Birding at Inskip Point

Last weekend a few friends and I decided to go for a drive to Inskip Point to do some birding. We left early in hope to see the Ground Parrot. We arrived just after sunrise in the area off Cooloola Way which is recommended by T&T for sighting the bird. We had the call of the bird also which we played in hope that they would answer. Luck was not on our side. We didn't manage to hear or see one for the few hours we spent in the general area.

The ground was quite wet. I'm not sure if this effects the birds at all.

Habitat for the Ground Parrot

Heathland near Cooloola Way

Other side of the track where Ground Parrots are seen

 

Just as we were about to leave a quail came running down the track. Unluckily for me I had the camera put away. By the time I got it out I just managed to get this quick shot (terribly out of focus due to the grass between the quail and myself) of the Brown Quail.

 

Brown Quail

All the creeks and waterways in the whole area are this beautiful rich colour from all the tannins in the water. Just need to add a little milk!

All the waterways are this rich colour

As we were driving back out the track we spotted a couple of Striated Pardalotes digging a nest tunnel in the moist bank.

Striated Pardalote

Just before we got back onto Cooloola Way my friend spotted this Australian Hobby. I was very pleased to photograph this bird as it is the first time I have seen them.

Australian Hobby

A closer shot of the Australian Hobby

The next place to go was the camping area around Inskip Point. This area is one of the most reliable places for spotting the Black-breasted Button Quail in Australia. We took the walking track to the left at the end of the car park which leads to the ferry. This area was alive with birds. There were numerous White-browed Scrubwrens, Variegated Fairy-wrens, Little Shrike-thrushes, Restless Flycatchers, Spangled Drongos, Bar-shouldered Doves, Varied Trillers plus many lorikeets and other common scrub birds.

White-browed Scrubwren

Bar-shouldered Dove

The signs of the Black-breasted Button Quail being in the area were very obvious. We found hundreds of platelets that they create while digging for food. We found no fresh platelets though. They had all been rained on so it had been at least 4 days since any new ones had been created. Many of them looked quite old. I spoke to a ranger as he drove passed and said that dogs in the area have been causing issues and they are unsure of the impact they have had on the population there.

One of the many platelets made by the Black-breasted Button Quail

Male Varied Triller

Female Varied Triller

This Thornbill was spotted collecting something from out of an ant's nest in the tree. They aren't ants though. I'm not quite sure which Thornbill this is, as I think it is a juvenile coming into colour. I know that it is either a Yellow Thornbill or a Brown Thornbill due to the colour of its eye and some of the markings it is showing already. The Brown Thornbills vary so much in colour from region to region and to be honest I have never seen them myself, hence why I'm not certain of which Thornbill it is. I'm quite sure that it is a Brown Thornbill.

Yellow or Brown Thornbill?

A Yellow or Brown Thornbill collecting something from the nest

Restless Flycatcher

Another Restless Flycatcher

The bushland around the area is quite different from many areas around the Sunshine Coast. The different shapes and sizes and formations of the trees is really something. It is a beautiful area to come visit.

Some of the scrub around Cooloola Way

Once we had finished looking for birds at Inskip Point we drove out along the beach to make our way back to Rainbow Beach. The Silver Gull in the picture below was the only water or sea bird that I saw for the day. It was very busy in the area and any sea birds that still might be here wouldn't be seen with that amount of traffic. Hopefully I can try again in the near future a little bit earlier before too many people arrive.

View driving along the beach from Inskip Point to Rainbow Beach

 

It was a great day out even though we didn't see the 2 birds that Inskip Point is best known for. We got to see many birds and we managed to get a few good pics too.

 

More updates and pics coming soon.

If you're interested in my blog check out my site below by clicking on the link.

Australian Birds KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY

 



Birding Around my Coles Creek Property

After a month or two with little or no birding it was great to finally get out there again taking some photos. With work, the rainy weather and two floods going through the property in the last two months I have been unable to get many photos. This is a collection of the few shots I got over the last few months from around the property.

Each year the Varied Sittellas come to the property. This is usually just before the rain comes and they are only seen on the property for a few weeks and then they move on once again. This year was the largest flock that I have seen pass through since I have lived here. There was about 40 individuals in the group this year.

Varied Sittella

A Varied Sittella lifting bark looking for food

Another Varied Sittella

A Varied Sittella ready to take flight

Another bird that seems to come and go around the property is the Leaden Flycatcher. They can be seen and heard for most of the year except for Winter. This year they also seemed to be more common than usual. Unfortunately they always perch close to the top of the big gums though so obtaining a good photo is difficult.

Leaden Flycatcher in flight

Two male Leaden Flycatchers

Leaden Flycatcher cleaning itself

 

For the three years I have lived at the property I have heard a bird calling on a regular basis but usually in hard to access parts of the property. This bird can also be heard on moonlit nights where it can call for hours at a time. I often wondered what the bird was. Finally a few weeks ago several of them began calling out in the trees not far from the house. It took quite a while to even locate them in the tree tops and I was surprised to find that they were Brush Cuckoos. It is actually the first time I have seen them, even though I have been hearing them call regularly for years. While I watched them I noticed they are not a very social bird. If they weren't sitting very still they were attacking each other quite ruthlessly.

Brush Cuckoo



Another one of the Brush Cuckoos

All three of the birds in the next two photos are regularly seen on the property, especially during the wet season. One solitary White-necked Heron is only ever seen at a time. The Pacific Black Ducks are very common and can be seen any day. They range from groups of 4 or so up to 40 or more.

White-necked Heron and a Pacific Black Duck

White-faced Heron

The Scaly-breasted Lorikeets are also very common on the property. I'm pleased that they are much more common than the Rainbow Lorikeets here. As the numbers of Rainbow Lorikeets increase in an area, sadly the number of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets decline as they are smaller and not as aggressive as the Rainbow Lorikeets.

 Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

The same Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Around all the dams and creeks the Purple Swamphens can be regularly seen or heard. They are very numerous around the property all year round.

Purple Swamphen

Another common resident here are the Fairy-wrens. Since the floods there are definitely less around. I'm not sure if this is a direct effect of the flood or if possibly the Sparrowhawk that has moved in since the floods has been catching them in large numbers. They can still be heard any given day but there numbers have deteriorated. Hopefully over the coming months their numbers increase once again.

Juvenile Male Variegated Fairy-wren 

This Sparrowhawk moved onto the property after the floods. We have regularly seen the Grey and Brown Goshawks on the property which cause a lot of problems with the free range poultry, but they only seem to catch the poultry when they have chicks. After the chicks fledge, which they did nearly two months ago they seem to leave the animals alone. This Collared Sparrowhawk on the other hand has been harassing all the birds in the aviaries and all the poultry that are in pens. As soon as it spots me it flies off and lands in the trees in the distance. Hopefully he leaves them alone soon.

Collared Sparrowhawk

The Varied Trillers were first sighted about 6 months ago and have now taken up residence in one corner of the property. There numbers have nearly doubles since I started observing them. They can be seen regularly in this part of the property.



Female Varied Triller


More updates and pics regularly.

If you're interested in my blog check out my site below by clicking on the link.

Australian Birds KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY