I knew I wanted to visit Cheynes Beach. I had been there in 2016 briefly looking for the 3 regional endemics - the Western Whipbird, the Western Bristlebird and the Noisy Scrub-bird. I was with a Birdlife Australia volunteer who was desperate to see these very rare birds. I was just happy to be seeing birds. We didn't see any of the 3 and my guide was bitterly disappointed.
Fast forward to 2022 and I am back, a better photographer and birder. I arrived at the beautiful Cheynes Beach and headed straight up the hill alongside the coastline and into the bush. I was not too far in when I heard birds calling to each other on either side of the track. I already had the whipbird from Tozer's so I knew it must be one of the other 2. I waited patiently and the calling escalated. It was the Western Bristlebird and eventually he popped up and sang for me. Pretty special and 2 out of 3 so far!
Western Bristlebird (Dasyornis longirostris)
If you look closely, you can see why it is called a bristlebird!
As I was making my way back to the van, I heard a huge thump coming from the coast. I looked and was amazed to see a whale close to the shore. Naturally, I went closer and spent some time following it and watching. Turns out it was a female with a calf (Southern Right Whale I think). It was incredible to see them interacting. The calf would roll over the top of the adult and try to jump out of the water. I shot a couple of dozen videos but it's not easy when you just don't know when or where they are going to surface (and I thought birds were tricky). This is my favourite video. You can see more on my YouTube channel.
Next I backtracked a little to get to the access road for the Waychinicup National Park campsite. It skirted behind Cheynes Beach and down to the coast alongside a river inlet. It was stunning.
The first thing I noticed was a number of black lizards. It seemed like every step you took, there would be a rustling as they darted from their sunny post into the safety of the bush. They were rather cool.
King's Skink (Egernia kingii)
I chose a camping spot and settled in. There was so much wildlife here, I was overloaded. Next to my van was a dead tree and a robin sat on it regularly and called. Another 2022 first, it was beautiful.
White-breasted Robin (Eopsaltria georgiana)
I spent the afternoon just sitting and seeing what came by. There were Silvereye everywhere and their cheerful chirping was a lovely soundtrack. As ever, the New Holland Honeyeaters were busy and zipped around. A thornbill landed conveniently on the bush right opposite me.
Inland Thornbill (Acanthiza apicalis)
Such a beautifully marked little bird.
In the afternoon a White-bellied Sea Eagle circles above me. I had already seen a Little Eagle, Wedge-tailed Eagle and Spotted Harrier between the campsite and Cheynes Beach so this was a real bonus. Not for the tiny swallow though as it tried to scare the eagle away!
White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
In the afternoon, I was sitting in the campervan with the doors open working on my laptop when movement caught my eye. I looked up and just about fell over. A bandicoot was wandering around outside. Turns out, that is a common event at the campsite. You share the place with the locally named Quenda. It came and went for a while and answered the question about what on earth was digging holes everywhere!
Quenda Southwestern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus)
The next morning I returned to Cheynes Beach to look for the scrub-bird. I started at the beach and immediately saw an osprey flying towards me. Being the ever-prepared professional I am (or just very lucky), I managed to get a few shots.
Eastern Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
No sign of the scrub-bird in the bush covered hills but as I was leaving I heard one behind the toilet block at the beach! Not one for bushwhacking, I listened for a while and left it to it.
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