| Birding
On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002 Emmalee Tarry |
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Lamington National Park |
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Australia is the only country where three types of mammals exist side by side.
- Monotremes - Echidna, Platypus
- Marsupials - Kangaroo, Wombat, Koala, Possums, Bandicoots, carnivorous marsupials
- Placenta Mammals - rodents, bats, marine mammals
The Monotremes lay eggs. The Placenta Mammals give birth to fully-formed young which they then suckle with mammary glands. Marsupials give birth to very incompletely-developed young which they may nourish in a pouch. Some marsupials drag the young around clinging to the mother's teats.
A naturalist in Australia will want to see as many of the unique mammals as possible and for this you need a field guide to the mammals. High on my initial list were Koala and Platypus. I saw many interesting mammals on the trip.
| My first marsupial was the Red-necked Pademelon, a small kangaroo that came out in the campground at dusk and hopped around.. Notice the red fur at the back of the neck and the small front limbs. |  |
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The Red-necked Pademelon is active in the forest during the
day coming out a night into the clearings. They feed on grasses, herbs, and
leaves. One female seemed to have a baby in her pouch. The Red-necked Pademelon is not endangered. Like other kangaroos many are killed or injured by speeding cars. The best way to avoid hitting a kangaroo is to avoid driving at dusk when they tend to suddenly hop out of the brush at the side of the road. |
O'Reilly's Feeding Station
Uphill from the campground and the public parking lot is the famous O'Reilly Lodge. It is known to be a nice place to stay and Peter O'Reilly used to lead birding trips for lodge patrons. They still offer the trips to people staying at the lodge only, but I think one of the grandsons now does the leading and I have heard he is not as knowledgeable. One of the birds the guide is able to find is the Tawny Frogmouth. On way down from Lamington I tried to find the Frogmouth using the directions in Thomas and Thomas. I failed probably because I had no technique for finding this nocturnal bird which lies along the branch in the daytime. I did see the Frogmouth, actually on a nest later in the trip.
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While the park rangers try to discourage bird feeding, across
the street from visitors center, O'Reillys maintains a popular feeding station
and sells small packets of bird seed. A flock of King Parrots hang around the feeding station. Here one feeds from an outstretched hand. The great feat is to get one to sit on your head and have your picture taken. A few minutes here and you feel like you are at the O'Reilly zoo, but the people love it. That is they love it until one of the parrots dumps on their new jacket (jumper). Crimson Rosellas also feed here. |
I tried the tree top walk very early in the morning and there were no birds to be seen anywhere near it. Even the Bush Turkeys stay away. Forget the tree top walk.
The birding is better in the botanical garden near the tree top walk. It is a lovely quiet spot.
O'Reillys has a nature path behind the lodge for guests only. You can see and access part of the walk from the parking lot. A Satin Bowerbird has decorated his bower with blue plastic straws from the O'Reillys restaurant. The bowerbird himself was not around the nest this week.
The only public telephone is next to the O'Reilly entrance. Since my non Telcom cell phone would not work up here, I sat on the bench outside the lodge for some time trying to phone Bartrak about the accident. A beautiful Eastern Spinebill feeding on the flowering hedge made the wait enjoyable. O'Reillys kindly faxed the accident report to Bartrak for me for no charge.
When I finally got through to Bartrak, the owner was on vacation and his daughter was answering the phone. She didn't know what I should do about the broken mirror. I asked her to make an appointment for me at the Coffs Harbor Toyota for Friday. After 3 phone calls over two days, she finally told me it was all set. When I arrived at Toyota there was no appointment arranged and I spent three days in Coffs Harbor getting the mirror fixed. In the meantime I used the duct tape to keep it from flapping around.
Python and Border Tracks
A short walk down the road takes you to the head of the Python and Moora Falls Tracks. There is room for one or two cars to park here. I was accompanied on my first walk by a photographer from Brisbane. A Java Programming instructor he is temporarily out of work and focusing on his hobby bird photography. The Python trail is well paved but steadily downhill.
