Overview:
Two birders based in Brisbane (southern Queensland) birding in the New South Wales Southern Highlands (Stuart Warren and author Colin Reid) in search of 5 specific target species. In the 4 days we were ‘in country’ NSW experienced the wettest July period in 60 years, however, we persevered and managed to bird the main sites in the highlands and enjoy a couple of excellent seawatches from well known locations.
Getting there and getting around:
We flew Virgin Australia with $59 one way tickets (+$12 for baggage) – one really can’t complain about the cost or service! We had hired a car from Europcar via the website carhire.com.au - which I have always found very useful as it compares prices across all the major hire companies – and had settled for a 4 door Hyundai IE30 ‘or similar’ as the most convenient sized vehicle for our needs. We had Stu’s Tomtom to navigate our way around – although probably not strictly necessary it was great to not have the stress of trying to read maps or street directories, especially getting out of Sydney - and provided up to the second distances and directions which is always helpful.
Accommodation:
We had pre-booked nothing! We had come to camp, carrying our one man tents, sleeping bags, mats and minimal cooking/eating equip. This plan vanished very quickly in the face of the weather and we ended up staying in the Country Motel & Chat’s Café and Restaurant in Robertson for $99 a night – which was heaven, given the wet conditions! I had hurt my back in a push bike accident a week before the trip and the muscles were inclined to seize up if I lay or sat too long in the one position – the hot shower and electric blankets were exactly what the doctor would have ordered….
We didn’t see many camping options in the Highlands area incidentally. It would appear it is not a popular option? We did find Robertson to be an excellent base, being 15 mins from Barren Grounds and Morton National Park - i.e. the Fitzroy Falls area - and within an easy drive to Mittagong and Bowral and other places of interest.
Communication:
Mobile phone communication was available in all areas, we didn’t look for public internet use, it may be available in Bowra or Mittagong, but we didn’t notice any in Robertson.
Preparation:
We had made exhaustive enquiries regarding our target species via emails to Birding Aus and received several replies all identifying a couple of key areas. We had read and noted the relevant pages from the latest ‘Complete Guide to finding the birds of Australia’ by Thomas and Thomas and reviewed all the lists we could in Eremaea for the specific sites in an attempt to reduce our options as accurately as possible. I had requested a txt from anyone who may see Gang-gang Cockatoos in the area over the period we were there – in the end I rec’d no notifications.
Trip Summary – birds.
We had accurate locations for 3 of the 5 species we wanted and, I guess, felt pretty confident in our knowledge. The other two species were at opposite ends of the spectrum in some ways.
Eastern Bristlebird – Barren Grounds was the location and BG was the place – although the bird didn’t give it self up as easily as we had expected.
Rockwarbler – the enigma of the Origma… sorry! The only NSW endemic took some getting, three and a half days of trying, to be precise, but get it we did, eventually - at Nowra.
Pilotbird – failed completely, despite the aforementioned 3.5 days of trying. Can only assume the birds had departed down hill for warmer, drier climes following an early snowfall the previous week – but have no evidence except absence to support this theory.
Superb Lyrebird – This one was for Stu, I had seen it (poorly) previously and we felt sure we’d find one. We did - and had crippling views as it stalked around our feet at Fitzroy Falls. Probably not a big deal for NSW birders, but it was a hugely enjoyable experience for us.
Gang-gang Cockatoo – we knew this was always going to be difficult given their dispersal in winter and their random feeding patterns (we assumed). We didn’t succeed, despite scanning miles and miles of trees along the roads as we drove, much to my disappointment, I had thought we might just get lucky…..
We did use playback via iPod – this might offend some, but in a short time frame out of the breeding season we felt it did little harm and make no apologies.
These were some of our target birds and lifers. We did see lots of other great birds which will be described in detail below…
The Trip
21.7.11 We touched down in the rain at 7.30 and found our way to the Europcar desk in the carpark. Heading out into the traffic the weather looked set to stay. We got to Maroubra and cruised the area identifying the car park and track to the headland at the south end of the beach. The rain was teeming down and the wind was howling so we decided that breakfast was a preferable option and headed for the nearest MacDonald’s and pancakes and coffee. You might knock ‘em, but at least you know what you’re getting and the quality is consistent.
