Tag Archives: Queensland

Lodge Review: Bowra Station, Queensland

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It may be a long drive out here but Bowra Station is well worth it – it’s a birder’s paradise!  Over 200 species of birds have been reported here so try to spend at least 3 days to give yourself a chance to see as many as possible.  I can promise you it will be the highlight of your birding trip to Queensland!

Bowra Sanctuary is open to bird watching visitors from March to October each year.  If you are coming from overseas, you will fly into Brisbane so make sure you are coming at the right time of year.  You should avoid the wet season which is mostly Sept to early March anyways and if the roads flood you won’t be able to get through.

You must book in advance by ringing 07 4655 1238 or email bowravolunteers@gmail.com.  They only have accommodation for 15 people in the shearers quarters and separate cabin if you aren’t prepared to camp.  If Bowra is full and you can’t change your dates, ask the volunteer on duty if you can stay in Cunnamulla and make day visits.  Bring cash as they don’t take credit cards.  You can either prepare your own meals or drive 16 km to Cunnamulla to eat.  I recommend doing your shopping in Brisbane and bringing your own food, maybe go into town for lunch and internet while the birds are resting.

They have a daily bird call around 5pm at the caretaker’s house so be sure to share your sightings for the day!

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BOWRA STATION

Birds Queensland

Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary

Australian Wildlife

Outback Australia

Detailed map of Bowra Station

This is the mail box you need to look for.

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It was still light when we arrived which was nice as we could enjoy the welcoming committee while driving to the homestead.

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The light didn’t last long and we soon got to enjoy the sunset.

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Homestead where the caretakers live.  Check in here first.

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Shearers quarters which has several rooms with twin beds, a fully equipped kitchen and dining room.  The toilets and showers are outside.

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Sorry about the sideways pic, the WordPress photo editor isn’t working.  Since your neck is already getting a work out, why not enjoy this beautiful tree refelcting in the pond just outside the shearers’ quarters!

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In future posts, I will go into more detail about the birds as there are sooooo many to cover!

 

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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A Drive Through Outback Queensland To Cunnamulla

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This is a trip I took back in March 2014 that I’m just getting around to blogging about.  The destination was Bowra Station near Cunnamalla, but in this case getting there was half the fun!  Outback Queensland has some quirky cafes, cool little towns and lots of wildlife.

Bowra mapIt’s at least a 10 hour drive, could be more if you run into roadworks and of course you will need comfort and lunch stops so you want to leave as early as possible in the morning.  The aim is to reach your destination by dusk to avoid the hazard of kangaroos on the roadside.  See my other posts on planning a birding trip in SE Queensland and road trips in general.

Once you get past Toowoomba, just follow the signs to St George.  There’s a town named after me along the way.  OK, it’s not named after me but it should have been!

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Road works can slow you down as they often close one whole lane of traffic.

IMG_8237In this next group, some of the photos are sideways.  They are not this way on my computer, they display properly.  However when I try to load them to the blog, they are being flipped sideways and WordPress won’t let me edit them.  So I apologize for you having to twist your head to see them.

On the outbound, we had lunch at a small town called Moonie with a very quirky cafe, even quirkier restrooms and souvenirs!

IMG_8244 IMG_8243 IMG_8238 IMG_8239 IMG_8240 IMG_8241 IMG_8242 IMG_8245 IMG_8246Lunch on the return trip was this cool little place in St George.

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Your chances of seeing a koala while driving along at 80-100 kph is nil but keep an eye out anyway in case they are crossing the road.

IMG_8973 IMG_8250 IMG_8249 IMG_8248 We did arrive at Bowra Station before dark.  I don’t remember what time we left but it was around 5am-ish so we made pretty good time.  For a future trip, I would probably break the journey somewhere like Lake Coolmunda (excellent birding!) for a night.  It was a very exhausting drive!

 

Little Lorikeet (Glossopsitta pusilla)

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The Little Lorikeet (Glossopsitta pusilla) is a species of parrot in the Psittaculidae family. It is endemic to Australia. It is a small parrot, predominantly green in plumage with a red face. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

They can be very hard to photograph as they tend to stay high up in trees and blend in well with the foliage but I finally got a decent shot in Durikai National Forest, near Karara.

