Turquoise Parrot and other Goodies: Old Wallangarra Road

Turquoise Parrot

The Old Wallangarra Road on the NSW-Queensland border near Girraween National Park has long been a top birding spot. I enjoyed 5 encounters with a total of 8-10 Turquoise Parrots there during a visit this week, along with a raft of other goodies including Diamond Firetail, Plum-headed Finch, White-browed Babbler and Southern Whiteface.

Turquoise Parrot

Turquoise Parrot

I saw my first Turquoise Parrot on the Old Wallangarra Road in 1973. It is encouraging that more than four decades on, this rare species is still to be found there. Much of the road is now closed, but the few kilometres south of Wyberba remains open and this stretch is never disappointing. I had 3 hours in an afternoon at this site and 3 hours the next morning, staying overnight at the nearby Ballandean Tavern. This visit was on the way home from a trip to coastal NSW (see next post). Most of the time was occupied around the intersection of the road with Hickley Lane, and along the creek a little to the south of there.

Turquoise Parrot

Turquoise Parrot female

My first encounter was a single male Turquoise Parrot flying up from the roadside in the afternoon. Then a pair flew overhead distantly. Early the next morning I watched a male feeding on the road before it was joined by 2 females. A little later I had stunning views of a single male parrot in a roadside tree which was unusually approachable. A single female was drinking at the creek an hour or so after that.

Quite a few species found reliably along the Old Wallangarra Road are scarce and difficult to see elsewhere in South-East Queensland. It is the best site in the state for Turquoise Parrot, and the eastern extremity of range for White-browed Babbler and Southern Whiteface. And this place is aesthetically something quite special as well.

Diamond Firetail

Diamond Firetail

Diamond Firetail is one of those species that is hard to come across elsewhere in Queensland. In 3 encounters during my visit, I found a single juvenile firetail; a flock of 6-7 adults; and a pair of adults.

Plum-headed Finch

I saw Plum-headed Finch twice: a flock of 6, and a pair. Red-browed Finch and Banded Finch were also about in small numbers.

White-browed Babbler

Habitat about Old Wallangarra Road

I found two parties of White-browed Babblers, another species that has been in residence here in the 40+ years I've known the place.

Southern Whiteface

Yellow-rumped Thornbill

A pair of Southern Whiteface was a treat, as this species is not quite so regular here. Yellow-rumped Thornbills were common.

Brown Treecreeper

Brown Treecreeper occurs here alongside White-throated Treecreeper.

Yellow-tufted Honeyeater

The road is a mecca for honeyeaters. There were the usual large numbers of Yellow-tufted Honeyeater.

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Along with other honeyeaters that are generally scarce in South-East Queensland east of the Great Divide: Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, White-plumed Honeyeater and Fuscous Honeyeater.     

Rock Warblers & Lyrebirds: South West Rocks to Woy Woy

Rock Warbler

Excellent encounters with Rock Warbler, Superb Lyrebird and Glossy Black Cockatoo were the highlights of a just completed trip to coastal NSW. We kicked the sojourn off with a three-night stay in the Seabreeze Hotel in the scenic Central Coast tourist town of South West Rocks. Pleasant scenery was the order of the day here, with a nice mix of habitat including coastal heathland, beaches and freshwater wetlands.

Glossy Black Cockatoo female

Arakoon Reserve & South West Rocks

We did a circuit walk through woodland and heath between Little Bay and the historic Árakoon Jail, encountering Glossy Black Cockatoo on three occasions in the large stand of Allocasuarina littoralis in the Arakoon Reserve. There were a total of 8 birds: three pairs, with two pairs accompanied by begging juveniles.

Hat Head National Park

The lighthouse south of Arakoon is also worth visiting, with fine views over Hat Head National Park.

Double-banded Plover

A party of 4 Double-banded Plovers was on the beach near the hotel.

Black-necked Stork

Pink-eared Duck & Chesnut Teal

A short distance inland from the town, some nice wetlands line both sides of Boyter's Lane. Both Little Grassbird and Tawny Grassbird were present. Good numbers of ducks included a sprinkling of Pink-eared Duck and Australasian Shoveler. An adult female Black-necked Stork was unexpected. Quite a few Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were about along with several Latham's Snipe and Red-kneed Dotterels.

Superb Lyrebird

Superb Lyrebird

We moved on to Gosford for a three-night stay with our friend Kathy Haydon, where entertainment from the back veranda including some very tame Eastern Water Dragons.

