1/10 213km
We arrived from Africa at about 12.30 and made a quick transit through customs etc and got the train into the city and the bus out to Marangaroo which all took until about 15.00. We packed up the car and hitched up the trailer which took another hour and hit the road. We picked up fuel and food and headed out the Great Eastern Hwy to Mooranoppin NR Mission Rd near Kelleberrin where we had a quick bite to eat and bed. It had been a long day. There was lightning off to the west but we got nothing here.
2/10 534km
Ended the survey with 8sp including about 100 Masked Woodswallows. First stop was Goldfields Rd Merridin for 7sp. At rail bridge Yerbillon the only thing happening was some work on the railway line. Mt Rankin Moorine Rock only had Galah. Being October we were at the end of the flower season, which is best expressed in heathland, powerline Emu Fence Rd Ghooli is heathland and there was a good show of colour, with the likes of White-fronted Honeyeater taking advantage. Karalee Rocks camp had a Little Black Cormorant as did Boondi Rock camp. Dry lake 47km west of Coolgardie was the site of the day. This is in the national park. They’ve run a bulldozer parallel to the road as a fire break and the lake as such was dry, but I flushed a Chestnut-backed Quail-thrush and then got scolded by a pair of Southern Scrub-robins. Coolgardie Gorge was dry as usual now but I got a threesome of Red-backed Kingfishers. A stop at Koolgardie turnoff didn’t net much. It was getting on dark when we camped at Hyden Norseman Tk east with rain threatening. Sure enough we’d just started to eat when the rain arrived and we had to hastily get things put away before we ate. Bed not long after.
3/10 560km
It was a blustery night with only the odd shower. In the morning the cold wind came howling out of the west, so for most of the day the birds were hunkered down against the cold wind. I only got 4sp at camp but one was a Redthroat, so the area is slowly coming back to life after the 2019-20 fires. Many of the regrowth trees though are still only head high. Refueled at Norseman and headed on east. Buldania Eyre hwy only had 2sp, Dundas NR rest stop had 6sp, Parkbay Fraser Range had the usual Rufous Treecreeper. Newman Rocks had lots of Brown Honeyeaters in the shrubs but I never saw one. Wrecked house Eyre Hwy had a Banded Lapwing. The small pool had Wheatbelt Frog and Western Toadlet calling. 90km east of Baladonia only had some Yellow-throated Miners chasing an Australian Raven. There had a been a few light showers to go with the perfect tail wind I had all day so there were a few pools around. My site at Nuytsland reserve had one and there were lots of birds making use of it at this barren looking spot. There were 150 Budgerigars, Crimson Chat, White-fronted Chat, Australian Pipit, Brown Songlark and a Black-faced Woodswallow in the only tree on the site, a rather exceptional 20min for this site. From there we went to Hampton Tableland west of Madura to camp just on dark again.
4/10 595km
There were some Little Button-quail calling for a lot of last night, I don’t hear them very often so had to get the app out to check the call in the morning. Ended with 14sp and hit the road at 6.20. First stop was Hearder Hill Repeater Station Rd which had a Redthroat. We put some oil in the Rudolf as it hasn’t made it to the next service without loosing too much oil again, then headed on east to Eucla dunes which was choked with dried sea grass on the shore, but that’s good for the waders and sure enough I found some Red-necked Stints and a Red-capped Plover a short way up the beach. Border Village had Purple-gaped Honeyeaters again, so I managed a poor shot of one as they will be flagged as an unusual sighting again, even though I’ve got them 3 times in a row now. Nullarbor was a late lunch with another Redthroat and a few White-winged Fairywrens. We used Wikicamps to find the free camp at Cheetima Beach, no shade and no facilities but no one else here, just the way I like it. I’d heard one of the shockers in the trailer rattling on a dirt road early in the day, but on our way down to the beach I heard nothing, didn’t think much of it until I was walking back to the car and saw the offending shocker dangling down. It’s the same one hat got damaged in the Kimberley, so they didn’t do a good job of fixing it. The bolt was gone, so I used a tie strap to stop it from dangling, another job to get done after we get back from Tassie. After dark I wandered down to where I’d seen some water in a dell between sand dunes just in case, but no frogs calling.
5/10 363km
Didn’t add any birds in the morning, but I did see one of the Pacific Gulls take a mussell shell up into the air and drop it on to the rocks, not quite satisfied with that he did it again. Returned the 30km back to the main road and headed on east. Cundilippy station didn’t have much happening. Rail reserve Ceduna was quieter than normal. Ceduna head of bay right next to the quarantine station had some loafing Red-necked Stints and Red-capped Plovers at high tide. Through the quarantine station and in to Ceduna where we did shopping, refueling and a nice hot shower at the Motul servo. This time they didn’t charge us for it. By now it was lunch time at Backshall Rd east of Ceduna for only a hand full of birds. At last it was time to get off the highway and onto the back roads at Pimbaacla Rd Pimbaacla, but the birding didn’t improve. Ten Chain Rd Pureba CP was even worse which disappointing after it being such a busy site last time. Here I saw that my tie strap hadn’t worked for long, so I tied it back up and when we got to camp at west Poochea I took the shocker off. The woodland here is grazed so there’s not much ground cover but I did got a Jacky Winter on arrival, one of our disappearing woodland species, and just on dark an Owlet Nightjar called. I went to see if I could find it, but couldn’t. The wind has been friendly all the way so far with each day a rising westerly pushing us east and improving my fuel economy.
