This November 23 was really about 36 hours long today since we crossed so many timezones and were continually travelling eastward. We had good flights all along and quick connections.
Colleen\s two grandsons and baby granddaughter were there to greet her at the airport along with Errin. It was dark and cold with snow on the ground, Wedcome Home!!
Norm and Teddy and Ham were happy to see me.
Our trip was fantastic and we are grateful to everyone we met and who guided us on birding days.
Tomorrow I will have to get used to driving on the right again.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Friday November 22, 2013 - last sleep but only a half sleep
We never looked at our departure time as the tickets had been changed just before we left and our flight is at 7:00am!!! That means 5:00 at the airport and we just finished visiting downtown Auckland and some shopping and have emptied the car so we can pack up all of our stuff. What we can't figure out is how we can have about 70 pounds of stuff each and I had two sleeveless tops and only three t-shirts etc. This morning I left my tourist books (heavy) for Australia and New Zealand at the motel we checked out.That makes for some space for other stuff.
My suitcase originally had four wheels, after the fourth flight I lost a wheel so was down to three, after another flight I was down to two and the two remaining ones are on the wrong side of the pull bar (which did not pull out after the fourth flight either until one of the hotel workers helped us with our bags and he pulled it out, so now I can drag my suitcase and the remaining chunks of heavy duty plastic glide on smooth floors. If the airport is carpeted I will have a big problem. But so far we have been lucky in getting a cart to put all our stuff on it and we look like a pair of refugees with all of our worldly stuff! I tried to buy another suitcase, but there was no selection (Target had one kind available and it was too small) and who has time to go shopping when one is on a birding trip.
Right now it is hot here and I am looking for the airconditioning controls to cool off the place. So much for logistics.
Today we took a ferry to Tiri Tiri Matangi and had a great birding experience and would recommend this place highly to any birder. There were lots of birds and we had seven lifers today: Stitchbird, Whitehead, Northern Island Robin, Saddleback, North Island Kokako, Red-crowned Parakeet and Brown Quail. This place is a 30 year experiment by the NZ Department of Conservation to save some of these birds by eliminating predators which were introduced over the years and it is a success. The birds came back in numbers by reproducing and still enjoy this island where predators were eliminated. It was a wonderful experience and one can stay there also.
The day was perfet and our guide Peter was knowledgeable and wanted everyone to share in seeing the birds. It was a hot day and not a cloud in the sky. After we returned on the ferry we went on to downtown Auckland for some touring of the big city and some shopping. I think I will have to pay the $100 to AirCanada for a second bag on the return trip as I am way over the weight limit now.
So this brings my trip of a lifetime to Aussie and NZ to an end. The time has flown and I probably got over three hundred lifers in Australia and over a hundred in NZ. It was a great time with wonderful birds, met great people and it was great to travel with Colleen and practice our YEEEAHS! Maybe we an do it again.... somewhere else.
My suitcase originally had four wheels, after the fourth flight I lost a wheel so was down to three, after another flight I was down to two and the two remaining ones are on the wrong side of the pull bar (which did not pull out after the fourth flight either until one of the hotel workers helped us with our bags and he pulled it out, so now I can drag my suitcase and the remaining chunks of heavy duty plastic glide on smooth floors. If the airport is carpeted I will have a big problem. But so far we have been lucky in getting a cart to put all our stuff on it and we look like a pair of refugees with all of our worldly stuff! I tried to buy another suitcase, but there was no selection (Target had one kind available and it was too small) and who has time to go shopping when one is on a birding trip.
Right now it is hot here and I am looking for the airconditioning controls to cool off the place. So much for logistics.
Today we took a ferry to Tiri Tiri Matangi and had a great birding experience and would recommend this place highly to any birder. There were lots of birds and we had seven lifers today: Stitchbird, Whitehead, Northern Island Robin, Saddleback, North Island Kokako, Red-crowned Parakeet and Brown Quail. This place is a 30 year experiment by the NZ Department of Conservation to save some of these birds by eliminating predators which were introduced over the years and it is a success. The birds came back in numbers by reproducing and still enjoy this island where predators were eliminated. It was a wonderful experience and one can stay there also.
The day was perfet and our guide Peter was knowledgeable and wanted everyone to share in seeing the birds. It was a hot day and not a cloud in the sky. After we returned on the ferry we went on to downtown Auckland for some touring of the big city and some shopping. I think I will have to pay the $100 to AirCanada for a second bag on the return trip as I am way over the weight limit now.
So this brings my trip of a lifetime to Aussie and NZ to an end. The time has flown and I probably got over three hundred lifers in Australia and over a hundred in NZ. It was a great time with wonderful birds, met great people and it was great to travel with Colleen and practice our YEEEAHS! Maybe we an do it again.... somewhere else.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Thursday November 21, 2013 - two more sleeps before heading home
Colleen and I managed to take photos this morning of the thermal pools in Rotorua. We then left this tourist area and drove to the east coast but near Auckland to Miranda Shorebird Centre. The trip took longer than expected. We have now learned that a 120 km trip takes three hours and to double and a half any travel time estimated. There are hills and passes everywhere and small towns which the highway goes through where one can only go the designated 30 or 50 or 70 km.
At Miranda we saw the quirky Wrybill which has a bill that curves to the right. We saw what seems hundreds of Bar-tailed Godwits and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Black-winged Stilts. We were late due to the drive and had missed high tide a bit so the birds were moving to the shore further out. This place offers very nice accommodations.
We then drove about 30 miles north of Auckland (over the Auckland Bridge) to an peninsula north of Auckland as tomorrow morning we are taking a ferry to Tiri Tiri Mantangi. This is a place where all predators have been eliminated and the native birds have returned. It is supposed to be a great place for shorebirds and land birds on this island. We plan to visit Auckland tomorrow afternoon and evening and then we are staying in a motel near the airport for our morning departure on Saturday morning.
So we had a another busy day and some nice birds with the lifer mentioned above. Two more sleeps before we get home.
WE have had nice warm weather this week and we are wearing shorts and T-shirts or sleeveless tops so it is going to be tough to get homw. It is spring here and flowers are blooming and people are walking the beach and summer is less than a month away here. it will be a shock to the system to be in winter mode.
At Miranda we saw the quirky Wrybill which has a bill that curves to the right. We saw what seems hundreds of Bar-tailed Godwits and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Black-winged Stilts. We were late due to the drive and had missed high tide a bit so the birds were moving to the shore further out. This place offers very nice accommodations.
We then drove about 30 miles north of Auckland (over the Auckland Bridge) to an peninsula north of Auckland as tomorrow morning we are taking a ferry to Tiri Tiri Mantangi. This is a place where all predators have been eliminated and the native birds have returned. It is supposed to be a great place for shorebirds and land birds on this island. We plan to visit Auckland tomorrow afternoon and evening and then we are staying in a motel near the airport for our morning departure on Saturday morning.
So we had a another busy day and some nice birds with the lifer mentioned above. Two more sleeps before we get home.
WE have had nice warm weather this week and we are wearing shorts and T-shirts or sleeveless tops so it is going to be tough to get homw. It is spring here and flowers are blooming and people are walking the beach and summer is less than a month away here. it will be a shock to the system to be in winter mode.
Thursday November 21, 2013 - two more sleeps before heading home
Colleen and I managed to take photos this morning of the thermal pools in Rotorua. We then left this tourist area and drove to the east coast but near Auckland to Miranda Shorebird Centre. The trip took longer than expected. We have now learned that a 120 km trip takes three hours and to double and a half any travel time estimated. There are hills and passes everywhere and small towns which the highway goes through where one can only go the designated 30 or 50 or 70 km.
At Miranda we saw the quirky Wrybill which has a bill that curves to the right. We saw what seems hundreds of Bar-tailed Godwits and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Black-winged Stilts. We were late due to the drive and had missed high tide a bit so the birds were moving to the shore further out. This place offers very nice accommodations.
We then drove about 30 miles north of Auckland (over the Auckland Bridge) to an peninsula north of Auckland as tomorrow morning we are taking a ferry to Tiri Tiri Mantangi. This is a place where all predators have been eliminated and the native birds have returned. It is supposed to be a great place for shorebirds and land birds on this island. We plan to visit Auckland tomorrow afternoon and evening and then we are staying in a motel near the airport for our morning departure on Saturday morning.
So we had a another busy day and some nice birds with the lifer mentioned above. Two more sleeps before we get home.
WE have had nice warm weather this week and we are wearing shorts and T-shirts or sleeveless tops so it is going to be tough to get homw. It is spring here and flowers are blooming and people are walking the beach and summer is less than a month away here. it will be a shock to the system to be in winter mode.
At Miranda we saw the quirky Wrybill which has a bill that curves to the right. We saw what seems hundreds of Bar-tailed Godwits and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Black-winged Stilts. We were late due to the drive and had missed high tide a bit so the birds were moving to the shore further out. This place offers very nice accommodations.
We then drove about 30 miles north of Auckland (over the Auckland Bridge) to an peninsula north of Auckland as tomorrow morning we are taking a ferry to Tiri Tiri Mantangi. This is a place where all predators have been eliminated and the native birds have returned. It is supposed to be a great place for shorebirds and land birds on this island. We plan to visit Auckland tomorrow afternoon and evening and then we are staying in a motel near the airport for our morning departure on Saturday morning.
So we had a another busy day and some nice birds with the lifer mentioned above. Two more sleeps before we get home.
WE have had nice warm weather this week and we are wearing shorts and T-shirts or sleeveless tops so it is going to be tough to get homw. It is spring here and flowers are blooming and people are walking the beach and summer is less than a month away here. it will be a shock to the system to be in winter mode.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Wednesday November 20,2013 - waikanae to Rotorua
Today was basically a driving day with some birding included. We did about 7 hours of driving starting outin the south western coast of the North Island of NZ and travelling almost to the north east coast of the North Island (almost we had to stop in the land of thermal springs and geysers in Rotorua. We left the farmlands of the west coast and drove north in scenery that looked much like farmlands at home (only if you looked at the big picture) and then drove into the mountain passes and then into the mountains and ski country. The route we wanted to do was closed (snow, ice, landslide or consturction, we never found out) so the detour took up some time. We went through ski country and some impressive moutain ranges, then over the mountains we ended up in Turangi which was our last chance for the Blue Duck. We bumped into an elderly gent who told us exactly where to do as he had seen two of them yesterday and kept track of the ducks. We followed his directions and drove down this dirt road, took the right hand Y to the end. It was deserted and we saw a couple of California Quail there, parked looked around at the water. The whole shore by the river was composed of these grey boulders the same colour as this Blue Duck. We went to another "pool" after some rapids of the river (these are diving ducks) and looked for them. I was still looking at the water and saw one fly up river and then down again and had an excellent look at the mottled white on the face and the pale bill with the reddish on the chest. It was so bright. Colleen was looking at a Tui and once I shouted for her amid the roar of the rapids the bird was gone. It was the Blue Duck !!! We went to two other places looking for the Blue Duck for Colleen but no luck. We had to move on as we wanted to see the geysers and the steam and we had a one and half hour drive before the sun set.
We drove by Lake Taupo and it was awesome. No other word to describe it. It is a huge huge lake and if you didn't know it you could all it an ocean, with mountains and islands in the distance. There is nothing like it. Then we had no time left for forest we wanted to see but had to continue to Rotorua for early evening as the roads are hilly and cliffside and we had decided at the beginning of the trip that we would not be driving through the mountains in the dark. We arrived in Rotorua to see the steam and geysers of the thermal pools and the smell of sulphur.
