Hi all,

We just got back from two weeks Down Under, after a stop in the LA area. It was a pretty decent birding trip overall: 196 species in Aussieland, and 81 in S. Cal.

S. CAL
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After arrival, we went straight to Big Morongo, near Palm Springs. Black-chinned Hummers, Bewick's Wrens and Summer Tanagers were plentiful. There were also Western Tanagers, California Thrashers, a Nuttall's Woodpecker, a Red-shoudered Hawk, Scrub Jays, Annas, Costa's and Rufous hummingbirds, Orange-crowned Warblers, MacGillavray's Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Brewer's Sparrows, Lesser Goldfinches, Black Swifts, Gray Flycatchers, Lark Sparrows, and a Black Phoebe flitting around in the parking lot. The following day at Joshua Tree, we detoured through a nice little canyon to find a Rock Wren, a Scott's Oriole, a Cordilleran (?) Flycatcher (whichever former Western is supposed to be there), a Yellow Warbler and a Wilson's Warbler. It was a good day - clear, and not too hot.

Later, we headed to Big Bear Lake to attend a friend's wedding. The area proved to be pretty dull birdwise. The prevalent lake species were Forster's Terns, American Coots and Gadwalls, although there was also a huge flock of White Pelicans overhead, an Osprey, a Clark's Grebe, and a female Wood Duck with young. There were a few Western Bluebirds left at the nestboxes near the airport. There is a refuge on the eastern shore that you can drive through - a big grassy swamp, and that turned up a Horned Lark, a female Northern Harrier, and a flock of Western Meadowlarks. The pine forests were chock full of Mountain Chickadees and Pygmy Nuthatches, plus we saw a pair of juvenile Black-headed Grosbeaks, some Chipping Sparrows and a big flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds.

But then, we had to attend the wedding. Birds in attendance: feral Mallards. House Sparrows.

RE Australia, the species references below are from the Slater field guide. Since it disagrees with Pizzey in places, and both disagree with other books, I added scientific names on lesser-known species. Hopefully, I'll have images on the web by next week.

BRISBANE
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First stop, City Botanical Gardens, in downtown Brisbane. All I can say is, Wow. The first thing Tom says to me after we park on the street is, "What is that big white bird?" It was a Sacred Ibis, strolling among the shrubbery on the other side of the iron fence. They are the Brisbane equivalent of Canada Geese - there were huge flocks all over, nesting in the trees, walking around the tables at outdoor cafes. I had always imagined them as a dignified, noble court bird of ancient Egypt. Not anymore. I was amazed to see one jumping on a table, and scarfing down a piece of pie with that long, long bill - bizarre.

Anyway, two steps into the gate, two Laughing Kookaburras started their trademark (hoo hoo hoo hoo ha ha ha ha) cackle, presumably because it was raining, and I couldn't get a shot of them without getting the lens wet. A few more strides turned up a colony of Rainbow Lorikeets, nesting in tree hollows right off the trail along the river. A little pond turned up Australian Gray Ducks, Dusky Moorhens, Little Pied Cormorants and even a Brush Turkey (Alectura lathami) - a megapode that pretty much looks like a turkey with a very bright red head and bright yellow collar. I had to wonder if that got there on its own, since it didn't look like a good flier.

The most common and irritating bird turned out to be the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) - a gray and yellow Starling-wannabe,. As the name suggests, its loud, has many different calls, and frequents leftovers. I did appreciate that it, at least, was native. Overall, there were very low numbers of non-native species in the urban areas, and these were (in order) Spotted Turtle-doves (Streptopelia chinensis), House Sparrows, Starlings, Common Mynahs and Rock Doves.

The drive down toward the Gold Coast was very enjoyable - Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus) were constantly flying over the highway, as were Galahs (Roseate Cockatoos) and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. After an hour's drive, we turned inland, and our first stop was the Natural Bridge - a rock formation that forms a bridge over a swift-running river. The trail was very short (1 km), and it was raining, so it didn't turn up very much: a Rufous Fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons), an Eastern Yellow Robin, an Australian Ground Thrush (Zoothera lunulata), a nesting colony of Welcome Swallows (Hirundo noexena) under the bridge, Weebills (Senicrornis brevirostris), Brown (Acathiza pusilla) and Buff-rumped Thornbills (A.reguloides), and the plentiful Brush Turkey, hanging around expectantly in the parking lot. Driving to Lamington National Park, we initially went the wrong direction, but this turned out to be a fortuitous circumstance: we crossed some marshy farmland where, standing together, were a flock of Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiorni spinicollis), a Baillon's Crake (Porzana pusilla), and a Masked Plover (Vanellus miles). I also got my first view of a Blue-cheeked (Crimson) Rosella (Platycercus elegans), in a tree, along the side of that road. I hadn't realized they were so common. I probably ticked off a few folks by stopping on a narrow, shoulder-less road to snap a pic - one *** who roared past me scared it away.