Eastern Water Dragon

From here we visited Woy Woy and Brisbane Water National Park. We checked out the area around the Warrah Trig Trail and Pearl Beach area, enjoying a very nice encounter with a male Superb Lyrebird along the fire track between the lookout at the end of the Trig Trail and the delightful resort village of Pearl Beach.

Warrah Trigg Lookout

Cunningham's Skink

The lookout offered stunning views over the Hawkesbury River and sandstone cliffs, along with an engaging Cunningham's Skink (Egernia cunninghami).

Rock Warbler

Rock Warbler

Several sites were searched unsuccessfully for Rock Warbler (thanks to Cameron Ward for those tips) before finally connecting with this charismatic bird at the northern extremity of the sandstone woodland along Patonga Drive. I had 4 birds hopping about the rocks in close proximity, about 150m south of the road and close to the sea cliffs. Not having seen Rock Warbler since I lived in Sydney in the mid-1980s, it was almost as good as a tick.

Yellow Thornbill

Speckled Warbler

We headed inland along the New England Highway for our journey home, stopping in  Tamworth at the Almond Inn Motel. Birds at the nearby Oxley Lookout included Yellow Thornbill and
Specked Warbler.

Rock Warbler

   

Important News Regarding Night Parrots

Night Parrot feathers from south-west Queensland - Pic by Steve Murphy

The immediate threat of feral cats to the recently discovered population of Night Parrots in south-west Queensland has been clarified amid moves to secure the property where the parrots occur for conservation purposes.

Moves have been implemented to protect dingoes on the property in the belief that they could play a crucial role in controlling numbers of feral cats and foxes.

The Queensland Government is involved in moves to shift the focus of land use on the property from cattle grazing to conservation, and will have the ultimate say over future management strategies.

The naturalist John Young first heard Night Parrots on the property in 2008. Young released the first photographs and film footage of the Night Parrot ever taken in July 2013. At a recent talk in Melbourne, Young confirmed reports that a feral cat had been responsible for killing a female Night Parrot on the property.

Ecologist Steve Murphy has been conducting research on the parrots on the property in collaboration with Young under a program being funded by mining company Fortescue Metals Group. Funding for the current program expires at the end of 2016.

Dr Steve Murphy

Murphy and Young found 31 feathers last October and these have been reported as definitive evidence that a bird had been killed by a feral cat. However, Murphy says there is no certainty that a cat was responsible. The feathers were examined at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA in Adelaide by Associate Professor Jeremy Austin, an expert in the field of trace DNA analysis.

No cat DNA was detected during the analysis, although DNA sequencing confirmed that the feathers were indeed from a Night Parrot. DNA-based gender assignment revealed that the bird was a female.

Night Parrot

Murphy says that using automatic sound devices, he continued to detect Night Parrot calls at the site where the feathers were found. Murphy says: “With respect to the feathers, the conclusion is that no-one can say with any certainty what happened to result in a Night Parrot losing 31 feathers. It may have been a cat, or it may have been an owl or goanna, or some other predator, or even two Night Parrots fighting. I’m not even sure if whatever it was actually caused the death of a Night Parrot, given the calling that I’m still detecting at the site."

Murphy adds: "This is not to say that cats are not a problem. They exact a tremendous toll on wildlife and continue to be a significant threat to Night Parrots. But it is important to stick to the facts.”

Feral Cat at Night Parrot site with prey, probably a frog Cyclorana spp - pic by Steve Murphy

Murphy is aware of one male feral cat in the area, but its activity has been mostly confined to creek lines and other areas away from the spinifex clumps favoured by the Night Parrots. Since well before discovering the feathers, he had been trying to trap and shoot cats in and around the area, but so far without success. Sharp-shooters were employed to try to shoot cats on the property shortly after the feathers were found, but again they were unable to locate any. Shooters will return to the property soon for another search.

However, Murphy says that based on intensive, ongoing surveys using camera traps, he is aware of several dingoes that regularly hunt in and around the area inhabited by the parrots. He believes this is good because of controls that dingoes can exert on cat numbers and behaviour. No baiting on the property has been undertaken because of the risk of inadvertently killing dingoes.

Dingo at Night Parrot site - pic by Steve Murphy

Since January 2014, there has been an interim stewardship agreement with the landholder - that includes a requirement that he not carry out any form of dingo control in and around the site. The stewardship arrangement includes other clauses that are designed to protect the parrots and facilitate the research efforts.

