jklee@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (James Lee) (10/17/90)
It took over a week, but I think I'm finally over the jetlag! This
article is a small "thank you" to those that sent me various suggestions
as to where to go birding in Australia. The trip was fantastic, and
this is a brief summary of what I did and saw while I was there.
My trip lasted a month, (September) and I managed to see only part of the
continent (Australia's big!), but this was my itinerary: Newark - LA - Sydney
- Alice Springs (all in one shot - deadly), then Alice Springs (only 1
day, unfortunately) - Ayers Rock (2 days) - Coober Pedy (1 day) -
Adelaide (1 week) - Melbourne (1 week) - Canberra (1 week) - Sydney -
home.
For my fist impressions of Australia, the country was wonderful. And
the birds were fantastic. I knew that I was in an exotic place when
I woke up in my motel room one morning soon after my arrival and saw 2
Little Lorikeets (small green and red parrots) tumbling over one another
in a bush just outside my window. For me, the late winter/early spring
was an ideal time to go; the temperatures were warm (Adelaide) to hot
(Ayers Rock - 28 C), and the weather was beautiful (sunny days in the
Outback every day, and only four or five cloudy/rainy days along the
coast). Moreover, the wattles (many with brilliant yellow flowers) were
out in full force.
The bird habitats were almost as varied as the birds
themselves! The desert around Ayers Rock is RED, and strikingly so.
Vegetation is sparse but was in full bloom; wedge-tailed eagles loved
to catch the thermals coming off of the Rock. I wish I had more time
for birding here, but frankly, I was too fascinated with the geology!
Adelaide was much greener and Bill Venables (How's it goin', Bill?) and
his friend, Kevin Cellier, were kind enough to take me out to see some
of South Australia's more typical woodland birds (e.g. Laughing
Kookaburra, Peaceful Dove, Adelaide Rosella, and Horsfield's
Bronze-Cuckoo). This was really good for me because birding in
a new country can often be a frustrating experience, especially
with birds that are so different from those at home. For instance,
I very soon found out that noting a "parrot" as being
"red and green" just didn't cut it! From Melbourne, I went camping
inland with a friend to the Grampians - a beautiful mountain range west
of Melbourne. Besides seeing Brown Falcons and the Superb Fairy-Wren,
we also managed to achieve two of my other major goals in Australia:
to see kangaroos and koalas in the wild (but this should really be in
rec.mammals). Finally, Canberra is a
wonderful place to bird. Dusky Moorhens (yes, related to the ones we
have here in North America) and Crimson Rosellas (beautiful red
parrots with blue cheeks) were all over the ANU campus, and the
famous Botanical Gardens held a cornucopia of birds such as the
Striated Pardalote and Gang-Gang Cockatoo.
This is only a smattering of what I saw, however. For those who are
interested, I include a list of everything I saw (and identified).
All in all, I wish I didn't have to come back home - the next time
I visit Australia, I hope to see the following places:
Kakadu National Park, the Kimberlies, and Queensland/Cairns/Great
Barrier Reef. Until next time!
Here is the bird list (comments are mostly for the benefit of North
American readers). I used both the field guide by Slater et al. (1986)))))))))
- The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds,and the guide by Simpson
and Day (1986) - Field Guide to the Birds of Australia:
Maned (Wood) Duck
Clamourous Reed-Warbler (what a great name)
Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike
Superb Fairy (Blue) Wren (MUCH more colourful than any wren we have
here!)
Crimson Rosella
Red-browed Firetail
Australian Magpie-Lark
Laughing Kookaburra (interesting that you always hear them in movies
involving the jungles of Africa e.g. Tarzan!)
Blackbird
Striated Thornbill
Gang-gang Cockatoo (a neat bird)
Eastern Rosella
Eastern Spinebill
Spotted Pardalote
White-browed Scrubwren
Australian Raven
Grey Shrike-Thrush (that is neither a shrike nor a thrush, so I'm told)
Noisy Friarbird (interesting, but I'm afraid rather ugly; sort of a
cross between an Eastern Kingbird and a Black Vulture!)
Silvereye
Grey Fantail
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
White-naped Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
Welcome Swallow
Dusky Moorhen (very similar to the Common Moorhen (Gallinule) here)
White-winged Chough
White-faced Heron
Galah
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
House Sparrow (joy)
Emu (this is one big bird)
Black-shouldered Kite
Little Eagle
Brown Falcon
Peaceful Dove
Common Bronzewing
Crested Pigeon
Rainbow Lorikeet
Adelaide Rosella
Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo
Rufous Whistler
Willie Wagtail
White-browed Babbler
Buff-rumped Thornbill
Little Thornbill
Red Wattlebird
Noisy Miner
White-plumed Honeyeater
Mistletoebird (a beautiful bird with a brilliant red throat)
Striated Pardalote
Common Starling
Black-backed Magpie
Grey Currawong
Little Raven
... and of course, the ubiquitous Feral Pigeon
TOTAL SPECIES = 56