Having volunteered to lead this walk months before, and having fractured my ankle on leaving the COG Committee meeting five days earlier, I was sadly unable to lead this outing but did get there to start off the six people who did go along. My fracture diagnosis came later, but as Judy pointed out they could not carry me. I pointed out the first bird of interest, a Satin Bowerbird that flew nearby and perched on the open top of a distant tree. Most of the following notes are from Lia Battisson, supplemented with phone conversations with Judy, Sue and Mike.
Starting overcast, it was pleasant conditions and hot by the time the last returned. The honeyeater migration was well in progress, though without any expert they could not say what many were other than Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. People returned separately so not everyone saw all the species mentioned. Not all went as far as the Red Rock Gorge but those that did found the Peregrine Falcon on the rock face and an Eastern Water Dragon sunning itself on the sand by the pool. The group had a lunch/rest/chat stop there. Lia writes “Any spot on the River is relaxing, but I would recommend the Gorge to anyone who hasn’t been there before as a special place. Seeing ten Rainbow Bee-eaters on the way back topped it off”.
Three others saw two apparently variously immature White-bellied Sea-Eagles (they would have been happier if I had been there to be certain of the ID, which was worked out later over the phone). The group also encountered a Wedge-tailed Eagle, which is far more predictable there. The 44 species the group encountered would be those I would expect. (Actually I don’t expect Sea-Eagles but they are not unusual there either.) Also Sue encountered two Diamond Firetails, a species that I don’t recall from there previously, though they should be present. The group apparently didn’t hear the Superb Lyrebird even though I told them where to listen for it. Maybe the singing had not started yet.
Philip Veerman