2007 Tour Narrative
2007 was the first year in which WINGS offered a redesigned Australia tour split into three sections, which could be taken separately or combined into one grand adventure. For David Fisher’s full narrative of the entire bird-filled tour, also see Queensland and New South Wales and South Australia and Northern Territory.
The first section of our newly redesigned tour started on Tasmania, a state we had never visited before on a WINGS tour. With all the birds local leader Tonia Cochran had staked out for us on her property at Inala, it was hard to go wrong, and in no time at all we were watching various Tasmanian endemics including the famous Forty-spotted Pardalote, perhaps the most localized of the specialties. The weather that first evening was unkind to us, but considerable excitement was still generated by the roadside Little Penguins on our night drive.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny, and after finding a Black Currawong for us near our accommodation—the least reliable of the endemics on Bruny Island at this time of year—Tonia proceeded to show us all of Tasmania’s twelve endemics in just one day! This negated the need to search for the currawong elsewhere, and so we were able to spend a second relaxing morning on Bruny, where we enjoyed such non-endemics as Black-faced Shag, Hooded Plover, Swift Parrot, and Pink Robin. That afternoon we flew back to Victoria and started our circuit of sites more familiar to the leaders, who have been leading this tour every October for nearly 25 years.
Our visit to Brisbane Ranges National Park started well when a roadside stop for White-winged Choughs was prolonged by the discovery of a Koala staring down at us from a tree. Brisbane Ranges had been badly burnt just prior to our visit last year, but the forest there is making a good recovery, and it was reassuring to find Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters back in the usual spot, while summer visitors such as Olive-backed Orioles were singing. Airey’s Inlet produced the hoped-for Rufous Bristlebirds, our only encounter with that endemic family during our five-week tour.
Heading north across the Murray River into New South Wales, we found much of the area around Deniliquin very dry, still suffering from the five-year drought. The small lake at our hotel was reduced to a muddy puddle, and the back roads were dry and dusty. But the ranch where we search for Plains-wanderers with Phil Maher wasn’t too bad, and a ground cover of low flowering vegetation held many of our target birds. Before dark we had enjoyed superb views of Australian Pratincoles and Banded Lapwings; at dusk we ate our picnic supper washed down by wine and freshly brewed coffee courtesy of Trisha Maher; and then after dark, in no time at all, Phil and his team found us a couple of female Plains-wanderers—the brighter sex in this species—then a Stubble Quail, quickly followed by Inland Dotterel. It was undoubtedly the quickest round-up of the specialties that we have ever achieved, and we were back at the hotel before 11:00 and able to enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Gulpa State Forest the next morning was green and held a lovely selection of Australian passerines. A male Gilbert’s Whistler perhaps took pride of place, but other delights included Red-capped and Hooded Robins, White-browed Babbler, Spotted Pardalote, and Diamond Firetail. On the other side of town we found Baillon’s and Spotless Crakes were present, and a Black Falcon turned up at the dump on cue.
The final two days of the Southeast section were spent visiting Philip Island and Healesville. Many of the birds that we used to regard as Philip Island specialties had already been encountered on Tasmania, but a Southern Giant Petrel cruising by close to shore was a bonus, and the penguin parade was as entertaining as ever. For many of us, the thousands of Short-tailed Shearwaters zooming overhead at dusk were just as impressive as the penguins. Richard Loyn joined us in Healesville, and though the Sooty Owls didn’t play ball this year, we scoped several Great Gliders, and at dawn the next day Richard got a few people on a male Superb Lyrebird. Richard was able to set up a Powerful Owl for us through a contact of his in Belgrave, and we were guided to the spot by Simon Musto, an ex-pat British birder who was tickled pink to show 14 birders dripping with scopes and cameras around his local patch.
David Fisher
Updated: February 2008