Tag Archives: australia

Help Conservation By Joining Surveys For Regent Honeyeaters & Swift Parrots

Posted on by
Reply

Next weekend – August 1 & 2, Birdlife Australia is conducting surveys to locate populations of Regent Honeyeaters and Swift Parrots.  There are lots of potential survey locations on their website throughout Victoria, NSW, ACT and QLD (see the Excel spreadsheet towards the bottom – Suggested survey locations for Swift Parrot and Regent Honeyeater surveys).  There are also forms to fill out after the survey and send to Birdlife.

For more information about the surveys see our webpage or contact Dean Ingwersen (Regent Honeyeaters), Mick Roderick (Swift Parrots in NSW, ACT and Qld) or Caroline Wilson (Swift Parrots in Victoria).

I will be out there surveying in Greater Brisbane,  probably with my husband.  We didn’t have any luck in May so really hopeful for this one!  The weather reports for next week show another cold snap coming in so I hope the birds are enjoying our relatively warm winter in QLD by now!

These photos are from Wikipedia to show the birds we are looking for.

Regent Honeyeater

Survey RHE

Swift Parrot

Survey Swiftie

New Routes To Australia & Ghana From USA

Posted on by
Reply

Two new routes open up more exciting eco-travel opportunities for miles and points collectors!  The whole miles and points world is talking about the new routes from California to Sydney.  American Airlines will begin direct service on the busy LAX to SYD route 17 Dec 2015 – just in time for the peak season down under.  This will add more potential award seats which for AAdvantage members go for 37,000 in Y, 62,500 in J.  Since it does commence during peak season, I don’t expect there to be much award availability until perhaps Feb 2016.  At least AAdvantage members will have a fighting chance to get J awards since they will have the same access as any OneWorld member!

Qantas is re-launching SFO to SYD service from 20 Dec 2015.  Economy awards are generally easy to get but premium class award on QF have always been as rare as hen’s teeth.  At least it’s another connecting point and once you are in SYD you can use the same award to get anywhere in Australia you want.  I have a guide on planning a birding adventure using Western Australia as an example.

If you collect Star Alliance miles/United Mileage Plus, there’s good news for you too!  South African Airways is adding a stop in Accra, Ghana enroute to JNB.  This makes a nice birding itinerary similar to what I did last year.

Australian Owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus)

Posted on by
Reply

The Australian Owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus) is a nocturnal bird found in open woodland across Australia and in southern New Guinea. It is colloquially known as “Moth Owl“. It is the most common of the owlet-nightjars, and the best known of this secretive family. It is the most common nocturnal bird in Australia, and despite suffering from predation and competition by introduced species it is not considered threatened.

IMG_5047 IMG_5051a IMG_5285Close-up from Wikipedia since I only got shots in the nest.

.

They have a huge range – basically all over Australia so you could get lucky enough to see them on any birding trip in Australia. The best thing is to ask the lodge owners or rangers at national parks if they know of a nesting pair.  I saw them at Stirling Range Retreat.  You can also try searching the species name on the Surfbirds trip reports if you are targeting this species.  I wasn’t targeting them but just got lucky that they were found at a place I had already planned to visit and they were a delightful bird to watch as they peered cautiously out of the nest!

.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

Splendid Fairywren (Malurus splendens)

Posted on by
Reply

The Splendid Fairywren is one of 12 species of the genus Malurus, commonly known as fairywrens, found in Australia and lowland New Guinea.  Within the genus it is most closely related to the Superb Fairywren. These two “Blue wrens” are closely related to the Purple-crowned Fairywren of north-western Australia.

I was very lucky to see these gorgeous little birds in several locations such as Stirling Range Retreat, Nallan Station, Yanchep National Park & Bowra Station.  Their bright blue colouring and charming way of hopping around had me falling in love with them!

IMG_5081 IMG_5084 IMG_5086Splendid Fairy-wrens have a large range so it would be easy to plan a birding adventure which visits one of their habitats.

.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SPLENDID FAIRY-WRENS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

This footage shows the contrast between the males and females (the brown birds with blue tails) and you can hear the twitter sound they make!

 

 

 

Stirling Range National Park

Posted on by
1
Stirling Range National Park encloses the only major mountain range with in the southern half of Western Australia.  The best time to visit is around Sept-Oct when wild flowers are at their best but this is also the busiest season for tourists.  As a birder, I chose to visit this park in February to avoid the Western Australian school holidays when the park would be most crowded.  Most rain falls between May and August, with summer being very frequently completely dry around Borden for over a month and having typically very light showers in the south and on the peaks.
Stirling Range is around 5 hours from Perth so it would be more suited for a trip of at least 2 days.  It’s best to stay in the park at Stirling Range Retreat (review coming) so you are right there at the crack of dawn when birds are more active.  There are around 100 species of birds here and there are several sources for bird checklists.
The Parks & Wildlife website has some more basic information about the park.  There are fees applicable and you must have exact change (cash) available as payment  is made at an honesty box at the entrance.  Since I will be covering the birds I saw on a separate post, I will simply add a few photos of the amazing scenery in the park for now.
IMG_5005 IMG_5006 IMG_5007 IMG_5008 IMG_5013 IMG_5010 IMG_5009 IMG_5014 IMG_5199 IMG_5229 IMG_5242

Dryandra Woodland, Western Australia

Posted on by
5

Dryandra Woodland offers amazing birding only a couple hours drive from Perth!  Use your miles to get here and then hire a car so you can explore this beautiful park on your own.

