19/3/11 A sodden, sodden Lockyer...

A very full Lake Clarendon

[N.B: All the photos in this entry were taken by me and not Jeremy; you can tell by the dramatic difference in quality!]

The sun did not shine, but we tried to play; we were NOT sitting in that house all that cold, cold wet day! I went out with Jeremy, Taryn and Jesse too; boy were we killing for something to do! We'd planned a trip to Crows Nest, and though the weather filled us with dread, we were determined to do our best, to ensure a trip went ahead...


Such was the erratic state of Brisbane's autumn weather. We had had wonderful bluebird skies for much of the week, and as such had made plans to camp out over the weekend and explore the Ravensbourne region, about two hours northwest of Brisbane (see map above). Our aim was to explore two patches of national parkland: Ravensbourne NP and the nearby Crows Nest NP, famous for its Brush-tailed Rock Wallabies (Petrogale penicillata). Two other close friends, Jesse [whom readers would have seen mentioned in the Scotia diaries below] and my housemate Taryn, were joining us. The camp site at Crows Nest was booked, and the gear was packed; the weather was not going to be so obliging: leaden grey clouds swept over in all-too-familiar fashion, and by 10am the first misty drizzles began to fall over Brisbane. We could not risk camping [the national park carried a flash floods warning], and our plans were duly downgraded to a day trip to the Gatton region, where it was hoped that the rain would hold off at least for the afternoon so as to allow for some birding. Once on the road, though, it became clear that any hope for a let-up would be a pipe dream. Wave after wave of clouds swept in bringing near-unceasing rain. We holed up in the Gatton McDonalds, trying to keep chipper about our prospects whilst simultaneously watching as the rain washed them away.

Determined, however, to not make this the longest ever foray to a Mackers, we decided to take advantage of the one small window in the weather to make a dash for Lake Clarendon, a large dam just a short drive away. En route, we stopped at a large farm pond which usually held a small amount of tepid murky water and is always a waterbird attractant. The pond, though, was fuller than we had ever seen it, and the surrounding paddocks were lush and green; the area had seen some of the flooding which had so badly affected the Gatton area, and the infrastructure throughout bore the marks of the disaster. Birdwise, there was moderately exciting activity: lots of Australasian Grebes (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) and Pacific Black Ducks (Anas superciliosa), while an Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia) and some Little Black Cormorants (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) hunted along the reedy margins.


In a next-door paddock, a flock of Magpie Geese (Anseranas semipalmata) stood in the taller grass (above), while a few Plumed Whistling-ducks (Dendrocygna eytoni) grazed the shorter fodder. Most interestingly, however, was one Wandering Whistling-duck (D. arcuata), a close relative of the Plumed, which did an awkward run away from us before taking off. While both species are widespread over Australasia and south-east Asia, the Wandering is generally less common; this was my first official sighting of one and hence a new tick. Both species mix in large flocks that can number hundreds, if not thousands, of birds, but there may be several dozen PWDs for every one WWD. A cacophonous clamour behind us alerted us to the presence of the local flock; we turned to see a sky black with both types of whistling ducks, Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) and Black Swans (Cygnus atratus) wheeling overhead (right). The floods may have been devastating to local communities, but it seemed not to have affected the wildlife; the flush of growth created by the deposition of mud and constant wet would have been manna to the waterbirds.

We proceeded from there to Lake Clarendon, which was just a five minute drive up the road. By then the rain had begun to start up again, with a fine drizzle descending as we alighted from our vehicle; it would turn into full-blown rain by the time we left. The dam itself was an astounding sight: I had come here a half-dozen times since late 2008, and it had never been more than 20% full at best; the current water level was just a couple of metres off from topping the dam wall (left). A paddock gate which we would park at was now almost a metre under water. A quick survey over the now vast expanse of water revealed more Black Swans, both whistling ducks and lots of grebes including a Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), while a White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) did laps around us as we started along the dam wall.

This spot was always a haven for raptors, but none were on show this sodden day, and the Fairy Martin (Hirundo ariel) mud-nests on the dam tower were now scarcely a metre above water. The marshes immediately under the dam wall (right) were even more widespread than when were last here the previous October, and while there were less birds about, there were still a few interesting species. Most notable was a pair of Cotton Pygmy-geese (Nettapus coromandelianus), as noted in the previous post these were a reasonably rare bird in the greater Brisbane region; we had seen them here the previous October so this looks to be another regular site for them. Other birds seen included Golden-headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis), Tawny Grassbird (Megalurus timoriensis) and Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio), while a pair of Black Swans gamboled about on the standing water, now essentially a lake in its own right (below).


With the rain now sheeting down we made for our next stop, the Apex Lakes in Gatton. None of us had ever been there before and had no idea what to expect; the end product could scarcely have been more disappointing: the lake was essentially little more than a White Ibis colony. The pelting rain quickly sapped what little motivation we had for exploring this place, and in less than five minutes we had retreated to the car. Thoroughly soaked, we curtailed our trip and ended it with a similarly brief sojourn at the UQ Gatton lakes. There at least we saw some interesting birds, chief among them Pink-eared Ducks (Malacorhynchus membranaceus). It was a decent day, ruined by thoroughly abysmal weather.

This was merely the first in a hat-trick of 'dud' trips within the past week. On Wednesday (23/3/11) night Jeremy, Taryn and I attempted to take advantage of a brilliantly warm day to do a herp [reptile] drive across the Mt Glorious track in northwest Brisbane; normally picking up at least one reptile would be routine on this route, but we ended the night with not a single animal bar a Long-nosed Bandicoot (Perameles nasuta). Then on Sunday (27/3/11) the four of us attempted a small circuit in southside Brisbane, doing Venman Bushlands NP and the Sirromet winery near Mt Cotton. Bird life was moderate -we saw or heard both Brown and White-browed Treecreepers (Climacteris picumnus & C. affinis), Little Lorikeets (Glossopsitta pusilla), Noisy Friarbirds (Philemon corniculatus) and Yellow-faced and White-throated Honeyeaters (Lichenostomus chrysops & Melithreptus albogularis)- but any more substantial efforts were put paid to by gusty winds which murdered any potential bird activity. Jeremy has not even taken any pictures due to the unfeasible conditions, which is why my [distinctly poorer!] images furnish this particular post. It has been a bleak week, but we can hope for better.