Lamington National Park was incredible - absolutely beautiful, and a wonderful place to view wildlife. The first thing I noticed when I drove in was a very dark bird sitting on the road. I had been seeing black birds roadside, but it wasn't a Pied Currawong (Strepera gracularia), and it wasn't a Torresian Crow (Corvus orru) - omigod, it was a male Blue Satin Bowerbird!! That was one of my targets, and it was just sitting in the middle of the road.

The lodge at Binna Burra (inside the park) was fantastic. As we had lunch at the teahouse, we observed Lewin's Honeyeaters (Meliphaga lewinii) and colorful Eastern Spinebills (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) through the large windows, as well as Padimelons - little wallaby-shaped marsupials that are the size of rabbits - adorable!! Our campsite was perched on a hill, and had a wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean over rolling forested foothills. The tent wasn't too bad either - it was huge, and had a wooden deck and decent furniture.

Our first trek into the woods immediately turned up a pair of King Parrots, three female and one male Blue Satin Bowerbirds, and a pair of Brown Cuckoo-doves (Macropygia amborinensis), all on or near the ground at the trailhead. A few strides further, we found a Green Catbird (Aileroedus crassirostris) hiding in the brush. In the 1.2km to the lookout, we found Eastern Yellow Robins, the ultra-cool Eastern Whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus), White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis), Yellow-throated Scrubwren (Sericornis citreogularis), Gray Fantail (Rhipidura fulginosa), Yellow-tufted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops), and a Rufous Whistler (Pachyecephala rufiventris). As we settled into our tent that evening, we got a nice view of some more catbirds, bowerbirds, Blue-cheeked Rosellas and honeyeaters, and the Brush Turkeys didn't let up their constant walking by, making a long neck, wondering if we have any food. Nope, we didn't.

That night, suffering from jetlag, I awoke at 1am to find the tent surrounded by nocturnal bird sounds... How can you sleep under those circumstances? I sat out in front of the tent and listened... first a distant "book-book" to the east. Then a horrible inhuman screeching to the northwest. Then a generic hooting to the north. The screeching grew slowly nearer. Then a dog barked somewhere below the tent. Then as the "book book" drew nearer, I started hearing a very faint, barely audible "blip"ing that was just to the right and in front of me. I looked up - sitting on a branch, just illumated in the walkway lights, right in front of our own tent, was a Barking Owl! When it saw I noticed it, it flew off behind the tent and settled on a new perch where it resumed its soft call. I hadn't recalled from my previous trip that the Barking Owl is the only animal in Australia that barks - the dingo does not. Looking it up, it seemed that all the other sounds except the "book-book" were made by that bird.

After a while, the Southern Boobook (Ninox novaeseelandiae), the "book-booker", came close - suddenly there was a terrible commotion - screaming, flapping, more screaming, and having settled their dispute, both birds flew off.

At 5:30am, I found the campsite overrun with bowerbirds, brush turkeys and rosellas. I took a different trail to see what I could turn up: a female Regent Bowerbird, a White-eared Monarch (Monarcha leuocotis), White-throated Treecreepers (Cormobates leucophaea), more Eastern Whipbirds, more scrubwrens, and more thornbills. In searching for a number of high-pitched squawkings high overhead, I found two male King Parrots, but was never able to find the flock of smaller birds through the thick canopy. They might have been fig parrots, which are very rare in the south, but who knows.

Returning to Brisbane, we made two more stops: a koala sanctuary and Mt. Coot-tha reserve and botanical gardens. The gardens were huge and elaborate, one of the best I've ever seen. Birding was pretty poor here compared to the hills, of course - In addition to the City B.G. species, we also came up with a Maned Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata), a Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis), a Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), and a Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius), which was standing on a divider on the road just outside the park. They did have lots of "Water Dragon"s too - large spiky green and black lizards.

At the koala park, as I was looking at their row of caged parrots, a Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus) flies up, lands on a branch right next to me, and gives me a look as though to ask, "They're more interesting than me?" They were not. The park also had a kangaroo feeding area, which consisted of several acres of grass, with a few tree groves, and a big pond in the middle. Of course, the point here was to feed the kangaroos (which were pretty cute), but what about the other denizens? In the pond, more Gray Ducks and Maned Ducks, Little Black Cormorants (P. sulcirostris), Little Pied Cormorants. On the fence surrounding the pond, cute and common Willie Wagtails (Rhipidura leucophrys) - every time they land, they enthusiastically wag their long black tail, back and forth. On the grass among the roos, the black-and-white suburban birds: Magpie Larks (Grallina cyanoleuca), and Australasian Magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen). They also had put up nectar feeders, attracting Scaly-breasted and Rainbow lories, as well as Noisy Miners.

