This is my first trip thread, so if I’m doing anything wrong or if I could something better please tell me. Also, sorry for the rather uninventive thread name.
First off, a few notes:
1. I’m travelling with family, so not everything I do is animal related, however I’ll try to stick to animal related things
2. Internet is a luxury out here and most places don’t have service, so updates to this thread may vary wildly in time and size
3. This thread is heavily tied in to the big year thread
Day one- Started the day very early in the morning and got on the road as quick as possible. One of the first things of interested that was seen was a small flock of yellow tailed black cockatoos, along with several Australian hobbies (correct plural?) who were perched on a number of lamp posts lining the side of the road. The road was very foggy so birds were hard to see and even harder to identify. Did manage to see several pheasant coucals. We passed through Kilkivan and then stopped for morning tea at Gayndah. Our eventual goal for the day was to reach Monto. We passed through Mundubbera and passed over the Burnett River, one of two rivers where lungfish can be found. Then we continued on to lake Wuruma to eat lunch. The lake was very large and impressive, despite it being several metres lower than its normal water line. The lake has been stocked with fish such as barramundi, Saratoga, silver perch and yellow belly. The lake was full of bird life. Dusky Moorhens numbered in there thousands and many had chicks. There were several Australian pelicans and great pied cormorants as well as a lone Australian darter. There were also several pied butcherbirds and noisy miners who were begging for scraps. There were also some cows wandering around the edge of the lake grazing. You’ll see a common trend here, basically in the outback every piece of land that isn’t national park is used to graze cattle. After this two very large eastern grey kangaroos were seen feeding in a lucern paddock. The next stop was very interesting, the bunyip hole. The bunyip hole was a very large billabong, surrounded by thick vegetation. The billabong is said to be home to a bunyip. The water apparently can often be seen churning and bubbling and strange noises can be heard coming from the billabong Aboriginals call the area “devil-devil” country and many people refuse to camp close to the billabong. Cattle have also supposedly been dragged down into the water as they drank never to be seen again. The billabong was home to several water birds such as pacific black ducks and cormorants, and in the thick bush around the billabong I saw a female superb fairy wren and a small flock of double barred finches. After this we finally reached our destination Monto. We would be staying the night at the Monto Caravan Park. Googling the park revealed a website that talked about wild bettongs being seen in park at night as well as bird feeding. I was excited. I had always wanted to see bettongs in the wild I finally had a chance to see one. Whoever runs the caravan park clearly likes birds, as there are the already mentioned daily bird feedings as well as a list of birds in the hotel guide that can be seen around the caravan park. A quick walk around revealed a elegant snake eyed skink that was basking on our cabin steps. I also saw a pair of superb Fairy wrens who were darting around a large pile of sticks, leaves and branches. I also got a great view of a couple of silver eyes, which was fantastic as these bird were lifers. There was also several brown honeyeaters flying around the park. Then it was time for the bird feeding. The birds were at first very shy and wary but eventually became comfortable enough to feed. The birds were mostly galahs, as well as a few rainbow lorikeets and several sulpher crested cockatoos. The birds were spread out across three different bird feeders. At one stage there were at least 20 galahs, 5 sulpher crested cockatoos and 4 rainbow lorikeets feeding from the one bird feeder. There was also a small peaceful dove that was feeding off the spilled seed off the ground. Most of the sulpher crested cockatoos were very old who were obviously hanging around the caravan park for a free feed. Next to come was a pretty exciting, a flock of apostle birds. I hadn’t seen apostle birds in years, around five to be exact. There was a flock of around eight or nine who were feeding off the spilled seed on the ground. After the bird feeding I waited until nightfall to search for the bettongs which were supposed to wander the park at night. I searched the whole park, at the bird feedings where they were said to be cleaning up after the birds, in the long grass around the park, under cabins and around the already mentioned rubbish pile. But try as I might I couldn’t find a bettong. So slightly disappointed, I had dinner at the Albert Hotel and than went to bed.
