Winter Visit to Lockyer Valley

Yellow-billed Spoonbills

A foray to the Lockyer and Brisbane valleys before winter expires. In the series of pools along Cove Road, Stanmore, were a few Glossy Ibis and Yellow-billed Spoonbills, with 7 Cotton Pygmy-Geese in one pool. This was about the best of the waterbirds for the trip as most of the usual spots (including Jahnke's Lagoon, Seven Mile Lagoon and Peachey's Lagoon) were bone dry.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

Along Gregors Creek Road near Kilcoy were 2 female Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, always nice to see in south-east Queensland. This road has some nice habitat along it and is worth checking out for anyone heading that way.

Yellow Thornbill

Given the dry conditions, I would have thought Lake Galletly near Gatton might be promising, but there was little there other than large numbers of Magpie Geese. A Yellow Thornbill in the shrubbery around the hide was nice as this is another species seldom encountered east of the Great Divide in southern Queensland.

Common Bronzewing

I called in at Pobblebonk, the property we formerly owned near Coominya, and it was good to see that Common Bronzewings were still plentiful there.

Jacky Winter

Jacky Winters were also present.

Dusky Woodswallow

In the dry woodlands along Adare Road near Gatton were a few Dusky Woodswallows. Near Peachey's Lagoon I found a party of 4 Red-rumped Parrots. Some of the more common species that were about are below.

Striated Pardalote

White-throated Gerygone

Yellow-rumped Thornbill

On the outskirts of Coominya (the first houses on the left coming from the east) was a party of 3 Apostlebirds.  This is another species that is surprisingly uncommon in south-east Queensland. Over several years of weekend stays at our property nearby, I had not seen Apostlebirds previously in the area.

Apostlebird