Jimna Area and Sterling's Crossing Again

Last weekend I went out near Jimna to pick up a few things. I decided to come home over the Conondale Range which comes out at Charlie Moreland campground. This is a beautiful and relaxing drive. The scenery is spectacular. The only down side is that there are few places where you can actually park the car to be able to take a photo or to get out and walk. The road is quite narrow, very hilly, quite wet in places but it is in very good condition. The few places where you can easily park the car are in the drier sections of the park.

Just before we went into the Conondale National Park we spotted a Brown Goshawk in the tree. Photos were difficult to get due to the position of the sun but I managed to get a couple. Only a few kilometres down the road we spotted a Grey Goshawk roosting in a tree just beside the road but before I took a photo it was gone. I saw many other birds along the drive which included Variegated Fairy-wrens, Large-billed Scrubwrens, White-browed Scrubwrens, Crimson Rosellas, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Grey Shrike-thrushes, Laughing Kookaburras, Restless Flycatchers, Pale-headed Rosellas and Olive-backed Orioles which I have never seen on the coast before and another bird that I saw was a Satin Bowerbird which I haven't seen on the Sunshine Coast before either. I know they are found here but I have never located one until last weekend.

I didn't get out to get many photos on the later part of the journey near Charlie Moreland as I was starting to develop a headache and we had to get home to meet someone.

Brown Goshawk

The Brown Goshawk in the distance

This little White-browed Scrubwren was in the grounds of the education centre on this road flicking all the leaves with his head. He was very approachable and even more entertaining to watch.

White-browed Scrubwren

Today I went back to Sterling's Crossing for a look. I arrived quite a bit later than last week. The weather was much colder than last week but it was a perfectly clear and sunny day. I had gone all the way down to where I had parked the car the previous week and I had hardly seen a bird. Laughing Kookaburras were in huge numbers. As soon as I pulled up a Wonga Pigeon flew off from the bank of the creek into the bush. The Wompoo Fruit-Doves were very active in the tops of the tall trees. Many birds were fighting and knocking each other off their branches. Within a few minutes I heard the Noisy Pitta calling out. I went into the bush near the creek bed and sat in the buttress roots of a big fig tree. It showed quite well for about an hour. It flew overhead a couple of times but mainly jumped along the ground close to me. Up to three were heard at one time calling out in the close vicinity. They obviously knew I was there and were quite cautious and wouldn't get too close.

Noisy Pitta

The only other decent shot I obtained of the Noisy Pitta

Due to the trees being so thick it was difficult to get a good photo where I could focus on the Noisy Pittas whole body. While I was attempting to get the photos of the Noisy Pitta I heard several Green Catbirds and I saw and heard a Satin Bowerbird. I was unable to get a photo of either of these birds though.

On the way home I saw a Spotted Harrier which I flushed from the grass on the side of the road. Within a few seconds of it flying off this Black-shouldered Kite landed on a light pole. They look very similar to the Letter-winged Kite but they have a marking behind the eye, whereas the Letter-winged Kite has a neat black ring. Also the Letter-winged Kite usually sleeps and roosts during the day and hunts at night!!

Black-shouldered Kite

The same Black-shouldered Kite

The Black-shouldered Kite again

 

I was very surprised by the small number of birds here this time compared to last week. I will be back again, to get a better shot of the Noisy Pitta and I would like a shot of the Satin Bowerbird on the coast too. I think I would see more if it was earlier in the morning on a clear day.

 

More updates and pics coming soon.

 

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Australian Birds Photography: KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY 

More Owling in the Hinterland and a Trip to the Brisbane Valley

This week I have been owling on a couple of occasions to find and photograph the Masked Owl. Each time I have gone with my friend or friends. On one trip we went around Elanda Point, Cootharaba, Wolvi and Kin Kin and the other trip we stayed more local, around Elanda Point to Cootharaba.
On the first trip we saw heaps of Tawny Frogmouths and a single Barn Owl and on the second trip we spotted the Masked Owl but failed to get a photo. They are not as approachable as the Barn Owls that's for sure! We also saw a few Barn Owls and a few Tawny Frogmouths on the second trip as well.

The Tawny Frogmouth with the damaged wing was spotted again

This Barn Owl with the damaged eye did have some difficulty landing on the branches on two occasions after being flushed off but it seemed to be coping.