6/10 395km
Up with the sun again, after a poor night’s sleep, my cold came back and my sinuses are all blocked up. Ended the survey with 18sp so not a bad spot considering it’s grazed. We took the road south getting on to Dolphin Rd. It was a slow drive down tracks that may or may not have gone through. So it took an hour to do the 60km to Kulliparu CP north where there was a Spotted Pardalote that was happy to have its photo taken. Next was Polda Rock for 10sp. Back onto the main road to get to Darke Peak Rd east of Koongowa for 7sp in the thin strip of remnant habitat between the birdless fields. Lunch was taken at Barna Rd Gillies NP but it was pretty quiet here. Took a look at Ironstone Hill CP dam which was dry with not much more than a pair of Golden Whistlers singing sweetly. Wyalla Wetlands is still looking good with lots of Black-tailed Native Hens feeding like chickens out in the open. It’s also attracted a family of White-winged Fairywrens and a lone Whiskered Tern. I got some extra strength Sudafed to see if will help me get to sleep, then out to Fitzgerald Bay camp along the coast road to Port Augusta. There were only a handful of waders using the head of the bay here, but there was a large family of White-browed Babblers which are always fun to watch and listen to.
7/10 370km
What a terrible night I had, I barely got any sleep with infection ruling my head and my chest. Still managed to struggle out of bed and went down to the shoreline to count the 130 Red-necked Stints feeding, unfortunately so did the dog of the campers next to us, the damn thing wanted to play with me and despite the owners calling, it refused to go away, chasing the waders as it cavorted around. Gads I hate pet owners, too many of them are irresponsible. We headed of at 7am, not reading the map properly we thought that the road went through to Port Augusta. We eventually came to a dead end and had to retrace our drive all the way back to the Lincoln Hwy before we could head towards Port Augusta. We phoned up a doctor and met him at his practice where he gave me a scrip for drugs and after hearing what we do as far a volunteer work goes he decided to bulk bill me. So that was nice of him. The estuary Port Augusta was just across the road and just as we were finishing that the doc rang me up to tell me that the pharmacy was about to open. I had tried all the pharmacies in town, but it’s Labour Day and most shops are closed, so I had found a pharmacy in Port Pirie, but now I got the drugs here and we headed off south to Winninowie CP beach which had no birds on the beach just a Singing Honeyeater and a few White-winged Fairywrens in the bushes by the track. Port Germein Pier had some flowering gums with Rainbow and Musk Lorikeets feeding. We had lunch at Weeroona Island. The tide was in but there were only a pair of Masked Lapwings near the causeway. On south to Broughton River Merriton which added Peaceful Dove and Australian Reedwarbler. Port Broughton boat ramp had a Great Crested Grebe, and a few pelicans and cormorants. Mona ruin had some Rainbow Bee-eaters. We camped at Clinton CP, I had hoped to do one more survey but my lack of sleep caught up with me and I needed to stop. The tide was out to start with so got a handful of waders feeding out on the flats. Later just before dark I went out at high tide and found the spot here is no longer popular with roosting waders with only a fly by of a Common Greenshank to brighten the sunset.
8/10 377km
With the aid of the drugs I had a much better night last night. Ended the survey with 27sp adding a few like White-fronted Chat along the road to the old wool shed up the road. Still only got Silver Gulls at the roosting spot by the mangroves. Headed down to Parham where there were 200 Pied Cormorants on the point with a few Red-necked Stints and Red-capped Plovers. Inland now to Freeling Rail which had some Bottlebrushes in flower with a few Musk Lorikeets and a very patchy Adelaide Rosella. We had lunch further east at Lake Moodie which is still dry but with good woodland in the area I got Brown Treecreeper and Red-rumped Parrot as new for the trip. South now to Waterfall Reserve Mannum where the reeds were looking very dry with only one Australian Reedwarbler calling. On south to Swanport Wetlands where when I got to the main pond and heard Banjo Frogs calling I realized that I’d left my phone charging in the car, so had to go back and get it to record them. There were also some Common Eastern Froglets in another pond, but they wouldn’t call when I got the phone out. 25Sp of bird including the first Little Grassbird. Down the main highway to Frost Rd Kiki where I heard a White-browed Scrubwren call, so I tried pishing it but instead got several Inland Thornbills, Weebil, Silvereye and a couple of Superb Fairywrens, not bad for one pish. At Cold and Wet Rd Field it was warm and sunny with a gentle cool southerly. Here there were some flowering eucalypts attracting lots of New Holland Honeyeaters and Red Wattlebirds and the first Brown-headed Honeyeaters announced themsevles with their klacking calls, only a pair though, this species usually hangs around in larger numbers. We then took the easy sandy 4wd track back to Mt Boothby CP Lutze Rd to camp. I had to back the trailer up the narrow sandy track some which was not easy. There were still some active birds like Australian Magpie pair feeding their well developed young on the nest regularly returning about every 5min to feed it until dark.
9/10 334km
Cold night last night, it was still only 3C when we left at 8am with 20sp including a Hobby Falcon. Over to Raphael Rd Coombe for 9sp. Bordertown Lake had 18sp with the first Hoary-headed Grebe and quite a few species still breeding. Off the beaten track at Miram silo we had 15sp including a Rufous Songlark. Down the dirt track to Merwyn Swamp which was dry as usual but added Brown Treecreeper and White-winged Chough, we had a low fly by of a Wedge-tailed Eagle as we ate our lunch. Just to the east is Lawloit Hall for 11sp with Dusky Woodswallow. A few more back roads got us to Kinimakatka for 8sp. Heading south now to Stringybark Walk Little Desert NP for a Hooded Robin. Further south to Kalingur Sf 1 where I got an Eastern Mantis Orchid and Restless Flycatcher as special. Douglas Mine Iluka was its usual ratty self with 8sp. The guard came out to ask us what we were doing, as the site is on the boundary of their operations, but I hadn’t done anything illegal and I didn’t find anything rare or endangered for them to be worried about. We camped for the night at Fulham Streamside Reserve on the Glenelg River and added birds until dark. There is a Laughing Kookaburra chick being fed by adults just above our heads. As usual along rivers here the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos get unreasonably loud and screechy just on sunset, so I had to wait until they quietened down to go and record the frogs calling.
