Tag Archives: Queensland

Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius)

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The Bush Stone-curlew or Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius, obsolete name Burhinus magnirostris) is a large (55–60 cm wingspan),  ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Although it looks rather like a wader and is related to the oystercatchers, avocets and plovers, it is a terrestrial predator filling an ecological niche similar to that of the roadrunners of North America.

Bush Stone Curlew1 Bush Stone Curlew2They are readily seen near most coastal and some inland areas of Australia.  If you are staying at the Rainbow Waters Holiday Park, they can be seen near the tent area and the camp kitchen around dusk.  Listen for the high-pitched eerie scream (see video below).

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LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birdlife Australia

Birds in Backyards

Australian Wildlife Conservancy

 

VIDEOS

A good sample of the screaming sound they make.

This one is funny – the bird wandered into someone’s cabin and proceeded to audition for a role in “Scream Queens”!

 

 

Birding Tin Can Bay, Queensland

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Tin Can Bay, Queensland is the gateway to Fraser Island (which is an adventure unto itself) but you don’t need to leave the mainland to find some good birding.  It’s a 3 hour drive from Brisbane so you should spend at least 1 night here to maximize birding time either in a holiday park/campground, hotel or backpacker lodge.

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We started the morning looking for Shorebirds at Cooloola Foreshores arriving around 7:30am.  We were greeted by a Whistling Kite in the car park at Mullen’s Creek.

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I’m the first to admit that Shorebirds are not my area of expertise but it was still interesting to look for them.  Some of them make huge journeys from Asia & North America to spend winter (Aussie summer) in the warmer climates.  More information can be found on Birds Queensland & Birdlife Australia.  My photos aren’t good enough to represent the individual species as the tide was out pretty far and I wasn’t up to wading out there.  We did get a repsectable bird list for the area with sightings of:  White-faced Heron (that’s the one near the boat), Whistling Kite, White-belied Sea-Eagle, Godwit, Pacific Golden Plover, Red-capped Plover, Greater & Lesser Sand Plover, Whimberel, Eastern Curlew, Red-necked Stint, Gull-bill Tern, Little Tern, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Leeuwin’s Honey-eater, Golden Whistler & Peaceful Dove.

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Next we moved on to the Tin Can Bay Foreshore Bird Walk.  It was getting hotter by now so I only visited a couple areas but still managed to see two lifers – Mangrove Honey-eater & Collared Kingfisher via a fellow birder’s scope.  There were also some more common species such as a Pelican being chased by a Whistling Kite, Masked Lapwings, Noisy Friarbirds.  Closer to the picnic area we found Galahs, Rainbow Lorikeets, Magpies and a very handsome Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike.

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Lodge Review: Rainbow Waters Holiday Park

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Rainbow Waters Holiday Park is typical of most Australian holiday parks in offering all kinds of accommodation options from campsites for a tent to furnished cabins so there is something for everyone.  It’s located a couple km from the small town of Rainbow Beach next to the boat ramp in the the Great Sandy Straits.

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This is the cheapest option to get a roof over our head if you don’t have a caravan – a park cabin.  They have a mini-kitchen, a double bed and 2 bunks and use the common bath/toilet facilities in the yellow building you can see just behind it.

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This lovely little Crested Pigeon has some kind of injury.  He was hanging around one of the other cabins for our birding group.  I hope he’s OK, I always feel protective of birds like this.

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We walked down to the boat ramp area to see if there were any shorebirds about.  The restaurant wasn’t open so a good thing we brought our own food to BBQ!

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Sacred Kingfisher – I love the flash of blue when they fly!

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Masked Lapwings were everywhere.

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Woodswallows.

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Look closely to see the chicks of this Masked Lapwing.

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Walking back, here is the other side of the common building that houses the bathrooms & laundry room.

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The camp kitchen has 2 gas BBQs with flat cooking areas, not grills, a fridge, a pizza oven  and a couple burners.

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Bush Stone-Curlews hanging around the tent area.

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Parent Magpie teaches youngster how to steal chips from visitors!

