I spent three and a half hours at Oxley Creek Common this morning and boy what a bird walk. I really didn’t feel like getting up at 5 on a Saturday morning after a big week, but I’m so glad I did. This morning’s walk has become my longest and most successful bird walk to date.
This morning, my goal was to do the full walk at Oxley Creek Common: all the way to Pelican Island and down to Secret Forest. I also had a couple of goal birds: the Variegated Fairywren and Silvereye.
The morning started off strong with these gorgeous butcher birds near the entrance.
My favourite Golden-Headed Cisticolas were vocal this morning, as usual, and positively glowing:
I headed into the forest section and was soon nursing a sore neck from peering up into the trees attempting to identify all the birds. There were so many out and about!
First, this Black-Faced Cuckooshrike, posing very conveniently:
And then about a million Lewin’s Honeyeaters. This was my first lifer of the morning, although by the end of my walk I was wondering how I’d never seen one before—they were everywhere.
And then my second lifer of the morning, a Mistletoebird (this one’s a juvenile):
And then my third lifer of the morning, a Pale-Vented Bush-Hen:
According to eBird, they’re very secretive—just like this Buff-Banded Rail, my fourth lifer of the morning, which I saw soon after:
That photo’s not ideal because it was running away and I could barely hold my camera still, I was so desperate to get a photo.
Those two exciting finds were followed by this Pacific Black Duck, looking pretty comfy:
I found a huge group of these Fairy Martins (lifer #5) perched on a powerline—photo courtesy of my camera’s incredible zoom:
Next up were some familiar favourites around Pelican Island: an Australasian Darter and a Little Black Cormorant, both in the middle of fishing missions, and a beautiful Sacred Kingfisher.
My next very exciting find was one of my goal birds: a Silvereye (lifer #6)! A little obscured but still identifiable (again, thanks to my amazing camera zoom). So that was my first goal bird ticked off.
And then another martin—this time a Tree Martin (lifer #7):
At this point I had gone to Pelican Island and back to the main path, then all around the Secret Forest area, still hoping that I would see some Variegated Fairywrens—but all I could find were Red-Backed Fairywrens and magpies. Actually, I did find lifer #8—a Great Egret (although it was being chased by a cranky magpie).
I was on my way back, starting to feel pretty tired, when I saw movement to my left and paused to inspect the tiny birds I could see moving around the trees.
Lifer #9! Some gorgeous Double-Barred Finches. These are the first finches I’ve ticked off my life list so I was stoked.
And then, just over my left shoulder, the jackpot, the moment that made the 5 am start worth it … a whole group of Variegated Fairywrens! And close enough for these beautiful photos of today’s lifer #10.
After I had marvelled for a while at these little beauties, I moved on and found this fluffed-up Grey Shrikethrush:
And then, for my last lifer of the day, #11 (although no photo unfortunately), I spotted a tiny Brown Quail in the bushes.
Quite a day!
Birds
- Pacific Black Duck
- Australian Brushturkey
- Channel-Billed Cuckoo
- Masked Lapwing
- Eastern Cattle-Egret
- Great Egret
- Plumed Egret
- Australian Pelican
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Sacred Kingfisher
- Rainbow Lorikeet
- Red-Backed Fairywren
- Blue-Faced Honeyeater
- Brown Honeyeater
- Lewin’s Honeyeater
- Little Friarbird
- Australasian Figbird
- Australasian Swamphen
- Australasian Darter
- Little Black Cormorant
- Pied Butcherbird
- Grey Butcherbird
- Noisy Miner
- Black-Faced Cuckooshrike
- Grey Shrikethrush
- Australian Magpie
- Pied Currawong
- Willie Wagtail
- Australian White Ibis
- Torresian Crow
- Golden-Headed Cisticola
- Tawny Grassbird
- Welcome Swallow
- Buff-Banded Rail
- Pale-Vented Bush-Hen
- Variegated Fairywren
- Fairy Martin
- Tree Martin
- Silvereye
- Mistletoebird
- Double-Barred Finch
- Brown Quail
- Pheasant Coucal (heard, not seen)
- Eastern Whipbird (heard, not seen)
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