Drongo, Pale-headed rosella & Others at Shelly Beach

I can still hear my Year 9 English teacher's words ... "You great spangled drongo!" These days I know what that is!

Just north of the Caloundra headland I reckon there's a birding mini-hotspot in Shelly Beach.

The headland itself is a short walk from the Shelly Beach picnic area. Here various shorebirds can be seen at the right season, time and tide. The road down into the Shelley Beach car park passes through a pocket of coastal subtropical forest. Here I have seen large numbers of Rainbow lorikeet (and the odd Scaly breasted lorikeet), Eastern whipbird and various honeyeaters.

The car park itself has provided me with sightings of Blue-faced honeyeater, Pale-headed rosella and Pied butcherbird. There are also the more commonplace Australian white ibis, Australian magpie, Magpie lark as well as introduced species.

Walking along the coastal trail northwards from the car park there is another section of coastal subtropical habitat and a small gully. Here I have seen Spangled drongo, Australasian figbird, Red-backed fairy wren, Leaden flycatcher and Australian Brush-turkey.

None of the birds featured in today's post are readily seen in my home state of Victoria so I do enjoy catching up with them!

I love the curves of this bird! Spangled drongo, Shelly Beach (Caloundra, Qld)

Pale-headed rosella stopping over in a Shelly Beach Norfolk Island pine.

Australian Brush-turkey roosting

I was annoyed that a sneaky group of Australasian figbird got away from me without a decent shot. Here is a female (or immature bird).

The following images are from previous visits to Shelley Beach (all in the month of May). We start with Blue-faced honeyeater and Brown honeyeater.

Red-backed fairy-wren (female / immature)

Below are a couple of Leaden flycatcher shots from an old compact digital camera (caught without the proper equipment!).

A great little birding spot! Did I mention that it's also a little easy on the eye and that the water's positively warm compared to Bass Strait?

Shelly Beach image from a Sunshine Coast accommodation website

As seen through the lens of Rachel Richter photography

Caloundra headland and Shelly Beach by SKYePICS

Bird on!

Wee Jasper birdsong

The air is full of birdsong at Swinging Bridge Reserve, Wee Jasper. "Song" is not always apt when much of the "noise" is coming from the large parrot population. Sulphur-crested cockatoo, King parrots, Crimson rosella and Galah were the most obvious during our visit last week. Yellow-tailed black cockatoo and Gang-gang (although not seen on this occasion) are also regular visitors.

Australian King parrot (male above, immature below)

Immature Crimson rosella

Rufous whistler were actively singing .... err ... whistling! A constant joy!

The penetrating piping of White-throated treecreeper added some further charm.

Yellow-faced honeyeater was the predominant honeyeater species and leant its frequent brisk call to the chorus. 

My first thought was that this was an immature Black-chinned honeyeater but it has been pointed out that Brown-headed honeyeater is a much better fit - Excellent - a lifer! A review of Pizzey suggests that there are five honeyeater species with that familiar white nape and paler front. Of these I am yet to see the Strong-billed honeyeater endemic to Tasmania.

The Leaden flycatcher buzzing calls added a different dimension as did the Satin bowerbirds at their bower. Noisy friarbird were ..... well, noisy! Kookaburras provided a daily (or twice daily) chorus. When I first heard roosting Australian wood ducks calling ("gnaaaaw") I wondered if I was listening to a broken kookaburra that couldn't get going!

Australian wood duck - We don't really "quack"

Large numbers of Superb fairywren led the small bird voice accompanied by White-browed scrubwren. Diamond firetail provided an occaisonal finchy flavour.

All in all a most pleasant and amazing soundscape!

Bird on!

Nitmiluk's small packages

Next a series featuring the smaller birds seen around Nitmiluk during our stay in late July 2012. Firstly a mistletoebird feeding and squashing the juice from small fruits.

Also busy feeding, my initial impression was that this bird must be a lifer! It looks so different from anything back home.  It gradually dawned on me though that this was the northern colouring of Striated pardalote.

Rufous whistler 

Back-off please! Brown honeyeater (and again below). 

Finally, I think my first ever photo of Leaden flycatcher. Maybe the next one will be in focus - nice shot of the bark though don't you think!?!

Bird on!