We bought supper to eat at the motel and Colleen found us a great place. We were really roughing it tonight a two room suite with two TVs and free internet AND our own thermal spring hot tub!! We filled up the tub with the steamy water and they had given us some oil to put in. This place would be great for a couple's weekend. We had a great supper, seafood stirfry, new asparagus and carrots and salad and NZ wine (this is the kind of roughing it is great). The thermal nature of the water and the supper has each of us in bed now in our own room and on our respective compter devices. Tomorrow we are going to the Firth of Thames about a two hour drive to the east coast for shorebirds. So it was a long day but great. We also saw a mystery bird, and Colleen has sent her photo of the bird to Nick for a confirmation on the ID. We are thinking White-winged Triller. But everday has been great. Colleen has gotten used to the bed warming pads that each of the places in NZ has. It is so cozy and she loves it and talks about buying one for home or for one of her homes. Why am I typing in italics, it hit control I and nothing happens. We had several other birds today which we had seen before so we are getting good at the IDs.
We drove by Lake Taupo and it was awesome. No other word to describe it. It is a huge huge lake and if you didn't know it you could all it an ocean, with mountains and islands in the distance. There is nothing like it. Then we had no time left for forest we wanted to see but had to continue to Rotorua for early evening as the roads are hilly and cliffside and we had decided at the beginning of the trip that we would not be driving through the mountains in the dark. We arrived in Rotorua to see the steam and geysers of the thermal pools and the smell of sulphur.
We bought supper to eat at the motel and Colleen found us a great place. We were really roughing it tonight a two room suite with two TVs and free internet AND our own thermal spring hot tub!! We filled up the tub with the steamy water and they had given us some oil to put in. This place would be great for a couple's weekend. We had a great supper, seafood stirfry, new asparagus and carrots and salad and NZ wine (this is the kind of roughing it is great). The thermal nature of the water and the supper has each of us in bed now in our own room and on our respective compter devices. Tomorrow we are going to the Firth of Thames about a two hour drive to the east coast for shorebirds. So it was a long day but great. We also saw a mystery bird, and Colleen has sent her photo of the bird to Nick for a confirmation on the ID. We are thinking White-winged Triller. But everday has been great. Colleen has gotten used to the bed warming pads that each of the places in NZ has. It is so cozy and she loves it and talks about buying one for home or for one of her homes. Why am I typing in italics, it hit control I and nothing happens. We had several other birds today which we had seen before so we are getting good at the IDs.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Tuesday November 19, 2013 - Picton to Wellington
We had a delay in the arrival of the ferry this morning so our afternoon plans in Wellington were really rushed. The ferry was great, smooth sailing with just a small wave movement. It was called "light". We did not see many birds from the ferry.
From Wellington we picked up our rental car and drove to Zealandia, a preserve where the Wildlife department eradicated all the predators (cats etc) from an area and soon native birds returned. We saw the Tui, Kaka, Kakariki, Fantail, Kerero and our last bird of the day was a pheasant. We are staying in a beach town on the west coast tonight and we went to the lagoons by the sea and then watched the sun set over the ocean from the beach with mountains and islands on the side. It was the quintessential New Zealand experience. It was after this that we saw the NZ Pheasant.
We did not eat supper until 10:15pm due to the late day and we are both tired. Tomorrow is a drive day with some birding as we are crossing the North Island to go to north and east and we will go as far as the land of hot springs, Rotorua.
I am not sure if Colleen will be posting photos tonight, I know she took a lot of photos but it is getting late here.
From Wellington we picked up our rental car and drove to Zealandia, a preserve where the Wildlife department eradicated all the predators (cats etc) from an area and soon native birds returned. We saw the Tui, Kaka, Kakariki, Fantail, Kerero and our last bird of the day was a pheasant. We are staying in a beach town on the west coast tonight and we went to the lagoons by the sea and then watched the sun set over the ocean from the beach with mountains and islands on the side. It was the quintessential New Zealand experience. It was after this that we saw the NZ Pheasant.
We did not eat supper until 10:15pm due to the late day and we are both tired. Tomorrow is a drive day with some birding as we are crossing the North Island to go to north and east and we will go as far as the land of hot springs, Rotorua.
I am not sure if Colleen will be posting photos tonight, I know she took a lot of photos but it is getting late here.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Tuesday November 19, 2013 - Ferry to Wellington
We did have a several lifers yesterday including the very pretty Cirl Bunting which we found near the Saltworks - yes salt mining. Thanks to Nick's excellent directions we had no problem finding the place.
This morning we are getting on the ferry for a 3 hour crossing to the North Island. While I did fine yesterday, I am not sure my constitution is ready for a second day of being on a boat, so loading up on the Gravol again.
The day is "fresh" with lots of wind and Colleen has figured out that the internet will work inside if one sits by the window, so at least we won't freeze outside.
So another day in gorgeous New Zealand.
We believe that we should have internet access tonight, so I plan to send post tonightttt.
This morning we are getting on the ferry for a 3 hour crossing to the North Island. While I did fine yesterday, I am not sure my constitution is ready for a second day of being on a boat, so loading up on the Gravol again.
The day is "fresh" with lots of wind and Colleen has figured out that the internet will work inside if one sits by the window, so at least we won't freeze outside.
So another day in gorgeous New Zealand.
We believe that we should have internet access tonight, so I plan to send post tonightttt.
Monday November 18, 2013 - Christchurch to Picton
I am sitting on the balcony of a motel and the mists have come down from the mountains and hills and it is cold and beautiful here. It is very similar to the main drag of Jasper Alberta or that little mountain community (forgotten the name of it) outside Colorado Springs which is build up on the mountain side and the lights shine half way up the sky. This is Picton and we had a good drive today. The reason that I am outside in the cold is that the internet does not work in the rooms. It is free as that is why I booked the place but they did not tell me that internet works only outside (they are working on it, that's what the owner told me this evening).
So we left Christchurch at 7:30 this am and stopped at St Anne's Lagoon which was very pretty and we think we saw the Blue Duck. We will send it to Nick and let him look at it and decide. From there we travelled to Kakoura for the pelagic boat trip. The day, my friend, the seas were fairly calm with only roiling waves of a couple of meters. So both Colleen and I loaded up with Gravol and got on. We saw Wandering Albatross, Selwins, Royal Albatross and several other pelagic birds just meters from our boat. We saw dolphins and seals also. The boat trip was great and it finished around 4:15 pm. Then there was time for a tea break.
We then drove to Picton and we must have passed about a dozen wineries, this is wine country! So when we arrived we picked up fish takeout and also a bottle of NZ wine. It was pretty good.
Tomorrow, we ditch the rental car and take the ferry over to the North Island and Wellington. My suitcase has now lost 2 of its 4 wheels and I can't pull out the pull handle (men can, but I can't). So with a totally useless suitcase, I am going to try to get on the ferry tomorrow. I am told that you have to check in the luggage, which would suit me fine and let someone else struggle. I looked around for a suitcase in Christchurch but they only had really cheap ones which I don't think are better than the broken one I have now.
WE had wonderful lifers today, including the Cirl Bunting and the Blue Duck (we think) and we saw some awesome New Zealand scenery. We enjoyed every minute of it. I think Colleen took some really great shots of the pelagic birds.
So we left Christchurch at 7:30 this am and stopped at St Anne's Lagoon which was very pretty and we think we saw the Blue Duck. We will send it to Nick and let him look at it and decide. From there we travelled to Kakoura for the pelagic boat trip. The day, my friend, the seas were fairly calm with only roiling waves of a couple of meters. So both Colleen and I loaded up with Gravol and got on. We saw Wandering Albatross, Selwins, Royal Albatross and several other pelagic birds just meters from our boat. We saw dolphins and seals also. The boat trip was great and it finished around 4:15 pm. Then there was time for a tea break.
We then drove to Picton and we must have passed about a dozen wineries, this is wine country! So when we arrived we picked up fish takeout and also a bottle of NZ wine. It was pretty good.
Tomorrow, we ditch the rental car and take the ferry over to the North Island and Wellington. My suitcase has now lost 2 of its 4 wheels and I can't pull out the pull handle (men can, but I can't). So with a totally useless suitcase, I am going to try to get on the ferry tomorrow. I am told that you have to check in the luggage, which would suit me fine and let someone else struggle. I looked around for a suitcase in Christchurch but they only had really cheap ones which I don't think are better than the broken one I have now.
WE had wonderful lifers today, including the Cirl Bunting and the Blue Duck (we think) and we saw some awesome New Zealand scenery. We enjoyed every minute of it. I think Colleen took some really great shots of the pelagic birds.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Sunday November 17, 2013 - Christchurch to Arthur's Pass
Based on advice from Nick, we decided to go into the mountains, the day was overcast and cool and there was no rain predicted. All I can say is that I am really glad we had a four-wheel drive vehicle as a rental. This was not quite the terrain of Ecuador's mountains but close. The road was great but with the slight rain we were having there were some rocks on the road (small ones) and there at had been a couple of landslides recently as they were still there surrounded by caution cones.
We laughed as Colleen looked at the side of a road with a steep cliff and we could see the roadway had separated a bit and Colleen said "That;s not good" needless to say, I drove faster... Anyways, it was exciting and fine, there was plenty of traffic and we were fine. One had to be careful though. And guess what, we got the KEA!!!! The Kea is a large dark green parrot that is beautifully and subtly marked on the outside but when it flies the underwings are red and there is some browny/tan bright colours and it is beautiful. It has become used to tourists and will come and see them. They are a bird with personality and a lot of it. There are signs everywhere telling tourists not to feed them but the first one that we saw a busload of tourists was feeding it with peanuts! Obviously, they can't read! We took our photos and had lunch and drove off to look for a Blue Duck and Tomtit and NZ Robin and Rifleman Bird (male) -- NOT, no luck!
We stopped at Dead Man's Lookout and it was fantastic and a Kea flew in and walked around looking for handouts and then started chewing on the rubber of a car window (apparently they are vindictive also). We had gone through Arthur's pass and beyond and another two hours we would have been on the west coast. We had our target bird and headed home with some additional stops suggested by Nick to look for the other birds, with no luck.
The scenery on the drive was fantastic and just like one would expect of NZ, high snow covered mountains (we were in ski country), narrow roads and a bit like going through the Banff to BC highway.
We were thrilled to see everything and see the Kea.
We picked up a seafood mixture and had this and vegetables and tomatoes and NZ wine for supper tonight. We have to get an early bedtime tonight as we are going on a pelagic on the NZ coast for pelagic birds (do I sound apprehensive??) tomorrow and we have a two hour drive to get to Kaikoura.
After the boast we have a 2.5 hours drive to Picton where we will stay the night.
Colleen got some lovely photos today of the Kea and the scenery. We were fortunate with the weather and the mist and the fog that we didn't get heavy rain up in the mountains. Another great day!
We laughed as Colleen looked at the side of a road with a steep cliff and we could see the roadway had separated a bit and Colleen said "That;s not good" needless to say, I drove faster... Anyways, it was exciting and fine, there was plenty of traffic and we were fine. One had to be careful though. And guess what, we got the KEA!!!! The Kea is a large dark green parrot that is beautifully and subtly marked on the outside but when it flies the underwings are red and there is some browny/tan bright colours and it is beautiful. It has become used to tourists and will come and see them. They are a bird with personality and a lot of it. There are signs everywhere telling tourists not to feed them but the first one that we saw a busload of tourists was feeding it with peanuts! Obviously, they can't read! We took our photos and had lunch and drove off to look for a Blue Duck and Tomtit and NZ Robin and Rifleman Bird (male) -- NOT, no luck!
