Birdcage Rest Area, central NSW
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
ON the second day of our journey home from a holiday in Sydney we stopped at the Birdcage Rest Area between Narrandera and Hay in the Riverina region. The sun was valiantly trying to disperse the clouds but the bitterly cold wind continued. We had a mid morning cuppa and snack and tried to enjoy stretching our legs briefly, despite the cold conditions.
The birding in this spot has been quite good other times we have stopped here, but I think that the birds were also discouraged by the cold conditions. The following list of species heard or seen is not long:
Australian Magpie
Australian Magpie Lark
Australian Wood Duck
Willie Wagtail
Yellow Rosella
Grey Shrike-thrush
Galah
Australian Raven
Laughing Kookaburra
Weebill
Pied Butcherbird
We were entertained by several little creatures hopping around the picnic table and near the car park. There had been a recent plague of House Mice in many parts of Australia and that is probably what they were. Interestingly, they were brave – or stupid – enough to come out into plain view in the car park, and while we watched, several were taken and eaten by the local Australian Ravens.
Yellow Rosella
Tubbo Station, central New South Wales
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
On the second day of our return trip from Sydney we drove through Tubbo Station country near Darlington Point which is between Narrandera and Hay in the Riverina region of New South Wales. This large merino sheep station extends over nearly 19,000 hectares in size and runs over 10,000 sheep plus cattle. It also has extensive irrigation areas.
As we were driving along I jotted down a list of birds seen as we travelled the highway through the station. This is not the ideal birding experience and I would love to have stopped a few times but we had plenty of ground to cover on the day. While my wife was driving I made the following list of birds seen:
Apostlebird
Galah
Australian Raven
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Australian Magpie
Australian Magpie Lark
Yellow Rosella
Spotted Harrier
White-necked Heron
White-faced Heron
Australian Wood Duck
Laughing Kookaburra
It’s not a big list but it has some interesting species in it. We saw very few Apostlebirds on our trip so it was good to see them feeding on the roadside. Yellow Rosellas, a sub-species of the Crimson Rosella, is always a delight to observe. Spotted Harriers are wonderfully majestic birds as the soar over the paddocks and the herons were obviously taking advantage of the fact that there were many irrigation channels in the area.
Probably the highlight for me was seeing three White-necked Herons flying together. This species has been something of a bogey bird for me. Although widespread and common in my home territory, I have observed this species on only a handful of occasions over the last two decades.
The photo below was taken only a few days ago at Mannum in South Australia.
White-necked Heron being harassed by a Silver Gull
A little bit of birding in Narrandera
No Comments »23rd September, 2011; Category: Trip reports
View from the balcony of our cabin in Narrandera
Sydney Trip report June 2011
On the first day of our journey home we stayed in a cabin in the Lake Talbot Tourist Park, the same park as on our way over. This time we were upgraded to a cabin with a spa. Nice added extra at no extra cost. We had a very nice spa before retiring for the night. Next morning when we opened the blinds we were pleased with the view from our cabin balcony. This overlooked Lake Talbot and I was able to make a very nice list of birds while we had breakfast and packed the car (see the list below). Before leaving we drove down to the boat launching ramp just below our cabin and I was able to add a few more species to a growing list.
Just after breakfast I noticed a few birds in the bushes near the balcony, including several Chestnut-rumped Thornbills. It flew off before I could get a good shot, so I apologise for the blurred image (below). You can see better photos here.
Blurred photo of a Chestnut-rumped Thornbill in flight
Birds seen in or near Lake Talbot Tourist Park, Narrandera:
- Black swan
- Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
- Galah
- Yellow Rosella
- Black cormorant
- White-necked Heron
- Yellow-billed Spoonbill
- Hoary Headed Grebe
- Great Crested Grebe
- Pacific Black Duck
- Grey Fantail
- Willie Wagtail
- Yellow-rumped Thornbill
- Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
- Weebill
- Magpie Lark
- Common Blackbird
- Rock Dove
- Crested Pigeon
- Australian Magpie
A chance meeting
No Comments »21st September, 2011; Category: Trip reports
Sydney Trip report June 2011
After leaving Wagga Wagga on the first day of our journey home we headed into the setting sun towards Narrandera where we had a cabin booked in the caravan park. Before it became too dark to see any birds I added a few interesting species to my trip list for the day. Just out of Wagga Wagga I saw a Great Egret feeding in a road side paddock. Several flocks of Galahs flew across the road in front of the car and Australian Magpies still scratched around on the ground looking for a tasty morsel for supper.Now and then I’d see an Australian Raven fly across our path.
One of the real delights of this stretch of road was seeing several small flocks of Apostlebirds feeding on the roadside. For some reason we hadn’t seen many on this trip.
Apostlebird
Just on sunset we were approaching a fruit fly exclusion zone. Some parts of Australia have the dreaded fruit fly which destroys some of our finest fruit crops. For many years parts of Victoria and most of South Australia have successfully kept this pest out, and the fruit fly exclusion zones are designed to ensure that continues. As we approached the zone we started eating the little fruit we still had left on board. We decided to be good citizens and stop at the drop off point, a large bin on the roadside where travellers must deposit uneaten fruit. If people continue on with fruit on board and they are subject to a random check, there are severe fines in store.
As we pulled up to the deposit bin, two other cars were there, the occupants standing around chatting – and eating the last of their fruit. As we stopped we recognised the occupants of one of the cars – our local mayor, one of our councillors and their wives. The occupants of the other car were also from our home town.
What are the odds of that happening? Three cars, each independently coming from a different starting point and all stopping at the same spot at the same time with the same purpose and all occupants coming from the same town and all knowing each other. Bizarre.
Wattlebirds and grevilleas
3 Comments »19th September, 2011; Category: Flowers, Garden birds, Honeyeaters, Plants, Trip reports
Grevillea flowers, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
A few days ago I wrote about our short visit to the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens in southern NSW. We were on our way home from holidaying in Sydney with family. These gardens are small but hold a nice range of Australian and exotic plants. It’s also a good spot to get right off the highway, relax with a picnic or a cuppa, and enjoy the range of birds resident in the area.
On this visit I managed to photograph several of the Grevillea species in flower, and while doing so I also captured a Red Wattlebird feeding on one of the bushes (see photo below). It must have been hungry, for the bird almost completely ignored me and my camera only a short distance away. I guess it also needed to stock up on energy for the cold night which was quickly closing in. It had been a bitterly cold day, quite unpleasant for being out and about.
While my prime objective is to photograph our wonderful Australian birds and showcase them here in this site, I also enjoy getting great shots of our native flowers like the Grevilleas. (You can see more photos of flowers, both native and exotic, on my other site, Trevor’s Travels. Click on the Parks and Gardens category or click here.
Red Wattlebird feeding on Grevillea flowers
Grevillea flowers, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens