Fourteen members enjoyed Birdlife Bundaberg’s outing to Meadowvale Nature Park and Burnett Downs on Sunday 26th May 2013. The day was perfect for birding, with 71 species seen. M.N.P. looks lush after this year’s flooding rains, and I can’t understand why bird numbers could not be greater in this habitat. A couple of Fantail Cuckoos were calling. Small numbers of juvenile Variegated, and Red-backed Fairywrens were seen. A lone Black-shouldered Kite warmed itself on an exposed branch. A Spangled Drongo mimicked the call of a White-throated Treecreeper which we saw at a hot-spot along the track. Burnett Downs proved to be more prolific in bird numbers than M.N.P. We decided to go there, once we found out that Sharon Gorge was closed, probably from damage to the track during the recent floods. There’s a large lagoon in B.D., where grebes, ducks and other waterbirds were quite plentiful. The very well-kept track that led to the Burnett River gave us a large number of birds, giving us in all 71 species.
BIRDLIST
Australian Brush Turkey, Australasian Darter, Pied Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Australasian Grebe, Hardhead,
Pacific Black Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Eurasian Coot, Cattle Egret,
Straw-necked Ibis, Australian White Ibis, Comb-crested Jacana, Masked Lapwing, Caspian Tern, Black-shouldered Kite,
Black Kite, Whistling Kite, Brahminy Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Spotted Turtle-Dove, Peaceful Dove, Galah,
Bar-shouldered Dove, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo(H), Rainbow Lorikeet, Fan-tailed Cuckoo,
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, Forest Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher,
Rainbow Bee-eater, White-throated Tree-creeper, Variegated Fairywren, Red-backed Fairywren, Striated Pardalote,
White-browed Scrubwren, White-throated Gerygone(H), Fairy Gerygone, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Lewin’s Honeyeater,
Noisy Miner, White-throated Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Dusky Honeyeater, Grey-crowned Babbler,
Eastern Yellow Robin (H), Little Shrike-Thrush (H), Grey Shrike-Thrush, Rufous Whistler, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail,
Leaden Flycatcher, Magpie-Lark, Spangled Drongo, Olive-backed Oriole(H), Australasian Figbird, Australasian Pipit,
Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike, White-breasted Woodswallow, Australasian Magpie,
Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Torresian Crow, Welcome Swallow, Fairy Martin.