We stopped at Dead Man's Lookout and it was fantastic and a Kea flew in and walked around looking for handouts and then started chewing on the rubber of a car window (apparently they are vindictive also). We had gone through Arthur's pass and beyond and another two hours we would have been on the west coast. We had our target bird and headed home with some additional stops suggested by Nick to look for the other birds, with no luck.
The scenery on the drive was fantastic and just like one would expect of NZ, high snow covered mountains (we were in ski country), narrow roads and a bit like going through the Banff to BC highway.
We were thrilled to see everything and see the Kea.
We picked up a seafood mixture and had this and vegetables and tomatoes and NZ wine for supper tonight. We have to get an early bedtime tonight as we are going on a pelagic on the NZ coast for pelagic birds (do I sound apprehensive??) tomorrow and we have a two hour drive to get to Kaikoura.
After the boast we have a 2.5 hours drive to Picton where we will stay the night.
Colleen got some lovely photos today of the Kea and the scenery. We were fortunate with the weather and the mist and the fog that we didn't get heavy rain up in the mountains. Another great day!
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Saturday November 16, 2013
Colleen and I started the day at 8:00 am birding with birdingpal Nick Allen. We ended a fantastic day of birding after 8:00pm. Nick Allan has published a book on the birding spots in Canterbury province/state/region. He has also advised us on the next two days of birding.
The day was warm with just a slight breeze. We had views that were straight out of Lord of the Rings/the Hobbit. This is the land of mountains, and valleys and forests, ocean bays, the South Pacific Ocean and green green hills covered with sheep!
We birded at low tide in the mudflats of Ashley Estuary and we walked a bit to the shore area with lots of birds. We visited Kaiapoi Lakes also for some NZ endemics. Then we drove to the inside of a 2 billion year old volcano, Akaloa Lakes and then over a pass to the coast.
The views were stunning. Bird highlights were Paradise Shelduck, NZ Scaup, Yellow Hammer, Greenfinch, Australasian Shoveler, Chaff Finch, Double Banded Dotterell, Spotted Shag, NZ Pigeon, Brown Tree Creeper, Riflemen - female, European Redpoll, NZ Grey Fantail and so many more.
We ended the day with a Korean Dinner which was great. Colleen got some fantastic photos so check her facebook page Colleen Murray to see them, I just get this done and then I have to work on my bird list and other notes on trees and the areas etc.
Tomorrow we are driving to Arthur's Pass which is over a mountain heading west and there are specific birds we are looking for at specific locations, so hope we get our target birds.
The day was warm with just a slight breeze. We had views that were straight out of Lord of the Rings/the Hobbit. This is the land of mountains, and valleys and forests, ocean bays, the South Pacific Ocean and green green hills covered with sheep!
We birded at low tide in the mudflats of Ashley Estuary and we walked a bit to the shore area with lots of birds. We visited Kaiapoi Lakes also for some NZ endemics. Then we drove to the inside of a 2 billion year old volcano, Akaloa Lakes and then over a pass to the coast.
The views were stunning. Bird highlights were Paradise Shelduck, NZ Scaup, Yellow Hammer, Greenfinch, Australasian Shoveler, Chaff Finch, Double Banded Dotterell, Spotted Shag, NZ Pigeon, Brown Tree Creeper, Riflemen - female, European Redpoll, NZ Grey Fantail and so many more.
We ended the day with a Korean Dinner which was great. Colleen got some fantastic photos so check her facebook page Colleen Murray to see them, I just get this done and then I have to work on my bird list and other notes on trees and the areas etc.
Tomorrow we are driving to Arthur's Pass which is over a mountain heading west and there are specific birds we are looking for at specific locations, so hope we get our target birds.
Saturday November 16, 2013
Colleen and I started the day at 8:00 am birding with birdingpal Nick Allen. We ended a fantastic day of birding after 8:00pm. Nick Allan has published a book on the birding spots in Canterbury province/state/region. He has also advised us on the next two days of birding.
The day was warm with just a slight breeze. We had views that were straight out of Lord of the Rings/the Hobbit. This is the land of mountains, and valleys and forests, ocean bays, the South Pacific Ocean and green green hills covered with sheep!
We birded at low tide in the mudflats of Ashley Estuary and we walked a bit to the shore area with lots of birds. We visited Kaiapoi Lakes also for some NZ endemics. Then we drove to the inside of a 2 billion year old volcano, Akaloa Lakes and then over a pass to the coast.
The views were stunning. Bird highlights were Paradise Shelduck, NZ Scaup, Yellow Hammer, Greenfinch, Australasian Shoveler, Chaff Finch, Double Banded Dotterell, Spotted Shag, NZ Pigeon, Brown Tree Creeper, Riflemen - female, European Redpoll, NZ Grey Fantail and so many more.
We ended the day with a Korean Dinner which was great. Colleen got some fantastic photos so check her facebook page Colleen Murray to see them, I just get this done and then I have to work on my bird list and other notes on trees and the areas etc.
Tomorrow we are driving to Arthur's Pass which is over a mountain heading west and there are specific birds we are looking for at specific locations, so hope we get our target birds.
The day was warm with just a slight breeze. We had views that were straight out of Lord of the Rings/the Hobbit. This is the land of mountains, and valleys and forests, ocean bays, the South Pacific Ocean and green green hills covered with sheep!
We birded at low tide in the mudflats of Ashley Estuary and we walked a bit to the shore area with lots of birds. We visited Kaiapoi Lakes also for some NZ endemics. Then we drove to the inside of a 2 billion year old volcano, Akaloa Lakes and then over a pass to the coast.
The views were stunning. Bird highlights were Paradise Shelduck, NZ Scaup, Yellow Hammer, Greenfinch, Australasian Shoveler, Chaff Finch, Double Banded Dotterell, Spotted Shag, NZ Pigeon, Brown Tree Creeper, Riflemen - female, European Redpoll, NZ Grey Fantail and so many more.
We ended the day with a Korean Dinner which was great. Colleen got some fantastic photos so check her facebook page Colleen Murray to see them, I just get this done and then I have to work on my bird list and other notes on trees and the areas etc.
Tomorrow we are driving to Arthur's Pass which is over a mountain heading west and there are specific birds we are looking for at specific locations, so hope we get our target birds.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Friday November 15, 2013 Melbourne to Christchurch NZ
Colleen and I left chilly Melbourne for chillier Christchurch today. The flight was at a good time, not at the crack of dawn, we left at 7:00 am from the motel and the flight left at 9:30 am. We didn't know that the time changed by 2 hours so now we are 16 hours ahead of Ottawa.
From what we have seen of NZ so far, it is a gardening city like Hobart with many homes growning roses and lots of them. It is very pretty here right now. We arrived in town after 5:00 pm so while it was not a long day, it was. The only birds we have seen so far are House Sparrows and we have been looking but have been too busy dealing with logistics to do any birding.
We went to a phone store and bought a NZ Sim Card and charged up the phone and called our Birdingpal Nick for our birding day tomorrow. We visited the Mall here but itwas closed (supposed to be open until 8:30 pm but NOT)
We did find a store and bought the essentials, New Zealand wine, lamb steaks for supper (it was delicious), fresh NZ cheese and vegetables and our breakfast fixings for the week while we are here, so we have taken care of logistics, but we may have to get out and buy some more great NZ wine. Supper was excellent. What we didn't get was our NZ bird guide as the book store was closed by the time we got there. We are out for supper tomorrow night but plan to find out if we can buy fresh catch of the day from the harbour huts like we did in Hobart. We plan to sample some New Zealand oysters to see if they are as delicious as the Bruny Island ones.
So tomorrow we start birding and today was a travel day. Almost all the distances in this trip are large (today was 1,800 km) so it is a lost day when one figures in the two hours in the airport, the air time and then the customs lineups. The New Zealand ones are exceptionall long, first passport control, then we had to go to secondary - we had been to a farm or forest and had to take off our shoes for someone with a Master's degree (we were told) to clean them of forest and farm dirt, then all of our stuff had to go through xray. So the day went and then we lost two hours! Our big question is what latitiude are we on or in and is this the closest we will be to the Antarctic. We will ask Nick about that. So far New Zealand feels great. We can see mountains in the distance and our car rental is a four wheel drive Subaru.
We are looking forward to birding tomorrow morning!
From what we have seen of NZ so far, it is a gardening city like Hobart with many homes growning roses and lots of them. It is very pretty here right now. We arrived in town after 5:00 pm so while it was not a long day, it was. The only birds we have seen so far are House Sparrows and we have been looking but have been too busy dealing with logistics to do any birding.
We went to a phone store and bought a NZ Sim Card and charged up the phone and called our Birdingpal Nick for our birding day tomorrow. We visited the Mall here but itwas closed (supposed to be open until 8:30 pm but NOT)
We did find a store and bought the essentials, New Zealand wine, lamb steaks for supper (it was delicious), fresh NZ cheese and vegetables and our breakfast fixings for the week while we are here, so we have taken care of logistics, but we may have to get out and buy some more great NZ wine. Supper was excellent. What we didn't get was our NZ bird guide as the book store was closed by the time we got there. We are out for supper tomorrow night but plan to find out if we can buy fresh catch of the day from the harbour huts like we did in Hobart. We plan to sample some New Zealand oysters to see if they are as delicious as the Bruny Island ones.
So tomorrow we start birding and today was a travel day. Almost all the distances in this trip are large (today was 1,800 km) so it is a lost day when one figures in the two hours in the airport, the air time and then the customs lineups. The New Zealand ones are exceptionall long, first passport control, then we had to go to secondary - we had been to a farm or forest and had to take off our shoes for someone with a Master's degree (we were told) to clean them of forest and farm dirt, then all of our stuff had to go through xray. So the day went and then we lost two hours! Our big question is what latitiude are we on or in and is this the closest we will be to the Antarctic. We will ask Nick about that. So far New Zealand feels great. We can see mountains in the distance and our car rental is a four wheel drive Subaru.
We are looking forward to birding tomorrow morning!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Thursday November 14, 2013 - Melbourne and Werrabee Wetlands
We set the alarm for 3:45 am this morning for our 6:00 am flight from Tasmania to Melbourne. Birdingpal Richard picked us up at the airport and along with another visiting birder, Homer from Texas we birded until dark. We did the You Yangs park where we had wonderful grassland/field birds such as the Spotted Pardolote (really stunning), the Yellow-rumped Thornbill, the Yellow Thornbill, Weebee, the Eastern Rosella Common Bronzewing, Wedgetail Eagle. We could have spent all day here as there was so much activity. Plus we had several Honeyeaters.
From there we moved to Werrabee and it is a huge huge area with an abundance of birds everywhere. We had great views of a Brolga, Whiskered Tern, Skylark, Greenshank, White-fronted or Australasian Chat, Sharptailed Sandpiper, Baillons Crake, Australian Spotted Crake, Little Grassbird, Red-nicked Avocets, Buff-banded Rail, and numerous ducks including Shelduck. The day was super and Richard was an exceptional guide. We ended the day at dark (sounds familiar doesn't it) and now we are at a motel near the Melbourne airport for a morning flight to Christchurch NZ tomorrow am.
Melbourne birding was spectacular as we saw many of the local specialties and probably saw about 100 birds today. We are happy but tired since our day started so early. It was a memorable day in many ways.
I am pretty sure Colleen took several really beautiful photos today.
