You are practically guaranteed to hear, and nearly always see, a Lyrebird at Cathedral Ranges. And this weekend of camping provided that and more. We didn't even have to get out of our camp chairs to watch 3 Lyrebirds scratching around the undergrowth and mimicking numerous birds, whilst we ate breakfast! It was still frustrating however, that even though they were so close, it was awfully difficult to get a nice clear photo.
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| Lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae |
Just walking around the campsite I found Eastern Yellow Robins, Kookaburras, Crimson Rosellas, Superb Fairy Wrens, Brown Thornbills, Grey Shrike-thrush, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, White-throated Treecreepers and two Satin Bowerbirds.
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| Eastern Yellow Robin, Eopsaltria australis |
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| Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Lichenostomus chrysops |
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| Brown Thornbill, Acanthiza pusilla |
This was our friendly camp host who sat on a low branch above our camp chairs the entire weekend.
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| Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae |
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| Running out of trees to sit in... |
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| Grey Shrike-thrush, Colluricincla harmonica |
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| Crimson Rosella, Platycercus elegans |
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| White-throated Treecreeper (male), Cormobates leucophaea |
I got a little bit excited when I found this Treecreeper - thought it was a new spotting because I had never seen one with an orange cheek spot before. Turns out this is the female White-throated Treecreeper.
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| White-throated Treecreeper (female), Cormobates leucophaea |
The other highlight to my trip was seeing a male Satin Bowerbird at close range and then a few hours later, stumbling across a Bower.
The males only develop their dark glossy feathers after 7 years. Up until then they are olive-green and look similar to the females. The bright purple iris is absolutely stunning.
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| Satin Bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus |
The Bower is built and decorated by the male Satin Bowerbird and is purely used as a courtship arena during breeding season. The female then builds a nest high up in the trees.
The Bower is decorated with blue shiny objects. The one I found was covered in blue plastic water bottle lids, most likely stolen from the nearby campground.
I wonder when in history the male started collecting blue things? Before man started producing blue plastic what did the Bowerbirds use to decorate their Bowers? There aren't that many naturally occurring blue objects in the bush.
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