Return To Mosquito Creek Road & Coolmunda

The final day of the Birds Queensland Camp was a visit to Mosquito Creek Road & Lake Coolmunda including a private property near the lake.  I was really hoping to get a good look at Bluebonnets and hopefully some photos this time.  The nice thing about birding with a group is that you have a lot more eyeballs at work and one of the group did spot a pair of Bluebonnets that I probably wouldn’t have found as they were well camouflaged and being very quiet.  Once they were pointed out to me, I was able to follow them with my 400mm lens and grab a few shots – none of which came out well other than to prove we saw Bluebonnets!  I’ve included some untouched shots and some cropped ones to show just how far away the birds were and how difficult they are to see.

IMG_1299a IMG_1303 IMG_1303a IMG_1308 IMG_1309 IMG_1309a IMG_1310 IMG_1310a IMG_1311a IMG_1312a IMG_1314 IMG_1314a IMG_1316 IMG_1316a IMG_1317 IMG_1317aAnother highly sought after bird was the White-winged Fairy-wrens bustling around in bushes.  They weren’t too keen on being photographed either!

IMG_1245 IMG_1245a IMG_1247a IMG_1248a IMG_1250a IMG_1253aLuckily a few birds were happy to pose for photos.  First up is a Pale-headed Rosella who looks to have some hybrid blood in him.  Oddly enough Pale-headed Rosellas often breed with Eastern Rosellas around here though there is no reason they couldn’t find a partner of their own species.

IMG_1220 IMG_1220a IMG_1221a IMG_1223a IMG_1226 IMG_1229a IMG_1231a IMG_1232 IMG_1232aSacred Kingfishers also put in an appearance.

IMG_1278 IMG_1279a IMG_1281aHere’s a few more random shots.

IMG_1235 IMG_1261 IMG_1296a IMG_1324 IMG_1345 IMG_1349 IMG_1350 IMG_1351 IMG_1353 IMG_1352We had a nice spot to have a picnic lunch by the lake and watch some Little Corellas play in the trees.  After lunch, Ina & I took off as I wanted to make it back to Brisbane before dark and also have a quick look-in at the Durikai Watering Hole enroute.  Traffic back to the city does build up in the afternoon on a Sunday so bear this in mind when planning your journey.