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A client travelled on our 'Birding in Queensland' tour and submitted this entry to our writing competition.
Tree Kangaroo, Australia by Susan Flashman
Platypus ... then discovering a Tree-Kangeroo!
Tour leader Carol Iles concludes her diary from a recent tailormade birdwatching holiday arranged by Naturetrek ...
We moved on to check a local pool in vain for Platypus, but did see a male Red-backed Fairywren, his ‘waistcoat’ glowing like a fiery ember in the gully our road crossed. We took the back roads to Hasties Swamp, shadowed at one spot by a flying Grey Goshawk and stopping en route for a Brown Falcon, Brolgas and Sarus Cranes. On arrival at the Swamp I saw a roosting Nankeen Night-heron above the superb 2-storey hide, which we had to ourselves. Over coffee and snacks we viewed the thousands of Plumed Whistling-ducks, along with one lonely Grey Teal, a Snipe (likely Latham’s), Black-fronted Dotterel, and best of all a Little Kingfisher which from sitting on a post below us, flew to the tree just outside the window of the hide, next to our cups of tea! From the road out we spotted a White-necked Heron and at a small farm dam we had our first White-faced Heron and a majestic female Black-necked Stork. Every cow along our route through the farmland had its accompanying Cattle Egret and often a Willie Wagtail was perched on a bovine head!
We returned to Rose Gums, with the inevitable bird-stops en route, including one for a Pheasant Coucal creeping across the road. After a couple of hours’ siesta, we tried a likely Platypus spot where we saw only birds, including Crested Pigeons, Bar-shouldered Doves and Fairy Martins which were flying into the concrete culverts where they nest. The well-placed blind in Yungaburra afforded us great views of at least two Platypuses, feeding in the river below so we were happy to leave and seek dinner at a local restaurant. Finishing by 7.15 pm, we had a good 90 minutes to search for nocturnal animals at the Curtain Fig Tree with a red-filtered light. We were lucky enough to find a Long-nosed Bandicoot, revealed by its characteristic sneeze, 2 Coppery Brushtail Possums, 5 Green Ringtail Possums (one with a large baby), and best of all, not one but 2 separate Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroos, one of which gave us a perfect view, low down and clear to see. What a great way to end the day! Actually, that wasn’t quite the end, but as we drove back to Rose Gums we were unable to identify the owl which took off from the road right when we met the only other car we saw on that whole trip. You win some, you lose some!
Read more about our 'Birding in Queensland' holiday.