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A bush turkey, confident with Thanksgiving being over forages very close to the kitchen.

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Showing the bush setting of the camp.  We also saw some Galahs, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and a few birds I didn’t see clearly enough to id.

IMG_1432If you stay here, bring heavy duty mosquito repellent such as Bushman Plus 20% deet as the midges are a huge problem here.  They aren’t so active when there is a breeze about but the minute it dies down, they attack!  I advise bringing your own food – stock up in Gympie if you have to or better yet, Brisbane.  They don’t have wifi but you can get a reasonable cell phone signal, otherwise you have to drive to Rainbow Beach and visit a cafe.  It’s a good location if you want to bird in the general area of Cooloola Cove & Tin Can Bay.

Birding North Of The Sunshine Coast, Australia

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This last weekend I joined a Birds Queensland weekend camp to Rainbow Beach which is located just north of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.  It’s an easy 3 hour drive north of Brisbane.  I recommend refueling in Gympie as prices are cheaper there.

Brisbane - Rainbow1We birded  3 main areas each with different specialty birds which I will be going into detail in separate posts.  They are marked in red on the map below.

  1.  Rainbow Waters Caravan Park (nice variety of birds in the grounds but beware of midges)!
  2. Tin Can Bay Foreshore (good for waders & shore birds)
  3. Noosa Plains ( Ground Parrot area near Cooloola Cove)
  4. Inskip Point (another shore bird area with some forest species)

Brisbane - Rainbow2I chose to join this camp because of the Eastern Ground Parrots.  Even though they are difficult to see unless you flush one out, you can still hear them calling at dusk and dawn.  Stand by for detailed posts on all these areas with photos!

Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus)

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The Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus), is a broad-tailed parrot of the genus Platycercus native to northeastern Australia.  This beautiful parrot is special for me as they sometimes come into our property.  Their visits are sporadic so I always feel honoured when they come around.

IMG_1232a IMG_1229a Pale-headed Rosellas have a large range extending from the far north of Queensland into New South Wales.  They are readily seen both in bushland and in suburbs of Brisbane (lucky me!) and prefer open forests.  They were very easy to see at Lake Coolmunda  and Mosquito Creek Road.

phr rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT PALE-HEADED ROSELLAS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birdlife Australia

Birds in Backyards

VIDEOS

Beautiful close up to appreciate the colours on this bird.

They not only sound sweet, they are great communicators!  Check out how this one chats to a Butcherbird!

 

Restaurant Review: The Polish Place, Tamborine, Queensland

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I don’t often do restaurant reviews but the Polish Place in Tamborine, Queensland does also offer accommodation which I hope to try someday.  It’s kind of a surreal experience.  If you hadn’t just driven up from Brisbane or down from Lamington you could believe that you were in a quaint little Polish village in Europe.  Not even the hot, tropical Queensland climate interferes as you are high up enough for a pleasant, cool breeze.

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Whether you are staying in Brisbane or the Gold Coast, The Polish Place is just a short drive away.  We drove down from O’Reilly’s in time to have lunch here.  There’s plenty of birding in the area at Tamborine National Park.

Polish Place Polish Place2The gift shop is straight out of Poland with some beautiful arts and crafts.  I loved the doll collection!

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The waitresses wear traditional Polish costumes.

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The best seating is outside on the deck overlooking a spectacular view over teh Dividing Range.

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My photos of the menu didn’t come out well but you can see more about the cuisine here.  My pierogi were delicious and it was all I could do to finish the iced coffee before I was mobbed by Rainbow Lorikeets!

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This was the most fun I have had at a restaurant in ages!  The brilliant lorikeets put on a great show every time someone gets up from their meal to leave, hoping to steal the leftovers before the waitress can get to it.

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The cheeky little devils were all over my iced coffee.  I had to hide it under the table while I drank it as it really isn’t good for them.  I then put some water in the glass to dilute the leftovers.  They were undeterred and still tried to lick the glass clean!  Don’t worry, they didn’t get much – I took my photos quickly and gave the glass to the waitress!  Next time I’ll order some orange juice for them – unsweetened.