10/10 343km
Ended the survey with 42sp, that’s not a bad number. We headed off at 8.20 down to Dundas River Cavendish for a Shining Bronze Cuckoo. On east to Paracelmic Lake Lake Bolac which had a few Grey Teal amongst all the Silver Gulls. Still no waders here yet, maybe one day. South now to Olympic wetland Woorndoo which had a Little Grassbird. Lake 2km east of Dundonnell and Darlington Rds was busy with Australian Shoveler and Hardhead and a Swamp Harrier. Lunch was taken by a windy Deep Lake Derrinallum where we were swooped by a Magpie that was feeding young on the nest and wasn’t happy with us being so close. Wingeel rail only had 3sp. Inverleigh Flora Reserve had Yellow-faced Honeyeater. We then went to Ocean Grove for a few days of getting things done before the next leg of the trip.
14/10 47km
I really hate the night crossing to Tasmania. If you don’t want to fork out extra for a cabin you end up on airplane like seats which I can’t sleep in, why on a ship this size they can’t supply a place for everyone to lie down I don’t know. Anyway I wait until all the staff have gone to bed at 23.00 then find a couch to go lie down on. The ship is old and it shuddered and shook and rattled all night, so getting about 5hrs sleep was about all I could hope for. We disembarked at about 6.30 and went down to East Davenport Beach for breaky with Ruddy Turnstones and both species of Oystercatcher along with the Tasmanian subspecies of the Little Wattlebird. I applied for the pension recently and of course they want more info, so we went in to Centrelink to see if we could sort it out. We got most of it done, but I’ll have to wait for a phone call tomorrow to hopefully finalize it. We headed west to Leven River Ulverstone where I asked two dog walkers to put their dogs on leads to help mamma Masked Lapwing look after her two chicks that were out on the grass, neither argued about putting their dogs on a lead which was different. We had lunch there then went to Preservation Bay Penguin in the hope of camping there, but they now don’t allow camping there so we went a short way west to Midway near Sulphur Creek to camp out in the open grassy area, no facilities. I spent the afternoon dozing sometimes in the sun where it was too hot and sometimes in the shade where it was too cold. A few more campers arrived through the afternoon but it’s still early in the season so it didn’t get crowded.
15/10 70km
Today was mostly a lost day. We went back to Davenport to finalize documents for my pension and hopefully Bev’s work invigilating locally. We then went out to Moreland Beach Davenport on a cold blustery afternoon to have lunch only to find we had to spend most of the rest of the afternoon chasing down more documentation for my pension. Finally at about 16.00 we think we’ve dotted every i and crossed every T, and we headed south to Railton Rv park in the town. We took the free option which has a dirt base rather than paying extra for a grass base. There’s no other difference to the two sites that are next to each other. Nearby is the sewerage ponds which had Banjo Frogs calling early so I went and recorded them.
16/10 76km
Drove in to Deloraine to do our final shopping for a while then out to Oura Oura, a Bush Heritage property near Liffey Falls where we’ll be stationed for the next three months caretaking the small but historically important property. We did our induction with Mike then went for a drive back to Bucknall to pick up our new volunteer shirts from the post office. We then went for a walk around the property during which time we came across an echidna with a disease that Mike was hoping to find and catch, which he did, later taking it back to Hobart for treatment.
Into the red In a world filled with hate We're served an empty plate In a world filled with devision We're served a plate of derision Integrity becomes expedience Truth was lost a long time ago The waves toss us to and fro Disaster the only experience Where is a man supposed to go How is a flower supposed to grow Was this an inevitable fate Once we turned our face from God Is this our reluctant state Since we faked the word of God Mankind has become like sheep Bleating the party line Just doing what they're told A pack of noisesome fools Agressive intolerance Violence begets violence At war with ouselves As we spiral into the red Into the red Catastrophe after catastrophe As our hearts are bled Pleading to be fed Finding a dead end instead Dead end instead Now the joker in the tower The standards somewhat lower Wields unlimited power Crushing the ordinary man Just because they can And we spiral into the red Into the red With a steel blue gaze Totally unphased The death warrant is signed How hot it's going to get With no improvement yet We're going deeper into the red Into the red The blindfolded leading the blind Fumbling through the dark Stumbling down the wrong road Finding the dead end again Dead end again
Photos from Lower Liffey Falls campground
20/11 180km
Time for a break. I headed out from Oura Oura and drove down to Bracknell Riverside camp where I got 13sp in the early morning. I then took the Poatina Rd to near Poatina powerlines where there wasn’t much happening. On up into the highlands to Jonah Bay Rd for 7sp. Just down the road is Pumphouse Bay camp for only 5sp. Small lakes Wylesmarsh only had 4sp. Tods Corner T junction Barren Tier had Crescent Honeyeater, but as usual with this species I couldn’t get anywhere near it. Shannon Lagoon Miena had some breeding Black Swans. Serpentine Ck Bronte had Yellow-throated Honeyeater. I took the track to Pine Tier Lagoon to stop by the lake for lunch, then went further along the road but found that all the tracks are dead ends so had to retrace my way back to the Marlborough Hwy, then down to Bronte Lagoon where I decided to camp for the night.
