Waw, what a day.
Breakfast at 7 a.m. and out birding until 5.10 p.m. Tina insisted on driving us in her Subaru 4x, saying - quite understandably - that it was easier than giving us directions. By the end of the day we understood totally!
Bargara was the kick-off point, walking the cycleway towards Mon Repos. A beautiful, warm and sunny morning but the birds weren’t very active. A plaintively caling Koel - an Asian/PNG migrant - refuse to show itself. Plenty of Dollarbirds around, attracting our attention with their rasping call. We also saw White-bellied Sea-eagle, Whistling and Brahminy Kites, a high flying Osprey and Brown Honeyeaters. A Grey Butcherbird sitting on its nest was a bonus.
Plenty of Butterflies about, especially the lovely Monarch, known as a Wanderer here. Good name, it flutters about in constant movement. We did eventually manage to find one sitting when only its underwings are visible - unless you catch it opening its wings to fly off again.
We walked over halfway as far as an open grassland area with a bridge over a dry creek. No Grassbirds visible but dozens of Fairy Martins and Welcome Swallows zooming over the grassland, we turned back here and re-traced our footsteps.
Too early for lunch, only 11.30, Tina drove us around to see some of the local birding areas. The causeway over Money’s Creek to Riflerange Creek and then, to Innes Park where we admired two dozen Bee-eaters hawking for insects, pair bonding and posing delightfully on a very unsalubrious metal post. We wouldn't have seen the male's central tail streamers without the pale background though.
A quick Cockateil fly-through was not very satisfactory.
On to Coral Cove, a seaside development which looked as attractive as it sounds, before returning to the Casablanca in Bargara for a more substantial lunch than I’d envisaged. We bought sone postcards at a nearby shop at last, we wanted something different from the usual Brissie ones.
The afternoon walk was from the Mon Repos end of the cycleway towards Bargara, the opposite end from this morning’s. A cross and always feisty Willie Wagtail scolded us from atop a post, his tail swishing madly from side to side. He’d make a good fan.
Another flying view of a good bird, a Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, such a beautiful bird, shame about the view. A Buff-banded Rail hastened across the path against the light, so unable to see any features in the photo, a Brown Cuckoo-Dove
foraged in the shade of a Paperbark tree. The latter is part of a Melaleuca woodland. Pam took a pic of it and of the information board.
Very hot by now and I felt very weary-legged and sore kneed. What a shame not to do the place justice. I trudged on as far as the far gate, seeing another Sacred Kingfisher,
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| Sacred Kingfishers have an apricot front, Forests are white-bellied. |
The walk back to the car was slow but the end was in sight.
Tina then drove us to some more of the local hotspots, the entrance to the Turtle area where we watched them laying last visit, Gormand Park at the north end of Bernard Heads where we saw two Brown Boobies and both Gull-billed and Crested Terns.. Then, over the ‘new’ bridge to Port Bundaberg and its extensive marina and chandlery - bottom scraping a speciality - before turning up the small RubyAnne road to a swampy area where I spotted a Latham’s Snipe’s head in a roadside ditch. Tina stopped just in time for us to see the whole bird scurry off, looking at us over its shoulder in that particular way that the snipe family has. Via Kirby’s Road to Forty Seventh Battalion Park and to Bundy to collect Tina’s Perth photos
Next stop, Tinaberries strawberry Farm for the last of the season. Deep red, firm and delicious - we had them for supper.
Shortly before arriving home, a small swamp yielded Yellow-billed Spoonbill with six Royals and a Golden-headed Cisticola. Great day, we’re all very tired.
Somewhere to-day......we had our first Australasian Pipit of the trip, in the Port area I think. All the mistakes are mine, I was thoroughly confused by places visited and, where birds were seen, by the end of the day. I think it's mostly correct......
Here's the Pipit, formerly known as Richard's.
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