Tag Archives: Coolmunda

Birding Mosquito Creek Road Near Lake Coolmunda

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Mosquito Creek Road is one of the top birding sites near Lake Coolmunda and less than 4 hours drive from Brisbane.

Coolmunda3It’s signposted from both directions and there is an Olive Farm at the beginning of the road.

IMG_0593 IMG_0411You’ll be driving down a well-maintained gravel road.  The properties on both sides are fenced and for private use so you have to do your birding from the roadside.  It’s a great place to bird though as the wide open grassy areas and sparser trees make it easier to find the birds.  You can drive past a small pond a few km to a more densely forested area but I found the birdlife decreased from entering that area so we went back to the grassy area near the pond.

We made a couple trips to Mosquito Road with just Ina & me, then returned a couple days later with the Birds Queensland group which I will cover in a separate post.

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Plenty of kangaroos so drive slowly, don’t add to the road kill!

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We saw lots of Little Corellas & Galahs.

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There was a tree that had a lot of Zebra Finches who sometimes came out to the wire fence to pose for photos.

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Willie Wagtails are found here and basically all over Australia.

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For me, the highlight was seeing wild Cockatiels.  Cockatiels are very special to me, they are the first bird I had as a pet which ultimately led to my interest in birding and conservation.

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Horsfield’s Bushlark

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Very tempting!

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Australasian Darter

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Apostlebird

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Pale-headed Rosella

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Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris)

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The Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) or Australian black-shouldered kite is a small raptor found in open habitat throughout Australia.  Although I am not a raptor person, this one really caught my eye at Lake Coolmunda because he really was hovering just like a kite.  He then swooped down quickly and flew to a fence pole where I could see he had caught a rat.  I was so impressed, I was ready to offer him a job keeping my house free from rodents!

IMG_0368 IMG_0369 IMG_0373 IMG_0374Their range is basically all of Australia.  They seem to be territorial as I saw this one (at least I think it was the same one) on all 3 days we were at Lake Coolmunda in the same area.

Kite rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

Australian Wildlife Conservancy

 

VIDEOS

See how they hover while hunting for prey.

Nice close-up

 

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

 

 

Birding Lake Coolmunda Caravan Park & Surrounds

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The area between the Cunningham Highway to roughly the railway tracks has plenty of birdlife.

Coolmunda2Once again, it was a great place to look fro parrots!  Red-winged Parrots were hanging around just outside the caravan park while Scaly-breasted Lorikeets & Crested Pigeons were easily found inside the park.

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The stretch of road just opposite this fancy house is good for Red-Rumped Parrots foraging in the grass.

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The grassy area just outside the park was also good for fairywrens.  I was a bit far from the bush they were hanging out in so had to zoom quite a bit.  At first I was thinking they were all Superb Fairy-wrens.

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Zooming in on this photo showed that I had also found a flock of White-winged Fairy-wrens!

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And a Black-shouldered Kite put on an amazing display of hunting.  He hovered like a ……………………. well a kite!

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Aha, spotted something!

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The kite swooped quickly and withdrew to a pole holding a rat.  I was so impressed I would have gladly offered him a job keeping my home free of rats if I could be sure that was all he would eat!

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Birding Lake Coolmunda – Boat Ramp & Adjacent Areas

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Lake Coolmunda is an amazing birding hotspot and has something for everyone!  There were plenty of parrots to keep me happy, lots of water birds in the lake and elusive little Fairy Wrens to watch out for in the bush.  These photos were taken around the boat ramp area which also has a campground and picnic area, the area across the road which is really good for parrots and the road leading to the dam.  The Coolmunda Caravan Park is where the purple dot is.

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As we approached the turn-off to the lake & boat ramp, some Galahs were waiting to greet us.

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Before we turned left down the boat ramp road, I heard parrots in the field across the street so we pulled over to investigate.  Good move as we found Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Eastern Rosellas, Pale-headed Rosellas, more Galahs, Red-rump Parrots and Little Corellas!

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Noisy Miner

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This camping area has spaces for tents and caravans and a nice picnic area which we used for breakfast.

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We drove a bit further towards the dam and saw water birds on the lake and some Superb Fairy-wrens in several bushes along the road.  Many birds were on private property and as you can see by the signs, trespassers are not wanted!  Fair enough, I wouldn’t want strangers traipsing around my property either!  The roads here are paved and in excellent condition, normal sedan cars are fine.

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We turned around at the above sign and went back to the picnic area for breakfast.  We enjoyed a nice view of many water birds while we ate.  A Pied Butcherbird came over to beg steal our food!  Public conveniences are available here.

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When we went back to this area in the evening, there were lots of Red-rumped Parrots foraging in the tall grasses.  The light was really beautiful on the lake!

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Magpies squabbling, probably over territory or a female.

IMG_0586 IMG_0587 IMG_0589 IMG_0590 IMG_0592 IMG_0585 IMG_0588And with these Outback sunset shots we ended a fantastic day of birding!

Lodge Review: Lake Coolmunda Caravan Park

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Lake Coolmunda Caravan Park is the best place to stay if you want a roof over your head.  The self-contained cabins are reasonably priced at $85 with an ensuite.  The facilities are good – BBQ area, swimming pool (too cold this time of year for us) and lots of birds in the grounds.  One thing I would change is that I would have tried to get cabin 9 or 10 so there would be no possibility of a caravan parking between us and the view of the lake!  Overall, we really enjoyed it and I am sure we will go back in the not too distant future!

It’s about a 4 hour drive from Brisbane down the Cunningham Highway about 13 km east of Ingewood.  The turn off is well marked.  The grounds are spacious and accommodate caravans, tents and about 10 cabins.  We were in cabin 4.

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The rooms are basic but have everything you need.  I especially loved the artwork!

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Near the office are several aviaries with parrots.  Wild birds hang around here too as they get free food from what the captive birds leave behind.

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The first bird to greet us was this lovely male Red-rump.  There were some nesting Noisy Miners in the tree near our cabin which made us really feel at home as we have Noisy Miners in our front yard trees as well!

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We had a beautiful view of the lake from our deck………………….until a caravan parked there.  Luckily, they moved to another spot as it wasn’t full.  This is why I recommend cabin 9 or 10 because if the park fills up, you will lose your view from the other cabins.

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There are picnic tables and a BBQ area where we cooked our steaks for lunch.  In Sept, it gets pretty cold at night so we just used the microwave in the cabin for dinner.

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There is no wifi at the caravan park but if you drive the 13 km to Inglewood you can use the library wifi for free.  They give you a voucher which expires when you use the data, it was plenty for me to just check emails and re-read some bird reports.  There are some small cafes, supermarkets and a couple motels in Inglewood if the caravan park is full.

Gotta love a town with a Pale-headed Rosella on their welcome sign!

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