21/11 204km
There were a few other campers that arrived during the afternoon but most stayed near the boat ramp rather than come down the short rocky track to the small campsite. Only 14sp here. Over to Laughing Jack Lagoon for 12sp. Lake St.Clair camp had 8sp and a frog calling underneath the visitor centre which I recorded for FrogID. Just down the road is Lake King William camp where the lake was so high that the track along by the lake was closed and I had to use the parallel track to get to my site, 9sp here. Coates Ck Derwent Bridge only had 3sp with a fairly recent fire burning about 25% of the site along the road. On west to Lake Burbury for 5sp. Queenstown Lookout only had Crescent honeyeater in the very slowly recovering hillside from poor mining practices of old. Henty River had 5sp. I had a bit of time when I got to Zeehan so I tried a 4wd track that looped back from Lake Zeehan to the town. It was steep and difficult, needing my dif-locks to stop spinning the wheels on the rocky rutted hill, but I made it. I have recently joined the Alpha Team for Hema Maps where I get paid to map tracks. There are about 70 of us around Australia, and all the big tracks have already been done, but I might earn a few dollars here and there as we travel. I camped at Lake Zeehan and had a good bird list by sundown including Olive Whistler and Strong-billed Honeyeater. Lots of frogs calling too, which of course got recorded
22/11 272km
Ended the survey with 16sp including a Tasmanian Boobook calling last night. Headed back through Zeehan and east to Lake Mackintosh camp for 4sp. further east at Southwell River I got 8sp with several Bassian Thrush calling, never saw them. Lake Gairdner camp had a few campers and 9sp including Striated Pardalotes nesting in the bank of the stream. Parangana Lake camp had 8sp with both Strong-billed and Black-headed Honeyeaters and a Satin Flycatcher. Deloraine Lake had 20sp with 8 of them introduced species. There were three pairs of Tasmanian Native Hens with chicks spread along the banks, and some Mallard chicks with an adult in the river. From there it was back to Oura Oura.
29/12 292km
Time for another break. I headed out from Oura Oura at about 9.00 and went down to Bracknell Riverside camp again. There were a few campers, but not many birds. On north to Meander River Westbury where there were lots of House Sparrows. Up to Franklin River (not the famous one) where I got Yellow-throated Honeyeater. A short distance west is Rubicon River where there was a White-faced Heron on the flats and some Golden Stag Beetles mating. At Greens Ck Harford I thought I’d found frogs calling in the gully but as I approached I found that they were cicadas the sound was cacaphonous. It was getting late now so I headed west to Blythe Heads for a late lunch with a few ever hopefull Silver Gulls. They never get anything from me. There were lots of House Sparrows nesting in the eaves of the buildings here. At Cooee Point I found two Little Penguins nesting in the artificial hollows. I got to Perkins Island at 17.30. This isn’t a campsite, but I was able to prop by the end of the road without trespassing on to the private road and wasn’t disturbed.
30/12 296km
The reason for this trip is to join with a friend who was running a shorebird survey on the island. The time to meet up passed. The farmer turned up and said he knew nothing about a survey happening. So I checked my emails , and sure enough he’d sent me an email yesterday morning postponing it for 24hrs. Not happy at the late change! I can’t wait for tomorrow so I finished my survey finding some White-fronted Chats, Swamp Harrier a fly by of a White-bellied Sea Eagle with the obligatory chasing pack of Forest Ravens, and a quick appearance of a Blue-winged Parrot. I headed over to Trowotta Arch for lunch where there was no room to park and not much birdlife in the deep of the forest. I mapped the tracks in the area for Hema, then went around to Lake Chisolm where there was a Hoary-headed Grebe with a single chick riding on its back. Julius River picnic area had Pink Robin and Scrubtit in the light rain. There had been showers all day which is probably why the shorebird survey was postponed. It was still raining as I went through Smithton so I decided to get myself a hamburger at Sadies in town and got a huge hamburger at a reasonable price, very messy, which is a mark of a good hamburger. I headed to Boat Harbour Beach to camp to find that camping is no longer allowed here as they are developing the area. So I drove around to Sisters Beach and found a place to prop within 500m of my survey point and settled down for the evening. Not long after dark a Masked Owl called quite nearby.
Drove down to the carpark to finish the survey and have my breakfast then headed back to Boat Harbour Beach and found the development is for a new surf life saving building and cafe. So there will be no more camping allowed here. Disappointing as it’s a lovely spot. East to Wynyard airport for more imported species of bird than natives. Picked up some fruit, vegies bread and milk at Youngs Vegie Shed just west of Burnie, so I didn’t have to stop at a supermarket. Stopped at the truck pullin 2km west of Penguin on the main highway. It can be an interesting spot with a large farm dam just below the road, but not this morning. Bannons Camp Leven River had more campers than birds. Alma Reserve camp was as ratty as the last time I was here but had 9sp along the banks of the Forth River. Over to Nowhere Else which only had four birds in total. Kentish Park Lake Barrington is no longer a campsite and was chockers full of day trippers messing about in the water. There was no room for any waterbirds. Mersey River at Kimberley had 7sp. Through Deloraine and back to Oura Oura
15/1 209km
Our three months at Oura Oura has come an end. By the time we’b packed the car and cleaned the house it was 10.30 and we left just as it started to rain. We were lucky though in that every time we got out to do a survey it stopped raining for us. First stop was Bracknell Riverside camp where a Grey fantail decidely wanted its photo taken. Then over to 20km east of campbelltown where there were Noisy Miners and Eastern Rosellas. Then north to South Esk River Perth where there were the usual array of Mallards and domestic ducks along with House Sparrows, Goldfinches and Greenfinches. Not a lot of native birds. From there we filled the tank up at Tasmanian Petroleum in Launceston and drove out to Beauty Point to meet Bev’s old pastor. From there we took Bolton Rd over to Narawntapu NP to camp at Springlawn campsite. $40 for a parks pass which lasts for a year and $13.00 for the non-powered site. Had 25sp by dark.