A pair of Logrunners were scraping about near the entrance. Birding in a full grown rainforest is a tough job. Overhead in the high canopy a bird was loudly rooting around in a cluster of ferns growing on a tree. I could see it was a large bird with a large downcurved bill. With head back, I peered up into the foliage. I could only see part of the body at a time. I was finally able to identify it as a female Paradise Riflebird. I saw the white eyebrow and brown chevrons on the tan breast. Not bad for a beginning birder fumbling with a bird book.
On another day I walked the Moora Falls Track seeing a Brush Cuckoo and on the way back Alberts Lyrebird scratching around in the leaves. The Logrunners were still around.
Perhaps the best track is the Border Track at the back of the visitors center. The track is built into the side of the slope so that on one side you look up into the undergrowth and on the other side into the canopy of the trees lower on the side of the hill. I was looking into the canopy when I saw the male Paradise Riflebird. He too was working on a nest of ferns. I am pleased to have seen both birds. When he turned just right I could see the blue of its tail. The Eastern Bristlebird was foraging in the undergrowth uphill from the trail. Further along I had another Albert's Lyrebird and was able to show it to a family with two small children. Unfortunately the mother was so anxious to take a picture with a point and shoot camera that she chased it off. After the Lyrebird I had a brief look at the Rufous Scrub-bird. I got most of the important birds to get at Lamington except the Noisy Pitta. I am told it is hard to get this bird in winter. I met a guy on the pelagic trip who told me if I didn't get this bird elsewhere he would meet me back at Lamington and see that I got it. It didn't come to that as I had the bird other places. It was a friendly offer that I appreciated.
I met a Texas woman and her twelve year old son on the Border Track. She was on a business trip to Australia and had brought her son along. The boy was very interested in birds and was trying to identify the birds using a North American field guide. I identified several birds for him and explained that he needed a guide to the birds of Australia. I suggested that he could buy one in the gift shop and also told them about the ABA young birders program.
The Lorikeet Campground
I stopped in Canungra at the police station to make sure they were following through with the police report. I think they intended to forget about it, but they won't now since they know I am going to stay on their case. I am heading south again first to get the mirror fixed and then to get to Wollongong for the July pelagic. I have plenty of time and will make a stop in the Blue Mountains on the way. I have Black-shouldered Kite, Brown Goshawk along the road.
I stopped just short of Coffs Harbor at the Lorikeet Campground. This was one of the nicer campgrounds on the trip. The owner leads you to your site on a bicycle. For the first time I was able to rent an ensuite site and I decided it was the way to go. It was AU$26 vs $19 but he gave me a coupon for a $2/night discount at any campground associated with "Family Campgrounds". I used this discount several times. Most often ensuites are not available without prior reservations.
The next day, Friday, I went into Coffs Harbor to the Toyota Dealer. They knew nothing about the accident and had not talked to Bartrak. They could order the part and fix the mirror on Monday. The other choice was to get it fixed in Sydney. I have time on my side. Coffs Harbor is a nice place. The campground is right on the beach and the birding is good here. I went back to the Lorrikeet where the same site was still available and spent the weekend.
With a four night stay I got to know some of the neighbors mostly retirees from Melbourne or South Australia here for the winter. They travel in caravans, a fold down trailer pulled by car or truck. They range in size up to full trailers. Everyone has a canvas annex which makes an extra room usually over the concrete patio.
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This caravan attracted my attention because of the outside faucet just over the little bucket. Notice the towel rack above and the soap dish to the left of the gas bottle. This family was on the move so they didn't put up their annex for one night. The tool cabinet above the gas bottle had hooks for every tool. After completing his setup including a careful adjustment of the satellite television disk, the guy washed and dried his hands and then went inside for supper. |
The men spend the day working on the rig. They like to rotate the tires, change the oil, clean and arrange storage compartments. All these activities require a good deal of conversation with the guy next door. Women seem to do laundry. Where on earth do they find all this stuff to wash. They must change the bed sheets every night. They launder lots of throw rugs. Everyone cares for their camp sites. There are potted plants and some full gardens. They maintain bird feeders usually made from milk cartons.
