Yvonne and I left Melbourne on 22nd July and flew up to Brisbane. From there we drove up to Noosa Heads and then onto Rainbow Beach for three nights. We then headed up to Bunya Mountains for two nights and then onto Goomburra (Main Range National Park) for another two nights. We finished off the trip with two nights at O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, before heading up the Gold Cost via Mount Tamborine, back to Brisbane airport.
For accommodation we stayed at:
- Rainbow Beach - Rental property in Satinwood Road – close to golf course, coastal bush and beach, only 15min from Inskip Point
- Bunya Mountains – Godshill Lodge – situated on a private estate and adjacent to the forest
- Main Range National Park – Goomburra Forest Retreat – situated within walking distance of the national park
- Lamington National Park - O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat - at the end of a long and hairy drive, situated in the rainforest
The weather was generally cool to cold in the evenings, warming up nicely during the day, well at least compared to Melbourne. The weather held out for the trip and we had no rain.
This was probably not the best time of year for birding, however we achieved our objective of seeing the main target species.
Of the places visited, O'Reilly's was the only disappointing venue. Goomburra and Bunya Mountains offer excellent birding, although each site has a different mix of birds. O'Reilly's was the best place to visit for Paradise Riflebird and Albert's Lyrebird, just for ease of sighting. We had been very close to several Albert's Lyrebird in the Main Range NP, however the dense undergrowth made it impossible to see or approach the birds.
The forest walks at both Goomburra and Bunya Mountains had very few visitors, compared to Lamington NP, and we generally had the place to ourselves.
Some of the areas visited:
- Noosa Heads – Very pleasant midday birding along the Noosa Spit Recreational Park
- Cooloola National Park – Good forest and fresh water lake for both daytime and evening birding
- Inskip Point – Amazing number of birds considering the 4WD traffic, campers and visitors to the small area.
- Wooroolin Wetlands – Large number of birds on the wetlands with many Plumed Whistling Duck
- Bunya Mountains – Very pleasant walks though forest, plenty of Green Catbird but unfortunately no Sooty Owl in the hollow tree
- Maclagan Area – Farming community with plenty of birdlife along the roadsides, such as Cockatiel and Striped Honeyeater
- Main Range National Park – Good variety of habitats, access to rainforest requires a drive up to the top of the mountain range, which has great views down towards the Gold Coast
- Lamington National Park – Away from the crowds and early in the morning (before sunrise) was good for birding.
- Mount Tamborine – Probably a good spot in the early morning, at midday it was just too busy.
Some of the birding highlights:
- Black-breasted Buttonquail – First visited Inskip Point in late afternoon and didn't expect to find the buttonquail. However several were seen and there were plenty of platelets around indicating that the birds were active. Went back the following morning and had excellent views of both male and female birds, the best being very close-up views of a beautiful female about 2m from the car. Best approach was to stand still, close to the area with the platelets and listen for their scratching in the leaf litter. The Brushturkey were also chasing the buttonquail and were effective in finding them. Not the best of photographs but good enough for ID.
- Beach Stone-curlew – Three birds in the open as 4WD's raced around on the beach, most heading over to Fraser Island. Also seen the next day on the mud flats in a far quieter area.
- Green Catbird – Many birds at Bunya Mountains, with about 30 counted on an afternoon walk.
- Striped Honeyeater – Six birds seen on the roadside close to the small town of Maclagan, together with other nice birds.
- Albert's Lyrebird – At least six birds heard at the top of Main Range NP, with a further three birds seen up close at Lamington's. Watched a male bird close to the path foraging for food, whilst walkers went past, without even a glance into the forest. Also had a female bird walking down the track before diving off into the forest. Not the greatest of photos as the bird was head down behind a log for most of the time.
- Australian Logrunner – Very tame birds at Lamington's, especially early in the morning, literally had to kick them out of the way.
- Yellow-throated Scrubwren - Very tame and photogenic birds at Lamington's. I found that scratching the ground with a stick would attract the birds up close. Generally they seem to follow the Brushturkey looking for food amongst the disturbed litter.
- Paradise Riflebird – Heard initially at O'Reilly's and then a female seen well. Heard and saw a male bird briefly down at Duck Creek Road.
Whilst the three (must-see) target birds were seen, there were quite a few target birds which were not seen, such as Plum-headed Finch, Russet-tailed Thrush, Marbled Frogmouth and Sooty Owl.
It's a great part of Australia to visit and the next trip will need to be at a better time of year and should include a visit to places like Bowra Station.