From there we moved to Werrabee and it is a huge huge area with an abundance of birds everywhere. We had great views of a Brolga, Whiskered Tern, Skylark, Greenshank, White-fronted or Australasian Chat, Sharptailed Sandpiper, Baillons Crake, Australian Spotted Crake, Little Grassbird, Red-nicked Avocets, Buff-banded Rail, and numerous ducks including Shelduck. The day was super and Richard was an exceptional guide. We ended the day at dark (sounds familiar doesn't it) and now we are at a motel near the Melbourne airport for a morning flight to Christchurch NZ tomorrow am.
Melbourne birding was spectacular as we saw many of the local specialties and probably saw about 100 birds today. We are happy but tired since our day started so early. It was a memorable day in many ways.
I am pretty sure Colleen took several really beautiful photos today.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Wednesday November 13, 2013 - Bruny to Hobart
Colleen and I had a great day yesterday with seeing all 12 Bruny endemics! The day was a long one and the last walk was through a rainforest area like Ecuador. It was full of ferns that were eight feet high and a small creek along the mountain side. We hiked it for a chance of seeing the Bushtit and WE DID. It was not hot so it was a long but easy hike but it was the leeches that were really annoying. They were falling down on us from the foliage!
Gaters would not have helped at all but they fell and tried to get through my socks and on my head and I had them on my face. Thankfully we kept taking good looks at each other to remove the leeches. Leeches do not hurt or bite as they release an pain reliever to bite but this also stops your blood from coagulation, so a lot of leeches is not a good idea. Anyways, it was fine. We said our goodbyes and went back to Lunanna where each of us shook our clothes out and took hot hot showers to get any leeches off of us.
We had an excellent day and because we suggested another way out on a seashore trail we took a path where we came across one of the highlights of the day, a leucistic Wallaby, he/she was a ghostly white that was spectacular. Colleen and I both took many photos and for some reason he did not move for quite a while, so we got several photos of him. Usually the Wallabies are very quick to take off into the bush.
It started pouring rain last night and this morning we drove through moderate rain onto the ferry back to Hobart and then the rain got really heavy.
We spent the rest of the day around Hobart and are staying in a motel fairly close to the Hobart Airport as we have a 6:00 am flight to Melbourne tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow, a birdingpal is meeting us at the airport and we are going to the Melbourne Lagoons, Weerabee, which are famous for the birds, plants and animals. Richard Nowotny, our birding pal has been very gracious in offering to pick us up and take us to Weerabee and we are very excited to see the birds in Melbourne. Richard's graciousness includes a stay in his and his wife's guest suite in the Melbourne home which is great. We leave for Christchurch, NZ the next morning. So a busy couple of days again. We have to get to sleep early tonight as we have to leave here around 4:30 am.
Gaters would not have helped at all but they fell and tried to get through my socks and on my head and I had them on my face. Thankfully we kept taking good looks at each other to remove the leeches. Leeches do not hurt or bite as they release an pain reliever to bite but this also stops your blood from coagulation, so a lot of leeches is not a good idea. Anyways, it was fine. We said our goodbyes and went back to Lunanna where each of us shook our clothes out and took hot hot showers to get any leeches off of us.
We had an excellent day and because we suggested another way out on a seashore trail we took a path where we came across one of the highlights of the day, a leucistic Wallaby, he/she was a ghostly white that was spectacular. Colleen and I both took many photos and for some reason he did not move for quite a while, so we got several photos of him. Usually the Wallabies are very quick to take off into the bush.
It started pouring rain last night and this morning we drove through moderate rain onto the ferry back to Hobart and then the rain got really heavy.
We spent the rest of the day around Hobart and are staying in a motel fairly close to the Hobart Airport as we have a 6:00 am flight to Melbourne tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow, a birdingpal is meeting us at the airport and we are going to the Melbourne Lagoons, Weerabee, which are famous for the birds, plants and animals. Richard Nowotny, our birding pal has been very gracious in offering to pick us up and take us to Weerabee and we are very excited to see the birds in Melbourne. Richard's graciousness includes a stay in his and his wife's guest suite in the Melbourne home which is great. We leave for Christchurch, NZ the next morning. So a busy couple of days again. We have to get to sleep early tonight as we have to leave here around 4:30 am.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Monday November 11 2013. Bruny IIsland
Here we are in Bruny and it looks fantastic!!
I am in the local restaurant/hotel, the only place with internet
We already had a snack of a dozen oysters which are sublime
And we had some Bruny Island cheese and grapes
This is a fantastic place for a 100 mile diet
Colleen has put photos on her Facebook page so visit her page Colleen Murray or make a friend request to get onto them
The scenery looks like what I am expecting for NZ
so I must go our supper is coming to the table
Tomorrow we have a full day of birding at Inala and we hope to see the 12 endemics of tTassie
I am in the local restaurant/hotel, the only place with internet
We already had a snack of a dozen oysters which are sublime
And we had some Bruny Island cheese and grapes
This is a fantastic place for a 100 mile diet
Colleen has put photos on her Facebook page so visit her page Colleen Murray or make a friend request to get onto them
The scenery looks like what I am expecting for NZ
so I must go our supper is coming to the table
Tomorrow we have a full day of birding at Inala and we hope to see the 12 endemics of tTassie
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Monday November 11, 2013 - Remembrance Day
I know at home that there will be remembrances and the same is true here in Australia, so there is another similarity with commonwealth countries.
Colleen and I are heading to Bruny Island this morning and this is where we will be for the next two nights. We have a tour booked with Dr. Tonya and a boat tour booked on Adventure Bay. We are not sure of internet access once we get to Bruny, so maybe no posts for the next two days. We will be back on Wednesday night in Hobart.
We hope to see the Tasman endemics plus lots of other birds and animals if possible. So wish us luck.
I just checked the weather and it is the same temperature here in Hobart as in Ottawa!
Colleen and I are heading to Bruny Island this morning and this is where we will be for the next two nights. We have a tour booked with Dr. Tonya and a boat tour booked on Adventure Bay. We are not sure of internet access once we get to Bruny, so maybe no posts for the next two days. We will be back on Wednesday night in Hobart.
We hope to see the Tasman endemics plus lots of other birds and animals if possible. So wish us luck.
I just checked the weather and it is the same temperature here in Hobart as in Ottawa!
Sunday November 10, 2013 - Arrived in Hobart
We left Sydney reluctantly and happily as it was so hot and humid but so much to see and do. We arrived in Hobart which is set in a beautiful setting of pastoral tree covered mountains and surrounded by water. It was only 8 degrees this morning. After we picked up our stuff and our car we went up Mount Wellington which I don't know how high it is. We drove up hairpin turns for about 12 km. The road had lots of snow along the edges. We were warned that if the fog was moving in, one would not be able to see anything. As we got within 1 km of the top, we were at a pullout for the view and the birds (sounded different to what we have heard to date), the fog moved in and we skaddled into the car and drove down as soon as possible as the road slicks up pretty quick. What we didn't know until we visited Sydney, it was like San Francisco with all of the hills. The same goes for Hobart, really steep hills are everywhere and houses and roads are built up on the hills, higher and higher.
Hobart is very pretty and not very big. We did see lorakeets here at the end of the day. I am going to check to see how high Mount Wellington is. Everything looks similar but at a closer look it is different.
We picked up fresh oysters at one of the fresh seafood places along the docks which were sublime and we did pick up some New Zealand wine to go with our take-out supper from the fish shack, scallops and prawns and chips. Supper was delicious. We are not just chilling out and lolling around as we had three intense days of birding or touring and that will start up again tomorrow with Bruny Island. The Hobart Harbour is in front of our motel. Everyone is very nice and we noticed that the accent here is a bit different from Sydney's.
So we are bundled up with heaviier clothes - no more shorts, sleeveless shirts and sandals from now on and seeing snow today was really sobering. I guess maybe we have snow back home right now.
We are looking forward to the birding tomorrow.
Hobart is very pretty and not very big. We did see lorakeets here at the end of the day. I am going to check to see how high Mount Wellington is. Everything looks similar but at a closer look it is different.
We picked up fresh oysters at one of the fresh seafood places along the docks which were sublime and we did pick up some New Zealand wine to go with our take-out supper from the fish shack, scallops and prawns and chips. Supper was delicious. We are not just chilling out and lolling around as we had three intense days of birding or touring and that will start up again tomorrow with Bruny Island. The Hobart Harbour is in front of our motel. Everyone is very nice and we noticed that the accent here is a bit different from Sydney's.
So we are bundled up with heaviier clothes - no more shorts, sleeveless shirts and sandals from now on and seeing snow today was really sobering. I guess maybe we have snow back home right now.
We are looking forward to the birding tomorrow.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Saturday November 9m 2013 - Sydney day
Colleen and I took the train into the city this morning and it was already hot and muggy. We visited the Botanic Gardens the first thing looking for the Powerful Owl for Colleen. The nice Friends of the Gardens volunteer told me that she had looked for the owl this morning in its usual roost where I had seen it on Tuesday and that today it was not there and therefore could be anywhere. We still looked for about 20 minutes with no luck. We also looked for the Tawny Frogmouth that was reported but did not have the exact tree where it had been seen two days ago and were not lucky.
By this time it was very very hot and we made our way to the Sydney Opera House to cool down, use the loo and see the inside. We also examined the outside and it is made of cement covered with tiles on the outside with a section line of glossy white tile and this is probably what makes it "glow" in the night lights with the lighting on this feature. We had lunch on the patio there and it was good. From there we went to the nearby Ferry to take it to Manley where Jeffrey, Coral's husband would take us for a tour of Manley would meet us. Coral who is Lynn's sister of Sami and Lynn took a bad cold yesterday and stayed home as she was sick and did not want to share her cold with us. While we were disappointed not to meet Coral, we appreciated her thoughtfulness and Jeffrey's kind offer to be tour guide. Jeffrey took us to North Head and some of the northern beaches including Manley beach. Jeffrey is an excellent tour guide giving us the history of some of the locations. Jeffrey should become a tour guide!! We also made a stop in the Steinyerd Hotel where Colleen's Paul suggested we visit. We had a break on the Manley beach patio and said our Thank You to Jeffrey and took the ferry back to Sydney.
We then went for supper in the Rockeries and yes we ate by the rocks. By this time it was 9:30 pm and the whole point to stay late was for Colleen to see the Sydney Harbour at night with the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city lit up, it is spectacular.
The temperature dropped in the evening, and me in a sleeveless top was freezing on the ferry and on the way home. At the outdoor restaurant where we ate they had the heaters on. We had spurts of rain going home on the train and walked down the hill at Summer Hill to our motel. A great day, even though we did not see many birds. Tomorrow am, early we leave for Tasmania!!!
By this time it was very very hot and we made our way to the Sydney Opera House to cool down, use the loo and see the inside. We also examined the outside and it is made of cement covered with tiles on the outside with a section line of glossy white tile and this is probably what makes it "glow" in the night lights with the lighting on this feature. We had lunch on the patio there and it was good. From there we went to the nearby Ferry to take it to Manley where Jeffrey, Coral's husband would take us for a tour of Manley would meet us. Coral who is Lynn's sister of Sami and Lynn took a bad cold yesterday and stayed home as she was sick and did not want to share her cold with us. While we were disappointed not to meet Coral, we appreciated her thoughtfulness and Jeffrey's kind offer to be tour guide. Jeffrey took us to North Head and some of the northern beaches including Manley beach. Jeffrey is an excellent tour guide giving us the history of some of the locations. Jeffrey should become a tour guide!! We also made a stop in the Steinyerd Hotel where Colleen's Paul suggested we visit. We had a break on the Manley beach patio and said our Thank You to Jeffrey and took the ferry back to Sydney.
We then went for supper in the Rockeries and yes we ate by the rocks. By this time it was 9:30 pm and the whole point to stay late was for Colleen to see the Sydney Harbour at night with the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city lit up, it is spectacular.