As for the future of the site, Murphy initiated a deal that is currently being brokered that would see the land use focus on the property shift from cattle production to the permanent protection of the Night Parrot and its habitat.

Says Murphy: “We are at a delicate stage of this negotiation. The Queensland Government is involved in the discussions, and indeed will have the ultimate say over whether the conservation strategy can proceed as planned.”

Sunshine Coast Pelagic Trip March 2015

Streaked Shearwater

Streaked Shearwater, White-tailed Tropicbird, Long-tailed Jaeger and Red-footed Booby were the highlights of the pelagic trip of Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday March 7. Other good birds included Lesser Frigatebird, Tahiti Petrel, an unusually large number of Pomarine Jaegers, Sooty Tern, Black Noddy and Common Noddy.

Conditions were calm and fine as we departed the Mooloolaba Marina at 6.35am. A gentle S-SE breeze struggled to reach 5 knots for the rest of the day and we feared the lack of wind did not bode well. Those fears proved to be unfounded. As we headed out to sea we saw good numbers of Common Terns inshore, a dark phase Arctic Jaeger and a Hutton's Shearwater. Things were looking up.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Plenty of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were about as we made our way to the shelf, taking just 2 hours to reach its edge at 8.40am at 300m, 36 nautical miles offshore (26' 38' 950'S; 153' 42' 270'E). A swell of 0.5m barely changed during the day and the temperature under a sunny sky increased from 23 degrees in the early morning to 30 degrees by midday.

Flesh-footed Shearwater & Wedge-tailed Shearwater

When were arrived at the shelf we were greeted by an adult pale phase Red-footed Booby, which flew over the boat before flying away. A good sign indeed. Soon after, the first of 3 Lesser Frigatebirds (2 females and a male) appeared overhead as large numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and a smattering of Flesh-footed Shearwaters gathered around the shark liver berley trail we were laying.

Flesh-footed Shearwater

It was apparent that the birds were very hungry. Perhaps the unsettled weather off the Queensland coast in recent times, including Cyclone Marcia, had affected seabird feeding opportunities.

Pomarine Jaeger - immature

Pomarine Jaeger - dark phase

A couple of Pomarine Jaegers joined the fun and ever growing numbers of this species were to remain about the boat the whole time we were on the shelf. Most jaegers were juveniles or subadults and all but 2 were pale phase. The jaegers and frigatebirds joined the shearwaters in eagerly feeding on liver scraps. Late in the morning, a second-year Long-tailed Jaeger flew over the boat, giving us the jaeger trifecta.

Streaked Shearwater

Streaked Shearwater

We had been on the shelf about half an hour when the first of several Streaked Shearwaters arrived. Again, the species remained in the vicinity of the boat for as long as we were laying a berley trail.

Lesser Frigatebird - male

Lesser Frigatebird - female

As the morning progressed, a single immature White-tailed Tropicbird was seen somewhat distantly. Then a single Sooty Tern flew over, to be joined soon after by a second. A single Black Noddy made an appearance, as did a couple of Wilson's Storm-Petrels. Tahiti Petrel took a while to show but several settled in to join the feeding frenzy. Hutton's Shearwater made an occasional appearance.

Pomarine Jaeger & Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Tahiti Petrel

We had drifted 2.7 nautical miles in a northerly direction when we turned around at 1.10pm and headed home. Large numbers of actively feeding birds were with us continually for the 4.5 hours we were on the shelf. On the way back we encountered a large feeding flock of terns inshore, with good numbers of White-winged Terns among the more numerous Common Terns, a couple of Little Terns and a single juvenile Common Noddy. We arrived back at the marina at 3.15pm.

Common Terns & White-winged Terns

Species (Total Maximum at One Time)

Tahiti Petrel 8 (4)
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 4 (2)
Streaked Shearwater 4 (4)
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 300 (100)
Flesh-footed Shearwater 15 (5)
Hutton's Shearwater 4 (1)
White-tailed Tropicbird 1 (1)
Red-footed Booby 1 (1)
Lesser Frigatebird 3 (2)
Pomarine Jaeger 25 (15)
Long-tailed Jaeger 1 (1)
Arctic Jaeger 1 (1)
Silver Gull 2 (2)
Crested Tern 30 (4)
Common Tern 200 (100)
White-winged Tern 50 (30)
Little Tern 2 (2)
Sooty Tern 2 (2)
Common Noddy 1 (1)
Black Noddy 1 (1)
Pied Cormorant 2 (1)
Little Black Cormorant 2 (2)
Australian Pelican 3 (2)

