Road Trip: Ouyen to Narrandera
Pied Butcherbird
Sydney Trip May 2010
On our recent road trip to Sydney to visit family we were very pressed for time on the journey over. Murray Bridge to Sydney is nearly 1400 km and can be achieved in two days of constant driving. My wife and I like to take journeys like this at a leisurely pace, enjoying the towns, national parks and interesting road side vegetation areas. This time we were on a tight schedule so there wasn’t much time for birding, nor photography.
So I had to be content to make lists of birds seen “on the run” as we drove along.
After stopping at Ouyen for lunch on our first day we continued east through Manangatang, Piangil and crossed the River Murray at Tooleybuc. From there we went on towards Balranald where we stopped briefly to refuel. About an hour later we stopped for a toilet break at the Ravensworth Rest Area, then on through Hay to Narrandera where we stayed in a motel for the night.
It was a rushed day but I still managed some interesting bird observations, listed below.
Black-shouldered Kites: these appeared to be in abundance along this stretch of road. I’d heard that some areas were experiencing a mouse plague, along with many locusts. Though we saw few of either of these pests, it could account for so many kites.
Nankeen Kestrels: these were also in abundance along this road.
Black Kites: only a few seen, though I can’t recall seeing them in this area on previous trips.
Wedge-tailed Eagles: only two seen during the whole day, though I’d expect to see more.
Australian Magpies: very common all along this route. It this area it is the Black-backed Magpie subspecies you see.
Australian Ravens: very common everywhere.
Pied Butcherbird: a saw several of these during the afternoon, either sitting in a tree on the side of the road, or flying over the road. (The photo above was taken on a different trip in this area.)
Parrots: small flocks of Galahs and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos were seen where there was suitable habitat. Major highlight was a small flock of Blue Bonnets. A major disappointment was not seeing any Major Mitchell Cockatoos.
Other species: most of these were seen in large numbers and are quite common where suitable habitat exists:
- various honeyeaters, with plenty of Noisy Miners
- Yellow-rumped Thornbills
- White-winged Choughs – very common
- Crested Pigeons – very common
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, NSW south coast
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, south coast of NSW
After leaving Bateman’s Bay on our holiday last month we travelled down along the south coast of New South Wales. I navigated us along the coast rather than following the main highway south. I was hoping to get some good views of the coast and also find some useful birding spots.
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, south coast of NSW
After only a short drive we came to a lovely beach called Duesbury Beach at the small town of Dalmeny. There were a few people swimming and surfing or walking on the beach, but very few birds.
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, south coast of NSW
In fact, we were there for only a few minutes and I made only a short lists of birds: Black Swans and Masked Lapwing on or near a lagoon in the town, several Silver Gulls patrolling the beach, several Australian Magpies in gardens and some Welcome Swallows in several parts of the locality. Not an impressive list, but made up for by the beautiful spot. We then drove on along the coast line.
Click on the photos to enlarge the image.
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, south coast of NSW
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, south coast of NSW
Great birding on the Hay Plains NSW
Hay Plains, western New South Wales
2007 New South Wales trip report #7
Morning tea, 55kms west of Hay
Fifty five kilometres from Hay we pulled into a roadside rest area for morning tea. This flat uninteresting looking place seemed not to be a good birding place at first glance. Within minutes I had changed my mind. There seemed to be birds everywhere, and some very nice species into the bargain. My cup of tea soon was forgotten as I chased the birds around the saltbush area near the parking bay. Welcome Swallows were nice but not too exciting. About twenty White-backed Swallows were far more exciting; it’s a species I haven’t seen all that often.
Several Galahs flew overhead and a Nankeen Kestrel swooped past where I stood trying to identify the local wrens. In vain I tried to find the coloured male and three plain brown females gave me the run around. Eventually one came up from the bushes and perched in full view a few metres away. Ah-ha – a female White-winged Wren. Wonderful – but still no male. The metallic deep blue with contrasting white wings has to be seen to be believed. Another lost opportunity. [sigh]
In the midst of all this beating around the bushes, my wife called out, “What’s that?” pointing to a bird perched on top of another bush. A White-winged Triller! I hadn’t seen one of those for over eight years. A real bonus bird, so I made sure I thanked my wife for this sighting.
Other common birds seen at this stop included Common Starlings, Little Ravens, Australian Magpies, and still more House Sparrows.
It had been a wonderful half hour stop. Forget that my cuppa went cold!
Update:
In September 2009 we had a male feeding and calling in our garden. I managed to get some nice photos of him (see below).
Related articles:
- The Trillers are here
- Trip reports – archive of links to many articles giving birding trip reports
White-winged Triller (male)