16/1 347km
Had the Beautiful Firetails around the camp this morning but they were difficult to photograph as they hopped around in the grasses. 31sp the tally for the survey. We took the bitumen option to get around to Paper Beach Reserve for 13sp. Low Head Lighthouse didn’t have much and Lilydale Falls camp had more people than birds. Village Green Waterhouse CP was even quieter on a blustery afternoon. I nearly walked into a pair of Cape Barren Geese that were sitting still on the ground. I got within a few meters of them without them moving. Even when I got out my camera to take their photo they didn’t take the cue to take off so I got a shot of them. We decided to make for Derby Park camp instead of camping here because we’ve already camped here once, so down we went. The park was crowded but I found a spot by the river, it’s near the cataract though so quite noisy, which makes hearing the birds calling difficult, so didn’t get much by dark
17/1 263km
17sp was the final tally for here and we set off at 7.50 heading along the main hwy SE. I was half way round a bend when a semitrailer came around the bend half on my side of the road. Luckily there was enough room for me to swerve off the road to let him by, but it was a close call. We mapped a few roads for Hema on our way to St Columba Falls, so we ended up on the 4wd track that comes in from the other end than usual to the falls car park. It was a narrow but easy track until right near end when someone hadn’t cut enough of a tree off the road. As I made my way around it at the edge of the road the road collapsed under my left rear wheel and the car lurched sideways and sank. Again thankfully not too far and by putting it into 4wd I was able to climb out of it. The walk down to the falls is still closed (it was closed in 2017) but we walked down anyway and had no problems. From there we made our way up to Little Musselroe Bay where it was now lunch time, there wasn’t much birdlife around with a strong sou’easterly wind. back to Gladstone then out to Stumby Bay camp 2 for only 3sp. We then made our way south to Policeman Point camp to camp for the night. There are a lot of sea birds roosting here and few waders so there is a no dogs past this point sign as you head up the inlet towards the beach, but of course I found two people with dogs, thankfully on leads, one was apologetic, the other threatened me with violence, but I stood my ground and he backed down with his young grandson holding him back. Too many dog owners don’t understand or don’t care what dogs on beaches do to disrupt the birds. It’s worst at this time of year with breeding and the waders trying to feed up for their long flight to Siberia. I will always stand up for the birds as they can’t do it for themselves. Just as we were going to bed a dark shape appeared on the grass by our camper. A closer inspection revealed a Common Wombat.
18/1 263km
I the pre-dawn there were noises and a thump on the car, a couple of minutes later, there it was again, so I had a look through the window to see a Brush-tailed Possum trying to get into the rubbish bag that sits on the spare wheel at the back. It was unsuccessful. 22sp was the tally for the site and we headed off at 8.00 to Swimcart Beach camp. One of the advantages of working for Hema is that on Esri Maps I can see what other team members have done, so I don’t redo a track that’s already done. I can see which tracks go through and what difficulty they are. If they haven’t been done then it’s time to explore. Anyway looking at the map I could see that Kenny Hill Track went through and saved me going the long way around to get to my site. 9sp here including a close encounter with a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. On south to St Helens Bay camp. I was happy to see that the track to the beach now has a strong gate to stop drivers getting onto the beach. Last time we were here they only had rocks and someone had moved one to drive onto the beach. I was happy to find a pair of Hooded Plovers, so stopping the beach driving has had results. We did the Winifred Curtis Reserve Scamander walk around the lagoon and back down the old coach road finding 19sp in the hour. Around to Trout Camp Scamander for lunch but not many birds. Lagoons Beach Camp was busy but despite all the people there was another Hooded Plover feeding in the eastuary amongst the Silver Gulls. Lilla Villa Bridge Bicheno had 7 open country species. Being peak period we couldn’t get into the Freycinet camp so we drove around to Dolphin Sands Rd end to camp.
19/1 262km
Found another Hooded Plover on the beach this morning. There is a sign asking people not to drive on the beach but there’s nothing stopping them. Thankfully it looks like people that get here are adhering to the rules. 28sp for the site. After mapping another dirt road we headed on down to Mayfield Bay camp where there is an historic 3 arch bridge, but not many birds apart from Silver Gulls. Triabuna Port had some Musk Lorikeets in a flowering gum. We had an early lunch of fish and chips from the Fish Van near the ferry terminal. Last time we were here we had some and it was fatastic, this time it’s become popular and the food was okay but not fantastic, in particular the chips weren’t so good. Nelsons Ck Bucklands only had 2sp but I photographed a Metallic Coolskink by the bridge. Tessellated Pavement didn’t have much, and neither did the more spectacular Tasmans Arch and Devil’s Couldron, which you now need a park pass to walk around. Drove over to Lime Bay NP to camp on a cold windy afternoon. Apart from a few gulls and swallows there wasn’t much bird activity as I dozed off in my chair sheltered from the wind.