Short-beaked Common Dolphin 2 (2)
Inshore Bottle-nose Dolphin 3 (2)
Oceanic Bottle-nose Dolphin 2 (2)

Participants

Lachlan Tuckwell (skipper), Greg Roberts (organiser),  Sarah Beavis, Robert Bell, Jo Cullinan, Linda Cross, Phil Cross, Hendrik Ferreira, Dawn Forrester, Nikolas Haass, Bob James, Paul Newman, Nerida Silke, Raja Stephenson, Russell Yong.

Light-manted Sooty Albatross: Pic Luke Bennett

In other Sunshine Coast seabirding news, Luke Bennett found a beach-washed Light-mantled Sooty Albatross of February 15 at Castaways Beach. This is a rare species in south-east Queensland at any time but this record is probably the first for the region in summer.

Feral Cat Kills Critically Endangered Night Parrot

Night Parrot

In an alarming development, an endangered Night Parrot in a small, recently discovered population of the endangered species in western Queensland has been killed by a feral cat.  The finding of the remains of a cat-killed night parrot in an area of arid spinifex country south-west of Winton raises fresh questions about whether sufficient management practices are in place in the remote region to protect the Night Parrots.

1850s specimen of Night Parrot

According to Queensland Government sources, professional shooters have been hired by a private conservation company to patrol the area at night with spotlights, shooting feral cats on sight. The program is funded by a donation from mining company Fortescue Metals; the involvement of the company relates to the reported discovery of Night Parrots in a mineral exploration area in Western Australia in 2005.

Spinifex habitat north-east of Night Parrot site in western Queensland

However, government agencies have been kept in the dark about the whereabouts of the Night Parrots in Queensland. The sites where the birds occur are on a privately leased grazing property. No moves have been made to offer the property for sale to governments, with private enterprise being the preferred management option for John Young, who discovered the birds there. The Queensland Government is of course the primary agency charged with safeguarding endangered wildlife in the state, and has legal responsibilities to do so.

John Young

The cat-killed parrot was found at a site close to where John Young photographed a Night Parrot for the first time in May 2013 in what has been hailed as the most significant natural history discovery of recent times, revealed by The Australian newspaper. Since then, John and scientist Stephen Murphy have continued research in the region, finding the parrot at several other localities in the region. John will give more details about the feral cat issue, including how the parrot evidently came to be killed, at a talk in Melbourne on March 1. John is understood to have found the carcass, which he believed to be a female bird.

John Young's Night Parrot

Feral cats are considered to be a key factor in the demise of this once widespread species, which has been recorded on just handful of occasions over the past century. In 1892, it was reported that "numerous" parrots had been killed by cats in the vicinity of the Old Telegraph Station near Alice Springs. Some observers have noted increases in feral cat populations following a succession of good seasons in parts of inland Australia. The region south-west of Winton where the parrots occur has been drought-afflicted for several years.

Feral Cat

Not only the Night Parrot but the Bilby and other endangered desert mammals have somehow survived predation from feral cats and foxes to date in parts of south-west Queensland. The reasons for this are uncertain. 

A Birder's Tribute to Trevor Quested

I was having a beer with Trevor Quested and friends at the Yandina Hotel, near our Sunshine Coast home, sometime in November 2011. Trevor mentioned that he had been feeling oddly unwell at times - as he had during an earlier visit - but that doctors did not seem to know what was wrong. I thought he was maybe being overly concerned, but just a month later came the cruel diagnosis - motor neuron disease.

In an email that Trevor and his wife Annie sent to friends at the time, he said he was "gobsmacked" by the news, and it appeared he was already going downhill fast: holding his binoculars steady and typing were becoming harder. His specialists did not expect him to be around a year later - he was told he would not see Christmas 2012. Trevor commented that he was fortunate to have such a loving and supporting wife in Annie.

Annie, Trevor & Glenn - May 2012.

Fortunately the specialists were wrong. Trevor battled on for three years and two months post-diagnosis before passing away peacefully at his Bundaberg home in the early evening of Wednesday February 11, 2015, aged 66. During a number of visits to the Questeds' home over that time, I never ceased to be impressed with the dignity and courage that Trevor and Annie demonstrated in dealing with this despicable affliction. Trevor was of course angry at first; he had ended his working life not that long before the diagnosis,and was looking forward to many years of birding, camping and other retirement indulgences.

