Hi Chris,
If only I could do Forbes to Whoey in 90 minutes! It takes me a good 2
hours. To be more precise, I ate my sandwiches at Gum Swamp about 12 noon,
and got to Whoey about 2.15. (I reserve my right to remain silent on the
matter of Speed Limits.) In any event, the road is flat, straight, has
little traffic and is mostly sealed. Speed Limit is 110 kph.
I do appreciate the fact that you have read my report, and hope you found
something of interest in the birding sections.
Best Wishes,
Carl
—–Original Message—–
From: Chris Charles [ and started birding at Whoey Tank, Round Hill at 2 pm. The countryside
> everywhere is as green as I’ve seen – like Europe or New Zealand.
> Surface water is plentiful and dams and lakes are full. The weather
> was cold, but mostly sunny. I was happy to see anything, but
> particularly wanted black-eared cuckoo. I stayed 3 nights in Lake
> Cargelligo, and finished at
> 10.30 am on 28th August. I returned to Sydney via Temora.
>
>
>
> Whoey Tank
>
> I visited Whoey Tank once. The area was a little quiet, the was
> abundant ground cover, and the tank and surrounding feeder channels
> had water in them. Mulga Parrot and Mallee Ringneck were there, with
> Singing, Striped, Spiny-cheeked and White-fronted Honeyeater.
> Highlights were a Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo and the antics of a
> calling (?complaining) White-fronted Honeyeater.
>
>
>
> Chat Alley
>
> In all, I visited Chat Alley 5 times, staying for up to 30 minutes or
> so on my way to and from Lake Cargelligo. There is so much water there
> that it could called Chat Lakes: The eastern end is a lake about 100 m
> long and up to 50 m wide. There a larger lake at the western end of the
tar-sealed road.
>
>
>
> Birds included a pair of Australasian Shoveler, a pair of Pink-eared
> Duck, Grey Teal, Hardhead, Red-kneed Dotterel, Yellow-billed
> Spoonbill, White-necked Heron, Black-winged stilt, and an Australian
> Spotted Crake. The highlight was a Pair of Orange Chat, which showed well
on 3 of the 5 visits.
> The only raptor seen was a Nankeen Kestrel.
>
> Hi All,
>
>
>
> I drove from Sydney on Thursday 26th, had lunch at Gum Swamp, Forbes,
> and started birding at Whoey Tank, Round Hill at 2 pm. The countryside
> everywhere is as green as I’ve seen – like Europe or New Zealand.
> Surface water is plentiful and dams and lakes are full. The weather
> was cold, but mostly sunny. I was happy to see anything, but
> particularly wanted black-eared cuckoo. I stayed 3 nights in Lake
> Cargelligo, and finished at
> 10.30 am on 28th August. I returned to Sydney via Temora.
>
>
>
> Whoey Tank
>
> I visited Whoey Tank once. The area was a little quiet, the was
> abundant ground cover, and the tank and surrounding feeder channels
> had water in them. Mulga Parrot and Mallee Ringneck were there, with
> Singing, Striped, Spiny-cheeked and White-fronted Honeyeater.
> Highlights were a Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo and the antics of a
> calling (?complaining) White-fronted Honeyeater.
>
>
>
> Chat Alley
>
> In all, I visited Chat Alley 5 times, staying for up to 30 minutes or
> so on my way to and from Lake Cargelligo. There is so much water there
> that it could called Chat Lakes: The eastern end is a lake about 100 m
> long and up to 50 m wide. There a larger lake at the western end of the
tar-sealed road.
>
>
>
> Birds included a pair of Australasian Shoveler, a pair of Pink-eared
> Duck, Grey Teal, Hardhead, Red-kneed Dotterel, Yellow-billed
> Spoonbill, White-necked Heron, Black-winged stilt, and an Australian
> Spotted Crake. The highlight was a Pair of Orange Chat, which showed well
on 3 of the 5 visits.
> The only raptor seen was a Nankeen Kestrel.
>
>
>
> Lake Cargelligo STW
>
> I visited the ponds on 2 late afternoons. The ponds themselves,
> although full, were almost devoid of birds. The first two ponds were
> covered in algae, which is probably a deterrent. In all, the ponds
> held a few Black Swan, Hardhead, and Grey Teal. A pair of Whistling
> Kite were perched on a dead tree. However there were highlights: a
> male Musk Duck on one of the smaller ponds, and an Eastern Barn Owl
> which I flushed from the pond bank, and which settled in a bush about
> 4 m from me, staring balefully. A Back-fronted Dotterel was also present.
>
>
>
> The paddock immediately to the north is flooded to form a wetland 300
> m long and up to 50 m wide. Here were White-necked Heron,
> Black-winged stilt, Australian Shelduck, and a pair of Black Swan
> with 5 cygnets, Red-kneed Dotterel, and White-winged Fairy-wren.
>
>
>
> The Wheat Paddock
>
> One morning at the Wheat Paddock yielded most of the usual mallee
> birds, notably White-fronted and Grey-fronted Honeyeater, Shy
> Heathwren, Western Gerygone, White-browed and Grey-crowned Babbler and
Southern Scrub-robin.
> The only whistler seen was a Rufous.
>
>
>
> Southern Boundary
>
> I did a circuit starting on the main road at the SE corner, west along
> the southern boundary, then north on the Wild Goat Trail to the
> Railway line, east to the main road and south to the starting point.
> This yielded notables including Splendid Fairy-wren ((2 families with
> breeding males), Weebill, and Crested Bellbird. The lowlight was an
> immature Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo, which for an hour or so I had
> listed as my first Black-eared Cuckoo. The bird had a beautiful black
> ear mark, but it eventually dawned on me that a striped chest, even if
> very faint, was a bad sign. In the end, I neither saw nor heard a
Black-eared Cuckoo on the trip.
>
>
>
> Red-lored Whistler
>
> I heard Red-lored Whistler on 4 occasions, but saw none, despite
> following calls through mallee. The first two occasions were to the
> north and west of the Wheat Paddock. It is possible that there was
> just one bird that moved, but on balance I believe that the calls came
> from two birds. The third occasion was on the Southern Boundary, and
> the fourth was in mallee about 1 km away. These two could be from the
> one bird. The calls were all heard on sunny mornings; there were no calls
on the two days with cloud cover.
>
>
>
> Gilbert’s Whistler was neither seen nor heard at any time. Presumably
> they have yet to arrive.
>
>
>
> Carl Weber
>
> 9.09.16
>
>
>
> —
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