20/1 249km
The possum that got onto the vehicle the night before left its mark on one of the tyre covers at the back, so last night the local possums came to investigate the new smells and were clambering all over the back leaving their own mark, so the back of the car stinks of urine. The vegetation in and around the camp is mainly she-oaks which don’t attract birds, so the bird count for the site was low. A 20min look at Coal Mine Reserve main shaft netted 5sp. We did quite a few tracks for Hema in the morning on our way to Forteque Bay camp Tasman NP and on our way back out of the peninsula. We had lunch at area4 7 mile beach. JH compound Hobart Airport had 5sp in the heavily altered environment and powerlines Ronsy Park was down to 4sp. We drove through Hobart which isn’t a sleepy little town any more and down to catch the ferry to Bruny Island and camped at The Neck camp with the ocean on one side of us and Isthmus Bay on the other. There was only a handful of birds moving through the camp in the late afternoon in a crowded campsite.
21/1 95km
As the evening rolled on more and more campers turned up at the camp, most somehow squeezing in, we ended up with four in our alcove that would normaly hold one. My morning walk proved very fruitfull with some Fourty Spotted Pardalotes feeding in some trees, then I spotted a parrot preening itself in an exposed treetop, could it be? The light was so poor that I couldn’t be sure with my binoculars,so at extreme zoom on the camera I took a shot and through the fuzziness of the shot it was posible to make out the salient points of a Swift Parrot. Later I got a better view through my bins. It’s only my second sighting of this species. There were a few showers during the day which washed the smell of possum pee away. We drove down to Adventure Bay to do the Grass Point walk then over to the other side of the island to Lunawanna Cemetery, then down to Cloudy Bay for lunch. We camped at Jetty Beach, which was busy but not crowded. Most of the afternoon I spent half awake and half asleep, but late in the afternoon a feeding group came through, first to arrive was a Black-headed Honeyeater which flitted around the trees around me for at least half an hour before I got something anywhere near a decent shot of it, then came a small flock of Strong-billed Honeyeaters which really didn’t offer any hope of a shot as they foraged about the trees. All the time the Dusky Robins were sitting a few meters from me as if to say take a shot of me, so I did.
22/1 232km
We had some rain come through in the early morning, washing the last of the possum pee away. With it though came a bitterly cold wind so when we drove around to Cape Bruny Lighthouse exposed to that wind even jamming my hat on tightly wasn’t quite enough to keep it on my head, most of the birds were keeping their heads down to although I found a pair of Flame Robins foraging on the pademelon manicured lawns. near the car park. Time to head north visiting The Neck Lookout on the way out which was also jam me ‘at on tightly windy. Bev got some yummies at the chocolate place and the cheese place and we went up to the ferry, where we indulged in a very nice sausage roll from the small shop by the ferry terminal. It was still blowing a gale when we stopped for lunch at Gordon Foreshore reserve. Then on down to Bolton Camp Cockle Creek to camp for the night.
23/1 239km
We had our own small stretch of beach via a short track from our camp. I’ve come down with a skin bacterial infection so a salty wash down yesterday and last night has got it under control. Only 16sp found here including some Gannets cruising the bay. We took Ollie down to the whale at the end of the world for a photo. This is as far south as you can drive in Australia. We then headed north, taking a look at Arve River picnic area where there were some forest activists camped. There’s been a fire through here wreaking havoc with the forest and making the walking track unwalkable. On further to Air Walk Tahune then found some un-mapped tracks to take us to Hawden Rd Stinkpot Bay. Along the way we were notified that I had a slow leak in a rear tyre so we had a late lunch here and changed the tyre. We had a series of unproductive sites at Cascade Gardens, Constitution Dock and TNT Hobart that is now Fedex Hobart. Then it was over the Molesworth road to camp at Derwent River Boyer, a rather scungy wayside stop that I normally wouldn’t camp at but it was too late by now to go on, so we suffered the busy road and the rubbish left in the parkbay.
24/1 239km
It was a noisy night last night with quite a few vehicles going by and the logging trucks start very early, so they are raping the forest somewhere nearby. They are building a new bridge at River Derwent Bridgewater but I still managed to get my survey done, which was mainly a huge flotilla of Eurasian Coots. JH Brighton wasn’t productive and neither was Richmond town south. From there we spent most of the day mapping dirt roads between Richmond and Oatlands stopping for lunch at Lake Craigbourne. Oatlands sewerage had a few new ducks for the trip and we camped at Lake Dulverton. Got some Brown Tree Frogs calling in the reedy lake after dark, I was hoping for more.
25/1 240km
The first bird I saw in the morning was a Blue-billed Duck inshore and close enough to get a shot of. 26sp for the site. On the main highway 2km south of Tunbridge I had to put some oil in the engine. I can’t get more than 5000km without running out of oil. We then tracked west to Dago Point camp Lake Sorell, over to the Lakes Rd and down to Blackburn Ck which was dry for lunch. 16km north of Bothwell is in farmland with a only a few remnant trees, it’s designed to show how poor the birdlife is in this habitat and with only 5 birds of 3sp it’s typical of this kind of habitat. We then wound our way through back roads to Bradys Lagoon Lyell hwy to camp, there were lots of campers but not quite crowded. It’s the long weekend so everyone is out and about. We camped by the shore and had a close visit from a female Flame Robin as it flitted about searching for insects in the late afternoon.