10.00 and we headed back to the headland, parked up, dressed up in our wet weather gear and headed out along the sodden track. Pushing through the wet heath, dodging the worst of the flooded track New Holland Honeyeaters all around us, the ocean crashing onto the rocks to our left. We didn’t want to stop for the birds on the heath, but one did attract my attention – surprisingly a Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo sat up for a few seconds before diving back into shelter.
We reached what we believed was the ‘spot’ – the ‘second’ rocky outcrop – but could see no cement bunker, however, we managed to squeeze under an overhanging edge and avoid most of the weather. Unpacking the scopes we scanned the ocean and immediately things started to happen. The first bird we saw was a Black-browed Albatross, skimming across the heaving seas about 200 meters off shore – this was to be the first of approx 50 we saw in the next two hours. We quickly realised there were dozens of Fluttering/Hutton’s Shearwaters just off shore too - we decided that all the ones we looked at were Fluttering. A dark brown bird heading south within bin range was quickly identified as a South Polar Skua and almost at the same time a larger dark bird shearing north was our first tick of the trip – Southern Giant Petrel. It came in to within 300meters of the headland, it’s very pale bill standing out clearly. Shortly after it had moved on Stu picked up the first Prion – 250 meters maybe off shore? Looking more carefully we found a line of them appearing and disappearing in the 2-3 meter troughs they appeared to be feeding as they walked and hovered and landed on the surface moving slowly south. We agreed they were Fairy Prions given the distinct wing pattern and the amount (large) of black on the tail.
Then suddenly it all stopped. A few Gannets passed, the odd distant Black-browed Albatross, but there was nothing close or different – weird!
Twenty minutes later it started again! The alberts moved in and more Prions appeared. A large dark bird on the surface lifted off and showed itself as a Brown Skua and a single Buller’s Albatross was found among the Black-browed.
What a seawatch – it was uncomfortable, my back was killing me, we were wet through and the gear kept fogging up, but the birds were magnificent. We were used to seawatching off the Queensland coast, but rarely got the numbers, or variety all at once, of birds we were experiencing here.
12.30 and we decided we had had enough – it had died off again and we were really starting to feel the cold and damp. We packed up and headed back to the car.
Dried out a little, and warmer, we headed south following the Tomtom directions, finally turning off the highway and up to the range to Robertson. The road winds around itself to get up the slope and as we drove through heavy forest I eventually spotted something I had been half expecting to see – a Superb Lyrebird at the side of the road. It was behind the metal crash barrier and Stu missed it, much to his disgust, even though we stopped and he ran back down the road it had disappeared.
Arriving at Robertson it was a dismal afternoon but we pressed on towards Morton NP and Fitzroy Falls, hope in our hearts and wet socks in our boots.
Just as we turned left off the main road Stu noticed a small bird in the middle of the road and on rescuing it we found it was a Brown Thornbill which had been clipped by a passing vehicle. He poor little bugger survived for a few hours wrapped in a cloth, but didn’t make it. We reached the Fitzroy Falls carpark and walked out towards the falls – but it was really too late and too wet to get serious so we chatted to the ranger in the Visitor Centre. She was very helpful but with, self admittedly, no knowledge of birds, which was a surprise considering we were asking about NSW’s only endemic. It would appear the NSW National Parks and Wildlife focus more on admin than they do on the wildlife, which seems a strange set of priorities….
Anyway as it was still raining and getting dark we decided that camping really wasn’t realistic and as the Country Motel & Chat’s Café & Restaurant seemed to be the only (affordable) place to stay in town we returned to Robertson and booked in. A warm room, comfortable beds, hot showers, and a flat screen TV to watch Le Tour, for $99 and we were happy.