First off, a few notes:
1. I’m travelling with family, so not everything I do is animal related, however I’ll try to stick to animal related things
2. Internet is a luxury out here and most places don’t have service, so updates to this thread may vary wildly in time and size
3. This thread is heavily tied in to the big year thread
Day one- Started the day very early in the morning and got on the road as quick as possible. One of the first things of interested that was seen was a small flock of yellow tailed black cockatoos, along with several Australian hobbies (correct plural?) who were perched on a number of lamp posts lining the side of the road. The road was very foggy so birds were hard to see and even harder to identify. Did manage to see several pheasant coucals. We passed through Kilkivan and then stopped for morning tea at Gayndah. Our eventual goal for the day was to reach Monto. We passed through Mundubbera and passed over the Burnett River, one of two rivers where lungfish can be found. Then we continued on to lake Wuruma to eat lunch. The lake was very large and impressive, despite it being several metres lower than its normal water line. The lake has been stocked with fish such as barramundi, Saratoga, silver perch and yellow belly. The lake was full of bird life. Dusky Moorhens numbered in there thousands and many had chicks. There were several Australian pelicans and great pied cormorants as well as a lone Australian darter. There were also several pied butcherbirds and noisy miners who were begging for scraps. There were also some cows wandering around the edge of the lake grazing. You’ll see a common trend here, basically in the outback every piece of land that isn’t national park is used to graze cattle. After this two very large eastern grey kangaroos were seen feeding in a lucern paddock. The next stop was very interesting, the bunyip hole. The bunyip hole was a very large billabong, surrounded by thick vegetation. The billabong is said to be home to a bunyip. The water apparently can often be seen churning and bubbling and strange noises can be heard coming from the billabong Aboriginals call the area “devil-devil” country and many people refuse to camp close to the billabong. Cattle have also supposedly been dragged down into the water as they drank never to be seen again. The billabong was home to several water birds such as pacific black ducks and cormorants, and in the thick bush around the billabong I saw a female superb fairy wren and a small flock of double barred finches. After this we finally reached our destination Monto. We would be staying the night at the Monto Caravan Park. Googling the park revealed a website that talked about wild bettongs being seen in park at night as well as bird feeding. I was excited. I had always wanted to see bettongs in the wild I finally had a chance to see one. Whoever runs the caravan park clearly likes birds, as there are the already mentioned daily bird feedings as well as a list of birds in the hotel guide that can be seen around the caravan park. A quick walk around revealed a elegant snake eyed skink that was basking on our cabin steps. I also saw a pair of superb Fairy wrens who were darting around a large pile of sticks, leaves and branches. I also got a great view of a couple of silver eyes, which was fantastic as these bird were lifers. There was also several brown honeyeaters flying around the park. Then it was time for the bird feeding. The birds were at first very shy and wary but eventually became comfortable enough to feed. The birds were mostly galahs, as well as a few rainbow lorikeets and several sulpher crested cockatoos. The birds were spread out across three different bird feeders. At one stage there were at least 20 galahs, 5 sulpher crested cockatoos and 4 rainbow lorikeets feeding from the one bird feeder. There was also a small peaceful dove that was feeding off the spilled seed off the ground. Most of the sulpher crested cockatoos were very old who were obviously hanging around the caravan park for a free feed. Next to come was a pretty exciting, a flock of apostle birds. I hadn’t seen apostle birds in years, around five to be exact. There was a flock of around eight or nine who were feeding off the spilled seed on the ground. After the bird feeding I waited until nightfall to search for the bettongs which were supposed to wander the park at night. I searched the whole park, at the bird feedings where they were said to be cleaning up after the birds, in the long grass around the park, under cabins and around the already mentioned rubbish pile. But try as I might I couldn’t find a bettong. So slightly disappointed, I had dinner at the Albert Hotel and than went to bed.
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