Mark Jarrett
Up Ont’ Moors
We’re recently back from a five week trip to Eastern Australia, initially flying in to Melbourne and working our way up the east coast to Cairns.
Not a ‘full on’ birding trip, as my wife isn’t a birder. I was out for a couple of hours pre breakfast before it got too hot and, after that, saw whatever I could whilst we were out and about and on our walks.
The attached PDF states all the areas that were birded. We generally stayed in each hotel/location for three nights. After Melbourne, we stayed in Lakes Entrance, Victoria before driving on to Merimbula in south east New South Wales. Then Kiama, NSW followed by Penrith on the western outskirts of Sydney. A good base for Sydney itself and also the Blue Mountains where we moved next. After three nights there, we flew to Brisbane where we explored Noosa, the Glass House Mountains and O’Reilly’s, as well as the city. We then flew on up to Cairns, where we spent a final eight nights.
I arranged a bird guide, for a day, whilst we were in Melbourne. We went to the excellent Western Treatment Plant and also an area of coast, mainly around the Anglesea area where there was also some nice inland heath. Also another bird guide was arranged for a day whilst we were in Cairns. One or two sites were covered around Cairns before we moved on to the superb Atherton Tablelands, mainly centred around the towns of Mareeba and Atherton itself.
I finished with a trip list of 259, which I was pleased enough with. I didn’t chase any particular scarce or endemic birds, I just wanted a wide spread and to see as much as I could. Two ‘bonuses’ were White-capped Albatross and Short-tailed Shearwater which we saw from land in Victoria, a vantage point above Point Addis Beach. We also got Rufous Bristlebird there, which is a reasonably sought after bird. O’Reilly’s yielded Albert’s Lyrebird, Russet-tailed Thrush and Paradise Riflebird and the excellent Mary Cairncross Reserve near Maleny, Qld provided Noisy Pitta and Logrunner which we were to also later see at O’Reilly’s.
The Esplanade at Cairns speaks for itself with a wide variety of waders including Greater Sand Plover and Siberian Sand Plover. A boat trip by catamaran to Michaelmas Cay, out from Cairns, provided the usual array of Noddies, Boobies, Frigatebirds, plus scarcer terns and the Atherton Tablelands was just a joy, all day, on this upland plateau. Best birds there were Cotton Pygmy-Goose, Squatter Pigeon, Sarus Crane, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Tooth-billed Bowerbird and Australian Spectacled Monarch.
If anyone has any questions or wants any info, feel free to post here. Meanwhile, I’ll post a few photos below.
Edit. Struggling to download the PDF from my iPad. I’ll post it below from the computer hopefully.
Not a ‘full on’ birding trip, as my wife isn’t a birder. I was out for a couple of hours pre breakfast before it got too hot and, after that, saw whatever I could whilst we were out and about and on our walks.
The attached PDF states all the areas that were birded. We generally stayed in each hotel/location for three nights. After Melbourne, we stayed in Lakes Entrance, Victoria before driving on to Merimbula in south east New South Wales. Then Kiama, NSW followed by Penrith on the western outskirts of Sydney. A good base for Sydney itself and also the Blue Mountains where we moved next. After three nights there, we flew to Brisbane where we explored Noosa, the Glass House Mountains and O’Reilly’s, as well as the city. We then flew on up to Cairns, where we spent a final eight nights.
I arranged a bird guide, for a day, whilst we were in Melbourne. We went to the excellent Western Treatment Plant and also an area of coast, mainly around the Anglesea area where there was also some nice inland heath. Also another bird guide was arranged for a day whilst we were in Cairns. One or two sites were covered around Cairns before we moved on to the superb Atherton Tablelands, mainly centred around the towns of Mareeba and Atherton itself.
I finished with a trip list of 259, which I was pleased enough with. I didn’t chase any particular scarce or endemic birds, I just wanted a wide spread and to see as much as I could. Two ‘bonuses’ were White-capped Albatross and Short-tailed Shearwater which we saw from land in Victoria, a vantage point above Point Addis Beach. We also got Rufous Bristlebird there, which is a reasonably sought after bird. O’Reilly’s yielded Albert’s Lyrebird, Russet-tailed Thrush and Paradise Riflebird and the excellent Mary Cairncross Reserve near Maleny, Qld provided Noisy Pitta and Logrunner which we were to also later see at O’Reilly’s.
The Esplanade at Cairns speaks for itself with a wide variety of waders including Greater Sand Plover and Siberian Sand Plover. A boat trip by catamaran to Michaelmas Cay, out from Cairns, provided the usual array of Noddies, Boobies, Frigatebirds, plus scarcer terns and the Atherton Tablelands was just a joy, all day, on this upland plateau. Best birds there were Cotton Pygmy-Goose, Squatter Pigeon, Sarus Crane, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Tooth-billed Bowerbird and Australian Spectacled Monarch.
If anyone has any questions or wants any info, feel free to post here. Meanwhile, I’ll post a few photos below.
Edit. Struggling to download the PDF from my iPad. I’ll post it below from the computer hopefully.