Author Archives: Tara

Red-winged Parrot (Aprosmictus erythropterus)

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The Red-Winged parrot (Aprosmictus erythropterus), is a parrot native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. It is found in grasslands, savannah, farmland, and woodland.

IMG_8396a IMG_0359 IMG_0366They have quite a large range throughout Queensland, Australia and even a small bit of Papua New Guinea.  I found it quite easy to see them at Lake Coolmunda, especially near the caravan park and near the shearer’s quarters at Bowra Station (blue dots).

RWPrangeLEARN MORE ABOUT RED-WINGED PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

 

VIDEO

Wonderful close up of this bird, seems to be a juvenile going by the feathering.

Birding Bowra Part 1 – Road To Homestead Area

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Since there are so many places to see birds, I am breaking this down into several parts.  The first area to explore is the part where you first enter Bowra Station at the letterbox and drive the main road to the homestead – about 5 or 6 km.  This is a fantastic area for parrots, as you can see from the photos below we saw many species just in this area such as Cockatiels, Mallee Ringecks, Galahs, Major Mitchell Cockatoos, Mulga Parrots and various Honey-eaters, an Emu and of course lots of kangaroos!  I also saw a Bluebonnet flying away at the speed of light near the gate.IMG_8570a IMG_8582a IMG_8583a IMG_8585a IMG_8561 IMG_8559 IMG_8554a IMG_8549a IMG_8544a IMG_8537 IMG_8834a IMG_8834b IMG_8840a IMG_8842a IMG_8852a IMG_8854a IMG_8870a IMG_8874a IMG_8881a IMG_8902a IMG_8905a IMG_8908a IMG_8911a IMG_8912a IMG_8916a IMG_8924 IMG_8925a IMG_8935a IMG_8936a IMG_8938a IMG_8947 IMG_8965a IMG_8970

Bring boots as sometimes you have to walk through the bush!

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Lodge Review: Bowra Station, Queensland

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It may be a long drive out here but Bowra Station is well worth it – it’s a birder’s paradise!  Over 200 species of birds have been reported here so try to spend at least 3 days to give yourself a chance to see as many as possible.  I can promise you it will be the highlight of your birding trip to Queensland!

Bowra Sanctuary is open to bird watching visitors from March to October each year.  If you are coming from overseas, you will fly into Brisbane so make sure you are coming at the right time of year.  You should avoid the wet season which is mostly Sept to early March anyways and if the roads flood you won’t be able to get through.

You must book in advance by ringing 07 4655 1238 or email bowravolunteers@gmail.com.  They only have accommodation for 15 people in the shearers quarters and separate cabin if you aren’t prepared to camp.  If Bowra is full and you can’t change your dates, ask the volunteer on duty if you can stay in Cunnamulla and make day visits.  Bring cash as they don’t take credit cards.  You can either prepare your own meals or drive 16 km to Cunnamulla to eat.  I recommend doing your shopping in Brisbane and bringing your own food, maybe go into town for lunch and internet while the birds are resting.

They have a daily bird call around 5pm at the caretaker’s house so be sure to share your sightings for the day!

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BOWRA STATION

Birds Queensland

Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary

Australian Wildlife

Outback Australia

Detailed map of Bowra Station

This is the mail box you need to look for.

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It was still light when we arrived which was nice as we could enjoy the welcoming committee while driving to the homestead.

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The light didn’t last long and we soon got to enjoy the sunset.

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Homestead where the caretakers live.  Check in here first.

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Shearers quarters which has several rooms with twin beds, a fully equipped kitchen and dining room.  The toilets and showers are outside.

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Sorry about the sideways pic, the WordPress photo editor isn’t working.  Since your neck is already getting a work out, why not enjoy this beautiful tree refelcting in the pond just outside the shearers’ quarters!

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In future posts, I will go into more detail about the birds as there are sooooo many to cover!

 

Cool Gadget – In-flight Pouch

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Since next year’s trip involves a lot of economy flights, I was looking for a way to keep things I need during the flight on hand so I don’t have to keep digging into my backpack in the overhead locker.  This one looks nice, has lots of pockets and fits neatly into the seat pocket.  Has anyone ever used one of these?

Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea)

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The Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea), also known as the bare-eyed cockatoo, blood-stained cockatoo, short-billed corella, little cockatoo and blue-eyed cockatoo, is a white cockatoo native to Australia and southern New Guinea.  It was known as Birdirra among the Yindjibarndi people of the central and western Pilbara.

IMG_0257 IMG_8261a IMG_8802aLittle Corellas are seen just about everywhere, often flocking together with Galahs.  They frequent the park near my house, I can hear them flying overhead most mornings.  They have a huge range in Australia and are found in all capital cities so whichever gateway city you use, you are bound to see them even before you hit the bush!