26/1 268km
Only 13sp for the site, so not the best. South down the highway to Wayatinah Lagoon which in the tall timbers here I found Satin Flycatcher and three species of robin. We mapped the road down to the end and came across several bikies hooning along the road with no number plates. What is it about long weekends that brings out the worst people into the bush? Read on because it gets worse. Derwent River Lawrenny had Goldfinch, Blackbird and House Sparrow, with a few native species too. Hamilton Common had a few more species but still a lot of non-natives. We had lunch at Langhorn Ck, then went to a very busy Russell Falls. Being summer there wasn’t much water coming down, but it’s a nice walk through the mostly silent forest with only a few thornbills to break the silence. Up to Teds landing camp Lake Pedder where it all happened. There were already a lot of people here but we found a spot down by the lake and set up camp. It wasn’t long before a large group of jetski people turned up and crowded in next to us. That made me grumpy. It was whilst Bev was cooking dinner though that things deteriorated. We didn’t realize it but we’d camped obscuring the very indistict boat ramp and some people came demanding that we move, so they could launch their boat, we said we’d move when Bev finished cooking, they took exception to that and got rude then threatened violence, coming right up to my face with clenched fists. These were big men, big bullies, nasty people. When Bev stepped in front of the biggest one who was threatening me he threatened her too. Whist all this was happening the driver managed to get his boat around us and off they went hurling abuse at us. I sooo wanted to ridicule the big man when he was threatening me but I was already close to his boundary so I kept my mouth shut. Once they’d gone we moved. No harm done, just a lot of adrenaline gone to waste. When we asked the jetski people if they’d witnessed anything they refused to admit hearing anything. No help coming from them. As we travel during the day we see alot of dead animals on the side of the road, run over by drivers at night. Most of them are possums, with a spattering of wallabies, wombats and pademelons. Today though we saw three Tasmanian Devils, an adult and two juveniles at different spots. This is really bad. This species is endangered anough by our activities, nevermind running the poor things over with our cars. I do wish people would limit their driving at night to absolute necessities.
27/1 327km
I ended the survey with 10sp, but I only saw a single Welcome Swallow as it zoomed by me once, everything else remained hidden. We left at 7.50 and did a mapping of a short track nearby then went to saddle Lake Pedder Rd where Bev found a Blue-winged Parrot and I rescued an emergency toilet that someone had dumped by the side of the road. On down to Edgar Dam camp which is where I wanted to camp but was told we couldn’t because of works going on. We arrived to find that the works didn’t start until tomorrow, so we could have had a peaceful night’s sleep with no jetskis or agressive boaties. We headed back down the mountain to the Florentine Rd and headed north up that with the intention of mapping some of the loops around the road that had already been mapped. The first loop worked fine. On the second one we came to a sign notifying that the bridge was out ahead, so we turned back and tried Tiger Tk, only to find the that a bridge was out on this track too. So we found another longer loop to the east this time, and got to within a kilometre of the end of it only to find a locked gate, so had to retrace most of the track, It was past lunchtime now so we decided to go map the track to where we thought the bridge was out. We found it a short way back down Tiger track from the north, and found that there was a ford across the river that was passable. So we could have done either of the first tracks. Anyway it’s a nice spot so I did a survey here as a future camping spot at Florentine River Tiger Track, had a late lunch and headed for Lake King William to camp. We had our own private spot with no one else in sight, bliss. I gave our new second hand emergency toilet a good clean out and apart from a bit of sun damage it’s as good as new.
28/1 263km
Only 16sp for the site with no water birds at all, most of the lakes are man made so they don’t support a lot of aquatic life. Just down the road is Coates Ck Derwent Bridge which only had 2sp. It was then a long drive through Queenstown where we looked for a place that sold scallop pies. The shop that we got them from last time we were here is closed and it seems no one is selling them here any more. South from Queenstown to lake Burbury south boat ramp. The lake is a lot fuller than the last time we were here changing the habitat, only 4sp. Further south to Nora River Franklin Gordon NP. A nice drive through intact forest but not much reward as far as birds go at the site. I’d intended to camp at Ocean Beach Strahan, but the hide away spot is overgrown, so we only got a few Silver Gulls on the beach in cold very windy conditions. We’d had a cold front come through during the day bringing a few showers. By the afternoon they’d cleared. We drove north to Henty River estuary, but couldn’t figure out how to get into my site. We found a 4wd track that needed mapping and got us within the 500m to survey the site. I walked down to where the site should be but still couldn’t figure out how to get in to it.
29/1 213km
Ended the survey with 14sp. On my walk I’d spotted a white bird as it flew away from me, I’d heard a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo and assumed that it was the same bird, but as we were having breakfast a white phase Grey Goshawk came and perched nearby and let me get a shot of it before it flew off, fantastic bird. We went to Zeehan lake where the frogs were still calling from months ago. Then mapped a difficult 4wd track over the hills to the main road, then back into Zeehan to the pharmacy where bev got some drugs. It was then down to Trial Harbour for only 4sp. My spot on the Granville Harbour Rd didn’t have much. We had lunch at Granville Harbour with only 6sp. Both harbours have attractive campsites by the beach, but no camping today and on we went up the hill to Serpentine Ridge which wasn’t birdy but a pond had some frogs calling, so they got recorded. We then drove back down to Reece Dam on the Pieman River to camp.
30/1 184km
Ended with 19sp including some Latham’s Snipe. By the boat ramp there’s a slowly developing wetland with a few reeds and long grass attracting a few ducks, masked lapwings and the snipe. My site on the Corinna Rd was very quiet with only 2 birds and two species. caught the ferry over the Pieman River that now costs $28. Not cheap for a two minute ride. I had an unusually inquisitive Crescent Honeyeater that responded to my pishing, so I managed a shot of it along the river at Corinna. It was then along the west coast road through the wilderness to side of Mt Bolton, but only got 2sp and 2 birds again. On then along the endless winding twisting road with patches of bitumen along the really steep bits of road. Great drive, wonderful scenery. Stinking Beach camp had the smelly seaweed on the beach, giving the place its name, but it’s not really all that bad. What was really bad was the state of the toilet in a paid campground, very poor. Lunch was taken here well away from the toilet which stank more than the beach. On north along the coast to Nelson River Sundown Point that you need 4wd to get into, the reward was only 4sp. Not far north is the Edge Of The World lookout over the ocean at the mouth of the Arthur River with huge logs beached al around the place that have been washed down the river. Not much bird life here though. We camped at Green point camp Murrawah. It’s a small free campsite that was absolutely chockers full of campers lined up next to each other all over the place. We got the last flat spot jammed in between a caravan and a campervan.