The temperature dropped in the evening, and me in a sleeveless top was freezing on the ferry and on the way home. At the outdoor restaurant where we ate they had the heaters on. We had spurts of rain going home on the train and walked down the hill at Summer Hill to our motel. A great day, even though we did not see many birds. Tomorrow am, early we leave for Tasmania!!!
Friday, November 8, 2013
Friday November 8, 2013 - Birding in Windsor with Keith
Keith picked us up at our motel at 7:30 am to bird the area. It was supposed to be 30 degrees today and it was warm already. We started the day with the lovely pink Galahs sitting on the telephone lines and being very noisy. Soon we saw the Rainbow Lorikeets, which Colleen had not seen before. Then the Red-rumped Parrots, and we had several more different types of parrots and lorikeets throughout the day. It was a hot day, there were more fires in the area, as this is the area where the latest outbreak of bush fires have occurred. Keith's daughter's home was surrounded by fire on both sides and she and the kids went to stay with Keith and his wife while the daughter's husband stayed back at their home to help fight the fires. They were lucky and the fires stopped at their property. Today there were more fires in the area. It got smokey where we were and we saw several helicopters getting water from the Hawkesbury River to go and dump the bucket on the fires. We were told we were fine. But the national park that Keith wanted to take us was closed due to the severe fire danger. It was very dry and hot. The birds were fairly quiet later in the day.
Birding highlights included a Sea Eagle, Banded Lapwing, we finally saw the Koel, Golden-headed Sisticola, Nutmeg Mannekin, Rufous Song Lark, Brown Song Lark, Freckled Duck, White-winged Triller and White-throated Gerygone. There were lots of other birds, we saw or heard about 100 birds. The Windsor area is plentiful in birds.
As the afternoon came, the winds picked up and the way the wind was blowing it cleared most of the smoke away. I haven't listened to the news yet so don't know how the fire-fighting went. But after we came home from the Summer Hill market square where we went to pick up some supper and came back, it started to RAIN!!! and it is supposed to rain for the next couple of days. This place could use a week of rain as everything is parched bone dry and there is so much dead dry stuff out there it is scary.
Colleen has been doing great and generally today the birding was in and out of the car and the air-conditioning was running at high. We said our thank you to Keith and we headed for Sidney where we are staying the next two nights. Tomorrow we are going to the Sydney waterfront and will go to the Botanic Gardens then the Opera House then the ferry to Manley. We will meet up with Sami and Lynn's brother-in-law who lives near Manley to visit a couple of Manley sights. Lynn's sister is coming down with a cold so unfortunately will not be meeting up with us. So tomorrow is sort of tourist day with some birding included. We are looking forward to seeing Sydney at dark as it was so beautiful when I flew in with all the lights.
Birding highlights included a Sea Eagle, Banded Lapwing, we finally saw the Koel, Golden-headed Sisticola, Nutmeg Mannekin, Rufous Song Lark, Brown Song Lark, Freckled Duck, White-winged Triller and White-throated Gerygone. There were lots of other birds, we saw or heard about 100 birds. The Windsor area is plentiful in birds.
As the afternoon came, the winds picked up and the way the wind was blowing it cleared most of the smoke away. I haven't listened to the news yet so don't know how the fire-fighting went. But after we came home from the Summer Hill market square where we went to pick up some supper and came back, it started to RAIN!!! and it is supposed to rain for the next couple of days. This place could use a week of rain as everything is parched bone dry and there is so much dead dry stuff out there it is scary.
Colleen has been doing great and generally today the birding was in and out of the car and the air-conditioning was running at high. We said our thank you to Keith and we headed for Sidney where we are staying the next two nights. Tomorrow we are going to the Sydney waterfront and will go to the Botanic Gardens then the Opera House then the ferry to Manley. We will meet up with Sami and Lynn's brother-in-law who lives near Manley to visit a couple of Manley sights. Lynn's sister is coming down with a cold so unfortunately will not be meeting up with us. So tomorrow is sort of tourist day with some birding included. We are looking forward to seeing Sydney at dark as it was so beautiful when I flew in with all the lights.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Thursday November 7 our day with Carol Proberts
Our day with Carol Proberts and the Capertee Valley started early at 6:00am with first stop at Evans Lookout where we both had a lifer, the Superb Lyrebird! The day was hot already and the overload of cicadas buzzing had started by the time we left. We also saw a Crimson Rosella and a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. We then stopeed at Gardens at ., where we saw many new birds such as the Golden Whisler (new for Colleen), the Satin Bowerbird (new for both of us), the Red-browed Finches, the Brown Thornbill and the Wattle Bird. These gardens were in full bloom with rhododendrons of all shapes and colours which attracted the birds and there were several tracts we took because of the bird sond (we were moving away from the cicada noise a bit but it was still hard to hear the actual bird song. That cicada noise was really something.
We stopped to pick up lunch then went off to the Capertee Valley where there are no stores. We saw Kangaroos by the side of the road and went down into this escarpment surrounded valley. Carol has friends here and we went on several properties. The first was April's homestead which had a trough with water for the birds and we had the New Holland Honeyeater, the White-eared Honeyeater and several other birds. The Capertee Valley is a hidden treasure and it is like being at the bottom of the Grand Canyon along with the extreme heat and no wind.
We stopped at several places and walked into private properties, once of which had the Regent Honeyeater which is now a rare bird with only 500 pairs estimated left.
WE had the Fuscous Honeyeater and White-winged Cuffs. The bush flies were in our face, they do not bite but aim for your mouth and eyes and who knows where the flies had come from. They are smaller than house flies and are just annoying. Carol we have mastered the Aussie "wave". For tea breakbreak, Carol served Colleen gluten free prlalines and I had an Australian goodie called "Lamington" which is pound cake rolled in coconut and chocolate powder on the outside and it is very tasty. I will try to make this at home sometime. Our tea in the outback was lovely even with the flies. Thankfully the Capertee Valley does NOT have the cicadas so it was great. We had Regent Honeyeater, the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater and the Noisy Friar Bird, to name a few.
A couple of more stops and we had what Carol said was a good bird the Horsefield's Bush Lark. This was in a pasture of Lucerne (Alfalfa). We made several more stops, had a lovely lunch - Colleen had a steak wrap with Beetroot and I had the Smoked Salmon and Avocado wrap with Beetroot too (Beetroot is included with everything including hamburghers. The time flew and then it was time to return to Katoomba. We said farewell and drove in the later evening with some sun to Windsor to meet up with Keith Brantwood tomorrow. We made at dark and we watched out for Kangaroos and Wallabies on the road, there are road kill here. We are cooling off now with a glass of wine and cheese to celebrate our lifers today.
We stopped to pick up lunch then went off to the Capertee Valley where there are no stores. We saw Kangaroos by the side of the road and went down into this escarpment surrounded valley. Carol has friends here and we went on several properties. The first was April's homestead which had a trough with water for the birds and we had the New Holland Honeyeater, the White-eared Honeyeater and several other birds. The Capertee Valley is a hidden treasure and it is like being at the bottom of the Grand Canyon along with the extreme heat and no wind.
We stopped at several places and walked into private properties, once of which had the Regent Honeyeater which is now a rare bird with only 500 pairs estimated left.
WE had the Fuscous Honeyeater and White-winged Cuffs. The bush flies were in our face, they do not bite but aim for your mouth and eyes and who knows where the flies had come from. They are smaller than house flies and are just annoying. Carol we have mastered the Aussie "wave". For tea breakbreak, Carol served Colleen gluten free prlalines and I had an Australian goodie called "Lamington" which is pound cake rolled in coconut and chocolate powder on the outside and it is very tasty. I will try to make this at home sometime. Our tea in the outback was lovely even with the flies. Thankfully the Capertee Valley does NOT have the cicadas so it was great. We had Regent Honeyeater, the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater and the Noisy Friar Bird, to name a few.
A couple of more stops and we had what Carol said was a good bird the Horsefield's Bush Lark. This was in a pasture of Lucerne (Alfalfa). We made several more stops, had a lovely lunch - Colleen had a steak wrap with Beetroot and I had the Smoked Salmon and Avocado wrap with Beetroot too (Beetroot is included with everything including hamburghers. The time flew and then it was time to return to Katoomba. We said farewell and drove in the later evening with some sun to Windsor to meet up with Keith Brantwood tomorrow. We made at dark and we watched out for Kangaroos and Wallabies on the road, there are road kill here. We are cooling off now with a glass of wine and cheese to celebrate our lifers today.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Wednesday November 6, 2013 - Colleen arrived safe and sound!
I met Colleen at the airport this morning and it was a good flight for her and her luggage arrived with her. We directly headed up to the Blue Mountains which due to the Eucalyptus which comprise most of the forest here and give the area its blue hue. We visited the Three Sisters Lookout which is a bit like a forested Grand canyou. It was kind of misty or smokey or something so it was difficult to get a photo that showed the actual gradeur of the site. We then stopped to visit the nearby cascades/falls which were deep in the canyou. This is same area that experienced bad forest fires two weeks ago. We did not see any burnt trees but tomorrow we will be in another area and maybe will see the damage. The news now is to visit as this area depends on tourisim a lot.
Colleen is doing great and we headed back to the hotel after doing some gorcery shopping for breakfast food and we had a take out lunch that we ate at the Three Sisters Lookout.
We are back at the motel now and after a celebratory glass of wine to start Colleen's trip, Colleen is tucking up into bed early, she needs to get in a good long sleep to turn herself around and we are getting up earlty tomorrow am to go birding with Carol Proberts who lives here in Katoomba and is the expert birder for the Capertee Valley. So we have to be fresh for that.
Colleen's first Australian bird was the Austarlian Magpie near the airport in Sydney and then she has seen the wonderful huge Sullphur Crested Cockatoos. I know she will see lots tomorrow as we looked for birdds today but they just were not around as we don't know really where to look for them.
It is back to being quite warm here and we are up high, so it is a little moderated by a good breeze, so it is very comfortable for touring or birding.
What no one told us is the deafening sound of some insect or cicada, it is truly unbelievable and it is everywhere, one can't hear anything else in the woods and you cab forget about hearing a bird. Colleen tried to make a audio oopy of the insect chorus. We have not seen the insects that make this sound but we will ask Carol about it tomorrow. That's it for today.
Colleen is doing great and we headed back to the hotel after doing some gorcery shopping for breakfast food and we had a take out lunch that we ate at the Three Sisters Lookout.
We are back at the motel now and after a celebratory glass of wine to start Colleen's trip, Colleen is tucking up into bed early, she needs to get in a good long sleep to turn herself around and we are getting up earlty tomorrow am to go birding with Carol Proberts who lives here in Katoomba and is the expert birder for the Capertee Valley. So we have to be fresh for that.
Colleen's first Australian bird was the Austarlian Magpie near the airport in Sydney and then she has seen the wonderful huge Sullphur Crested Cockatoos. I know she will see lots tomorrow as we looked for birdds today but they just were not around as we don't know really where to look for them.
It is back to being quite warm here and we are up high, so it is a little moderated by a good breeze, so it is very comfortable for touring or birding.
