| Birding
On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002 Emmalee Tarry |
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DenilquinGreat Ocean Road Gulpa Creek Phil Mahrer Plains Wanderer Dust Storm Southern Coast and Snowy Mountains ACT Leaving Australia |
 Red Wattlebird feeding on Flowers |
Great Ocean Road
Before I drove the Stuart Higheway north through the red center, I drove the west portion of the Great Ocean Road. from the Twelve Apostles to Warrnambul. After Phillips Island I spent the night at Anglesea at the east end of the Great Ocean Road. I finally was able to get in touch with Phil Mahrer and make a reservation to take one of his day tours to see the Plains Wanderer. I will have time to spend one more day in Victoria before heading north to Deniliquin just over the state line in New South Wales.
Waiting for the bank in Anglesea to open so that I could get cash to pay Phil Mahrer AU$440, I noticed the Australian flag flying at half mask. A gentleman also waiting for the bank to open made a great show of saluting the flag. From him I learned of the terrorist bombing of the night club in Bali which killed about 100 Australians many of them rugby players celebrating the end of the season. Later it was learned that the bombers mistook the Australians for Americans. That didn't make me feel any safer. It is a dangerous world we live in.
The best part of the eastern end of the Great Ocean Road was a rainforest track at Mart's Rest. There is a huge hollow gum tree in which about 20 people can stand. If you stand inside and look straight up you see up the hollow trunk to the sky. I didn't really see any new birds here, but enjoyed the walk.
The rest of the road is twisty up and down hills with few views of the ocean. Not much fun to drive and rather dangerous because there are always impatient drivers trying to pass on the narrow road. Certainly the best part starts at the Twelve Apostles.
By the time I got to Loch Ord the wind had gotten very strong. I saw the Rufous Bristlebird again. Fresh white wash indicated that some of the Mutton Birds had returned to Mutton Bird Island. I had planned to come back here after dark, but it is so windy and cold I cashed it in. I spent the night in the campground at Port Campbell where there is a new owner.
The next day I started a two day drive to Denilquin by way Melbourne stopping at Floating Islands Nature Reserve. There were Coots, Darters, and numerous ducks there. Also the best look I had at Varied Sitella. I made it as far as Bendigo the first day where I spent the night.
The next day I continued north through the drought stricken farm land, stopping at a farm implement display in Elmore. It contained a decorative horse watering trough. It was one of 500 provided by the trust of George and Ann Bills, wealthy Australians who left their fortune to provide drinking water for working horses. The trust fund outlasted the days of the working horse and the remainder was used to found the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or RSPCA.
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This photo was taken outside Denilquin. This large nest seems to be deserted by its owner. A Nankeen Kestrel and House Sparrows were hanging out around it and perhaps building their nests in it.. |
Just before reaching Denilquin I stopped at Gulpa Creek Forest following directions in Thomas and Thomas. This is a very dry forest with all dirt roads. Active logging is still going on here. Today is Sunday and there were no logging trucks. I did see several cars and trucks here. Before I reached the creek I saw a Superb Parrot flying silently through the trees. I could not find it again. The Superb Parrot does not squawk when it flies.
At the bridge over the creek I saw Rufous Whistler, Red-browed Finch, White-winged Chough, White-throated Treecreeper. I crossed the bridge and drove for several hours on the dirt roads on the other side. Be careful here as at one time I lost my way. The map in Thomas and Thomas is not entirely accurate.
There are several campground in Denilquin. I stayed at the Riverside Caravan Park for AU$16. The park is right on the river surrounded by an earthen levee. There is an island of very old Red Gums on one side of the park. Standing on the levee I found the burrow of a Spotted Pardalot. A Little Eagle soared overhead.
The Denilquin area is a rice farming and sheep pasture area. The drought of the last two years has been so bad here that the farmers havn't even planted. Grass in the paddocks is thin and some farmers allow their cattle to roam up and down the road edge looking for grass.
Phil Mahrer Bird Guide
Phil picked me up at 6AM the next morning in his 4-wheel drive vehicle. At another campground we picked up three young men who have been working at the Glue Pot Bird Observatory.
Alan Grenom - Seattle,Wash
Neil Chartier - Western Massachusetts
Richard Thaxton - UK
We birded until 3:50 PM at various places in and around Denilquin including a stop at Gulpa Creek.Most of the time we were on private land with one of the guys jumping out to open and close gates so we could pass. We were in and out of the car taking short walks at each stop. Bring water and a quick snack.
We saw the Superb Parrot at Gulpa Creek , but actually had better looks along the road. Walking around in Gulpa Creek we got Hooded Robin, Red-capped Robin, Grey-crowned Babbler, White-browed Babbler. Heard but not seen Crested Shrike-tit.
At one stop we walked through the milking shed of a dairy farm to scope a pond on the other side. There were 7 Freckle Ducks, Pink-eared Duck, Black-fronted Dotterel, Reed Warbler. We also saw the Cockatiel a bird you have seen as a caged pet so often you forget it is a real wild bird.
We went to a small quarry that is now filled with water. The water table in the area is rising because the farmers are drawing water from the Murray River. The water is very salty because there is so much salt in the dirt. Black-winged Stilts, Australian Spotted Crake, Red-kneed Dotterel, Pelicans, Herons
We saw Wedge-tailed Eagle and Little Eagle.
Blue Bonnet is a hard parrot to pick up and we had it sitting on a fence. Budgerigar another pet store bird that really does live in the wild.