The full list of the 148 birds seen during the trip, including subspecies according to the IOC taxonomy, is as follows:
Galliformes
Megapodes
(Megapodiidae)
Australian
Brushturkey [sp] (Alectura lathami)
Australian
Brushturkey [lathami] (Alectura lathami lathami)
Anseriformes
Ducks, Geese
& swans (Anatidae)
Plumed
Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni)
Maned Duck
(Chenonetta jubata)
Pacific Black
Duck [sp] (Anas superciliosa)
Grey Teal
(Anas gracilis)
Chestnut Teal
(Anas castanea)
Hardhead [sp]
(Aythya australis)
Podicipediformes
Grebes
(Podicipedidae)
Australasian
Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae)
Pelecaniformes
Ibises,
Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
Australian
White Ibis [sp] (Threskiornis moluccus)
Straw-necked
Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis)
Herons,
Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Eastern
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus)
White-necked
Heron (Ardea pacifica)
Eastern Great
Egret (Ardea alba modesta)
White-faced
Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
Suliformes
Gannets,
Boobies (Sulidae)
Australasian
Gannet (Morus serrator)
Cormorants,
Shags (Phalacrocoracidae)
Little Pied
Cormorant [sp] (Microcarbo melanoleucos)
Little Black
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)
Australian
Pied Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax varius)
Anhingas,
Darters (Anhingidae)
Australasian
Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae)
ACCIPITRIFORMES
Kites, Hawks
& Eagles (Accipitridae)
Black-shouldered
Kite (Elanus axillaris)
Black Kite
[sp] (Milvus migrans)
Whistling
Kite (Haliastur sphenurus)
Brahminy Kite
[sp] (Haliastur indus)
White-bellied
Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
Wedge-tailed
Eagle [sp] (Aquila audax)
Little Eagle
(Hieraaetus morphnoides)
Falconiformes
Caracaras,
Falcons (Falconidae)
Nankeen
Kestrel [sp] (Falco cenchroides)
Black Falcon
(Falco subniger)
Gruiformes
Rails,
Crakes & Coots (Rallidae)
Purple
Swamphen [sp] (Porphyrio porphyrio)
Dusky Moorhen
[sp] (Gallinula tenebrosa)
Eurasian Coot
[sp] (Fulica atra)
Charadriiformes
Buttonquails
(Turnicidae)
Black-breasted
Buttonquail (Turnix melanogaster)
Stone-curlews,
Thick-Knees (Burhinidae)
Beach
Stone-curlew (Esacus magnirostris)
Oystercatchers
(Haematopodidae)
Pied
Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris)
Plovers
(Charadriidae)
Masked
Lapwing [sp] (Vanellus miles)
Masked
Lapwing [novaehollandiae] (Vanellus miles novaehollandiae)
Red-capped
Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus)
Black-fronted
Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
Gulls, Terns
& Skimmers (Laridae)
Silver Gull
[sp] (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae)
Gull-billed
Tern [sp] (Gelochelidon nilotica)
Caspian Tern
(Hydroprogne caspia)
Greater
Crested Tern [sp] (Thalasseus bergii)
Columbiformes
Doves and
Pigeons (Columbidae)
Rock Dove
[sp] (Columba livia)
Feral Pigeon
(Columba livia ''feral'')
White-headed
Pigeon (Columba leucomela)
Spotted Dove
[sp] (Spilopelia chinensis)
Brown
Cuckoo-dove [sp] (Macropygia phasianella)
Pacific
Emerald Dove [sp] (Chalcophaps longirostris)
Common
Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera)
Crested
Pigeon [sp] (Ocyphaps lophotes)
Crested
Pigeon [lophotes] (Ocyphaps lophotes lophotes)
Wonga Pigeon
(Leucosarcia melanoleuca)
Peaceful Dove
[sp] (Geopelia placida)
Bar-shouldered
Dove [sp] (Geopelia humeralis)
Wompoo Fruit
Dove [sp] (Ptilinopus magnificus)
Rose-crowned
Fruit Dove [sp] (Ptilinopus regina)
Topknot
Pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus)
Psittaciformes
Cockatoos
(Cacatuidae)
Galah [sp]
(Eolophus roseicapilla)
Little
Corella [sp] (Cacatua sanguinea)