What no one told us is the deafening sound of some insect or cicada, it is truly unbelievable and it is everywhere, one can't hear anything else in the woods and you cab forget about hearing a bird. Colleen tried to make a audio oopy of the insect chorus. We have not seen the insects that make this sound but we will ask Carol about it tomorrow. That's it for today.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Tuesday November 5, 2013 - Manley and Sydney
I birded today with birdingpal Allan and a birder from France, Cecile in the forests north of Manley. I took the train (subway) from Summer Hill where I am staying to Town Hall. It was an easy commute and I met up with them at 7:50 am. From there we went north to Warriewood and Irawong Preserves. We had some of the regular birds and some new ones also, the Yellow Thornbill, Little Wattle Bird, Olive-backed Oriole and the very nice Sacred Kingfisher! The forest was full of bird song and there were many parrots (Eastern Rosellas, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, Rainbow Lorikeets and the King Parrot which is just spectacular! We were looking for the Lyrebird but no luck. Several Galahs flew by but I could not get a good look at them, so I am still looking for a Galah lifer.
After lunch we went to several of Manley's beaches looking for seabirds. It was overcast, windy and chilly all day until about 2:30 pm when the sun finally came out and the waters became calm. The surfers were out in the rough conditions and the waves were huge.
Allan dropped me off at the Ferry to Sydney so I could take a water ride and while it was short, it was choppy until we got into the inner area where we sailed by a huge Celebrity cruise ship and past the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Bay bridge. No one was climbing it today, too windy. It was a big race day today, the Flemington, something like the Derby in the UK and many people were dressed with hats and dresses and men in suits going to the afternoon parties. There were lots of really lovely outfits and there was a big race party at the Sydney Opera House.
From the ferry I went to the Botanic Gardens where I met another birder and we looked for the Powerful Owl, the largest owl in Australia. We were successful and it took a lot of work and I had directions from Allan as to the location where the owl is usually roosting. It is a big owl and I was thrilled to see it.
From there a walk around with the crowds and the train ride home by 6:00 pm. I want to hit the sack early tonight as tomorrow Colleen arrives!!! Yipee!!! and we are going to the Blue Mountains and staying the night in Katoomba.
After lunch we went to several of Manley's beaches looking for seabirds. It was overcast, windy and chilly all day until about 2:30 pm when the sun finally came out and the waters became calm. The surfers were out in the rough conditions and the waves were huge.
Allan dropped me off at the Ferry to Sydney so I could take a water ride and while it was short, it was choppy until we got into the inner area where we sailed by a huge Celebrity cruise ship and past the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Bay bridge. No one was climbing it today, too windy. It was a big race day today, the Flemington, something like the Derby in the UK and many people were dressed with hats and dresses and men in suits going to the afternoon parties. There were lots of really lovely outfits and there was a big race party at the Sydney Opera House.
From the ferry I went to the Botanic Gardens where I met another birder and we looked for the Powerful Owl, the largest owl in Australia. We were successful and it took a lot of work and I had directions from Allan as to the location where the owl is usually roosting. It is a big owl and I was thrilled to see it.
From there a walk around with the crowds and the train ride home by 6:00 pm. I want to hit the sack early tonight as tomorrow Colleen arrives!!! Yipee!!! and we are going to the Blue Mountains and staying the night in Katoomba.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Monday November 4, 2013 Sydney birding with birdingpal Allan Richards
This day started in a great way, three Sulphur Crested Cockatoos in my window, sitting on the building on a building trim next door. No where else can one see this view on waking. I thought I was seeing things as I really thought these birds were in the hot tropic areas of Australia but that is not the case, these birds are everywhere!!
Allan picked me up at 8:00am and we went off the wetlands and ponds and forests around the Sydney Olympic Village. This was an old industrial area that was cleared out and the Olympic venues were all built here. It is still quite impressive. I had great views of the Superbe Fairy Wren, Chestnut Teal, Australian Raven that has a long whiny wail, really quite unique. I saw the Red-Whiskered Bulbul, Spotted Dove, Red Wattle Bird. At the Badu Wetlands I saw the Pacific Golden Plover, the magnificent Red-legged Dotterel, the Baillon Crake, Fairy Martins, Hoary-headed Grebe, Little Corella, Buff-banded Rail, and one of my favourites the Tawny Frogmouth. The Frogmouths almost look prehistoric. I am also getting used to seeing Flying Foxes. We also had a Brown Thornbill and saw the Channel Cuckoo getting mobbed by the Australian Raven. We also stopped in Wentworth Common, Centenary Park and Centennial Parks. The day ended around 3:30 pm before traffic got real bad in town. We drove through downtown and over the impressive ANZAC Bridge. After a quick cup of tea break, I went off on foot to the high street to buy a bun for a sandwich lunch tomorrow are Allan and I and another birder from away are going, I think North of the city to bird. l ended up buying a book, the newspaper, a bottle of wine (Australian and from a nearby vineyard) and some more snacks. It is still light now (days are longer here than up in northern Australian) but it will be dark in a while and I have to work on my bird list. A very good day for birding here, about 50 birds and some lifers for me.
Walking up to the high street or market street, the houses are old and very nice. They are all unique and have their own names on them. Generally there is a front yard with room for the car, the roofs are all tiled and very quaint. It is like being in an English Village in the UK.
Today was the first time I wore shoes since I left Canada and long pants. It was coolish all day, never hot. Until today I wore a sleeveless top, shorts and sandals as it was just too hot for anything else. I only brought two sleeveless tops, and it was so hot, I washed one every day (along with all the other stuff I was wearing) and wore the other one. I only brought one pair of shorts but I got another pair donated to me to wear from one of my American birding friends who had brought too much and had to purge clothes as she also got caught paying for each piece of luggage by Virgin on her way into Cairns.
Allan picked me up at 8:00am and we went off the wetlands and ponds and forests around the Sydney Olympic Village. This was an old industrial area that was cleared out and the Olympic venues were all built here. It is still quite impressive. I had great views of the Superbe Fairy Wren, Chestnut Teal, Australian Raven that has a long whiny wail, really quite unique. I saw the Red-Whiskered Bulbul, Spotted Dove, Red Wattle Bird. At the Badu Wetlands I saw the Pacific Golden Plover, the magnificent Red-legged Dotterel, the Baillon Crake, Fairy Martins, Hoary-headed Grebe, Little Corella, Buff-banded Rail, and one of my favourites the Tawny Frogmouth. The Frogmouths almost look prehistoric. I am also getting used to seeing Flying Foxes. We also had a Brown Thornbill and saw the Channel Cuckoo getting mobbed by the Australian Raven. We also stopped in Wentworth Common, Centenary Park and Centennial Parks. The day ended around 3:30 pm before traffic got real bad in town. We drove through downtown and over the impressive ANZAC Bridge. After a quick cup of tea break, I went off on foot to the high street to buy a bun for a sandwich lunch tomorrow are Allan and I and another birder from away are going, I think North of the city to bird. l ended up buying a book, the newspaper, a bottle of wine (Australian and from a nearby vineyard) and some more snacks. It is still light now (days are longer here than up in northern Australian) but it will be dark in a while and I have to work on my bird list. A very good day for birding here, about 50 birds and some lifers for me.
Walking up to the high street or market street, the houses are old and very nice. They are all unique and have their own names on them. Generally there is a front yard with room for the car, the roofs are all tiled and very quaint. It is like being in an English Village in the UK.
Today was the first time I wore shoes since I left Canada and long pants. It was coolish all day, never hot. Until today I wore a sleeveless top, shorts and sandals as it was just too hot for anything else. I only brought two sleeveless tops, and it was so hot, I washed one every day (along with all the other stuff I was wearing) and wore the other one. I only brought one pair of shorts but I got another pair donated to me to wear from one of my American birding friends who had brought too much and had to purge clothes as she also got caught paying for each piece of luggage by Virgin on her way into Cairns.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Back in Sydney to stay for a while.
FINALLY I am staying in a place with unlimited internet that is fast and that they don't charge $6 for 1/2 hour. Here at the Marco Polo Motor Inn, here it is unlimited internet, I really looked hard for this place.
You want to know something crazy, they even charge for internet at the airport here. I really can't believe it. I am not impressed with Virgin Australia either, I hope I don't fly with them again, although I brought on so many bags as hand luggage on this last trip (roller bag, shopping bag with binocs and camera AND a purse over my shoulder). I think I could have gotten on with an elephant on my back too. Virgin charges $40 per bag checked which I had to pay to leave Cairns but did not pay on the way to Cairns, so don't know what is going on here, but from the exorbitant internet fees, if they do indeed offer internet to nickle and diming for even use of the room safe, Australia is not offshore tourist oriented. I have told hotel staff everytime when they say there is no internet or it is 6 or 10 dollars for 1/2 hour that the only place I have had to pay for internet is Las Vegas and a Cruise ship. It is just ridiculous. So much for that but I have stayed in 8 places since I arrived and this is the first place where internet is fast and free and available in the room. So much for venting, I am done!!
But to make up for my petty complaints here, I have found Australians and visitors both great. One can smile at people here and they smile back which is very unusual. Everyone has been great to me.
Also having a mobile phone Australia number is absolutely necessary, I have had to phone places several times to get information or whatever and it is just so much easier.
I arrived in Sydney at 5:00 pm today and I picked up our rental car for the week at the airport. The motel is about a 12 minute drive on a Sunday evening from the airport. I have already been to the market street (IGA and restaurants, and everything - our suburbs should be planned this way). AND there are no big box stores except for IKEA (saw it from the air) and no Wall Mart either. It is like Australia is still in the fifities. The towns I have been through all have owner owned stores and not chains except for Kmart which I saw somewhere and the store signs are not neon lights, it all looks very fifties. I am sure Sydney will change my mind, although I like the market street in Summer Hill, Sidney as it has everthing for everyday life including th butcher shop!
Uluru was around 36 degrees today and it was stifling. I was out birding at 6:00 am for an hour to see if I could find the Galahs and did not. My friend that I met here was also travelling alone and she was from Virginia had photos of them and she is not a birder. I went right out to find them after she called me and they were gone already. She showed me her photos of the group of Galahs just grazing in the grass. So I searched today and no luck. Maybe I will find them somewhere else.
The flight was good and Sydney was refreshing at 21 degrees and a big cooling wind. It was a bumpy flight arriving in Sydney because of the wind.
I am settled into the motel, it even has dishes and one always get tea and coffee fixings and milk available like most NA motels. I have gone to the market street and picked up a BBQ chicken and salad and some breakfast stuff for the next couple of days.
I am going birding with birding pal Allan tomorrow am and I am not sure where we are birding. On Tuesday, I am meet Allan downtown which should be fine as the train/subway is just up the block.
So I am quite settled in here until Colleen arrives on Wednesday. This is realy the first night that I don't have someone to have supper with etc and chum around with afterwards. I am glad I was so fortunate to meet the birders I did along the way. And yes there were birds in Uluru and I id some of them myself. I bumped into a birder at Uluru who invited me to bird with her, but alas I was heading to the swimming pool to cool down my boiling brain after an outing, so could not bird with her. She confirmed my id, so felt lucky for that.
Looking forward to birding in Sydney!
You want to know something crazy, they even charge for internet at the airport here. I really can't believe it. I am not impressed with Virgin Australia either, I hope I don't fly with them again, although I brought on so many bags as hand luggage on this last trip (roller bag, shopping bag with binocs and camera AND a purse over my shoulder). I think I could have gotten on with an elephant on my back too. Virgin charges $40 per bag checked which I had to pay to leave Cairns but did not pay on the way to Cairns, so don't know what is going on here, but from the exorbitant internet fees, if they do indeed offer internet to nickle and diming for even use of the room safe, Australia is not offshore tourist oriented. I have told hotel staff everytime when they say there is no internet or it is 6 or 10 dollars for 1/2 hour that the only place I have had to pay for internet is Las Vegas and a Cruise ship. It is just ridiculous. So much for that but I have stayed in 8 places since I arrived and this is the first place where internet is fast and free and available in the room. So much for venting, I am done!!
