Kingfisher Park
Friday, October 23, 2009:
After an early breakfast, we returned to the Hall's Gap Dam area. A couple of Squatter Pigeons were sitting beside the road as we arrived, and some Apostlebirds had apparently been drinking at the water hole. The other species were much the same as before (no Taipan).
We birded some more on the way to the main road, finding a small flock of Varied Sitellas. On the way back, we made some stops at dry creeks, as well as one with water. The only new bird seen was a distant Wedge-tailed Eagle that eventually came close enough for a solid ID.
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| Varied Sittella | Hell's Gap Dam area |
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| White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike | Squatter Pigeon |  |
| Whistling Kite | |
We stopped at a gas station. A nearby tree contained a flock of Galahs. A Great Bowerbird was building a nest (and posed for a photo).
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| Great Bowerbird | Galah |
We returned to the lodge for lunch. Afterwards, there was a break. Some of us went to check for the Australian Owlet-nightjar, which we found looking out of its hole. A search for the Papuan Frogmouths was unsuccessful, but we did find a Green Ringtail Possum.
After the break, the whole group went to see the owlet-nightjar. Later, we went birding with Keith (one of the owners). This time we saw the Papuan Frogmouths again. As we birded along the trail, we came across a scrubfowl mound. The scrubfowl lays its eggs there, then abandons them. The young hatch and fend for themselves. The mound was likely built up by many generations of scrubfowl. It was generally fairly birdy, but the potential for new birds is pretty limited.
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| Australian Owlet-nightjar | Green Ringtail Possum | Papuan Frogmouth |
As sundown approached, we returned again to the owlet-nighjar spot. It zipped out of its hole as it got dark. We then moved over to a tree where two Eastern Barn-Owls were roosting.
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| Eastern Barn-Owls | Northern Brown Bandicoot | Spectacled Flying-fox |
After dinner, some of us went spotlighting with Jeri. Highlights included Spectacled Flying-foxes, an unidentified small bat, bandicoots, and Giant White-tailed Rat.
Trip total—251 species including 236 lifers.
Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge, Julatten