Over time, however, he came to accept the inevitability of his lot and made the most of it in what were clearly very trying circumstances, for both him and Annie. Luckily the Questeds had their lovely shaded verandah and spacious gardens, with birds and kangaroos invariably in attendance. To the end, it was unfailingly a delight to Trevor to watch the goings-on in his special corner of the world.

I recall getting a phone call from Trevor last October, after Glenn and I had returned from a 4-month camping trip around Australia. His breathing was considerably laboured by then, but he had insisted on calling to thank me for posting a photo album from the trip on Facebook. Trevor had invited Eric Zillmann around to look at the photographs with him; he said it was like revisiting many of the places he had seen over his years of birding trips. That gesture, no small feat given his condition, was typical. During a visit a month or so later - and not so long ago now - Trevor was in surprisingly good spirits. He looked forward to visits from birding mates, especially if they brought new photographs to show him. We planned to visit again this week, as Trevor's final journey was not expected for a little while longer.

Trevor with Eric Zillmann - July 2011

Eric Zillmann is a Bundaberg birding legend and I knew him many years ago. I was delighted when Trevor reintroduced us during a visit to Bundaberg in July 2011. Eric is the only person alive to have seen the now-extinct Paradise Parrot in the wild. He captivated us with his vivid recollections of that historic time (see here for more on the parrot). Eric was one of many local birders who became close friends with Trevor. Trevor worked diligently to promote the local birding group and publish a newsletter that was as informative as it was professionally produced. That contribution was recognised by the construction in his honour of the Trevor Quested Bird Observation Platform in Bundaberg.

Commemoration of birding platform built in Trevor's honour - Pic by Chris Barnes

Trevor's enthusiasm for all things avian was infectious. I recall showing him his first Black-breasted Buttonquail at Yarraman, some time in the mid-1990s; he was so excited I thought he was going to hyperventilate. I first got to know him the early-1980s, when a few of us Brisbane birders would travel regularly from Brisbane to Sydney for monthly pelagic trips out of Rose Bay. I was struck by what an amiable companion he invariably was on those excursions, no matter how unpleasant the conditions.

In Akegara National Park, Rwanda - December 1989. Trevor is on the right, back. 

That companionship - and his boundless enthusiasm for not just birds but all wild creatures - was memorable during a 1989 trip I and other friends did with Trevor and his then wife Cilla to Rwanda, Kenya and what was then Zaire. Some of our shared experiences will not easily escape the memory: we were mock-charged by a gorilla; our boat was attacked by a hippopotamus; and our first Shoebill left us, as Trevor would say, comprehensively gobsmacked.

Even during illness, his enthusiasm did not wane. In October 2012, Trevor and Eric took us to see a Square-tailed Kite nest near Bundaberg. At the time, Trevor got about with the help of a wheelie walker. As soon as he was out of the car, he raced off through the bush with his walker, covering the distance of several hundred metres in a scarily short time. He was exhausted when he got there but keen as mustard to show me the nest.

At the Square-tailed Kite nest - October 2012

Trevor was renowned for his generosity of spirit and time. Apart from being an excellent birder, he was a gifted photographer, and technologically was way ahead of many of his peers, including this one. He positively relished sharing his knowledge and experience with friends. When I decided to take an interest in bird calls and playback, Trevor spent hours helping me to set up equipment; to become acquainted with i-tunes and much more; and to catalogue a large collection of bird songs. It was the kind of selfless thing that he just enjoyed doing.

I later helped him set up a blog (it is here) that was going to be his newest venture. Apart from an initial short post, however, he didn't get around to expand it before falling ill a few months later. Trevor continued to indulge his love of social media and technology during his illness, however. He mastered the use of an i-pad to reduce the effort of typing, and even when use of his fingers had been reduced to a reluctant single digit, he keenly recorded numerous Likes on Facebook posts.

With Trevor & Lucy - October 2014 

Trevor told friends shortly before his passing that he was ready to go. He was fortunate that he was able to avoid a prolonged stay in a nursing home, thanks to Annie's care. And however ill, he was always lucid, recalling in great and surprising detail his various and many birding exploits. For the birding community, his friends and family - and especially Annie, who was by his side at the end - the loss of Trevor Quested will be felt keenly for a very long time.