Due
to the high number of endemic species and families, Australia is a desirable
destination for the traveling birder. Added to this, it is a beautiful country
with friendly people. This report covers some areas in the southeast, from
Sydney to Melbourne, including Deniliquin.
The following area are mentioned:
Royal
National N.P.
Less than 50 km. south of Sydney is the
Royal
National N.P. , said to be the world's second oldest national park. It
has a wide range of habitant, including rainforest (as pictured in the logo
above) , heath land, and a coastal area.
Some of the gems to look for are the
Southern Emuwren and Chestnut-rumped Hylacola
(Marley Walking track) and the Superb Lyrebird (Lady Carrington Drive).
If you can manage it, try to give yourself
at least a couple of days to wander this vast and varied habitant.
Wollongong Pelagic
This is one of the finest seabird viewing
trips available. You can find all the information you need at Tony
Palliser's website. You don't want to miss it.
Unfortunately, I did miss it. On the
scheduled day, a viscous storm had whipped up which not only caused the trip
to be cancelled, but also flooded all the roads in the area. One saving grace
was that I vast number of Shearwaters, Petrels and Albatross were flying just
offshore, brought in by the storm. By finding shelter behind a breakwater,
I was lucky to be able to observe some great birds, and also manage not to
be swept out to sea.
Canberra
My next stop was Australia's capital
city, Canberra.
The first site I visited was Jerrabomberra
Wetlands,with a couple of excellent trails and a couple of hides. here
I was able to find many of the common waterbirds, Austrasian and Hoary Headed
Grebe, most of the common duck species, Purple Swamphen and Dusky Moorhen,
Australian Ibis and Royal Spoonbill.
The other site I found of interest was
the Lake George area, northeast of the city. In the woodland and park area
surrounding the lake I was able to see a good number of the common Australian
species.
Deniliquin
On my way to Deniliquin, I stopped at
Chiltern
State Forest, an excellent woodland are supporting a good number of bird
species.
My main target in the Deniliquin
area was the Plains-Wanderer, and the person to see about the Plains-Wanderer
is Phil Mayer.
I spent a day with him in the Deniliquin area, and it was one of the best
birding days I have had, during which we managed to see 128 species.
My main objective, the Plains-Wanderer
was the last bird of the day. We had driven in slow circles on the open plain
after dark for hours. I was about to give up hope, when we finally came across
this strange and wonderful creature, a larger more colorful female and two
males.
During the day we saw a wonderful range
of birds including 5 species of Woodswallows, numerous Honeyeaters, raptors
including Wedge-tailed and Little Eagle, Australian Pratincole, and Inland
Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterels.
Philip Island
I proceeded south through Melbourne to
Philip
Island (with a detour to the Melbourne airport to pick up Purple-crowned
and Musk Lorikeet) where the main attraction was the nightly parade of Little
Penguins. This was the first member of the Penguin family I had seen and it
was a thrill even if I had to share it with hundreds of other tourists.
Other good birds were Black-faced Cormorant
and Cape Barren Geese, as well as a large colony of Silver Gulls.
Danendong National
Park
This park encloses a mountainous area
of lofty forests. The highlight of my visit was a Powerful Owl, and some very
tame Crimson Rosellas in one of the carparks.
Barren Grounds Nature
Preserve
While circling back towards the Sydney
area, I stopped at the Barren
Grounds Nature Preserve. Although the day was wet and the grounds were
muddy, I managed to see both Pilotbird and Beautiful Firetail.
Dhurag National
Park
My final stop was Dhurag N.P. and the
Wiseman's ferry area. Both Green Catbird and Satin Bowerbird were picked up
in the park itself, while Rock Warbler was found on the Old Rock Road near
Wiseman's Ferry.
For a complete list of the birds found,
please go here.
I used the Budget Motel Chain extensively
during my visit, and was always happy with their clean, comfortable rooms,
and reasonable rates. They were also helpful in changing bookings for me.
Their telephone number is +61 0 3 5143 1077 and their email address is headoffice@budget-motel.com.au.
You can check their website here.
I found the following books very useful:
"Where to watch birds in Australasia
and Oceania" by Nigel Wheatley
"Field Guide to the Birds of Australia"
by Simpson and Day
"Field Guide to the Birds of Australia"
by Pizzey and Knight.
© Harold
Stiver