IMG_1174a IMG_1140 IMG_1140a IMG_1144aThey have a large range on the eastern side of Australia.  I have seen them at Woodlands near MEL, several reserves in the Brisbane area and at Durikai National Forest.

L LorikeetsLEARN MORE ABOUT LITTLE LORIKEETS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birdlife Australia

Birds in Backyards

VIDEOS

You can see how well they blend in.

Nesting pair

 

Birding Durikai State Forest – Near Karara

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Durikai State Forest is better known for fossicking but those who look deeper can find some wonderful birds here.  Last year, someone even spotted a rare Regent Honey-eater although I was not so lucky this year!  It is located about 3 hours drive from Brisbane, 7 km from Karara and around 40 km from Warwick and you can access it from the Cunningham Highway.  On the right side of this map, the red line is a gravel road leading into the forest.  We were there around 2pm so there weren’t many birds around but the highlight was a lovely Mistletoe Bird.  The yellow splotch is across the road and a bit hard to find.

Karara DurikaiIMG_1081 IMG_1086 IMG_1089 IMG_1092 IMG_1094 IMG_1096To find the Durikai Watering Hole, you look on the left if coming from Warwick (around 44 km)  for this sign.  The turn-off to the watering hole is pretty well concealed but you can see a white Jeep coming out from it.

IMG_1369 IMG_1366If you are coming from Coolmunda or Karara, look on the right for these signs about 7 km past Karara.

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This watering hole is a magical spot where you can set up a camp chair, chill out and watch beautiful little Yellow-tufted Honey-eaters, White-naped Honey-eaters, Noisy Friarbirds and Little Lorikeets frolic through the trees and come down to drink water.  I also got a glimpse of Turquoise Parrots shooting through but unfortunately they didn’t stop to pose for photos.  I was really lucky to get decent shots of the Little Lorikeets which had been eluding me in tree branches for ages!

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Meanwhile back at Karara apparently these Little Corellas missed their train!

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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.

 

 

 

Birding Around Karara, South-east Queensland

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If you are driving to Lake Coolmunda, a worthwhile stop for birding can be in the small town of Karara and the back roads nearby. On the map below you can see the town of Karara on the left and the Back Creek Road is the blue line in the middle where we saw a lot of parrot species.  Further to the right is the Durikai National Forest which also has excellent birding.

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Although the Striated Pardalote and Tawny Frogmouth pictured below were on a private property (I was with a Birds Queensland group) the species are local to the general area.

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Can you see the Tawny Frogmouth?  He blends in very well!  If you ever see one resting like this, please don’t disturb him as making him fly in the daytime could cause predators to spot this bird.

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This gorgeous little Striated Pardalote was a real supermodel, turning every which way so I would get his best side, even giving me an open wings shot!

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Sulphur-crested Cockatoo hiding in a tree.

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Karara Sports Ground – camping available although mine was organized by Birds Queensland.  I recommend going to Lake Coolmunda Caravan Park and making an excursion to this area.

IMG_0865Back Creek Road, about 4km down the road from Karara proved to be a treasure trove for parrots!  We saw Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Little Corellas, Galahs, Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Pale-headed Rosellas, Eastern Roselllas and Red-rumped Parrots all within 1 hour early in the morning.  Coming back to Karara to rejoin the BQ group, there was also a Red-winged Parrot flying overhead near the roadhouse.

IMG_1005 IMG_0869Sorry, the editor isn’t working so please tilt your head left to see the Cockatoo Tree!

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Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii)

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The Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii) is an estrildid finch found in dry savannah, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia. They are sometimes referred to as Bicheno’s finch; and also as owl finch, owing to the dark ring of feathers around their faces.

The name of the species commemorates James Ebenezer Bicheno, a colonial secretary of Van Diemen’s Land appointed in September 1842.

I saw these guys at the Edith Falls Campground in the Northern Territory.

And these are from Wikipedia

DBFinch DBFinch2 They have a good sized range in Australia but to date the only places I have seen them is Mosquito Creek Road near Lake Coolmunda and Edith Falls in the Northern Territory.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

Australian Finches

Australian Bush Birds

VIDEOS

Up close and personal with Double Barred Finches, very cute little bird!

 

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.

RR range

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