A Barn Owl with a damaged left eye

Another Tawny Frogmouth located this week

On Wednesday two mates and I went down for a drive into the Brisbane Valley. We had to go to Ipswich to pick up some gear so I thought we may as well make a birding trip out of it too. As we came into Kilcoy I noticed a small dam on the right hand side of the road with lots of birds on it. We decided to pull up and have a look. I'm very glad we did. I finally found some of the Australasian Shovelers that I have been wanting to locate since they were sighted in SEQ, six months ago.
There was one pair of Australasian Shovelers on the dam with some Hardheads, Grey Teal, Pacific Black Ducks, Eurasian Coots, Darters, Australasian Grebes, Black Swans, Pink-eared Ducks, Australian Wood Ducks and some Australian Pelicans. Around the dam we saw a few Australian King Parrots, Pale-headed Rosellas, Rainbow Lorikeets and Little Lorikeets. Most of the lorikeets were too high in the tree to get decent photos. All of these birds except for the Australasian Shovelers and Australian Pelicans were in quite large numbers, especially the Darters. I was amazed with the amount of birds in such a small area! Just as we were about to leave a Spotted Harrier came gliding in just above the grass surrounding the dam and he gently glided alongside the dam and over the hill.

Australasian Shovelers

The pair of Australasian Shovelers

My first photos and sighting of Australasian Shovelers

Spotted Harrier

After leaving this location we headed down Esk-Kilcoy Road. We dropped in at the day use area at Lake Somerset or Somerset Dam. Not much to be seen here except for a few Hardheads out on the water and a mixed flock of Silver Gulls and Caspian Terns. This flock would have numbered 100 or more birds. They were all resting on the edge of the water on the grass.

Caspian Tern (Non-breeding plumage)

Silver Gull

Caspian Tern

Just after we left the day use area a Whistling Kite was spotted circling just near the road. I couldn't resist pulling over to get a photo. Luckily for me he came back for another few laps which enabled me to get a shot before he flew over the hills.

Whistling Kite

Whistling Kite from beneath

Not long later, my mate spotted this Spotted Harrier on a post on the side of the road. As soon as I pulled over it flew off but I got a few photos of it in flight which I was happy with. Then it landed on another post in the distance and I managed to obtain a few more shots of it roosting before it flew off again.

Spotted Harrier in flight

Spotted Harrier in flight again

The pattern beneath the wing of a Spotted Harrier

Shot of the Spotted Harrier flying off

Spotted Harrier roosting

The Spotted Harrier looking directly at the camera

The Spotted Harrier flying off into the distance

Only a few minutes drive down the road several Australian Pipits were seen on the side of the road. I drove past them and then turned around to see if I could get a shot of them. I spotted one, quickly stopped the car and I got a few shots before they flew off into the longer grass. They were only seen for about a one kilometre stretch and not again for the entire trip, even though the habitat was similar for much of this area.

Australian Pipit

Further down the road we were driving past and noticed some white ducks on the side of a dam wall. None of us could think of any ducks in this area that were white so we quickly turned the car around to see what they were. One of my mates was hoping they might be white Australian Wood Ducks, which have been spotted on the odd occasion. Much to his disappointment and our amusement this is what we found!

These ducks weren't going anywhere

This Black Swan was seen with its mate on the edge of a small dam in the Lockyer Valley.

Black Swan

We went to have a look around near Pechey's Lagoon. This area had a huge amount of birds again. Some of the more common birds that were seen and heard included about 15 Brown Quails, Double-barred Finches, many Red-backed Fairy-wrens, Eurasian Coots, Ducky Moorhens, Pacific Black Ducks, Masked Lapwings, Black Swans, Darters, Jacky Winters, Rufous Whistlers, Cockatiels, Galahs plus many others. All of these species were in really large numbers.

Double-barred Finches feeding on grass seeds

Rufous Whistler

Darter

Welcome Swallows

This bird below was seen but to be honest I'm not certain as to what it is. I am pretty sure that it is a female Golden Whistler or a Female Robin of some sort. I have seen many female Eastern Yellow Robins and Golden Whistlers on my property and they both look different, but similar to this bird. It was very dark on its belly which makes me unsure. I didn't see a male of either of these species here either.

If someone can help me identify this bird for certain please post a comment.





Unknown species front on

Unknown species from behind

Red-backed Fairy-wren

Male Red-backed Fairy-wren

Male Red-backed Fairy-wren calling



Female Red-backed Fairy-wren

Galah

Another predator arrived at my house this week. I thought it was the Collared Sparrowhawk back, that was here several weeks ago but when I got a better look at it I realised that it was in fact a Brown Goshawk. Hopefully soon enough it realises that it can't get into the cages and moves on like the Collared Sparrowhawk.

Brown Goshawk trying to get my birds

Brown Goshawk on the aviary

Brown Goshawk

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