Sulphur-crested
Cockatoo [sp] (Cacatua galerita)
Cockatiel
(Nymphicus hollandicus)
Parrots and
Macaws (Psittacidae)
Rainbow
Lorikeet [sp] (Trichoglossus moluccanus)
Rainbow
Lorikeet [moluccanus] (Trichoglossus moluccanus moluccanus)
Scaly-breasted
Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus)
Little
Lorikeet (Glossopsitta pusilla)
Crimson
Rosella [sp] (Platycercus elegans)
Crimson
Rosella [elegans] (Platycercus elegans elegans)
Eastern
Rosella [elecica] (Platycercus eximius elecica)
Red-rumped
Parrot [haematonotus] (Psephotus haematonotus haematonotus)
Australian
King Parrot [sp] (Alisterus scapularis)
Australian
King Parrot [scapularis] (Alisterus scapularis scapularis)
Cuculiformes
Cuckoos
(Cuculidae)
Pheasant
Coucal [phasianinus] (Centropus phasianinus phasianinus)
Strigiformes
Owls
(Strigidae)
Southern
Boobook [sp] (Ninox boobook)
Southern
Boobook [boobook] (Ninox boobook boobook)
Caprimulgiformes
Frogmouths
(Podargidae)
Tawny
Frogmouth [strigoides] (Podargus strigoides strigoides)
Coraciiformes
Kingfishers
(Alcedinidae)
Laughing
Kookaburra [sp] (Dacelo novaeguineae)
Laughing
Kookaburra [novaeguineae] (Dacelo novaeguineae novaeguineae)
Forest
Kingfisher [sp] (Todiramphus macleayii)
Sacred
Kingfisher [sp] (Todiramphus sanctus)
Bee-Eaters
(Meropidae)
Rainbow
Bee-eater (Merops ornatus)
Passeriformes
Lyrebirds
(Menuridae)
Albert's
Lyrebird (Menura alberti)
Bowerbirds
(Ptilonorhynchidae)
Green Catbird
(Ailuroedus crassirostris)
Regent
Bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus)
Satin
Bowerbird [violaceus] (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus violaceus)
Australasian
Treecreepers (Climacteridae)
White-throated
Treecreeper [metastasis] (Cormobates leucophaea metastasis)
Fairywrens (Maluridae)
Variegated
Fairywren [sp] (Malurus lamberti)
Variegated
Fairywren (Malurus lamberti lamberti)
Superb
Fairywren [sp] (Malurus cyaneus)
Superb
Fairywren [cyanochlamys] (Malurus cyaneus cyanochlamys)
Honeyeaters
(Meliphagidae)
Yellow-faced
Honeyeater [sp] (Lichenostomus chrysops)
Mangrove
Honeyeater (Lichenostomus fasciogularis)
Lewin's
Honeyeater [sp] (Meliphaga lewinii)
Lewin's
Honeyeater [lewinii] (Meliphaga lewinii lewinii)
Bell Miner
(Manorina melanophrys)
Noisy Miner
[sp] (Manorina melanocephala)
Blue-faced
Honeyeater [sp] (Entomyzon cyanotis)
Brown-headed
Honeyeater [sp] (Melithreptus brevirostris)
White-naped
Honeyeater (Melithreptus lunatus)
Little
Friarbird [sp] (Philemon citreogularis)
Noisy Friarbird
[sp] (Philemon corniculatus)
Noisy
Friarbird [corniculatus] (Philemon corniculatus corniculatus)
Striped
Honeyeater (Plectorhyncha lanceolata)
Little
Wattlebird [sp] (Anthochaera chrysoptera)
Red
Wattlebird [sp] (Anthochaera carunculata)
Red Wattlebird
[carunculata] (Anthochaera carunculata carunculata)
Brown
Honeyeater [sp] (Lichmera indistincta)
Brown
Honeyeater [ocularis] (Lichmera indistincta ocularis)
White-cheeked
Honeyeater [sp] (Phylidonyris niger)
Eastern
Spinebill [tenuirostris] (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris tenuirostris)
Dusky
Myzomela [sp] (Myzomela obscura)
Scarlet
Myzomela (Myzomela sanguinolenta)
Pardalotes
(Pardalotidae)
Spotted
Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus punctatus)
Striated
Pardalote [sp] (Pardalotus striatus)
Thornbills
(Acanthizidae)
White-browed
Scrubwren [sp] (Sericornis frontalis)
Buff-breasted
Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis laevigaster)
Yellow-throated
Scrubwren [cairnsi] (Sericornis citreogularis cairnsi)
Large-billed
Scrubwren [magnirostra] (Sericornis magnirostra magnirostra)
Brown
Gerygone [sp] (Gerygone mouki)
Brown
Gerygone [richmondi] (Gerygone mouki richmondi)
Brown
Thornbill [sp] (Acanthiza pusilla)
Brown
Thornbill [dawsonensis] (Acanthiza pusilla dawsonensis)
Brown
