Hattah-Kulkyne National Park

Driving up into the top corner of Victoria was exciting for me. The chance of a few special birds beckoned, but I knew I was going to see a lot of birds. I stayed the night at Ouyen before heading off and had already had a nice surprise of Major Mitchell Cockatoos fly in late in the evening. Next morning the Red Wattlebirds decided to show me that even birds I thought were a bit bland could be very colourful.

Red Wattlebird

Leaving Ouyen, I headed north to Hattah-Kulkyne National Park. One of the places to see the Mallefowl and Mallee Emu-wren, well, supposedly. Although I had done well with finding birds I normally dip on this year, I wasn't overly confident about these two. And I was right in the end. I pulled up inside the Hattah part of the Old Calder Highway due to a lot of noise from the driver side of the car. A bird I have seen before but not in this area - the Apostlebirds, about 8 of them chattering away.

Apostelebird

Mulga Parrot

There were Mulga Parrots there too as well as Weebills and Malle Ringnecks who were surprisingly shy the whole trip. Back into the car and crawled along the old highway, windows down, waiting for sound. But it was movement that caught my eye. Something hopping along the ground. A Chestnut Quail-thrush. I thhink in hindsight I had possibly seen one of these before in this area on a previous trip but had put it down to one of those sightings you don't know what it is because it was too quick into the scrub. This one wasn't going anywhere in a hurry and came out into the open and into the sun nicely for a few photos.

Chestnut Quail-thrush

 A little bit further along the old highway and I pulled off into what looked a bit like a camp site, complete with bins and the inevitable toilet paper blowing around. The Dusky and White-browed Woodswallows were flitting around, as well as the Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters, a bird I was to see a lot of in the coming days. Jacky Winters, Tree Martins, Willie Wagtails - a nice little spot for smaller birds.

Dusky Woodswallow

White-browed Woodswallow

Yellow-plumed Honeyeater

Despite searching along the Nowingi Track, nothing new appeared. It was time to keep going.

Varied Sitella, White-browed Woodswallow and juvenile, Brown Falcon

On the way back to Alice Springs today I saw a couple of different birds, and a few I've seen a lot of too.

Varied Sitella

not a great photo but shows the under wing pattern

White-browed Woodswallow

White-browed Woodswallow juvenile

Brown Falcon

Birds of Wee Jasper - end of 2013

Wee Jasper is a small community about 50 kms from Yass and about 70 kms from Canberra. We are lucky enough to be able to go there each year and have a lovely family holiday which is spent doing the simple things - swimming in a fresh water river (Goodradigbee), yabbying, walking, fishing and generally getting away from the digital world (no mobile phone coverage at the cabin or TV). Each year I am reminded of holidays when I was a lot younger, where a patch of grass could be a cricket pitch, badminton court or this year, tennis court. I hope our kids always have fond memories and view these holidays as special, and remember Wee Jasper as it is today.

Of course, the other main activity apart from sitting around reading books, is the bird watching. Each year we seem to be fortunate to see the fledging of some Willie Wagtails, white-throated Treecreepers scare you by landing in a nearby tree and piping loudly, various parrots and cockatoos screech across the sky, and there are always one or two exciting finds for the year.

For some reason, the younger generation of males decided it would be good to join in the bird count in 2014. this meant January 1st was full of bird-watching and counting. There is a line in "The Big Year" movie where some English gent states that "only Americans could turn bird-watching into a sport". I think the Waring-Farthing-Shanleys may want to disagree as none of us are Americans but the competitiveness is certainly alive.

And so to the photos and the different stories of our 10 days at Wee Jasper.

Sitting on the banks of the Goodradigbee, with pine trees and poplars overhanging the water (as well as lying in the water after the floods in the last year), I was surprised by this male Leaden Flycatcher, who had been busy in some nearby trees and then propped on a branch of a small shrub about 5 metres in front of me. The colours are spectacular as they have that sheen like a corvid that changes depending on how the light is catching it. A lovely little bird and experience.

Leaden Flycatcher

The Galahs weren't as prevalent as they can be, but I enjoyed this flyby

Morning light on the Goodradigbee River

The Superb Fairy-wrens have always been a presence at the Cabin, and this year there were a number of "family" shots taken, here are a couple

Unusually, the White-faced herons seemed to enjoy roosting on top of one of the dead trees on the other side of the river. This year there were groups of up to 7 on some of the dams in the Wee Jasper Valley

This was one of the parents of the Willie Wagtails we saw fledge. Their nest was on a brach on a tree overhanging the river

The Yellow-rumped Thornbills are very chirpy and have some great characteristics including this one pointing which way it was for me to return to the Cabin.

An early morning walk up one of the hills was enjoyed and delivered some nice bird-watching opportunities, mainly in one of the gullies.

Crimson Rosella

I was watching this Eastern Yellow Robin flit around the lower branches of trees for a little while, and then he popped up obligingly onto this dead branch nearby.

Wee Jasper had been the only place I had managed to get photos of Gang Gang cockatoos before our recent trip to The Grampians (see that post here), and once again we were fortunate to see (and hear) the Gang Gangs at Wee Jasper.

Satin Bowerbird in a gully

We had a little bit of car trouble (slipping clutch) which had to be fixed in Canberra. We were lucky to get someone to be able to do this between Christmas and New Year. On the return trip after the car had been fixed, Pete and I saw this beautiful Spotted Harrier sitting on a fence post. Alas by the time I had stopped the car and grabbed the camera it had flown off into the nearby paddock, but still managed a few shots.

On the same drive from Canberra, we came across a small flock of White-browed Woodswallows.

With encounters like those above, the birding was promising an exciting start to the New Year, but that is for another post.

Hope you have enjoyed these photos, and I encourage anyone who is near Wee Jasper who enjoys birding etc to spend a little bit of time in this lovely part of Australia.

Wee Jasper NSW Birds Part 3 - Olive-backed Oriole, White-throated Treecreeper, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail and others

The final post of the birds from Wee Jasper for this year. For the most part I'll just put up the photos but a few need a word or two.

The first is this Olive-backed Oriole who had caught a grub. The Oriole is one of those birds when I hear their call I know I've heard it before, but perhaps because it is not a usual bird around my local area, always have trouble picking what it is to start with. They normally aren't too hard to spot if you spend any length of time in the area, and I usually connect the call and the sighted bird together.

Olive-backed Oriole

White-throated Treecreeper

Rufous Whistler

 juvenile

Willie Wagtail

the photo below is of the Willie Wagtail parent feeding its two chicks. The unusual part is the placement of the nest, beautifully shaded, but overhanging the river, precarious for that first flight.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

(really enjoyed the look in this one when it was preening its tail feathers)

European Goldfinch

Australian Wood Ducks on the road to Micalong

Dusky Woodswallows

Pied Currawong

Masked Woodswallow

Laughing Kookaburra

Red-browed Finch

Water Dragon

Tawny Frogmouth

White-browed Woodswallow

White-browed Woodswallow being harassed by a Willie Wagtail

As you can see, the variety of birdlife at Wee Jasper is vast and well worth a visit. Our family does it every year!