| Birding
On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002 Emmalee Tarry |
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Tasmania |
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After leaving Bruny Island, I drove back to Hobart and took the A10 to Queenstown. The road went through pastoral rolling hills with sweeping views. At a pond outside Gretna I saw Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes, Hardeye and domestic Geese. Around noon I reached Hamilton and had coffee and scones at the Glenn Clyde Coach House built by convicts in 1840. There was a gift shop with handmade crafts and a beautiful spring garden.
After Hamilton the road began to ascend into the wooded hills. Past the power plant on the Derwent River, I stopped to poke around at Brady Lake and chanced upon a pair of Flame Robins. The male posed in a shaft of sunlight for just a short time. It was the color of the Blackburnian Warbler. All the bright robins seems to pass on quickly. I also had Black-headed Honeyeaters and Green Rosella.
Parked on the dam at Brady Lake was a very funny looking car covered with stickers that proclaimed "Paris - Peking 1997, Rt 93 to Rt 66 1999, Australia 2002." On the hood was a map of Australia showing in green the route taken around the continent. The driver was Bernhard Seiffert from Germany. Part of his story got lost in his poor English and my lack of German, but I gather he had purchased the car from whoever made all the trips. He said the car was more like a big motorcycle with a car body. Bernhard retired 2 months ago and just started this trip. He had already driven the Stuart Highway and had seen the couple riding the tandem bicycle.
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At the south entrance to Cradle Mountain National Park I
rented a campsite and bought a parks pass for AU$33. This allowed entry to all
Tasmanian Parks for 2 months, but the Ranger who sold it to me insisted that I
tell him how long I was staying and made the pass good only for the number of
days I was to be in Tasmania. The campground was on the shore of Lake St. Clair and this Tasmanian Pademelon was in the campground. The lake is fed by glacial melt and very cold. In fact it was very cold here at night and I used the electric heater for the first time on the entire trip. It was very cozy in Willy with the little heater running under the table. I did not trust sleeping with it on and turned it off at night. At a neighboring site a man was camping out of a station wagon. He didn't like the Pademelon or any other wildlife for that matter. |
I walked several track near the park headquarters. I saw Strong-billed Honeyeater , Black Currawong, Tasmanian Thornbill, Yellow-throated Honeyeater. I have now seen all the Tasmanian endemics.
This campground at the south entrance to the park is beautiful with good birds, but the amenities need work. The shower was supposed to cost , but the meter was stunk in the on position so I got the shower free. The headquarters is the end of the road at the south end of Cradle Mountain National Park. Access to the interior is on backpacking trails only.
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Back on the Queenstown road, I entered Franklin- Gordon
National Park. On both sides of the road is a beautiful heathland with snow
covered mountains in the distance. Frogs are croaking which is a sign of clean
water. I parked Willy and walked along the road. It was a fortunate stop. I saw a pair of Pink Robins. They went on their busy way so I was unable to get a photograph. I am very pleased that I am doing so well on the Robins on this trip. Dusky Robin showed up here as well and unlike the Pink Robin hung out for some time.. |
| Thin woods along the Queenstown Highway in Franklin- Gordon
National Park. I kept walking up and down the road for over an hour because I was seeing so many birds. Green Rosellas, Laughing Kookaburra, Skylarks and finally the Striated Fieldwren Calamanthus I remember this as one of the most pleasant places to bird in Tasmania. |
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I called this a Fan-tailed Cuckoo, but since it
doesn't really match the illustration in Simpson and Day I am open to
suggestions. At any rate it sat still for a long time. This bird was the reason
I stopped at this location in the first place. I heard an owl calling, but can't identify it by sound. |
| Leaving the Franklin - Gordon Park the road entered a heavily
wooded area and the road became uphill and downhill. I stopped to bird at
several points without seeing much. Suddenly I came to this barren landscape outside Queenstown. It looks like acid has been poured down the hills. This was the site of the world's largest open pit copper mine. The mine is still active but as a shaft mine. The land remains a moonscape because of the acid runoff from the strip mining. Queenstown is not where I would want to live. |
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