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Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis)

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The Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) is an Australasian robin of coastal and sub-coastal eastern Australia.

IMG_9332 IMG_9328a IMG_9336aThey are readily seen in a wide range of habitats: heaths, mallee, acacia scrub, woodlands and sclerophyll forests, but is most often found in damper places or near water within a large range across Eastern Australia.  The rainforest canopy walkway at O’Reilly’s is a great place to find them close enough to photograph.

eyr rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT EASTERN YELLOW ROBINS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birdlife Australia

Birds in Backyards

Sunshine Coast Council

VIDEOS

What a beautiful song!

And they like to stay clean too!

 

 

 

Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis)

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The Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis) is endemic to eastern Australia found in humid and heavily forested upland regions of the eastern portion of the continent, including eucalyptus wooded areas in and directly adjacent to subtropical and temperate rainforest. They feed on fruits and seeds gathered from trees or on the ground.

The male has a bright red head and breast wheras the female is mostly green.  Although this female has a leg band, she is actually one of the wild parrots that hang around O’Reilly’s for a free meal.

IMG_3675 IMG_3829 IMG_3729King Parrots are easily found within their range as the males are very bright and conspicuous and the females stay close to their mates.  You are pretty much guaranteed to see them at O’Reilly’s and the small cafe near Jolly’s Lookout near Brisbane.

AKP rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT AUSTRALIAN KING PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birdlife Australia

Birds in Backyards

VIDEOS

There’s no shortage of King Parrot videos online.  This one is good for the close ups of the birds foraging and you can clearly see the difference between the male and female.

This little guy from the Blue Mountains in NSW has no trouble with accepting hand outs (literally)!

And here is a whole flock (mostly juveniles) that visit someone’s back yard.  Notice the pleasant sound they make!

 

O’Reilly’s, Lamington Park

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O’Reilly’s is a great place to practice your bird photography skills as you can see several species very close and they are predictable.  If you start early, you can make this a day trip from Brisbane with a 2.5 hour drive.  It’s not really far but the road to the top of the mountain is very twisty.  Exact directions are on their website.  They also have some lovely eco-villas overlooking the rainforest and some good deals can be found mid-week outside of school holidays.  Every year, they have a Bird Week in November.

Bird feeding is touristy but fun.  The area is open daily from 10:00am – 4:00pm (weather dependent) and costs $4.00 per tray (suits 2 people).  Get up close and personal with some of Lamington’s iconic birds, such as King Parrots, Crimson Rosellas, or you might be lucky enough to see our ‘mascot’, the Regent Bowerbird.

I’ve been there a few times, usually to take friends up or to practice photography.  Here’s a few scenes from the bird feeding.  They gather in the trees and come down when someone offers a tray of seed or drops seed on the ground.

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IMG_3925 IMG_3926 IMG_9359 IMG_9355 IMG_9351a IMG_9345a IMG_9339a IMG_9336a IMG_9335a IMG_9332 IMG_9328a IMG_9326a IMG_9324a IMG_9321They have a nice gift shop and restaurant with seats overlooking the spectacular view.  You can also see birds out here.  There are signs telling you not to feed the birds but the birds have discovered that sometimes they can beat the waiters to the leftovers before the scraps can be cleaned up.

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Turquoise Parrot (Neophema pulchella)

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The Turquoise Parrot (Neophema pulchella) is a species of parrot in the genus Neophema native to Eastern Australia, from southeastern Queensland, through New South Wales and into north-eastern Victoria.

I had to use a Wikipedia shot since the only one I could get was too far away.

turqSitting on a wire near Amiens, Stanthorpe area.

IMG_9187a IMG_9184bThey have a large range in eastern Australia mostly in NSW & Victoria with a smaller range in South-east QLD.  I have seen them near Amiens in the Stanthorpe area and a brief glimpse of a pair in Durikai National Forest.

turq rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT TURQUOISE PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birdlife Australia

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

Lovely close-ups of a lovely bird!  That bright turquoise face is spectacular!