A VISIT TO GLUEPOT

After our Murray-Sunset encounter in early March, we continued on north and west along the Murray River into South Australia with the aim of a visit to Gluepot Reserve, part of a huge area of intact mallee bushland, and managed by Birdlife Australia. 

On our way there one of our overnight stays was in a public park next to the rail line at a little town called Underbool, where we watched the sunset over the grain silos nearby.   

Underbool sunset

A few encounters with some locals gave me a couple of of photo opportunities.   

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

Apostle Birds

Black Kite

After the drive in along the 50km of rough and in parts sandy road, we arrived at the reserve

and got our bearings at the fantastic information centre near the rangers residence.

Gluepot information centre

After finding a suitable camp site we settled in, and made the most of the glorious weather over the next few days, driving the tracks and walking the numerous trails looking for birds and enjoying the unique beauty of our surrounds. 

At the "Babbler" camp site

The watering points scattered through the 126,000 acre reserve are a great way to spot some of the resident bird life and the pigeons below were one of the more prevalent attendees.  

Common Bronze-wings

Grey Currawong

This native shrub was one of the few plants flowering at the time of our visit. 

Unidentified Mallee shrub

A sunning Bearded Dragon is usually an easy subject to photograph, not like some of those pesky things with wings.

Although the two birds below behaved themselves and stayed within range.

Red-Capped Robin - male

Jacky Winter

While we were unsuccessful in locating some of our target species such as the enigmatic Scarlet-chested Parrots that had been seen here in recent times, and the rare Mallee Fowl (not for lack of trying!), a bonus was a small flock of Regent Parrots that landed in a tree close to where I was searching for the SCP's, on our last morning there. Not a tick for the life list, but a bird I had seen only at a distance previously. This race (the other being found in south west WA) is classed as an endangered species and I felt privileged to get a good look at these lovely birds.

Regent Parrots

We had a great stay here and observed close to 50 species all up including 3 lifers: Chestnut Quail-Thrush, White-browed Treecreeper and Gilbert's Whistler. Some great information available at this site: http://www.riverland.net.au/gluepot/

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