Finally getting a chance to catch up after a few busy months and then having to rebuild the website.
In February I headed up to O’Reillys one morning for a long overdue look. My target was to get a decent photo of the Australian Logrunner, a bird relatively common to see but hard to get a clear shot of as they like the darker areas under cover.
My first stop was a small little dam nearly to the top of the mountain. A little bit of activity to be heard without a lot to see, but after a bit of searching I found this Bell Miner. The first time I had seen one somewhere other than Cunningham’s Gap.
The other bird to be seen zipping in and out of the trees was theYellow-faced Honeyeater, but as is normal when they are in that mood they didn’t stay still for long enough for a decent shot.
Reaching the top of the mountain the surprising thing was just how little noise and activity there was. I hadn’t been to O’Reillys for a long time but can never remember it being so quiet. A look around the picnic area finally revealed an Eastern Spinebill who was sitting in a perfect spot to sun itself and for me to get a shot.
Around the bird feeding area a family of Eastern Whipbird where present along with the usual Red-browed Finch, Superb Fairy-wren and a couple of Crimson Rosella.
Heading towards the boardwalk to try and find an Australian Logrunner an Eastern Yellow Robin came over to see what I was doing. These guys are always very curious and will normally come in to see what is happening.
Once again it was very quiet along the path with not a lot to see at all. A logrunner did turn up but disappeared before any photo opportunities presented. The only other two birds seen where a Yellow-throated Scrub-wren and the White-browed Scrub-wren. A look around the gardens also produced nothing.
A bit more of a walk around without very much to see at all other than a Red-necked Pademelon who was happy to be out in the light and didn’t care that I was there.
With nothing to see around O’Reillys Resort I headed towards the camping ground in the hope of finding a little bit more. The camping ground proved a bit more successful with firstly a Brown Gerygone posing nicely for me.
A Grey Shrike-thrush would not turn around to look at me so I was only able to get the look back shot.
Another White-browed Scrub-wren and a female Golden Whistler were other birds spotted.
I was about to leave when some movement in the ground cover caught my attention and after some careful approaching I was finally able to find an Australian Logrunner who sat out long enough for me to get a photo. It was pretty dark and I had to really work the camera and lay down in the wet mulch to get the shot so are pretty happy with the result.
Inspired by a bit of success I had a little bit more of a look around finding a curious Regent Bowerbird.
My final bird for the camping grounds was an Australian Brush-turkey sitting in a sunny patch.
Still not satisfied with what I had seen I took a detour on the way down along Duck Creek Rd. I had heard reports of a few good birds to be seen down this road but after a bit of looking all I got to see was a Laughing Kookaburra, a distant Brown Cuckoo-dove and a couple of Large-billed Scrubwren.
In the end it was a strange day at O’Reillys with so little to see or hear but when I looked over the photos I still managed to get a few shots I am happy with.
- World Bird Count: 422
- Australian Bird Count: 275
Birds Photographed:
- Bell Miner
- Yellow-faced Honeyeater
- Eastern Spinebill
- Eastern Whipbird
- Red-browed Finch
- Crimson Rosella
- Eastern Yellow Robin
- Australian Logrunner
- Yellow-throated Scrubwren
- White-browed Scrubwren
- Superb Fairy-Wren
- Brown Gerygone
- Grey Shrike-thrush
- Golden Whistler
- Regent Bower Bird
- Australian Brush-turkey
- Lewin’s Honeyeater
- Large-billed Scrubwren
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Brown Cuckoo-Dove
Others:
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