CAPERTEE REDUX

The last time I published a post about the Capertee Valley, I concentrated on our sighting of the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater:  http://qldbirder.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/capertee-revisited.html
This time I've included a varied selection of other images from our visit.

The cliffs of Wollemi National Park

Being Spring there was a fair bit of activity around the place, which made for some nice birding and great photo opportunities. The Bellbirds were in full "tinking" mode, and though usually fairly high up in the gums this one came down for a better look at the intruder.

Bell Miner

This male fairy-wren was in fully breeding regalia, and although the photo doesn't do it justice, the bright blue head shone out like a flourescent beacon in the dull evening light.

Variegated Fairy-wren

Beside the Capertee River, in Wollemi National Park, from the concealment of my car I was able to film a Superb Lyrebird foraging along the bank, casual as you please. Later he took some time out to do a spot of bathing, and I felt privileged to get a glimpse into his daily routine. 

Superb Lyre-bird - male 

This raptor was eyeing off  potential prey from a convenient fence post beside the road.

Brown Falcon

A couple of masurpials were out and about too.

Swamp Wallaby or Stinker

Eastern Grey Kangaroo - male

And a monotreme that became camera shy. It's very difficult to sneak up on these unique little creatures. 

Echidna

While exploring the rocky escarpment behind the camping area at Glen Davis I was able to observe a pair of Rock Warblers going about their daily routine. 

Rock Warbler

The ubiquitous Eastern Yellow Robins were as usual photogenic. One of my favourite bush birds.

Eastern Yellow Robin

I couldn't quite capture the rufous coloured rump on the Songlark.

Rufous Songlark

The Babblers were active at their communal nest near our campsite, just on dusk. 

White-browed Babbler

Capertee River

Cheers & Happy Birding

CAPERTEE REVISITED

We had the chance to revisit the Capertee Valley a couple of weeks ago due to the circumstances of our interrupted travels earlier in the year. It was a great opportunity to look for the Regent Honeyeater again after our previous caper back in late January as described in this post:  http://qldbirder.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/capertee-capers.html

Unbelievably we found some on our first afternoon, after setting up camp at Glen Davis and driving out to a location where we were told one had been seen that morning. I spotted a female first, getting pretty excited and also relieved knowing they were really there!

Regent Honeyeater - female

After a while of watching this mega-rarity moving around in the treetops I mentioned to Clare "even if I don't see a male I am absolutely rapt", then she just happened to glimpse one and before long we had great bino views of the bird with its striking black and yellow plumage. Needless to say we were both impressed and sat quietly for over an hour watching them feeding on the mistletoe and insects in the casuarinas and chasing other honeyeater species.    

Regent  Honeyeater - male

Male feeding in mistletoe

To top it off, when I went back the next morning to have a better look at some of the other breeding birds present, I bumped into a couple of members of the Regent Honeyeater Recovery team who had been surveying the local population. They mentioned a pair were nesting nearby and after scanning the trees for a while I was able to locate the nest with two fledglings, being attended by the said pair. I watched, fascinated and privileged to be able to glimpse a view into the lives of these critically endangered birds, less than 1000 estimated to be left in the wild:

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=5374

Male at nest

Most of the images taken here were at the extent of my camera lens magnification and we were careful not to disturb the birds at any time.

All in all a memorable couple of days and up there with the best of my many birdwatching experiences!

  

Striped Honeyeater and nest

Olive-backed Oriole with nesting material 

Restless Flycatcher at nest

CAPERTEE CAPERS

From the Hunter Valley we headed south towards Glen Davis on the eastern border of the huge Wollemi National Park with an overnight stop at Battery Rock rest area on the way, where we discovered this unusual columnar basalt formation. The only other place we have seen this type of rock is at Mt Scoria near Bileola in central Queensland. See: http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/mount-scoria/culture.html 

   

Battery Rock

While taking photos of the spectacular sandstone escarpments of the Capertee Valley, where Glen Davis is situated, we could'nt miss this large raptor perched in a dead gum.

Wedge-tailed Eagle

The scenery around the Valley was amazing and it's difficult to convey in pictures or words the beauty of the area. You just have to see it for yourself!

The Capertee Valley

One of the main reasons for our visit was to look for the rare and endangered Regent Honeyeater and though we had a good look around the only one we saw was on a sign! We were probably about a month late, the last confirmed sightings had been back in late December 2011. The breeding season would have finished earlier and the birds had moved on since.

We weren't disappointed though by the variety of birds in the Valley and I scored a couple of lifers with a pair of Rock Warblers and a group of Chestnut-Rumped Heath-Wrens, all seen only a few minutes walk from our campsite at Glen Davis. Although I didn't snag any pics of these elusive birds there were others that were more obliging.   

Jacky Winter

Sacred Kingfisher

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos

White-Plumed Honeyeater

Glen Davis itself was once a bustling mining town and the ruins of the shale oil processing plant are still obvious. It was the sole source of petroleum for Australia at one stage during World War Two. 

A return visit to the Valley is on the cards for us, spring being the best time to see the Regent Honeyeaters. Meanwhile a trip to Australia Zoo where this stunning species is on display is the next best thing for those of us yet to experience an "in the wild" sighting. See: http://www.australiazoo.com.au/our-animals/amazing-animals/birds/?bird=honeyeaters&animal=regent_honeyeater