I soaked in the spa and took a swim in the pool. I did my laundry and dried my clothes on the line. I haven't done that since my husband was in medical school and we didn't have any money. What I learned is that in dry Australia clothes actually dry faster on the line than they do in an electric clothes drier. The clothesline is free and there is less need to iron.
This being retired business is still new to me. You finally have that precious resource of time. I attended the morning coffee hour and met some of the people. Everyone was interested in the bird watcher traveling alone from America .Several people wanted to talk about and expressed their sympathy for September 11. Of course they have bird stories from their travels. Several people gave me directions to birding locations.
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One of the regulars at the campground told me an eagle flew
up and down the beach almost every day about noon. He was right or at least
partly right. It was not an eagle but rather a beautiful Brahminy Kite.
He came down at noon to make sure I was seeing it and while there pointed out
the holes in the sand bank of some little birds he didn't know. I watched the
holes and it turned out to be Striated Pardalot. Down at the beach a pair of White-cheeked Honeyeaters were having a territorial dispute and I saw my first Mistletoe Bird. A pod of dolphin swam along the beach and every now and then the whole pod turned and surfed the waves toward the beach. Australian Gannets, Caspian and Crested Tern were seen from shore.. |
I saw several Eastern Grey Kangaroos feeding at dusk. One had a Joey in her pouch. How I wished to show this to my granddaughter. Masked Lapwings, Grey Shrike-thrush, Rainbow Lorikeets, Myna Birds, Little Pied Shag, Little Black Shag, Australian Woodduck, Pacific Black Duck, Hardhead or White-eyed Duck, Royal Spoonbill, White-faced Heron, Lewin's Honeyeater, Eatern Whipbird, Laughing Kokaburra, Little Wattlebird, Variegated Fairy-wren, Kingfisher sp., Spangled Drongo.
I made a little side trip to Red Rock following Thomas and Thomas directions but failed to find Beach Stone-curlew. I did see Pied Oystercatcher.
On Monday morning, Toyota fixed the mirror as promised. It cost me AU$348. I was just glad to get it fixed and be on my way. I spent the night at Port MacQuarie this time on the other side of the river where the campground had a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, White-necked Heron and a raptor I could not identify. I visited the Seabird Shop and got a new swim suit and some mosquito netting at a camping store. When it got hot in Darwin I draped the netting over the front doors of the car and left the windows open at night for more air. The two small windows at the top of the campervan do not provide much circulation. The next night I was back in the La Mancha campground north of Sydney trying to plot a better route through the city the next day.
Blue Mountains
I tried to take the M7 across Sydney and it didn't work out much better. In fact the M7 evaporated and I found myself lost in downtown Parameta. This was because at one crucial right turn the road is marked for the Cumberland Highway when it really means M7 and Cumberland Highway. I finally got on the M4 which turned into 32 and went up into the Blue Mountains.
The top of the Blue Mountains is mostly private land incorporated into several small towns. I got to Katoobe and found a campground. The next day I walked to Katoobe Falls lookout. I was disappointed that this area is so commercialized . To make the best of it all I walked 1.7 km down the mountain on the steps. The steps go through beautiful woods and past a waterfall. At the bottom I rode back up on the funicular. This is a very steep 52 degree assent in 100m. This funicular is not up to US safety standards. They warn you not to put packages or babies on the seat. I had a hard time holding onto my backpack. A package or a baby on the seat would fall out. There are no seatbelts. It was certainly worth the $6 not to have to walk back up.
That night it was very cold. Rain was almost never a problem on the trip except this night it rained all night. I am sure there is some good birding somewhere in the Blue Mountains National Park, but I saw few birds at the top and the next day drove on to Wollongong and the Fairy Meadow Campground. I am in position for the July pelagic.
End Lamington National Park
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