Tag Archives: Bowra

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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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.

 

 

 

Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla)

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One of the birds you are most likely to see in Australia is also one of the most beautiful.  The galah Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo, galah cockatoo, roseate cockatoo or pink and grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.

Notice how this first Galah’s crest (Nallan Station) is pinker than the other ones?

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IMG_0161Galahs are known for their silly, playful nature.  If an Aussie calls you a “galah”, they usually don’t mean it as a compliment!

You won’t have to try to hard to find them as they are pretty much all over Australia.  I’ve seen them around Perth, Nallan Station, Stirling Range, Tasmania, Melbourne, Brisbane, Bowra Station, Coolmunda, Karara, Girraween just to name a few.  They frequent the park a couple blocks from my house and I can usually hear them as they fly overhead in the morning to forage for breakfast.

Galah rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT GALAHS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

The Australian Galah

VIDEOS

Wild Galahs in  action – playing and foraging.

 

 

 

Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus)

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The Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), also known as the quarrion and the weiro, is a member of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia.  Cockatiels have a special place in my heart as they were the first bird I had as a pet and it was my love for them that led me to learn more about them and ultimately led to me being a conservationist.  It will always be a magical experience for me to see them in the wild!

These photos were taken along Mosquito Creek Road which is near Lake Coolmunda, about 4 hours drive from Brisbane.

IMG_0475 IMG_0467 IMG_0628 IMG_0634 IMG_0647They have a large range covering most of Australia but seeing them is harder than you may think as they prefer remote grassy bushlands and they blend in well if they are on the ground foraging.  Mosquito Creek Road and Bowra Station (blue dots) are 2 easy places to find them.  I recommend searching on eBird since they are so widespread and there is bound to be a place within a reasonable drive from most cities in Australia.

Cockatiel rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT COCKATIELS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

Birdlife Australia

IBC

VIDEOS

Any search through Youtube will find 1000’s of pet cockatiel videos so I had to search for the wild cockatiel clips.  I found some good ones showing wild cockatiels going about their daily life in the bush.

I wish I could see this many all at once!

Mini doco with good basic info but be advised that some photos are pet mutation cockatiels, not the wild ones though they also have wild cockatiel pics.

 

 

Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus)

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The Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus), also known as the red-backed parrot or grass parrot, is a common bird of south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin.  The red-rumped parrot was described by John Gould in 1838 and is the type species for the genus Psephotus. It was long presumed to be closely related to the mulga parrot, however analysis of multiple genetic material shows it to be an early offshoot of a group containing the genera Platycercus and Barnardius.

At Lake Coolmunda, male Red-rumps were out foraging in all their glory but I struggled to get a good shot of a female.  I found this nesting pair near Karara but the lighting was bad.

IMG_0728 IMG_0559 IMG_0549 IMG_0517 IMG_0952They have quite a large range in south-eastern Australia.  I have personally seen them at Woodlands Park, Melbourne, Bowra Station, Lake Coolmunda, Karara and around SEQ in general.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT RED-RUMP PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

 

VIDEOS

This clip has excellent close ups of both male and female and you can really see the difference.  You can also hear their call and watch them forage in the grass.

More foraging Red-rumps

 

 

Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius)

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If Australia were to have a beauty contest for parrots, the Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius) would be a definite contender!

IMG_5764 IMG_5762a IMG_5838aThe Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius), also known as the Many-colored Parrot, is endemic in arid scrublands and lightly timbered grasslands in the interior of southern Australia.  In the photo just above you can see 2 brightly coloured males and one duller female.

Mulga Parrot range.
Red dot – Nallan Station, Blue dot – Bowra Station

The species ranges across the dryer interior of the Australian continent, from Western New South Wales through the northwestern tip of Victoria and across South Australia and into the dryer central regions of Western Australia west to the Wheatbelt and north to the Pilbara.  The Mulga Parrot is generally encountered in pairs in arid grassland and mulga scrubland.   I have personally seen them at Nallan Station and at Bowra Station.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MULGA PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Beauty of Birds

Alice Springs Desert Park

VIDEOS

Breeding pair

 Live action from a webcam.

Bourke’s Parrot (Neopsephotus bourkii)

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IMG_5980aThe Bourke’s Parrot (Neopsephotus bourkii, formerly known as Neophema bourkii), also known as the Bourke’s Parakeet, Bourke or “Bourkie”, is a small parrot originating in Australia and the only species in its genus Neopsephotus.  It is a grass parrot approximately 19 cm long and weighing around 45 grams.  It is named after General Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837.

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Use your miles to get to Australia as these little beauties are Aussie endemics.  Bourke’s Parrot is widespread across arid and semi-arid areas of the inland, from north-western New South Wales and south-western Queensland to the mid-coast of Western Australia, and from the Devil’s Marbles in Northern Territory south to Port Augusta, South Australia.  I found them easily at Nallan Station in WA and Bowra Station in Queensland.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BOURKE’S PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

VIDEOS

Sorry, I couldn’t find much on this gorgeous little bird in the wild, plenty of captive bird videos.  Here’s one bird in the wild followed by a captive bird so you can hear what they sound like.