Now it was off to the Northern Territory.

ALICE SPRINGS
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The red center was as different from the coast as conceivable - very hot and very dry, even in early spring, and very sparsely populated. As we got off the plane, however, we were greeted by a huge flock of Galahs. That was a good sign. In town, we found Ringneck Parrots (Platycercus zonarius) and Zebra Finches sitting on the utility wires just outside our room!! Brown Honeyeaters (Lichemera indistincta) were feeding in the trees in the main mall, and the Miners, at least, were Yellow-throated Miners (manorina flavigula) - slightly less obnoxious, but at least a new species to count.

The first day, we drove to Ayers Rock (Uluru). The 450km drive was pretty dull - passing only 4 service stations during the entire trip, and scenery that varied from flat and dry to kind-of-bumpy and dry. However, every so often, a flock of bright green Mulga Parrots (Psephotus varius), or Ringneck parrots, or Budgerigars would alight, or I'd spot a Wedge-tailed Eagle on a rock, and there were always a lot of Whistling Kites circling.

When we finally arrived at Uluru, it was already 11am, not optimal for wildlife-viewing. Still, I managed to get a Common Bronzewing pigeon, a Gray-crowned Honeyeater (Lichenostomus keartlandi) near the water hole, a Gray Falcon (Falco hypoleucos) overhead, and a Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus) in the shrubbery around the rock. The Olgas were even better: the Canyon of the Winds walk turned up some Little Woodswallows (Artamus minor), and the other, greener canyon trail, in spite of being stuffed nearly wall-to-wall with tourists, produced a pair of Gray Falcons, Gray-crowned Honeyeaters, a Western Bowerbird (Chlamydera guttata), a Ringneck parrot, a Black-breasted Buzzard (Hamirostra melanostemon), and a cute little rock wallaby taking a drink from the very shallow creek.

The next day, we drove all the way to King's Canyon (another 200km detour). That was worth it - along the lower trail, we found beautiful Mistletoebirds (the male has a bright red breast and throat), Gray Shrike-thrushes, the yellow White-plumed Honeyeaters, more Zebra finches, a Black Honeyeater and a Rufous Triller. On the rocks on the canyon slopes, a dull brown Striated Grasswren popped out for a look, holding up its very long, thin tail. On the upper trail there were several Spinifex Pigeons. The scenery was gorgeous! A lush green swath cut into a ridge that divided a flat, red landscape.

Returning to Alice Springs, I had a look around on the final day. On Anzac Hill early in the morning, I found a pair of Ringneck parrots and a Chestnut Quail Thrush (Rinclostoma castanotum). The "river" (a sandbank in the dry season) in the town was surrounded by big trees with Masked Woodswallows (Artamus personatus) and Chestnut-rumped Thornbills (Acanthiza uropygialis) present. At the telegraph station north of town, some Gray-crowned Babblers were taking turns drinking from a leaky spigot. At the botanical gardens, they had a nice little shady pond where we found another pair of Mistletoebirds and shrike-thrushes, and in the other vegetation there were a flock of zebra finches, a pair of rainbow bee-eaters, a willie wagtail, plus a Western Warbler (Gerygone fusca) and a Brown Songlark (Cincoloramphus virescens).

That part of the country was great, but it was too bloomin' hot!

W VICTORIA
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Then it was back to the coast. We flew into Melbourne, and stayed the night at a nice airport hotel with a beautiful landscaped courtyard. The next morning, I awoke to birdsong as usual, but... it was *all* non-natives. Spotted doves, House sparrows, Starlings, Mynahs, and a Eurasian Tree Sparrow. Hmmmph.

We first headed out toward Wyperfeld National Park, in the northwest part of the state. It was probably too early in the year for effective birding in this area - there were virtually no trees flowering, and the ponds were still pretty devoid of fowl. On the 6-hour drive, in addition to the urban birdies, I saw one White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae), one Eastern Rosella, and one Peregrine Falcon.

We made it to the park just before dusk. The park itself was a huge expanse of open mallee woodland, some parts grassier than others. The first road we took through the grassy area turned up huge numbers of Richard's Pipits (Anthus novaeseelandiae), and a flock of Emus - the first of the trip!! The second road was woodsier, and the number and variety of psittacids was unbelievable: Budgerigars, Cockatiels, Red-rumped Parrots, Galahs, "Port Lincoln" Ring-necked Parrots, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, and Pink Cockatoos, all flying around, screaming, landing, screaming more, flying around again. We took a brief hike into the woods, and turned up (in addition to lots of Eastern gray kangaroos) a juvenile Pallid Cuckoo, and some Yellow-rumped thornbills, and some Malleefowl mound nests - pretty neat. The next morning, on a different woodsy trail, we also found several Red-capped Robins, a Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis), more Pallid Cuckoos, a pair of White-winged Trillers (Lalage tricolor), a flock of Variegated Wrens (Malurus assimilus), a Purple-gaped Honeyeater (Lichenostomus cratitius), Australian Reed-warblers (Acrocephalus australis), a Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthogenys rufogularis), and several Brown Treecreepers (Climacterus picumnus).