.

Although you could visit Dryandra Woodland as a day trip from Perth, I highly recommend staying a night or two here so you can visit all the water holes and birding areas.  You can stay either in the park or in Narrogin, about a half hour’s drive from Dryandra.

The Lion’s Dryandra Village has the advantage of being right inside the park so no commuting and you can easily do the night tour at Barna Mia.  You do need to be completely self-sufficient and bring your own food and bed linens.

IMG_4587 IMG_4588 IMG_4590Otherwise you can stay in the closest town of Narrogin where there are several options such as Bella’s Country Place (where we stayed-my review), Albert Facey Motel & Narrogin Motel.

The official park website has a brochure you can download.  I have marked some prime birding location in yellow on the screenshot below.  The Old Mill Dam was the best place, I personally saw several Western Rosellas, Australian Ringnecks, Rainbow Bee-eaters and more (see bird list links below).

Dryandra birding spots

The bird list is very impressive and Frank O’Connor’s website has some great location details complete with co-ordinates for your GPS.  Eremaea also has a bird list for Dryandra Woodland.

Here are some photos I took at Dryandra Woodlands.

IMG_4597 IMG_4599 IMG_4600 IMG_4596

Australian Ringneck

IMG_4579a

Common Bronzewing

IMG_4574a IMG_4571a

Scarlet Robin wants a bath

IMG_4531a IMG_4533a IMG_4550a IMG_4552a

Some New Holland Honey-eaters join in.

IMG_4565a IMG_4562a

TBD

IMG_4541

Western Rosellas wait for the chance to drink.  I was really happy to see them after I saw a video that they were disappearing.

IMG_4512 IMG_4514 IMG_4518

Although this Ringneck didn’t approach too close to the Rosellas, they still flew off when he was joined by others.  It’s clear the Ringneck is the dominating species.

IMG_4522 IMG_4524 IMG_4526a IMG_4528 IMG_4494

The Kookaburra wasn’t fazed by the Ringnecks at all or vice-versa.

IMG_4495 IMG_4508 IMG_4499

Rainbow Bee-eaters put on a great show diving down for a drink and quick bath.

IMG_4441 IMG_4445a

Willie Wagtails were everywhere!

IMG_4454 IMG_4455

A few kangaroos came down for a drink.

IMG_4458 IMG_4460 IMG_4463

More Bee-eaters

IMG_4467

Australian Magpies were also everywhere!

IMG_4470

More Australian Ringnecks

IMG_4474

 

Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus)

Posted on by
Reply

The Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia.  They are brilliantly colored birds that grow to be 19–24 cm (max 28 cm) in length, including the elongated tail feathers.

IMG_4441 IMG_4445a Close up from Wikipedia.

.

Rainbow bee-eaters are a common species and can be found during the summer in forested areas in most of southern Australia excluding Tasmania. They migrate north during the winter into northern Australia, New Guinea, and some of the southern islands of Indonesia.  They may be found in open woodlands, beaches, dunes, cliffs, mangroves, woodlands and they often visits parks and private gardens.  The first two photos above were taken at the watering hole near the Dryandra Village.  They were quite entertaining as they whizzed down for a drink at the speed of light!  Dryandra Woodlands is an easy 2 hour drive from Perth.

.

Known to the Noongar as “birranga”, the bee-eater’s beauty and character set it apart from other birds and it is the traditional totem of an important family group in the eastern Wheatbelt..

An Aboriginal Dreaming story tells how birds came into being when a rainbow shattered and its colourful shards fell to earth, and the basis for such a tale can be appreciated in the rainbow bee-eater’s startling yet muted oranges, gauzy greens, powder-puff blues and soft yellows.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Australian Wildlife Conservancy

VIDEOS

Nice close up footage eating an insect

Feeding chicks in a nest

 

Baudin’s Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus baudinii)

Posted on by
2

Baudin’s Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus baudinii), also known as Baudin’s Cockatoo or Long-billed Black Cockatoo,is a large black cockatoo found in Australia. The binomial commemorates the French explorer Nicolas Baudin.

I was lucky enough to see them early in the morning out by Wungong Gorge near Armadale, which is 45 minutes from Perth but unfortunately they had the sun behind them so all I got was a silhouette.  In the future, I would advise going here in the afternoon when the sun would be on the opposite side of the trees where the cockatoos are found.

IMG_4291

At least Wikipedia has a nice close up of this beautiful cockatoo.

BaudinThe Baudin’s Black Cockatoo is one of two species of white-tailed black cockatoo endemic to south-western Australia which were only separated taxonomically in 1948. It is closely associated with moist, heavily forested areas dominated by Marri and is threatened by habitat destruction.

Sites identified by BirdLife International as being important for Baudin’s Black Cockatoo conservation are Araluen-Wungong, Gidgegannup, Jalbarragup, Mundaring-Kalamunda, North Dandalup, the Stirling Range and The Lakes. Local birders also see them around  Margaret River.   In the map below, I have marked out a few of these places that are popular for birders.  Wungong Gorge is purple, Margaret River is green and Stirling Range is blue.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PARROT

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Biodiversity Australia

Murdoch University

VIDEO

Spectacular up close footage of some Baudin’s Black Cockatoos near Perth.