22.7.11 Up before dawn and a huge breakfast in the warm dining room as the mist and rain assaulted the exterior. When smoke started issuing from the door of the wood stove Morrie had to climb up onto the roof on a ladder to fix the wind cowl on the chimney while we coughed our way through our second cup of coffee. Eventually we decided we would stay here a second night , so booked in and then headed out for Fitzroy Falls. The first road we tried was temporarily closed so we turned left and went to Belmore Falls, sadly seeing a dead Wombat on the road, to find the causeway covered in too much water for our little car. The nearby falls were spectacular, of course, given the water falling from the sky, and the river itself drowned out all but the loudest bird calls. We did try for Rockwarbler here on the road – and believe we heard one, but nothing showed.
Driving back to the junction we discovered the road had been reopened and proceeded on to Fitzroy Falls. Walking out to the falls we decided we’d try the East rim first as one of the locations we had been offered. Just across the bridge over the creek, and a few meters in front of us, was Stu’s first lifer for the trip – a Superb Lyrebird nonchalantly picking at the soil on the track. We watched it for about 5 minutes in silence before it headed off up the slope and appeared to cross the road above us. We went on, pushing aside the dripping branches in places that almost overgrew the track. Eastern Spinebills, Brown Gerygones & Thornbills, the odd Crimson Rosella but nothing to write home about. After checking a wet gully – a very wet gully as it happened - we returned to the falls and headed out on the West rim which promised more opportunity.
At each lookout we gaped at the waterfalls – what a perfect day to see them! Thundering, cascading tons of water – spectacular. We came across a few birds, including two more Lyrebirds, both with subdued tails suggesting females, but neither of our target species. All the way to The Grotto and my back aching with every step up and down – and there are a few very steep sections - rain intermittent, wind steady, mud and water continuous.
As we arrived back at Fitzroy Falls we heard a Lyrebird singing on the other side of the creek and decided to investigate – we didn’t see it sing, but we did experience one of those times when the rain, wind, lack of birds and general malaise was forgotten as a male Lyrebird wandered around almost at our feet as we stood in awe – a memory that will last with me always. He walked past us no more than 2 meters away, back onto the track to our left, then back again, this time passing even closer - priceless.
We headed for the café and a well-deserved coffee and muffins – highly recommended, hot, quality coffee and huge muffins – as our jackets leaked pools of water onto the floor and we rung out our soaked gloves, our faith restored.
We discussed our options and decided to try Barren Grounds – we didn’t hold out a lot of hope, but we had to see the lie of the land anyway in case it ever stopped raining. Before we did we scouted the car park finding another Lyrebird scratching in the leaf mould and this time I managed to get some photos and video – I hadn’t had my camera with me earlier of course…. We also had a nicely coloured Rose Robin, White-throated Treecreeper, White-browed Scrub-wrens and a few other minor players.
Arriving at the car park at BG we suited up and headed out the ‘upper’ loop. It looked promising and we were enthusiastic but the conditions were appalling and nothing of any interest showed except a Southern Emu Wren flying from a small shrub training his tail behind him. We had great views of it popping in and out of the low heath and it was some compensation for our efforts.
On the way back to Robertson we stopped off at Carrington Falls – it sounded like a train going over a cliff and the view from the lookout was truly awesome – but no birds worth our while.
We had dinner in the restaurant and retired for the evening to watch the next stage of the Tour and Masterchef, our room festooned with drying socks, jackets, overpants etc etc.
23.7.11 Up again before dawn. NO breakfast this morning – off to Barren Grounds, 15 minutes and we’re there – and so is the rain, worse than ever. We sat in the car, then in the shelter, my back was killing me, it’s windy and the rain is continuous. We walked out along the ‘lower’ trail from the car park- through the eucalypts and along the track between varying thickness of stands of heath, sheltering from the wind wherever possible. Nothing moved. As we approached the side track to the Illawarra Lookout we could hear a Lyrebird singing somewhere to our left.
