Monday 1 August 2011

Birds of Brooloo Park

We are conducting a series of regular bird surveys through the Mary Valley with the aim of establishing a bird trail. The first place we visited was Brooloo Park Eco Retreat & Equine Resort. On this first visit we recorded 65 species over the 2 days we were there. A pretty good count considering it's Winter. (click on photos to enlarge)

Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans)

We don't get to see too many Jacky Winter around our area anymore, so we were very happy to see at least 2 pair on the property.

Forgot to get the name of the horse, but the 2 spoonbills caught my eye as it was unusual to have one of each species together. They flew in together, were feeding together, and flew off together.

Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia) (Front)
Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes) (Rear)


Azure Kingfisher (Alcedo azurea)

The Azure Kingfisher is one of the hardest to get a photo of, because most of the time all you see is a bird flying really fast along a creek. At one of the camping spots on the property where we were having lunch, we noticed this one just sitting on a branch in the deep shade by Coonoongibber Creek. You would think with the colours in this bird it would be easy to see, but as I walked down to the creek to take photos, I was surprised to find it sitting just on the other side.



Brooloo Park

Coonoongibber Creek

23 comments:

mick said...

Looks like a great place to visit, Neil. The kingfisher of course if really great but it is also interesting to see the two spoonbills together. Nice photos!

Neil said...

Thanks Mick it will be interesting to see what we get next time we go there.

theconstantwalker said...

Lovely images of your wonderful birds... the landscape if beautiful

Unknown said...

Great tour!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River Canada.

FAB said...

That's a good tally Neil and some very interesting pics of your sightings.

holdingmoments said...

Your Kingfisher looks similar to ours here Neil.
Looks a great place to explore.

Springman said...

Sounds like your involved in a great project Neil! Sixty some species is an excellent variety. Great job catching the Kingfisher too.It makes our belted variety look pretty plain in comparison. Great Post!

Arija said...

Great that you are doing a bird survey of the area and even better to have a walking trail in such a great birdwatching area.
Love that kingfisher!

Stewart M said...

Hi there - just had a nightmare trying to photograph kingfishers, so I know how hard they can be.

Dont think I've seen both species of spoonbill like that.

Cheers Stewart M - Australia

NatureFootstep said...

your winter is nothing like ours. :) Great little bird.

Sondra said...

HOW neat to see the 2 species of Spoonbills together..and Ive chased a few Kingfishers around a lake myself so I feel your frustration on that one..but YOU GOT some shots so celebrate~~

Roibin Robinson said...

WOW! Love the kingfisher in teh leaves, and the spoonbills. Two species of spoonbills is amazing and I also like the creek photo, looks very appealing

eileeninmd said...

What a great outing, love the birds. Especially the Kingfishers and the spoonbills are neat. Wonderful photos!

jeanlivingsimple said...

I really like the stunning Kingfisher!

Victoria said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I'm learning so much from WBW posts. I had no idea there were other species of Spoonbills (we have Roseate in the US). Very nice information and photos. :-)

Reena said...

Cool you are doing a bird survey ... and great capture of the Kingfisher!

Neil said...

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Pat said...

A bird trail sounds like an excellent idea, especially with all the sightings you had. From your photos, it looks like a lovely area!

FjÀllripan said...

The kingfisher is beautiful and so are the spoonbills also, I would love to see them in real!

Nicole said...

What an amazing variety!
I totally love that Kingfisher - wow!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Amazing and wonderful birds -- most completely new to me/...in Florida we have roseate spoonbills and we see a type of kingfisher everywhere but I can never get a picture. Thanks for all of yours.

Larry said...

Nice job Neil! I love Kingfishers and yours are so colorful. When you say "bird trail" do you mean a trail through the area made for bird watchers? Nice location there!

Neil said...

Thanks Larry yes we aim to have birdwatchers come to the area.