At the end of the afternoon we had checked off 108 birds. About 3:30 Phil dropped us off for supper and a rest.
| Phil Mahrer Bird Guide |
Phone 03 9820 4223 Mobile: 04 1731 0200 www.philipmaher.com |
Promptly at 5 PM Phil picked me up again for the evening. He was excited that we had already seen over 100 birds and predicted we would see over 130 for the day. Again we went to various pastures unlocking and locking gates. In the early evening light we saw Australian Pratincole in breeding plumage, Brown Songlark, White-winged Fairywren, Orange Chat.
As darkness fell, Phil got out the spotlight. This is an area of intense farming and very few woods have been left uncut. Phil took us to one of them and we had Tawny Frogmouth on the nest. Phil scraped on a tree and the Owlet Nightjar flew out to perch nearby. The main show is still to come.
The Plains Wanderer is a unique Australian endemic. It is the sole member of the Pedionomid family and may be closely related to Plovers and Dotterels rather than the Buttonquails. The prime habitat of the Plains-wanderer is the Riverine Plain in paddocts where the vegetation is just the right height.
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Phil Mahrer has made quite a reputation for himself showing people the Plains-wanderer around Deniliquin. He has estimated that approximately 1,200 birds live on 31 properties in the area. He is a national treasure.
We didn't go to the paddock to look for the Plains-wanderer until it was completely dark. Phil held the Q-Bean and drove the car with the rest of us watching the headlights. Round and round the paddock we went. In the headlights we saw Inland Dotterel, Singing Bushlark and the Dunnart a mouse size marsupial.
We continued to go round and round for over an hour. There was a sinking feeling that we were going to miss the big bird. Phil wasn't giving up yet. Suddenly there it was. A female Plains Wanderer right by the car. The male incubates and takes care of the chicks so the female is the more colorful bird. Large it isn't. In fact it is squating down so that it look like a round flat plate with a long neck and legs. A cow pile with legs one of the guys calls it. It walks away from the light and then stand still staring at us. Phil maneuvers the car so that we see the red brown breast band and the black and white speckled throat. We watch it for some time and finally leave it in peace.
The birding night isn't over yet. We go on to find and spotlight a Barn Owll and a Southern Bobook Owl. before starting the 25 km drive back to town. The three guys go to sleep in the back seat, but Phil and I continue birding along the road. A Tawny Frogmouth flies right into the car and we stopped to see if we could find it. Apparently it was OK and flew off.
Back at the campground after 11 PM a Bobook Owl is calling in the night. Our total list for the day was exactly130 birds.
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Dusky Woodswallow I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with four young healthy men, that I left my cameras back at the camp. Unfortunately I have no pictures of the birds I saw with Phil. This picture of the Dusky Woodswallow was taken a day later. |
Birds seen on Phil Mahrer 1 day trip. Bolded birds were new for my list.
| Emu Stubble Quail Freckled Duck Black Swan Australian Shelduck Australian Wood duck Pacific Black Duck Grey Teal Pink-eared Duck Hardhead Australian Grebe Hoary-headed Grebe Darter Little Pied Cormorant Little Black Cormorant Great Cormorant Australian Pelican White-faced Heron White-necked Heron Australian White Ibis Straw-necked Ibis Yellow-billed Spoonbill Black-shouldered Kite Black Kite Whistling Kite Swamp Harrier Collared Sparrowhawk Wedge-tailed Eagle Little Eagle Brown Falcon Australian Hobby Black Falcon Nankeen Kestrel Australian Spotted Crake Purple Swamphen Dusky Moorhen Black-tailed Native-Hen Eurasian Coot Plains-Wanderer Common Greenshank Black-winged Stilt Inland Dotterel Black-fronted Dotterel Banded lapwing Red-kneed Dotterel |
Australian Pratincole Common Bronzewing Crested Pigeon Peaceful Dove Galah Long-billed Corella Sulfur-crested Cockatoo Cockatiel Superb Parrot Yellow Rosella ( Crimson Rosella ) Blue Bonnet Red-rumped Parrot Budgerigar Pallid Cuckoo Horsfield Bronze-Cuckoo Southern Boobook Barn Owl Tawny Frogmouth Australian Owlet-Nightjar Laughing Kookaburra Sacred Kingfisher Rainbow Bee-eater White-throated Treecreeper Brown Treecreeper Superb Fairywren White-winged Fairywren Striated Pardalot Weebill Western Gerygone Chestnut-rumped Thornbill Buff-rumped Thornbill Yellow-rumped Thornbill Yellow Thornbill Striated Thornbill Southern Whiteface Spiny-cheekd Honeyeater Noisy Friarbird Little Friarbird Noisy Miner Singing Honeyeater Brown-headed Honeyeater Black Honeyeater Orange Chat |
White-fronted Chat Jacky Winter Red-capped Robin Hooded Robin Grey-crowned Babbler White-browed Babler Varied Sitella Gilbert's Whistler Rufous Whistler Grey Shrike-thrush Restless Flycatcher Magpie Lark Grey Fantail Willie Wagtail Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike White-winged Triller White-breasted Woodswallow Masked Woodswallow White-browed Woodswallow Dusky Woodswallow Grey Butcherbird Pied Butcherbird Australian Magpie Australian Raven Little Raven White-winged Chough Apostlebird Singing Bushlark Richard's Pipit House Sparrow Zebra Finch Diamond Firetail Mistletoebird White-backed Swallow Welcome Swallow Fairy Martin Tree Martin Clamorous Reed-Warbler Brown Songlark Common Blackbird Common Starling |
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