We checked out the Lookout, but with the mist the view was mostly wasted. Back along the track towards the car park and a small dark bird lifted off the track and dived into a bush - a brief, tantalising view of parts of a Beautiful Firetail and that was it. We trudged back to the car and thought about leaving, but Stu suggested we try the ‘upper’ track once more and so off we went.
As we emerged from the trees we realised the rain was easing, we could see distant landscapes, the wind dropped and the mist cleared and suddenly, wet through though we were, all was looking good! My back even seemed to ease out. Almost immediately we spotted a male Southern Emu Wren hopping along the edge of the heath and watched it contentedly feeding 20 meters away. We had reached the end of the ‘open’ area and were turning back for the walk back to the car when Stu exclaimed and we were onto the bird we had hoped for and almost expected – Eastern Bristlebird. It hopped along the edge of the taller heath completing ignoring us as we eagerly hung on its every move. Eventually it made its way to the track and hopped around out in the open before crossing and moving through the brush right past us! It was no more than 3 meters away at the closest point and I thought Stu was going to die with excitement. It finally moved deeper into the bush and disappeared and we turned and looked at each other with delight.
As we headed back along the track we spotted a dark shape on the ground some 30 meters in front of us. It was a Beautiful Firetail. Gradually over a period of 15 minutes or so we stepped closer and closer until we were within 2 meters of this stunning finch as it fed on seeds on the track. We had both seen this bird in Tasmania but this was unbelievable – we wouldn’t have had a better view in an aviary. When we decided enough was enough and walked around the bird, it simply fluttered a few feet past us and landed again and we left it to its morning tea as the rain closed in again and the wind started….
Feeling inspired we walked part of the lower track again looking for the side track described in Thomas and Thomas for Pilotbird. We couldn’t find any track as described, so chose to walk the entry path back towards the warden’s house. We had heard that Gang-gangs and Pilotbird had been seen along here. We did have Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, a Swamp Wallaby and a single White-throated Honeyeater, but neither of the target birds.
Back in the car and back to the Chat Motel for a well-deserved breakfast and a bit of a dry off before packing everything up, checking out and heading for Boxvale Walk near Mittagong, about 30 kms away. We had recent info describing ‘Rockwarblers dancing down the track’ from a local birder and hopes were high and positive.
We found Mt Alexandria reserve and then the Boxvale Walk and headed off towards the lookout. We had just found a pair of feeding Glossy Black Cockatoos when Terry found us. Terry had provided the ‘dancing down the track’ description and now gave us specific details for the location. We found the track before the creek crossing and moved quietly along watching and listening. We had White-browed Scrub-wrens, Eastern Yellow Robins, White-throated and Red-browed Treecreepers, Brown Thornbills, and dozens (it seemed) of Eastern Spinebills but no Rockwarblers. We hammered that track for 3 hours but had no luck. Finally at 16.00 we called it a day and walked back to the car; coffee was called for and we got some - and pastries - in Mittagong. We considered staying in Mittagong, checking out the RSL Motel, but eventually agreed that as Fitzroy Falls was our target the next morning (again) it would be better (and cheaper) to return to our old haunt – Chat’s Motel and Restaurant in Robertson. We did and they gave us the same price for the Saturday night as the previous two nights. We got back well after dark, had dinner and settled down to watch TV before crashing early, hoping the morning would bring improved weather – as the forecast predicted.
24.7.11 And it did – improve that is. Clear skies, freezing weather (2 degrees), ice on the windscreen, no wind and 10 female Satin Bowerbirds in the car park lifted our spirits and hopes. Maybe today would be the day? We packed up and got to the National Park car park as quickly as we could. We checked out the car park itself, nothing very much; we walked into the falls and along the, now familiar, west rim. Cutting a long story short – nothing changed, we saw no Pilotbirds or Rockwarblers, in fact, we saw very little along the rim to The Grotto and back via the firetrail to the road. We retired to the café for a muffin and coffee as a substitute for our missed breakfast (excellent again) and agreed that, as far as the Southern Highlands were concerned we had rolled all the dice we had and it just hadn’t worked.