Then it started to rain. Hard. Leaving the park drenched from head to foot, we found a flock of big black White-winged Choughs (Corcorax melanorhamphus) and an Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis) sitting on a fencepost next to the entrance. Both declined to be photographed. Oh well.

We made it to the incredibly beautiful Grampians by midday, and it had cleared up a lot. I had been disappointed at not seeing a Long-billed Corella, but that feeling would quickly disappear. On the road from Horsham, we stopped to get a picture of the mountains over a field of yellow mustard - and noticed a flock of white cockatoos feeding in a field nearby. Omigod. Long-billed Corellas. Huge flocks of them flew screeching and squawking overhead, all over the area.

The park is lush and green, with several peaks you can climb - absolutely gorgeous. After driving past fields with yet more corellas and more emus, our first stop was the Mackenzie Falls. Again, very, very crowded (it was a national school holiday those two weeks), but the trail turned up the Crescent Honeyeater (Phylidonyris pyrroptera), calling loudly from the treetops. The falls were beautiful too, surrounded by blooming purple heather. Near the parking lot, I was very excited to notice a bright blue fairy-wren that I hadn't even targeted - the Superb Blue Wren (Malurus cyaneus). Little did I know how common they were - there were three living in the bushes just outside our motel room!

We stopped briefly in Halls Gap, a village in a small valley in the middle of the park, where I set up the scope to observe some corellas and sulphur-crested cockatoos feeding the grassy field behind the town. Just then, two Rainbow and four Purple-crowned Lorikeets flew overhead - too cool, but unfortunately indicative of my parrot-watching experiences here. During the two mornings we stayed at the motel in the area, I observed a pair of Gang gang Cockatoos fly low over my head, a pair of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos fly high over my head, and one Purple-crowned Lorikeet fly at medium-height over my head, all disappearing without a trace. Only the two Rainbow lorikeets stuck around to feed on the red flowering bush next to the building - and that species ironically, is listed as "rare" for the area. (The other three lorikeets, and the two dark cockatoos are listed as "uncommon".) Other species were easier to find on various trails: Blue-cheeked Rosellas, Sacred Kingfishers (Todiramphus sancta), Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus), Flame Robin, Black-eared Cuckoo, Striated Pardalote, Red Wattlebirds, New Holland Honeyeaters and White-eared Honeyeaters, as well as the Australasian Magpie and Magpie lark. One good tick we turned up twice on mountain hikes was the Rufous Bristlebird (Dasyornis broadbenti), a W. Victoria endemic. Of course, there were also lots of thornbills, fantails, and other little brown or gray insectivores.

Anyway, we were early - the Grampians is probably even more awesome November through February, when its warmer. Wallabies, kangaroos and emus were very common all over the park, and we even saw an echidna near the summit of Mt. Abrupt. Koalas are also supposed to be possible on Mt. William, though we didn't see any there.

On the drive back to Melbourne, we suddenly started seeing waterfowl - a big flock of odd-looking Musk Ducks and Great Cormorants in one, a huge flock of Black Swans in another, and a couple of Swamp Harriers (Circus approximans). Roadside, we saw a pair of the colorful Australian Shelducks (Tadorna tadornoides) in a field, and a Purple Gallinule/Swamphen/whatever (Porphyrio porphyrio) next to a ditch. Then, as we stopped at a picnic table for a break, a pair of Little Lorikeets flew low over our heads and disappeared. As usual.

We spent the final day in Melbourne. That morning, while loading the car, I observed three white-plumed honeyeaters chasing the same mosquito from three directions, and colliding in midair! That was interesting. Then we headed to the zoo, getting closer looks at some of the more evasive species. There were quite a few wild or semi-wild birds hanging around the zoo, including a Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus), a European Song Thrush, European Blackbirds, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Silver Gulls (Larus novaehollandiae), Rainbow Lorikeets, Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea), and House Sparrows. The zoo itself had a nice walk-through aviary that was divided between rainforest, outback and schlerophyll habitat - everything from Cockatiels to Apostlebirds to Glossy Ibis. That was very relaxing - looking at birds without having to look 'em up and write 'em down. A very nice way to end a good trip.

Regards,
Christine Vadai
christinevadai at sprynet.com
Mill Creek, WA