Bathurst to Lithgow

2007 New South Wales trip report #20

The bird life along the road to Bathurst turned up nothing new. We saw plenty of Australian Magpies, Australian Ravens, Crested Pigeons, Galahs and a large flock of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos feeding in a paddock. We stopped briefly at Bathurst to refuel before heading off to Lithgow. We had hoped to take an alternative route but must have missed the turnoff.

A few minutes out of Bathurst we took a side road through some farming country and found a nice spot for morning tea well away from the noise of the traffic. We saw several Australian Wood Ducks, Masked Lapwings, Red-rumped Parrots and more Galahs. Several Striated Pardalotes called from the nearby gum trees.

Near Bathurst, New South Wales

Further along we saw more Crimson Rosellas, Crested Pigeons and saw Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos for the first time on the trip. Also added for the first time was a Myna. I wasn’t aware this pest introduced species had spread so far from Sydney.

Probably the most distressing sight along this stretch of road was a dead Wombat on the side of the road. Another sad victim of road kill.

Just out of Lithgow we stopped at the railway station of the unique Zig – Zig railway. This railway was built by early convicts to take the railway line over a very steep mountain range. We would have liked a ride on the train but were running out of time. We found a spot nearby for lunch. During our lunch break I added White-eared Honeyeater to the trip list.