Check my birding map for specific location.
2023 Update
The caravan park at Granite Gorge remains one of my favourite places to stay, even after visiting many around Australia. In 2023 it still didn't disappoint, even if the resident bowerbird has moved its bower out of the park making it more difficult to find. Here are some of the 2023 highlights.
Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus)
Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata)
Mareeba Rock Wallaby (Petrogale mareeba)
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus)
Adult Male Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta)
Juvenile Male Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta)
Granite Gorge is 20km west of Mareeba and it is a unique place for visitors to the area as it is the first place you can go to and find a completely different eco-system and range of bird species. I have been visiting for 10 years and still love it (although I don't go rock hopping across the giant boulders any more).
The first think I look for as I enter the drive are the Squatter Pigeons. Although they are quite comical looking as they wander around, they are impossibly cute with their soft pigeon call. My favourite sightings of these interesting birds was when 3 of them were lined up together. They looked content until one of the outside birds would shuffle into the middle. This process was repeated over and over. It was the most gentle jostling for position I have ever seen.
Squatter Pigeon (Geophaps scripta)
The Australian Figbirds move around the park in big noisy groups and very often there will be a koel following them. These cuckoos will stick around to ensure their offspring is being cared for appropriately which I find very amusing.
Female Australasian Figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti)
Female Pacific Koel (Eudynamys orientalis)
Another noisy resident of the park are the babblers. Usually in smaller groups, they move from tree to tree chatting away to each other as they look for grubs in the bark.
Grey-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis)
There is often a kookaburra hanging around the outskirts of the caravan park. I learned the hard way about their hunting habits when one stole a chicken wing from me. I really liked this photo of a kookaburra looking around for food.
Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)
Along the roads to the park there are often other birds to be found. I sometimes see bustards in the fields, cisticola in the grass or honeyeaters in the trees. I love seeing friarbirds in particular as they have such unusual calls.
Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus)
The park is also famous for the Rock Wallabies who should be nocturnal but can be found around the area at all times. They are fairly small and approachable. My favourite time of day is dusk when they come into the caravan park and sneak about. They are extra special as they are a sub-species only found in the Mareeba area.
Rock Wallaby (Petrogale mareeba)
eBird Lists
No comments:
Post a Comment