31/1 310km
Only 12sp for the site, but then there’s no woodland here and there weren’t many species using the beach. Headed north up to the coast, but found that we couldn’t get to my site so turned around and headed for Smithton. We came to a police road block and was told there had been a fatality that was going to take another few hours to open the road. So we had to go all the way back to Marrawah, so a round trip of 93km to get nowhere. We headed east then found a track that needed mapping to get us north, getting us back to Duck River Smithton, it was now lunch time already. The Silver Gull nesting colony at Circular Head Stanley has shifted from a rocky breakwater to an unused gravel carpark. There were several dead gulls in the area, so it’s not a thriving colony. Pegg’s Beach Camp didn’t have much. We then found a winding track through the forest to map that didn’t have a locked gate, to get us near to Hellyer Gorge to camp.
1/2 202km
We had Masked Owl, Boobook Owl and Tawny Frogmouth calling during the night and ended with 16sp with a Bassian Thrush wandering the walking track in the morning. Up the top of the hill is Murchison Hwy Parrawe, when we were here last it had just been logged, now the trees are well over head high with 7sp using the area. Through Waratah and did the walk down to Philosophor falls, a lovely walk through old forest probably last logged 100 years ago. Not many birds though amongst the tall trees with not much light getting through to the forest floor. Further along the road at tailings dam Savage River there wasn’t much, no water birds at all. Then Savage River 2 and savage River 1 just south of the mining settlement were both birdless. We then drove over to Lake Gairdner camp for the night, and had another tight squeeze with campers jammed in around the perimeter.
2/2 93km
20sp was the tally for the site. We drove up to Cradle Mountain and caught the bus up to Dove Lake to walk the 6km mainly easy track around on a pleasant sunny day. Ther have been fires in the Grampians in Victoria for a while now, today the northerly wind brought a smoky haze in with it from the fires hundreds of kilometres away. The highlight of the walk came early when we found some inquisitive Striated Fieldwrens by the famous boat shed, and at the same time a Tiger Snake. We’re seeing lots of Tiger Snakes as we travel around, most on the road, but as with this one I’ve disturbed them by the track, as usual though if you don’t surprise them or antagonize them they’d rather flee. We had lunch in one of the shelters by the car park then drove over to Lake Parangana to camp. We had a group of Strong-billed Honeyeaters come through the camp feeding in the trees several times during the afternoon, so I got a few shots of them.
3/2 114km
23sp for this site including the first Owlet Nightjar, they don’t seem to be that common in Tasmanian woodlands. We did the slow drive up to Devil’s Gullet for the spectacular view over to Cradle Mountain and the highlands off to the north and west. The warm hazy wind continued today, fuzzing up my scenic shots. There was a fire through here in 2017 and the area is still recovering, it’s probably never been the birdiest place, but all I could find here was a pair of Forest Ravens. The lower scrub levels have recovered most with lots of shrubs and flowers in bloom, it’s only the trees that will take many years yet to recover, highlighting the fragility of alpine areas. From there we drove to Leven Canyon with its twin lookouts with 696 steps in between. After lunch we decided to stay here for the night and found the most secluded spot up the back. During the afternoon only a few others turned up to camp here.
4/2 177km
26sp here. Most of the birds can be found in the forest around the parkland including the plantation. The walks to and from the lookouts through the denser forest are much more quiet. We got another Masked Owl tonight, they have turned up on more night surveys than in the rest of their range, indicating that they are more common here. The 20min survey at Spellmans Reserve turned up 10sp, and Alma Rd Reserve had a pair of Brush Bronzewings calling one male, one female with a slightly different pitch to their calls. We walked the poorly marked nature trail at Henry Somerset CP finding 9sp, then to Port Sorell beach for lunch with most of the bird population here being Silver Gulls. Parramatta Ck reserve only had a lone raven calling with the noisy traffic quite possibly drowning out some bird calls, I certainly saw nothing. We drove up to Lower Liffey Falls campground for the night.
5/2 191km
So far this site has turned up fewer than expected woodland birds, and so it proved on this survey with only 13sp. We drove down to Oura Oura and met the current caretakers. Mike the boss was also there, 19sp for the hour and a half. The Tasmanian Native Hens are still under attack from cats and are down to one chick again from 7 when we left here. Up the hill to Liffey Falls car park to do the 1km walk down to the falls, not so spectacular this time of year. Up onto the plateau to visit Liawannie Moor where there were no birds, so we ended our surveys with a fizzle. We had lunch here then headed down to Beauty Point to spend the night with one of Bev’s friends. We went to the local pub for dinner where I had a chicken burger, nothing special but quite okay.
6/2
It was an early start to get to the ferry by 7am. The crossing was pretty quiet. There was a busier spot about half way where there was a bit more of a swell and I got a Black-browed Albatross and a Shy Albatross with low numbers of Short-tailed Shearwaters swooping around the wavetops.
The next blog will be in about a month when go to India, be sure to look out for it.
If you would like to contribute the well being of this world, our world, your world, an easy and effective way to do it is to join a quality environmental group. There are many spread across the world all plugging away trying to make the world a better place for wildlife. We belong to Birdlife Australia, Bush Heritage, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). You can donate your time and or money to these and many others knowing that the world will be a slightly better place because of your effort.