Hi All,
After speaking with other club members this morning, I decided I’d have a go at producing a list of the Top 10 places I’ve birded, especially as no-one in the SE Qld area has mentioned Eagleby Wetlands. When viewing this list please keep in mind that I’ve never been to SA, NT or WA, so here are my top 10 for the eastern states:
1. Eagleby Wetlands – a place where over 100 species can be recorded in 3.5 hours as happened on Sunday 14th Aug 2011 – albeit with 32 observers. We often get a list of over 80 on club outings.
2. Werribee STW – a place I’ve only been to once but with an expert guide like John Barkla saw over 80 species including Orange-bellied Parrot and numbers of waterbirds like I’ve never seen before.
3. Lockyer Valley – a place that always has something different turn up – Ground Cuckoo Shrike, Glossy Black Cockatoo, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo and Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo as well as many other parrot species, waterbirds and ducks and all so close to Brisbane.
4. Kingfisher Park, Julatten – I don’t need to explain!
5. Lamington National Park – especially the O’Reilly’s end.
6. Iluka and the whole of the Lower Clarence Valley – a place where I lived in my early twenties – the variety of birds found there from Pelagics to Rainforest to bushland and waders never ceased to amaze me and hold my interest.
7. Lake Cargelligo and Round Hill/Nombinnie – I’ve only recently visited this area but for the short time I was there saw a diverse selection of waterfowl and mallee species such as Great Crested Grebe, Chestnut Quail-Thrush and Yellow-plumed Honeyeater.
8. Karumba – A place I visited just after the wet season several years ago and there were literally hundreds of Pied Herons chasing insects under the street lights and we saw at least 5 Barking Owls doing the same, as well as many other northern species such as Saurus Crane, Brolga, Magpie Geese, Whistling Ducks, a Peregrine Falcon, Yellow White Eye and hundreds of Black Kites circling over just one river.
9. Mt Tamborine – a place with diverse habitats where Albert Lyrebirds still thrive and Satin and Regent Bowerbirds are found, a place not far from my own property where I have a species list of over 160.
10. Three sites come in in 10th place – Goobang National Park in Central NSW, Inskip Point in Qld and Mt Field in Tasmania.
Cheers,
Sandra Gallienne
Secretary
BrisBOCA
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I haven’t had much chance to bird outside of W.A. But I figured I’d throw in my list.
1. Broome Bird Observatory
It’s even better if you can stay for almost a year (I had the pleasure of being an assistant warden and staying 9 months) so you can experience the whole cycle of life there. Waders come and go, the land gets very wet then very dry and the bushland changes completely. The amount of people also drastically changes!
2. Dryandra Woodland & Tutanning Reserve
These reserves are relatively close together and have similar vegetation. There are various vegetation types – mallee, wandoo, heathland and thus lots of different birds, including a big handful of south-west endemics. It’s also the best place to see a wild numbat, but we’re talking birds here.
3. Herdsman Lake – Perth
6km out of Perth city. A couple of hours walking can yield up to 50 species. One day during a half-hour lunch break I managed to get 10 species of duck – including the sought after Freckled Duck.
4. Cheyne’s Beach
One of the best caravan parks I have been to, right next to bushland where you can find the “Big 3”. I have only seen the Bristelbird so far and heard the other two. Apparently a Scrub-bird ran across the road about a meter behind me, but I was busy looking at the pod of right whales in the bay nearby!
5. Werribee Sewage Treatment Farm
I’ve only been here once, but it was a great day full of waders and new birds for me. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to see the Orange-bellied Parrot, despite looking for them for 4 hours.
6. Pemberton/Manjimup area
Just a beautiful environment to be in anyway. Fairy-wrens, robins, firetails and parrots are just a bonus.
7. Port Augusta Botanical Park
Was only here for an hour, but from what I saw I’d definitely like to go back. Right on the edge of various zones, some interesting species pop up here.
8. Lake Monger – Perth
Another lake very close to Perth city and easy to walk all the way around. One of the best spots to look for crakes and rails, also has an abundance of other waterfowl.
9. 6 Mile Creek – Port Hedland
Another brilliant spot for waders, as well as a few mangrove specialties.
10. Nallan Station
Another spot I need to return to. An easy to observe Western Bowerbird bower, cosy accomodation and the chance to see species such as Bourke’s Parrot, Crimson Chat and Grey Honeyeater – unfortunately I saw none of these when I was there in March.
Belinda Stirling W.A.
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Hi all, Mt top ten is somewhat biased by where I live. Quite locally based really some of the sites.A few interstate as well. 1.Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP Vic, Regent Honeyeaters, Turquoise Parrots etc2. Warby-Ranges, Killawarra Forest Victoria, similar to Chiltern3. Winton Wetlands Victoria, over 150 species recorded in a couple of years4. Wonga Wetlands Albury NSW, 120 sp. in one visit on a day, amazing5. Fivebough Swamp Leeton-Griffith area NSW, contrary to others reports I have found Fivebough rewarding, up to 70-80 speciesin one visit, Binya and Cocoparra around Griffith are excellent too6. Mallacoota7. Hattah-Kulkyne Vic 8. FNQ tropics9. South Coast NSW10. Southern NSW, drier country birds and can’t argue with Painted Snipe he eariler in the year Michael Ramseywww.bronzewingbirdingservices.com ===============================
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