LCorellasLEARN MORE ABOUT LITTLE CORELLAS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

VIDEOS

Some amusing behavior by Little Corellas in this compilation.

Corellas of a feather floch together!

 

Cunnamulla – Gateway To Bowra Station

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Cunnamulla is a very welcome sight after a long drive from Brisbane – especially if you’ve done it all in one day!  You’ll pass through here enroute to Bowra Station and possibly come here for shopping and meals during your stay.

IMG_8972 Bowra map

Scenes around town

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They do have accommodation although I highly recommend birders stay at Bowra Station.

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Banking/ATM available

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Boulders is a great place to eat and check your emails.

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There wasn’t much in the way of souvenirs – a real gap in the market as they could do well selling Aboriginal art and paintings of wildlife.

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The resident flock of Little Corellas can sometimes be seen at the town park and sometimes down by the river.

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Security guard for the laundry!

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The other welcome sign on the east-bound road.

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A Drive Through Outback Queensland To Cunnamulla

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This is a trip I took back in March 2014 that I’m just getting around to blogging about.  The destination was Bowra Station near Cunnamalla, but in this case getting there was half the fun!  Outback Queensland has some quirky cafes, cool little towns and lots of wildlife.

Bowra mapIt’s at least a 10 hour drive, could be more if you run into roadworks and of course you will need comfort and lunch stops so you want to leave as early as possible in the morning.  The aim is to reach your destination by dusk to avoid the hazard of kangaroos on the roadside.  See my other posts on planning a birding trip in SE Queensland and road trips in general.

Once you get past Toowoomba, just follow the signs to St George.  There’s a town named after me along the way.  OK, it’s not named after me but it should have been!

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Road works can slow you down as they often close one whole lane of traffic.

IMG_8237In this next group, some of the photos are sideways.  They are not this way on my computer, they display properly.  However when I try to load them to the blog, they are being flipped sideways and WordPress won’t let me edit them.  So I apologize for you having to twist your head to see them.

On the outbound, we had lunch at a small town called Moonie with a very quirky cafe, even quirkier restrooms and souvenirs!

IMG_8244 IMG_8243 IMG_8238 IMG_8239 IMG_8240 IMG_8241 IMG_8242 IMG_8245 IMG_8246Lunch on the return trip was this cool little place in St George.

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Your chances of seeing a koala while driving along at 80-100 kph is nil but keep an eye out anyway in case they are crossing the road.

IMG_8973 IMG_8250 IMG_8249 IMG_8248 We did arrive at Bowra Station before dark.  I don’t remember what time we left but it was around 5am-ish so we made pretty good time.  For a future trip, I would probably break the journey somewhere like Lake Coolmunda (excellent birding!) for a night.  It was a very exhausting drive!

 

Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus)

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The Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) is a medium-sized woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys in Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the western Pacific. In New Zealand the species is also known by its Māori name kōtare.

It is called “sacred” for it was said to be a holy bird for Polynesians, who believed it to have control over the waves. Likewise, the local subspecies of collared kingfisher and other kingfishers in the southwestern Pacific were ascribed venerable power over the ocean.

IMG_1281a IMG_1279aThey have a very large range throughout Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia so odds are good you will find them on most birding trips in these areas.  I saw the one above at Mosquito Creek Road, South-east Queensland.

SKrangeLEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birdlife Australia

Birds in Backyards

VIDEOS

Nice close-ups!

 

Bluebonnet (Northiella haematogaster)

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The eastern Bluebonnet (Northiella haematogaster) is an Australian parrot, one of two species in the genus Northiella.   The Bluebonnet is a medium sized inland parrot commonly found in the interior of southeastern and central-southern Australia. It is adapted to life in semi-arid regions but can also flourish in regions of medium rainfall towards the eastern and southern extremities of its range.  Since my photos are too blurry (see below) to do justice to the subtle beauty of this bird, I have to reply on Wikipedia’s photo.

BluebonnetwkiI only saw them at a distance.

IMG_1312a IMG_1316 IMG_1316aThey do have a large range over most of inland eastern Australia.  I have personally seen them at Bowra Station & Mosquito Creek Road  near Lake Coolmunda (blue dots) in SE Queensland.  Both times the birds were flying at lightning speed but at least the Coolmunda birds made a nice semi-circle through the trees giving me more time to try to get a photo!

BluebonnetLEARN MORE ABOUT BLUEBONNETS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Beauty of Birds

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

It wasn’t easy to find a video of these birds in the wild though there are some captive bird on Youtube.  I found this clip on Vimeo but you have to click through to Vimeo to see it.

IBC also has a few clips.