A Raptorous Trip

The trip through Vic was uneventful with a gentle rain and strong wind. The only excitement was getting to Heathcote and finding myself stuck behind half a house. I finally got by and from there on the rain grew less until at Deni it stopped altogether.

The land from Deni to Hay is quite spectacular, just like it used to be in the early ‘70s. The growth is bright and lush, all shades of green, bright browns and blue-greys. Raptors are everywhere with lots of Kestrel, Black-shouldered Kites, Whistling Kites, Wedgies and Black Kites all along the road.

At Bourke I joined up with Patrick at the Kidman’s Camp Caravan Park, about 6 kms north of town beside the Darling. It is great spot and probably worth a stay for birding with everything from Apostlebirds and Bluebonnets to Blue-faced Honeyeaters, and even a Blackbird singing at the break of day. You can even do a riverboat cruise along the Darling.

Next stop was Bowra, and then over to Kilcowera, south of Thargominda. Bowera was excellent, as always, and Kilcowera was as good, but in a very different way. The land is undulating gibber plains and rocky gullies mainly covered in Mulga. The camping area is developed with lawns for tents, well maintained toilets, showers and shearers quarters accommodation. It is definitely 2 wheel drive access, as are some of the internal tracks. It borders Currawinya NP and Lake Wyara and you can drive to the shore of the lake. On the islands in the middle there are currently 20 to 30 thousand Pelicans nesting. The sight is unreal with thousands of birds spiralling up and the soft background roar of wings and voices is continuous and very noticeable.

And it is the flocks of birds that are so spectacular. At Kilcowera the Pelican rookery is many kilometres long; On the Bulloo and along every creek and water hole Intermediate Egrets, Great Egrets and White-necked Herons stand almost shoulder to shoulder; Apostlebirds have given up being in groups of 12 and instead loads trees in flocks of up to 100; Budgerigars, Zebra Finches and Diamond Doves litter the country by the uncountable thousands; Plumed Whistling Ducks sit beside dams in their hundreds; Lake Bindegolly has dozens of Great Crested Grebes and huge flocks of Little Corella. Over all this bird life hang the raptors. Spotted Harriers are common. Black Kites, Whistling Kites, Kestrels, Brown Falcon and Wedgies are everywhere. It is not possible to scan the sky without seeing them.

The Cooper flood plain is all lush green foliage, heavily spotted with wild flowers and golden grasslands cover the gibber plains between the Cooper and Thargominda so that barely a rock is showing. In many places water lies along the road and getting off to stop is often impossible, and yet away from the watercourses the land itself is still dry.

But what made the trip truly “raptorous” for me was that I finally saw a Grey Falcon, two in fact. The first was a fleeting glimpse of one at Kilcowera as we drove across a wooded watercourse, and then another one at Bowra. I have chased the Bowra birds for 4 years over five visits and was convinced that they were a myth. The story was always “yesterday” or “over the camp, just after you drove off” or “taking prey at the far back of the property”.

This time however the goddesses were smiling and the myth turned to reality. As I drove from the homestead I slowed for an Emu approached the road from the left. Then I came almost to a stop as cow in the middle of the road refused to move. Now that I had been put in the right position the Grey Falcon appeared, gliding in from my right, passing between me and the cow just above car height, turning without a wing movement and drifting diagonally into the trees on the left. The yellow bill flashed and the soft grey body and wings seemed like a wisp of smoke. From behind, the bird reduced itself to a straight grey line with a little turn-up at each end.

I am sure that this bird knew it was beautiful. What I hade expected to see was something like the blatant excitement of a V8 Black Falcon but this was just pure, restrained, elegance; a Grey Maserati, with wings. Oh, and I think I saw it wink at me as it went by, sort of acknowledging that I had put in the hours and was now allowed to have a look; and tick it off my list. Smile.

What a wonderful trip. Everyone needs to get into the outback this year, especially if you remember what it was like before the drought.

Cheers

Jenny

ps: THIS IS NOT a recommendation but for those interested in the road conditions (when dry) I met a guy who had driven up the Birdsville Track, down to Innamincka, then through Nappa Marrie to Thargominda – in a Honda Jazz!! He did say he had to use his shovel at one creek crossing to get rid of a hump in the middle of the approach ….. road conditions have sure changed since I first went up there in 1966. ============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au

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