Report - Plains-wanderer Tour (Sat 31 March - Tue 3 April 2001)

 

Lunch break during the Plains-wanderer tour - photo by Jenny BoundsAnother full group of COG members and friends enjoyed several days of beautiful, fine weather in the Riverina and north-central Victoria with Emu Tours, and Philip Maher guiding us around the Deniliquin area. All four of our trips to this area have been different birdwise, depending on seasonal conditions, and all feature a good variety of habitats including Yellow Box, Grey Box and Black Box woodlands, River Red Gum forest, local wetlands, Hay plain, and Borree (Acacia pendula) scrub. This year was the year of the Black Falcon. We observed seven of them at three different spots to be precise. All were associated with drying out rice fields and large flocks of ibis (apparently the falcons feed on a particular kind of insect). We got three of them near Conargo on the way in. We learned later that eight had been seen in that spot in the weeks before.

There was the usual good variety of woodland species at Terrick Terrick State Park in Victoria. These included Gilbert’s Whistler, Australian Ringneck, Boobook Owl and very tame Brown Treecreepers in the camping area. We also visited Millewa and Gulpa State Forests, and enjoyed good roadside birding on the edge of the dry plains country, but we missed the Painted Honeyeaters by a week again (they had left on migration). The spotlighting gave us close views of Inland Dotterell, Banded Lapwing and 15 Plains-wanderers (a male with 5 chicks, and several immature males and females). Other highlights were a Spotted Harrier, Cockatiels and Apostlebirds near the Rock, and Banded Stilts and Avocets in a large flock at Tullakool Salt Works, amongst other waders. We also had a very good list of raptors, although Aust. Hobby (a relatively common species) proved hard to find in the end. Overall we saw 143 species for the trip list.

The back of the bus boys filled in the time on the bus writing poetry and the Republican Bird List (with left and right wing bias). Can you identify the current bird names?

A Salute to Falco subniger
(with apologies to Banjo Patterson)

There was movement in the bus because the word had got around -
Black Falcons had been seen beside the road;
"There's one above those Ibis!", "there's another on the ground!"
The birdos stared and positively crowed.

Another falcon watched us from his perch upon a post -
"I've never seen one perch like that before!"
We saw both kinds of spoonbill and Ibis such a host,
But those sable falcons thrilled us to the core!

There were falcons hunting low, they were gliding overhead
(Though we'd rather see a Hobby any day!)
"Note the tiny little cranium", our tour leader said -
The falcon grimaced, sneered and flew away!

Postscript: I am keen to book another trip in 2001 in the autumn, combined with several extra days to do the Little Desert and Wyperfeld NP in Victoria (Mallee Fowl); possibly 6-7 days in total, in the ballpark of $150 a day (fully accommodated). Expressions of interest are sought. Contact Jenny Bounds ph 6288 7802 ah.

Jenny Bounds

(photo - Lunch break during the Plains-wanderer tour - photo by Jenny Bounds)