We walked the car park again just in case then headed out and down to our last option – Ben’s Walk in Nowra. One of our contacts (Marie T) had offered this location as a Rockwarbler and Gang-gang site and everything we had was crossed!
Forty or so minutes later and the Tomtom led us to the showgrounds and a quick question of a local dog walker pointed us to the top of the walk overlooking the river. Immediately we were surrounded by huge sections of bare sandstone and 5 minutes later, 20 meters from the top of the walk we were enjoying the very personal attention of a pair of Rockwarblers! Brilliant! What a stunning little bird – so much more personality than we imagined, such an engaging character, it was wonderful! We spent some time with them until they tired of us and moved on – and so did we. The walk along the river, across the suspension bridge over Nowra Creek, up-river through the field to the rock crossing and back along the river bank was very interesting. There were loads of birds, something we had been missing really for the past three days, strengthening our suspicions that the snow may have chased them to lower altitudes. There were Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and Red-browed Finches in the field on the ground, the first Grey Fantails of the trip flipped for insects along the edges of the woods, Chestnut Teal in the creek and a second pair of Rockwarblers, but no Gang-gangs.
Back at the car and we took off for Kiama. The Blowhole had to be visited, my first time since 1980 and although the hole was the same, the tourist set up more developed than I remembered. We watched it blow a few times, then moved on, next stop Bass Point, Shell Harbour.
As we approached the headland a bird on the wires attracted our attention – a Fan-tailed Cuckoo confirmed and then Stu was calling ‘Albatross in the bay’ and it was back in the car for the final dash to the point. Seawatching from Bass Pt is at water level and subsequently a little difficult – but the several Black-browed and single Yellow-nosed, Albatrosses were so close we had no problem seeing them, Fluttering Shearwaters were just off the rocks and Stu picked up a single Fairy Prion between the waves. On the opposite side of the little bay behind us there was a strange object on the rocks just above the waterline. Turning our bins on it we saw it was a dead juvenile Hump-backed Whale. We made our way round to the carcass and had a close look – it must have died very recently as there was only a strong fishy smell as opposed to the normal gut wrenching stench that generally accompanies dead sea mammals.
We returned to the car with the intention of heading straight to Maroubra, 2 hours away. If the birds were this good at Shell Harbour, what would it be like at Maroubra?
Stopping only to grab burgers, milkshakes and fries at a local Mackers we were restricted only (just) by the speed limit in our efforts to get back to the Sydney suburb. We got there at 16.40 and almost ran out to the seawatch point to find……. flat calm seas, no wind and (virtually) no birds. A few distant Black-browed Albatrosses and a single Brown Skua were all we saw before dusk fell and it was time to head back while we still had enough light to follow the track. We would have been better off staying at Shell Harbour and driving back after dark… however, one makes choices and lives with it…
In the carpark we pulled everything out and repacked our bags in preparation for the airport. Our flight didn’t leave until 21.30 so we had plenty of time. Firing up the Tomtom we negotiated our way to the airport through the incredibly heavy traffic for that time on a Sunday evening, missed the Rental Car turnoff – its at Arrivals, not Departures, go figure – and had to go round again. Checking in with Virgin we asked if there was any chance of getting on an earlier flight and managed to get seats on a flight half an hour earlier than the one we had booked, which was a real bonus.
Learnings:
Preparation and research from local birders is invaluable. If we hadn’t had the info from all the birders who responded to our enquiries our trip would have been much less successful. Getting out and about despite the conditions is critical – one has to keep moving and trying. There may have been reason to consider the Blue Mtns when the weather along the coast was so awful but we had targeted the areas that had promised most success – maybe more flexibility is something to consider in future trips, although we consider ourselves generally pretty open to suggestion. The trip had been a disaster weather wise, but the birds we had had been excellent.
b>Getting there and getting around: Overview: Overview: Getting there and getting around: Accommodation Accommodation