tooth-billed Bowerbird.  Double-eyed Fig Parrots played hide and seek behind the leaves across the slough.  We stocked up on groceries in Malanda where Joe couldn't resist photographing a Common Mynah, and headed to Lake Eachem for a walk in the rainforest after lunch at Chambers. Here we found the large Brown Cuckoo-Dove in the fruting trees. During lunch our friendly Lewin’s Honeyeater landed on Joe’s knee after perching briefly on my binoculars.  

 

Later that afternoon we visited Hastie’s Swamp.  It was sunny and in the 60’s and the Pink-eared Ducks, Plumed Whistling Ducks and Magpie Geese were out in force.  Although it’s winter here, Joe photographed a recently hatched Purple Swamphen chick right below the viewing platform.  A White-bellied Sea-Eagle stood guard over the swamp. We decided to conclude our afternoon at Bromfield Swamp and, although our map was sketchy, we did find it and saw both Sarus and Brolga cranes along with Pacific and White-faced herons.  Back in Yungaburra we had directions to another platypus possibility, following a 2 – 3 mile trail that began at the “Platypus Viewing Platform” near Nick’s restaurant.  A few people we encountered had seen platypus in the last hour or so and we had high hopes.  After almost two hours of walking the trail and returning, Joe went to the car to change his shoes while I waited at the viewing platform.  Within two minutes a platypus appeared and I risked ostracism by shouting once to Joe so he wouldn’t miss it.  Luckily, he ran up just in time!

 

Tuesday, August 23rd we enjoyed a morning on the grounds at Chambers while I did some laundry.  Joe got frame filling photos of Eastern Spinebill (and another photo) and Gray-headed Robin right on the lawn in front of our lodge and a Grey Fantail nearby.  We saw a pair of Bridled Honeyeaters and had great looks at Varied Triller, Mistletoe Bird and Brown Gerygone, a tiny bird about the size of a Bushtit but with a much shorter tail.  Later in the day we took a ride to Lake Tinaroo and I did some shopping while Joe tried to capture photos of Scarlet Honeyeater, Spangled Drongo, Willie Wagtail (and another photo) After dinner back at the lodge, we joined Alan Gillanders for a night walk from Yungaburra and saw one Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo and three species of possums, including 14 Green Ringtail Possums, a new record for this tour.

 

On our last morning at Atherton Tablelands we drove to a different area at Lake Tinaroo, off Lloyd Road in Yungaburra.  This proved worthwhile as we added Cotton Pygmy-Goose, Red-kneed Dotterel and Latham’s Snipe to our water bird list.  We then drove to Cassowary House in Kuranda for one night.    It was showering much of the afternoon and the next morning as well.  We did not see any Cassowaries but did meet the resident Red-necked Crake, who came to the garden for a cheese hand out.  From the Gregory’s veranda we also got good looks at Wompoo Fruit-Doves on a snag as well as the Black Butcherbird which also occurs in a brown morph.  Later that afternoon we flew from Cairns to Sydney for the last portion of our trip.  Picking up a car at the airport, we drove south to Bulli to a wonderful cottage on the beach.

 

On Aug. 26th we visited Barren Grounds Nature Preserve and heard both Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Gray Shrike-Thrush singing.  Little Wattlebirds and Eastern Yellow Robins posted for phtos. New Holland Honeyeaters were abundant.  In the afternoon Joe scoped the ocean from our deck and was excited to see Giant Petrels and Wandering-type Albatrosses along with Great Cormorants and Kelp Gulls. An adult male Superb Fairy-wren had a territory right outside our cottage with several subordinate males which do not reach full plumage. Australian Magpies were common..

 

Saturday morning we were at the dock in Wollongong early for our SOSSA pelagic trip.  Chumming brought many species of albatross in close to the Sandra K once we reached offshore waters.  Here we saw Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, with Black-browed Albatross White-capped Albatross, sometimes with all three together, Gibson's Albatross adult (another photo) and immature, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, and abundant Silver Gulls. A full trip report by P.J. Milburn with additional photos of some of the rarities is here.

 

On Sunday we visited the south end of Royal National Park, hiking along Lady Carrington Drive.  A highlight here was Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, somewhat overshadowed by our first sighting of a Superb Lyrebird.  Joe spotted a female feeding in the under story near the creek.  On our last day we explored some of the areas near Wollongong where Joe photographed a stunning Galah, Sooty Oystercatcher, Kelp Gull, and Red-browed Finch.  A nature reserve in coastal forest along the dunes called Puckey’s Estate was a treat.  The trail followed a lagoon with Chestnut Teal male, female and a brood of chicks, Dusky Moorhen and Purple Swamphens.  Great Cormorants were side-by-side with Little Black Cormorants. We happened upon a wonderful flock of passerines, including Eastern Yellow Robin, Brown Thornbill, Silvereyes and Spotted Pardalotte.  After lunch we drove up the escarpment to Mt. Keira.  At the summit we found a cooperative Superb Lyrebird. Along a trail near the boy scout camp, Joe pointed out two Bassian Thrushes and a little further along we were startled by a singing Superb Lyrebird crossing the path in pursuit of a female.

 

Tuesday morning we packed our gear reluctantly for the trip to the airport.  We stopped at Dharawal Nature Preserve for a few hours and walked the trail to Madden Falls.  Along the way we added Brown-headed Honeyeater and congratulated ourselves on knowing the differentiating field marks for Brown and Striated Thornbills, a family of birds totally new to me.  White-throated Treecreeper, Superb Fairywrens and Gray Fantails had become old friends.  We had a remarkable trip and appreciated the opportunity to learn some of the calls and behavior of the varied species of Australian birds.  I’d go back tomorrow if I had the chance.  It’s a visitor friendly country with wonderful habitats.  We know we only scratched the surface.