But to make up for my petty complaints here, I have found Australians and visitors both great. One can smile at people here and they smile back which is very unusual. Everyone has been great to me.
Also having a mobile phone Australia number is absolutely necessary, I have had to phone places several times to get information or whatever and it is just so much easier.
I arrived in Sydney at 5:00 pm today and I picked up our rental car for the week at the airport. The motel is about a 12 minute drive on a Sunday evening from the airport. I have already been to the market street (IGA and restaurants, and everything - our suburbs should be planned this way). AND there are no big box stores except for IKEA (saw it from the air) and no Wall Mart either. It is like Australia is still in the fifities. The towns I have been through all have owner owned stores and not chains except for Kmart which I saw somewhere and the store signs are not neon lights, it all looks very fifties. I am sure Sydney will change my mind, although I like the market street in Summer Hill, Sidney as it has everthing for everyday life including th butcher shop!
Uluru was around 36 degrees today and it was stifling. I was out birding at 6:00 am for an hour to see if I could find the Galahs and did not. My friend that I met here was also travelling alone and she was from Virginia had photos of them and she is not a birder. I went right out to find them after she called me and they were gone already. She showed me her photos of the group of Galahs just grazing in the grass. So I searched today and no luck. Maybe I will find them somewhere else.
The flight was good and Sydney was refreshing at 21 degrees and a big cooling wind. It was a bumpy flight arriving in Sydney because of the wind.
I am settled into the motel, it even has dishes and one always get tea and coffee fixings and milk available like most NA motels. I have gone to the market street and picked up a BBQ chicken and salad and some breakfast stuff for the next couple of days.
I am going birding with birding pal Allan tomorrow am and I am not sure where we are birding. On Tuesday, I am meet Allan downtown which should be fine as the train/subway is just up the block.
So I am quite settled in here until Colleen arrives on Wednesday. This is realy the first night that I don't have someone to have supper with etc and chum around with afterwards. I am glad I was so fortunate to meet the birders I did along the way. And yes there were birds in Uluru and I id some of them myself. I bumped into a birder at Uluru who invited me to bird with her, but alas I was heading to the swimming pool to cool down my boiling brain after an outing, so could not bird with her. She confirmed my id, so felt lucky for that.
Looking forward to birding in Sydney!
Friday, November 1, 2013
Sat Nov 2 2013 Uluru/Ayers rock
Got up for 4:45 departure to walk around the rock today
It was dark and windy and warm
We saw the sun rise over the rock and looked at gorge areas and caves
It is a special place and we had the natives people's stories about the myths of the rock e planned to us
We had breakfast a little later and finished the 12.5 km walk by 10:30 am and it was stifling hot already
I found internet access here in another hotel so will be quick
The area is in the middle of the desert and yes there are birds here
Not many but they are concentrated here which with the gardens is a bit of an Oasis
I Identifed a bird on my own and it only took 15 minutes
I managed to get a photo of it and then started on the bird guide
Got the bird I'd confirmed by a guide who knew some of the birds
I will watch the sun set over the rock again today
It was dark and windy and warm
We saw the sun rise over the rock and looked at gorge areas and caves
It is a special place and we had the natives people's stories about the myths of the rock e planned to us
We had breakfast a little later and finished the 12.5 km walk by 10:30 am and it was stifling hot already
I found internet access here in another hotel so will be quick
The area is in the middle of the desert and yes there are birds here
Not many but they are concentrated here which with the gardens is a bit of an Oasis
I Identifed a bird on my own and it only took 15 minutes
I managed to get a photo of it and then started on the bird guide
Got the bird I'd confirmed by a guide who knew some of the birds
I will watch the sun set over the rock again today
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Last night in Cairns
The birding tour to the Tablelands ended this afternoon and Klaus was a great guide and the American birding couple from New Mexico were fun to travel with.
Besides the Cassowary this morning we had some other birding highlights on our travels to Cairns on this hot humid day. We had the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin at Eubenengee Swamp and then the Rainbow Bee-eater at the Cemetery here in Cairns. Our group also stopped at the Esplanade to look for shorebirds this afternoon and we got good looks at the Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel, Grey-tailed Tatler, March Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint and Curlew Sandpiper. The tide was coming in quickly and the Australian Pelicans ended up on a grassy spot right in front of us.
After parting from the tour group, I hustled down to the 4 o'clock Esplanade birders to let John Seale know what I saw on the tour and some of the locations and to say good-bye to the group. While there we saw the Grey Plover which I had not seen before. Birding in the Cairns area was great and the local birders were very helpful. Tomorrow it is Sidney....
Besides the Cassowary this morning we had some other birding highlights on our travels to Cairns on this hot humid day. We had the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin at Eubenengee Swamp and then the Rainbow Bee-eater at the Cemetery here in Cairns. Our group also stopped at the Esplanade to look for shorebirds this afternoon and we got good looks at the Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel, Grey-tailed Tatler, March Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint and Curlew Sandpiper. The tide was coming in quickly and the Australian Pelicans ended up on a grassy spot right in front of us.
After parting from the tour group, I hustled down to the 4 o'clock Esplanade birders to let John Seale know what I saw on the tour and some of the locations and to say good-bye to the group. While there we saw the Grey Plover which I had not seen before. Birding in the Cairns area was great and the local birders were very helpful. Tomorrow it is Sidney....
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Wednesday October 30, 2013 - Cassowary !!!! YES1
It is not even 9:00 am yet today but we did get our target bird for the day already. We were out the door by 6:00 am to go to the trails to look for the Cassowary out there and we did look but did not find any recent droppings. Going down the road to another trail, we had a female Cassowary just wandering along the roadway. It took its time, a car stopped for it and we had time to look at ti and I even took some photos of it. This non-flying bird is magnificent and looks regal with the casque on its head and the unbelievable colours on its nect. It was totally oblivious of humans and cars and moved slowly along. At this time of year, there are young chicks around but they are plane brown, so we were really lucky to have seen a mature bird. This is a lovely bird. Cassowarys eat anything but they love fruit and this was heading to the banana plantation.
gtg
gtg
Tuesday October 29, 2013
Today was a hot hot day and we spent it looking for the Cassowary. We went down several trails and paths in two different places. Then we saw signs saying "slow down - Cassowary Chicks around" but did not see them anywhere. It was almost hot enough to feel my brain boil. We did have a good start at Eacham Lake at 6:00 am finding the Spinebill and the Rifle Bird and the King Parrots. We had the Rufous Honeyeater at the motel, along with a lone House Sparrow. Tonight we are in the lowlands and the extreme heat and humidity and near the Coral Sea. We drove along the coast and the tides was high and the waves were wild. Right now I can hear the crickets and little Cane Toads making rustling noises in the brush near by along with the Geckcos making their kissing noises.. Also I can hear the Flying Foxes (you know what these are - those rodents that I don't like are also around and this is the time when the snakes come out and start looking for food so I am looking out for a smooth rustling noise also. We already found one python in the dark the other night and don't need that again.
I did have something like fire ants on me today and you should have seen me dance!! I guess I walked by a nest which had been disturbed.
Actually there are now too many noises in the dark here now and it is creeping me out, so will cut this short. I could not get a signal in my room so had to come out to outside the motel office and everything is dark and no one is around. My American friend just left me. The internet access in Australia is so far in the dark ages and most places charge $5 for 1/2 hour, this place was for a change free.
Tomorrow is our last day of the tour and I will be back in Cannes for the night to leave for Sidney the next morning. This Bowerbird Tour has been great and I was with very nice people.
gtg, too many jungle sounds!
I did have something like fire ants on me today and you should have seen me dance!! I guess I walked by a nest which had been disturbed.
Actually there are now too many noises in the dark here now and it is creeping me out, so will cut this short. I could not get a signal in my room so had to come out to outside the motel office and everything is dark and no one is around. My American friend just left me. The internet access in Australia is so far in the dark ages and most places charge $5 for 1/2 hour, this place was for a change free.
Tomorrow is our last day of the tour and I will be back in Cannes for the night to leave for Sidney the next morning. This Bowerbird Tour has been great and I was with very nice people.
gtg, too many jungle sounds!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Whacked by a shower head no worries
Last night we stayed in Yougaburra, In the very nice motel bathroom I stepped into the shower with the Rainforest Shower head that was showering down on me and it very quickly fell off and the metal shower head whacked me badly on my right cheek (not the buttock but the face!!!) and it hurt enough but did not think It would show....today I have a bruise on my cheek but nothing like when I fell in May but it is there and it is tender at least it is on the other cheek
We are just taking a break and I found an Internet
Birds seem today include Golden Bowerbird and Golden Whistler and Victoria's Rifle Bird ready to displaying
A hot hot day again
Gtg battery on phone is less than 10%
We are just taking a break and I found an Internet
Birds seem today include Golden Bowerbird and Golden Whistler and Victoria's Rifle Bird ready to displaying
A hot hot day again
Gtg battery on phone is less than 10%
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Day 7 Saturday October 26, 2013 - Kingfisher Lodge Jullaten
Another hot day here in the rainforest area. We took a flat boat birding trip on the Daintree River with Murray. The water was pretty good and we went quickly down the river to a small channel where we went slowly down and then back to look at birds, some of them on nests, saw the Azure Kingfisher, the Shining Flycatcher (the female is very pretty in her own way), Papuan Frogmouth, Wampoo, Dollar Bird, and a Water Dragon. This was in the Mangrove channels where it is mainly brackish water. There were the aggressive Crocodiles also in this river. The birds were really special.
In the afternoon we went up to Mount Lewis, which is at about 1000 meters and did a long trail up there looking for specialty birds up at the higher elevations. The ones we had good looks at were the Atherton Scrub Wren, Bridled Honeyeater, Fern Wren, Victoria's Rifle Bird, White-headed Pigeon and a Chowchilla family.
I guess my favourite of the day was the Wampoo on the nest and it's call is exactly the same sound as its name WAM POO!
At dusk or nearly dark we went looking for owls and found the Australian Owlet Nightjar, and an Eastern Barn Owl. The Brush Curlews call at night here and their call is bone chilling, sounding like the screams of a child or a young person.
The jungle is full of insect sounds, gecko calls, owls and curlew wails. It is quite hair raising if one listens to it. I slather on the sunscreen each day but today forgot my knees and so they got burned sitting on the boat for two hours this morning. it wasn't really sunny but the sun is strong here as the equator is not that far away.
That's it for today, a full day of birding.
In the afternoon we went up to Mount Lewis, which is at about 1000 meters and did a long trail up there looking for specialty birds up at the higher elevations. The ones we had good looks at were the Atherton Scrub Wren, Bridled Honeyeater, Fern Wren, Victoria's Rifle Bird, White-headed Pigeon and a Chowchilla family.
I guess my favourite of the day was the Wampoo on the nest and it's call is exactly the same sound as its name WAM POO!
At dusk or nearly dark we went looking for owls and found the Australian Owlet Nightjar, and an Eastern Barn Owl. The Brush Curlews call at night here and their call is bone chilling, sounding like the screams of a child or a young person.
The jungle is full of insect sounds, gecko calls, owls and curlew wails. It is quite hair raising if one listens to it. I slather on the sunscreen each day but today forgot my knees and so they got burned sitting on the boat for two hours this morning. it wasn't really sunny but the sun is strong here as the equator is not that far away.
That's it for today, a full day of birding.
Friday, October 25, 2013
October 25, 2013 - Lots of lifers today!!
