A bit of a different birding experience at OReilly's in summer!
Our friends of old (as opposed to old friends) from Colorado came to OZ to tour some old and some new haunts. They stopped up in SE QLD to spend some time spotting particular species found only (or largely) in the remnant temperate rainforest (Lamington) just up the hill from us....Little did we know... they were... twitchers
I mean serious birders. Glenn had a run-in with a hornets nest back in CO. Combined with a long flight and allergic reactions, his knee had a HUGE anti-inflammatory reaction leading to crutches.
It rained. And it Rained. And it rained. Record rains. Leeches in hordes. Constricted breathing. More rain.
But, that is but a wisp of irritation, a fleeting vision of discomfort, but the buzzing of a gnat, to a twitcher. No drama. Crutch on down the mud patch passing as a trail, leeches dripping from the trees - there are birds to be found!
Oreilly's is a bit different in summer. They feed birds here and they are .. well rather used to people. So birds we were really excited to get a glimpse of all winter just sat there.Or worse, arrived en mass at the sound of a crisp packet being opened.
The problem was getting binoculars to focus at this distance
Not chill, not rain, not limping would slow this bunch.
Satin bower birds in every tree near the picnic area.
There were some brilliant moments - this guy was taking a bath - by flapping in dense area of leaves over and over and then preening. It took me a few minutes watching him to figure out exactly what he was *doing* thrashing about in the wettest leaf clumps!
Red browed finches in abundance
A clear morning and the nice wall tents in Bina Burra . Birding at sunrise off the porch!
Much fungi in the forest
One of the ubiquitous bush turkeys
One of the birds we were really excited to see...once... during the winter - Regent Bower bird.
In summer, they are here in flocks - waiting for a handout.
It was a little distressing watching people at the lodge feeding them Doritos and cheese puffs on their balconies.
It was just a bit odd seeing them so ..tame
But still quiet beautiful
It is breeding season in Lamington. We ran into a guided bird tour (from Canada) looking for a few birds we had already seen. Glenn ran into the same guide (different group) in Tasmania 2 weeks later - ah the life...One twilight search for the noisy pitta (which we could hear but I could not see, Nancy lent me her "see-in-the-dark" binocs. I gave her mine (which had been hers for 10 years prior) - and the very first thing she said was "these totally suck!" How quickly the young get spoiled by good glass....
Female bower bird
The rosellas were almost pests - raiding the picnic tables, landing on your head , swiping lunch from your hand. Great for photos but not good for the birds.
A gentlemen bower bird enticing a lady into his bower. Fascinating to watch him dance, strut and display all with the same bit of litter in his beak.
Back at home, a scaly breasted lorikeet came to visit.
We had the distinctively calling marbled frogmouth in the back yard
Big waves, bad surf, beaches getting seriously eroded.
Its been a wild rain year. Broke the AU 111 rainfall record and six major rivers across AU are now in flood.It's the dry season....
As to birds? Well Carolyn said it was NOT a birding trip. So Glenn ID's only 228 species including 71 endemics found nowhere else in the world. And 100 life birds.....
Makes me wonder what a birding trip would be like....
