Buff-breasted Button-quail search 11-13/12/11

Here is a revision of an email I sent to those involved in the previous weekends search for BBBQ at Mt Molloy.  Because of the constraints of Birding-Aus I have not attached the map I mention in my email, however, if anybody wants a copy please feel free to contact me off line.   Cheers,   Carl     Fellow BBBQ paddock bashers,   Thanks so much to the hardy souls that joined us on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in the search for the elusive BBBQ and to those that provided information on where to look and, just as importantly, what to look for.  The conditions were very hot and humid, making the experience most uncomfortable for those of us that had grown soft residing in an air-conditioned office most of the time (ie me).    A number of Brown Quail were flushed along with numerous Painted Button-quail.  The big question is did anyone see BBBQ?  The answer is yes, probably…    

I have attached a printout from GPS of some of our travels showing where the previous sightings had been made.    From Peter Marsh we had BBBQ1 (S16 49 23, E145 22 15), BBQ2 (S16 49 00, E145 22 19) and BBQ3 (S16 49 12, E145 22 19). Additional information and a photograph of the first location BBBQ1 from Bob Way, helped confirm we were looking in the right area, however, this area seemed to be the least productive in terms of BQ or any other seed eating birds (eg Peaceful Doves and Pale-headed Rosellas).  It looked to me as if this patch had finished seeding and I suspect the birds had all moved on to ‘pastures new’.   I have marked up the areas where the grass still seemed to be seeding heavily in green on the attached map.   Six of us, Michael Kearns, Dominic Chaplin, Martin Cachard, Phil Gregory, and Adam Arnold, covered the area thoroughly on the Sunday morning, although with the benefit of hindsight I suspect we were searching too high up the hillside.  All that was flushed was one very golden Brown Quail (only sighted by myself) and half a dozen Painted Button-quail, although it is most probable that these included multiple sightings of the same PBQ’s.   The Sunday afternoon it was just Michael and I.  We spent more time on the lower slopes and adjacent flats that had grass seeding. We quartered the areas where BBBQ had been seen previously, thoroughly, without success.  We then concentrated on the areas where the grass was still seeding which were north of the dense vegetation (melaleucas marked in blue on the map) between the powerlines and the base of the hills.  It was in this area we had our most likely candidate for BBBQ.    Michael flushed two Quail from right under his feet which wheeled away behind him. Michael’s first comment was that they were a different colour to the PBQ and BQ we had  been seeing in the area being a lighter buff colour.  Both birds flew about 30-50m and landed some distance apart. I concentrated on where the furthest one landed and chased after it while Michael went for the closest.  I had only got a brief look as they flew away and agreed they were a paler buff colour and were lighter underneath.    Walking up to the area where the second one had landed I was surprised when it flushed about 3m behind my right shoulder – I had walked right past it!  By the time I had turned around and got a bead on where it was, it was well on its way toward the hills at about tree top height (6-9m) before banking behind a tree and disappearing from sight.   It was considerably larger than the PBQ we had been seeing but wasn’t huge as some had described the female BBBQ in previous recordings on Birding-Aus.    My first impression was of a uniform pale buff bird of similar colour to the clay in the area with pale/cream flanks and a series of darker bands down the middle of the back. It was considerably lighter on the rump and back than the PBQ’s we had been seeing which appeared to have a uniform dark-grey colour as they flew away (occassionally with an orange patch visible on the shoulders if you got your binoculars on to them in time).   This bird also appeared much plainer buff without any of the overall black flecking which gives the Brown Quails a more uniform and richer colour (the Brown Quail we saw in the area ranged from plain mid-brown to a golden colour and one which was almost orangey rufous – similar to the illustration in Morecombe).  No markings were noted on the underside of the BBBQ candidate, nor the contrasting darker primaries that I expected to see based on others recorded sightings.  I immediately thought I had seen a BBBQ but the lack of the last diagnostic (noticably contrasting darker flight feathers) started me doubting what I had seen later on.  Unfortunately Michael did not see this second bird take off and so couldn’t add anything to put my mind to rest.        The following morning we returned with Kay Parkin and commenced our search at the spot where we had had the last flushing (marked as BBBQ4 on my map, co-ords S16 49 7 E145 22 15) with almost imediate success.   At almost exactly the same location where I had flushed the bird the second time, Kay managed to flush one as well.  Her initial impression was of a pale buff coloured bird but as neither Michael nor I saw it and she wasnt experienced at picking BBBQ from PBQ she has been left with a most unsatisfactory ‘possible sighting’.  In hindsight we should have been walking closer together.   Kay left us to catch her flight home at about 9.00am and Michael and I carried on, sighting only a couple of PBQ’s, until 11.30 when we called a halt to proceedings due to the heat.    We returned later in the afternoon just as a storm broke overhead with a torrential downpour.  We noticed Martin Cachard’s 4WD pulled up on the side of the road and were impressed that he was still out birding in the downpour while we were struggling to keep our hire car on the road!   We caught up with Martin just as the rain was easing and set out to spend more time scouring the line around the base of the hills from BBBQ2 around to BBBQ1. At this stage Dick Jenkin also joined us having hightailed it straight from getting off his plane in Cairns.   The search proved fruitless aside from one very small PBQ from the BBBQ4 site and one Brown Quail flushed further south from the BBBQ1 site.  We then came back and checked north of BBBQ2 which appeared to be much more suitable habitat as at least the grass was seeding in this area, however, we didn’t see any quails there.   The following morning 6 of us, including Dominic Chaplin, Phil Gregory, Dick Jenkin and Jun Matsui, set out once more.  We flushed a number of PBQ and a Brown Quail but alas the only possible candidate was a button-quail that flushed at some distance away from us up the slope.  Opinions as to what this was were mixed with Phil and Dick noting a much paler underside.  I was the only ‘nay sayer’ as I didnt see anything different to what I had been seing on PBQ’s in the area over the last couple of days.  After referring to our collection of different illustrations of Button Quails back at the car (were the artists really looking at the same birds as us???;-) we agreed on an ‘open verdict’ on the last sighting.   It was thus time to head for the airport after a quick shower at Cassowary House on the way.   

Lessons learnt:  In future I would concentrate on areas where the grass was seeding and look for other seed eating birds in the area such as peaceful doves and pale-headed rosellas.  In this instance, the grass seemed to be seeding most prolifically where the ground cover had been burnt back underneath the powerlines.   Two further observations:  we never heard any Quails calling either on the ground or when flushed, and none of us noticed any platelets over the 3 days.  On behalf of Michael and I, I would like to thank Dominic Chaplin, Martin Cachard and Phil Gregory for taking the time to join us in the search (more than once which amazed me!).  I would also like to thank Keith and Lindsay Fisher for taking us spotlighting at Kingfisher Lodge on the Monday night.   Thanks again to all participants and good luck with future searches – I will be back!!!   Cheers,   Carl Billingham Taringa, Brisbane ===============================

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