Finally I have a keyboard and internet in my room for the first time. All week I have been standing outside the hotel (a decent place) and using the Cairns Community internet (available on the Main Street, the Esplanade and typing the posts in on my iphone late each evening and so could not say how the "same" as home everything was but at the same time it was very different. This place feels al lot like Key West and is very pretty also. But the internet is not available in the hotel rooms.
Tonight I am with a group birding outing/tour of six days and am staying at Kingfisher Lodge for tonight and tomorrow night. This place is in the Atherton Tablelands about 120 km from Cairns and it is about 700 meters above sea level. It is very nice and it has internet in the rooms YIPEE!! So out in the middle of no where, there is technology which I guess is par for the course.
We just returned from supper at the Highlands in Julaten and it is similar to the open air places we ate in Ecuador, very nice with lots of jungle sounds coming from the darkness.
I wish I could send a photo and maybe tomorrow if I have time I will try to figure it out. I have a lovely photo of a Laughing Kookaburra I took today.
Today we had higher elevation birds, all lifers such as the Koel, the Blue-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Pitta, Little Shrike Thrush (very pretty), Cicada Bird, Scaley-breatsted Lorakeets, Pheasant Couchal, Crested Pigeon, Australian Bustard, Varied Triller etc. So many new birds and some are very pretty in a restrained way and others are just spectacular in every way. We also saw Agile Wallaby and Giant Skink. The Skink was quite large and tonight we had some type of domestic gopher/guinea pig that were fat and big.
It was an extremely hot day and since we are high, the evening cooled off enough for a light sweater on top, since we ate outside.
Right now I can hear the sounds of the jungle and every few minutes it is a different call, cry or sound . Thank goodness there are no Howler Monkeys or else there would be no sleep for me.
Today, like all the other days, has been great and we have breakfast tomorrow at 6 am so we can go birding. Pretty sweet.
Tonight I am with a group birding outing/tour of six days and am staying at Kingfisher Lodge for tonight and tomorrow night. This place is in the Atherton Tablelands about 120 km from Cairns and it is about 700 meters above sea level. It is very nice and it has internet in the rooms YIPEE!! So out in the middle of no where, there is technology which I guess is par for the course.
We just returned from supper at the Highlands in Julaten and it is similar to the open air places we ate in Ecuador, very nice with lots of jungle sounds coming from the darkness.
I wish I could send a photo and maybe tomorrow if I have time I will try to figure it out. I have a lovely photo of a Laughing Kookaburra I took today.
Today we had higher elevation birds, all lifers such as the Koel, the Blue-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Pitta, Little Shrike Thrush (very pretty), Cicada Bird, Scaley-breatsted Lorakeets, Pheasant Couchal, Crested Pigeon, Australian Bustard, Varied Triller etc. So many new birds and some are very pretty in a restrained way and others are just spectacular in every way. We also saw Agile Wallaby and Giant Skink. The Skink was quite large and tonight we had some type of domestic gopher/guinea pig that were fat and big.
It was an extremely hot day and since we are high, the evening cooled off enough for a light sweater on top, since we ate outside.
Right now I can hear the sounds of the jungle and every few minutes it is a different call, cry or sound . Thank goodness there are no Howler Monkeys or else there would be no sleep for me.
Today, like all the other days, has been great and we have breakfast tomorrow at 6 am so we can go birding. Pretty sweet.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
I went up to the nearby rainforest with John - birding pal
John was to meet two more birders from the US already up there
We left early and drov e up1000 meters to the rainforest
While it is not quite like it was in Ecuador it is a rainforest climate
We had the King Parrot and the Superbe Fruit Dove and the Tooth bill Bowerbird
It was hot and muggy up the and we did a trail and saw the bower of fresh leaves laid out by the bird and heard him calling for a. Sweetie
We sawtwotypes of cranes Bolga and saurous and we saw the Wedgetail Eagle ,
We travelled to a lower elevation and had the Sacred Kingfisher
All pretty spectacular
Another day filled with birds
Imet up with Kathy for supper to discuss birds and packing and luggage etc
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Wednesday October 23 Cairns
Today we we to see birds in a wildlife Preserve just in case we did not see them in the real outdoors
I had great looks at a Cassowary, Jabaroo and had many close ups of parrots
Kathy and I had a nice lunch with the birds at this preserve in Port Douglas about an hour north of Cairns and it was so hot there
Weal digit to see several types of Kangaroos and wallabies and a couple of snakes
It was really interesting
We ended the day with the usual group of birders on the Esplanade watching for newly arriving shorebirds, along with the Curlews,Godwits, and plovers
Tomorrow morning I am being picked up at 6:30 am to go to the highlands to bird
Got to go! This gets hard typing on the iPhone out Here on the street each night
I had great looks at a Cassowary, Jabaroo and had many close ups of parrots
Kathy and I had a nice lunch with the birds at this preserve in Port Douglas about an hour north of Cairns and it was so hot there
Weal digit to see several types of Kangaroos and wallabies and a couple of snakes
It was really interesting
We ended the day with the usual group of birders on the Esplanade watching for newly arriving shorebirds, along with the Curlews,Godwits, and plovers
Tomorrow morning I am being picked up at 6:30 am to go to the highlands to bird
Got to go! This gets hard typing on the iPhone out Here on the street each night
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Cairns Botanic Gardens & Centenary Lakes October 22
Another sweet day
Birding with John Seale's TuesdayBirding outing at the gardens and more lifers
Reef heron
Red capped plover
Striated heron
CurlewSandpiper
Olive backed sunbird
Great knot
Red necked stint
Lesser sandpiper
I have typed the posts on my iPhone so not the easiest
Tomorrow going with Kathy theAmericam birder I met at the Cairns airport are going to PortDouglas to have Breakfast with the Birds at this preserve
Birding with John Seale's TuesdayBirding outing at the gardens and more lifers
Reef heron
Red capped plover
Striated heron
CurlewSandpiper
Olive backed sunbird
Great knot
Red necked stint
Lesser sandpiper
I have typed the posts on my iPhone so not the easiest
Tomorrow going with Kathy theAmericam birder I met at the Cairns airport are going to PortDouglas to have Breakfast with the Birds at this preserve
Monday, October 21, 2013
October 21 Cairns area birding with Doug
I got about 75 lifers today birding the coast and inland areas of Cairns
We had Jacana, Tatler, honeyeaters, Herons, Curlews and great Bowerbirddoudsaid the bird of the day was the Beach Stone Curlew and we also had the Brush StoneCurlew
We spectacular finches and Honeyeaters also
White face Heron and White Neck Heron and Silvereye
We ended the day with 83 species AND no snakes and one iffy spider
I met up with the American birding gal for some birding when I got back and we found the Nankeen Herons roosting along the esplanade and then we had dinner
Now off back to the hotel for a good hot shower to wash off the bug spray which I used tons of today
We had some pretty sweet birds
A wonderful day
We had Jacana, Tatler, honeyeaters, Herons, Curlews and great Bowerbirddoudsaid the bird of the day was the Beach Stone Curlew and we also had the Brush StoneCurlew
We spectacular finches and Honeyeaters also
White face Heron and White Neck Heron and Silvereye
We ended the day with 83 species AND no snakes and one iffy spider
I met up with the American birding gal for some birding when I got back and we found the Nankeen Herons roosting along the esplanade and then we had dinner
Now off back to the hotel for a good hot shower to wash off the bug spray which I used tons of today
We had some pretty sweet birds
A wonderful day
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Masked Lapwing
I spent a lovely afternoon with birding pal John Seale at the mudflats of TrinityBay and had several lifers including the spectacular masked lapwing
Eastern Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Gull Billed Tern, Willie Wagtail, Pied Imperial Pigeon to names few
It was great and there were several local birders with us
I had supper with Kathy a birder from Mass. US whom I met at the airport yesterday
We bumped into each other when I heard her calling my name while I was walking to meet up with John
Right I can hear the. Myna birds still talking away
More birds tomorrow
Eastern Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Gull Billed Tern, Willie Wagtail, Pied Imperial Pigeon to names few
It was great and there were several local birders with us
I had supper with Kathy a birder from Mass. US whom I met at the airport yesterday
We bumped into each other when I heard her calling my name while I was walking to meet up with John
Right I can hear the. Myna birds still talking away
More birds tomorrow
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Finally Cairns October 19
It is a full moonlight now overlooking the ocean at Cairns justgorgeoui have been busy with getting organized and trying to stay awake the trip to get here was 25 hours of just flying in the plane
It was good trip in
At the airport I metamAmerican birders saga and I are meeting up tortow with the Cairns birding pal
I have seen two, one of the sitting Ina nest with a pale blue bil and a blacked faced crane
I really bushed so going to hit the sack soon with a couple of Gravol pills
First sleep in Australia and it is steamy hot here
It was good trip in
At the airport I metamAmerican birders saga and I are meeting up tortow with the Cairns birding pal
I have seen two, one of the sitting Ina nest with a pale blue bil and a blacked faced crane
I really bushed so going to hit the sack soon with a couple of Gravol pills
First sleep in Australia and it is steamy hot here
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
One more sleep and everything is ready
Just one more night to sleep and then the adventure starts.
Passport and other documents are ready, along with credit cards and binocs and scope and clothes for hot and cooler weather. I just packed a pair of gloves as you never know.
Teddy has been patrolling me the last two days since he saw the luggage. He kept trying to lie down inside the suitcase or taking my packed items out. That is what prompted me to pack on Monday night. Teddy looks like one of those 70's velvet paintings of dogs with big sad eyes right now. He is not a happy dog right now. But he will adjust. I know he can be fickle, and within a day, he is Norm's best buddy, although Norm says he doesn't need a buddy! They both sit on the couch and watch TV together in the evenings.
I am sending the link to this blog to all my birding friends and non-birding friends as I will not send a daily email but will use the Blog to communicate often about the birds and my travel experiences. This is if I have WIFI access in Australia. Most places I have traveled have free WIFI, except for Vegas. In Australia, one is charged for the internet and it is expensive. So it will all depend on the WIFI availability. I have found some accommodations with free WIFI but these are the exception.
So check my blog if you want some news of this trip. Colleen has stayed behind, although she is in Edmonton right now and is starting this trip later as her daughter and son in law are expecting their first baby tomorrow and Colleen is there to share in the excitement of the new baby, support her daughter in the early days and then will join me in Australia in early November for the Sydney, Tasmania, Melbourne and New Zealand part of the birding trip.
Barb
Passport and other documents are ready, along with credit cards and binocs and scope and clothes for hot and cooler weather. I just packed a pair of gloves as you never know.
Teddy has been patrolling me the last two days since he saw the luggage. He kept trying to lie down inside the suitcase or taking my packed items out. That is what prompted me to pack on Monday night. Teddy looks like one of those 70's velvet paintings of dogs with big sad eyes right now. He is not a happy dog right now. But he will adjust. I know he can be fickle, and within a day, he is Norm's best buddy, although Norm says he doesn't need a buddy! They both sit on the couch and watch TV together in the evenings.
I am sending the link to this blog to all my birding friends and non-birding friends as I will not send a daily email but will use the Blog to communicate often about the birds and my travel experiences. This is if I have WIFI access in Australia. Most places I have traveled have free WIFI, except for Vegas. In Australia, one is charged for the internet and it is expensive. So it will all depend on the WIFI availability. I have found some accommodations with free WIFI but these are the exception.
So check my blog if you want some news of this trip. Colleen has stayed behind, although she is in Edmonton right now and is starting this trip later as her daughter and son in law are expecting their first baby tomorrow and Colleen is there to share in the excitement of the new baby, support her daughter in the early days and then will join me in Australia in early November for the Sydney, Tasmania, Melbourne and New Zealand part of the birding trip.
Barb
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