Showing posts with label Wedge-tailed Eagle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wedge-tailed Eagle. Show all posts

Sunday, September 23, 2012

FLINDERS RANGES



We arrived in the Flinders Ranges proper in late March and based ourselves at a private campground on a property just outside the National Park.




The drive in to the Ranges was quite scenic and we stopped often for the excellent photo opportunities.





A Wedgie perched conveniently, albeit a long way off, but still within camera range.  


Wedge-Tailed Eagle


Campground entrance.


View over Willow Springs Station.


Our secluded campsite.


We drove along some of the roads through the National Park, taking in the stark beauty of this ancient landscape. One of the highlights of our travels to date.  







Massive Red Gum along a dry creek bed.










The weather was perfect and we enjoyed our walk into Wilpena Pound, a huge natural amphitheatre with only one easy way in our out. Probably the only way to properly appreciate this geological wonder is from the air. Besides being expensive and with my aversion to flying, we were content enough to take it all in from ground level. 


Sculpture points the way into the Pound.


Clare on the edge of  Wilpena Pound.


Looking across the Pound.


One of the reasons for staying at Willow Springs was the short drive to Stokes Hill Lookout, a well known site for the Short-Tailed Grass-Wren. After three attempts I was able to add this elusive little bird to my life list. I got an excellent 5 second view of one and brief glimpses of another two nearby. No pictures, but this will be etched in my memory for a long time.



Common Wallaroos

The locals looked on in amusement as I scanned the slopes of the hill in search of little brown birds.






Sunset from the Lookout.





Tuesday, May 15, 2012

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