Bowra Station is renowned by Aussie birders as
a must do destination 14, 700 hectares with a good variety of habitats Bowra has
recorded over 200 bird species along with over 60 species of reptile.
Situated
just northwest of Cunnamulla in central southern Queensland, this station, which is now managed for conservation,
extends from the flood plain of the
Warrego River. Vegetation types include Poplar Box and Cypress woodlands, Coolabah
and River Red Gum to tablelands and low
rocky hills of Mulga woodland.
I
decided to drive from Adelaide to Bowra as there were 3 target birds I still
needed to find and photograph which occur there to work towards my quest - to see and photograph every bird in Australia.
So last week I left
Adelaide & headed to Broken Hill. It was raining and continued to rain for 2 days straight dumping 58mm on Cunnamulla. To break up the journey I enjoyed a few
hours birding in the saltbush on the outskirts of Broken Hill. Chirruping Wedgebills
love this habitat and were in full voice, despite the rain.
Chirruping Wedgebill
I
then headed to Bourke. Plenty of kangaroo’s and Emus around and as I got closer to Bourke the
goat numbers also increased. From here Major Mitchell Cockatoo's started making an appearance - mostly soaking wet due to the non-stop rain!
Major Mitchell Cockatoo in the rain
Bourke
to Cunnamulla was uneventful – still raining, so much so that I noticed a tortoise cross the road,
which was a nice change from usual the goats!
Bowra's accommodation
was fully booked so I stayed in Cunnamulla. No problem,
only 9km to Bowra each morning and there was good birding along the way along with the opportunity to collect a coffee.
It stopped raining on day 3 and Bowra's new
gravel 6km driveway allowed entry into the homestead but all the tracks were
closed due to 58mm of rain so everywhere needed to be explored on foot for the next few days.
My
first target bird was easy to find as it hopped towards my feet within a minute
of parking at the Homestead. Spotted Bowerbird! TICK! An attractive bird, this
one was busy looking for food and after looking at me and deciding I was boring
it continued on its way not giving me another thought.
Spotted Bowerbird
It
was the stony country I was most interested in as it contained the other 2 bird species I
needed to see, Hall’s Babbler and Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush but the main
track was closed. So I hiked 15 km that afternoon looking to see what else I
could find, sussing out the track conditions and photographing some nice birds.
Black-breasted Buzzard
Main Creek
Feral Pigs are still a problem
Giant Burrowing Cockroach are the world's heaviest cockroach and live for up to 10 yrs
Giant Burrowing Cockroach - this one was about 35mm long
Pallid Cuckoo
Red-browed Pardalote
Whistling Kite
Bowra billabong sunrise
Owlet Nightjar
Pallid Cuckoo
Plum-headed Finch - one of my favourites!
Finally
the main track opened so I was able to get to the stony country and my
other 2 target birds.
After searching
for a while I was given the heads up by
another birder, Nicole that she had just seen the Chestnut-breasted
Quail-thrush further along the track so we headed there and sure enough it was
calling and displaying for the female bird.
Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush
Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush
While
photographing the 3 quail-thrush a family of Hall’s Babblers arrived noisily.
Both species together in front of us we didn’t know which birds to photograph!
Hall's Babbler
We
experienced these birds for a good 15 minutes and then it was Hi Fives all
round!
Female Splendid Fairywren
Bore drain near Bowra Homestead
Brown Treecreeper
Pallid Cuckoo
Splendid Fairywren
Spotted Bowerbird
Brown Falcon
The
next few days were used to photograph species that I still needed images
of and enjoying the birds around the waterholes..
Black-fronted Dotterel
Black-winged Stilt
Budgies were everywhere
Chestnut-crowned Babbler
Cockatiel are a stunning bird
Diamond Dove
Fairy Martin collecting mud for their nest building
Little Eagle
Little Woodswallow
Major Mitchell's
Plum-headed Finch
Plum-headed Finch
Red-backed Kingfisher
Red-winged Parrot
Splendid Fairywren
Rufous Songlark
White-plumed Honeyeater
Zebra Finch
Bourke's Parrot
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
Red-browed Pardalote
Red-browed Pardalote
Red-browed Pardalote
Striated Pardalote
Striated Pardalote
Whistling Kite
White-necked Heron
Apostlebird
The things you see in outback Australia...
Bowra Station Driveway
9
days, 3430km and 3 lifers. Worth every minute!