Thornbill [pusilla] (Acanthiza pusilla pusilla)
Yellow-rumped
Thornbill [sp] (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa)
Striated
Thornbill [alberti] (Acanthiza lineata alberti)
Australasian
Babblers (Pomatostomidae)
Grey-crowned
Babbler [temporalis] (Pomatostomus temporalis temporalis)
Logrunners
(Orthonychidae)
Australian
Logrunner (Orthonyx temminckii)
Whipbirds,
Jewel-babblers, Quail-Thrushes (Psophodidae)
Eastern
Whipbird [sp] (Psophodes olivaceus)
Eastern
Whipbird [olivaceus] (Psophodes olivaceus olivaceus)
Butcherbirds
(Cracticidae)
Grey
Butcherbird [sp] (Cracticus torquatus)
Grey
Butcherbird [torquatus] (Cracticus torquatus torquatus)
Pied
Butcherbird [sp] (Cracticus nigrogularis)
Pied
Butcherbird [nigrogularis] (Cracticus nigrogularis nigrogularis)
Australian
Magpie [sp] (Gymnorhina tibicen)
Pied
Currawong [graculina] (Strepera graculina graculina)
Woodswallows
(Artamidae)
Masked
Woodswallow (Artamus personatus)
Cuckooshrikes
(Campephagidae)
Black-faced
Cuckooshrike [sp] (Coracina novaehollandiae)
Black-faced
Cuckooshrike [melanops] (Coracina novaehollandiae melanops)
White-winged
Triller (Lalage tricolor)
Varied
Triller [leucomela] (Lalage leucomela leucomela)
Whistlers
and Allies (Pachycephalidae)
Eastern
Shriketit (Falcunculus frontatus frontatus)
Australian
Golden Whistler [sp] (Pachycephala pectoralis)
Australian
Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis pectoralis)
Little
Shrikethrush [sp] (Colluricincla megarhyncha)
Grey
Shrikethrush [sp] (Colluricincla harmonica)
Grey
Shrikethrush [harmonica] (Colluricincla harmonica harmonica)
Old World
Orioles (Oriolidae)
Australasian
Figbird [sp] (Sphecotheres vieilloti)
Australasian
Figbird [vieilloti] (Sphecotheres vieilloti vieilloti)
Olive-backed
Oriole [sp] (Oriolus sagittatus)
Olive-backed
Oriole [sagittatus] (Oriolus sagittatus sagittatus)
Drongos
(Dicruridae)
Spangled
Drongo [sp] (Dicrurus bracteatus)
Fantails
(Rhipiduridae)
Willie
Wagtail [sp] (Rhipidura leucophrys)
Grey Fantail
[sp] (Rhipidura albiscapa)
Grey Fantail
[alisteri] (Rhipidura albiscapa alisteri)
Monarch
Flycatchers (Monarchidae)
Magpie-lark
[sp] (Grallina cyanoleuca)
Crows and
Jays (Corvidae)
Torresian
Crow [sp] (Corvus orru)
Australian
Raven [sp] (Corvus coronoides)
White-winged
Chough and Apostlebird (Corcoracidae)
White-winged
Chough [sp] (Corcorax melanoramphos)
Apostlebird
[sp] (Struthidea cinerea)
Birds-of-Paradise
(Paradisaeidae)
Paradise
Riflebird (Ptiloris paradiseus)
Australasian
Robins (Petroicidae)
Eastern
Yellow Robin [sp] (Eopsaltria australis)
Eastern
Yellow Robin [chrysorrhos] (Eopsaltria australis chrysorrhos)
Jacky Winter
[fascinans] (Microeca fascinans fascinans)
Rose Robin
(Petroica rosea)
Red-capped
Robin (Petroica goodenovii)
Swallows and
Martins (Hirundinidae)
Welcome
Swallow [sp] (Hirundo neoxena)
Tree Martin
[sp] (Petrochelidon nigricans)
Reed
warblers and allies (Acrocephalidae)
Australian
Reed Warbler [australis] (Acrocephalus australis australis)
Grassbirds
and allies (Locustellidae)
Tawny
Grassbird [sp] (Megalurus timoriensis)
Cisticolas
and Allies (Cisticolidae)
Golden-headed
Cisticola [exilis] (Cisticola exilis exilis)
Starlings
(Sturnidae)
Common Myna
[sp] (Acridotheres tristis)
Common
Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Thrushes
(Turdidae)
Bassian
Thrush [sp] (Zoothera lunulata)
Bassian
Thrush [cuneata] (Zoothera lunulata cuneata)
Old World
Sparrows and Snowfinches (Passeridae)
House Sparrow
[sp] (Passer domesticus)
Waxbills,
Munias and Allies (Estrildidae)
Red-browed
Finch [sp] (Neochmia temporalis)
Red-browed
Finch [temporalis] (Neochmia temporalis temporalis)
Double-barred
Finch [sp] (Taeniopygia bichenovii)
Pipits and
Wagtails (Motacillidae)
Australian
Pipit [australis] (Anthus australis australis)
