Australia 6. Glen Davis and the Capertee Valley

I finally said goodbye to my sister & family in the Northern Rivers, flew to Sydney & drove out west across the Blue Mountains to the Capertee Valley. I had read about this place in Sean Dooley's great book "The Big Twitch". I was here 40 years ago on a horse riding holiday with my first wife and I was keen to see if it had changed. I was also looking forward to the isolation and to seeing a different set of birds. It is supposedly one of the best birding locations in Australia. Second only perhaps to Kakadoo National Park. 

Entrance gate to Binalong near Glen Davis

I needn't have worried about the place changing, it seemed the World has passed it by. I stayed at Binalong, April Mill's amazing property which turned out to be the best birding spot in the area. It's hard to describe this place, you have to be there and experience it. For example I had tree frogs living in my toilet. A bit disconcerting at first but they would just hang on during a flush, so what was I to do?

Toilet Frog

Here is a view of the property from the outside which gives an idea of the environment and landscape here at the Capertee Valley. Apparently the World's widest and second largest valley after the Grand Canyon. There are no shops, cafes, petrol stations or any facilities closer than Capertee village, which is many miles away.

View of the house at Binalong

I started birding early the following morning and was pleased to get some nice shots of the White-plumed Honeyeater below. This was not one I had seen before.

White-plumed Honeyeater - lichenostomus penicillatus

The next bird in the garden I had seen before but I think this is the best shot of the Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike. He is very suspicious of me and is trying perhaps to appear menacing. Well he didn't scare me at all.

Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike - coracina novaehollandiae

It was very nice to see Zebra Finches in the wild, in their natural habitat instead of in a cage which is where I had seen many in the past. Cage birds are very popular in Spain and these are one of the easiest to keep apparently.

Zebra Finches - taeniopygia guttata

This is the first and only Grey Butcherbird I saw. There were plenty of its Pied cousins but this one is a lot less common and it was another lifer for me.

Grey Butcherbird - cracticus torquatus

Strangely this was the only Nankeen Kestrel I saw on my trip, surprising because it is supposedly quite common, just a matter of luck I suppose.

Nankeen Kestrel - falco cenchroides

I like the name of this one, Jacky Winter is quite a familiar bird to most people in Australia and they have given it a very Australian name. I can't imagine the British giving names like Jacky Winter and Willy Wagtail, we are far too stiff and formal for that.

Jacky Winter - microeca fascinans

The next bird was present at Binalong in considerable numbers, and what a beauty it is. The White-browed Woodswallow is a stunner. All Woodswallows have very soft, rich looking plumage with subtle dusky colouring. This is perhaps the best looking of them all. 

White-browed Woodswallow - artamus superciliosus

In fact I admire this bird so much I will post a few shots, it is so photogenic and I managed to get quite close.

White-browed Woodswallow - artamus superciliosus

It's difficult to choose which White-browed Woodswallow shots to post as I took so many. This one on a fence post is a good close-up.......

.....as is this one perched on a thistle in soft light. I like them all.

I actually photographed three different Woodswallow varieties at Binalong. These two below are Dusky Woodswallows........

Dusky Woodswallow - artamus cyanopterus

And another Dusky Woodswallow. Again note that lush, soft looking plumage.

Dusky Woodswallow - artamus cyanopterus

Here is the third one, a Masked Woodswallow. This was the only one of these that I saw, apparently they are more common out West, so I was quite lucky with this one.

Masked Woodswallow - artamus personatus

This rather nondescript bird is a Rufous Songlark​. It seemed fairly common in the fields and light woodland around here but I don't remember seeing it up in the Northern Rivers area so it's another one to add to my Australian list.

Rufous Songlark - cinclorhamphus mathewsi

Similarly this was a new one to add to my tally and in fact this one was the only Hooded Robin I saw on my trip so I was glad to get it.

Hooded Robin - melanodryas cucullata

The Double-barred Finch below was a great sighting. Australian finches are really spectacular and this is definitely one to remember. Superb black, white and grey patterns and very nicely spotted wing primaries make it a very handsome little bird, very exciting to see in the wild.

Double Barred Finch - taeniopygia bichenovii

The Diamond Firetail is another dazzling endemic Australian finch, This very small one is also kept by cagebird enthusiasts and it suffered serious declines in the wild. It has recently been taken off the vulnerable list however as the decline has been arrested. Still it is only common in certain locations such as Capertee and I consider myself lucky to have seen and photographed it.

Diamond Firetail - stagonopleura oculatum

The Red-browed Finch is the one I saw most often. It is common only along the East Coast of Australia but there seem to be a lot of them. They always appeared to be in flocks of around twenty or so individuals. It is another common aviary bird but I enjoyed seeing them in their natural habitat.

Red-browed Finch - neochmia temporalis

This colourful little bird below is actually not a finch but a Pardelote. This is a separate native Australian family of four bird species, of which the Striated Pardelote below is the most widespread and numerous. I was pleased to capture an image, albeit slightly obscured. I had hoped to see the more spectacular Spotted Pardelote up in Lamington N P but missed out on it unfortubately as it is quite special. 

Striated Pardalote - pardalotus striatus

Pardelotes are Eucalyptus forest specialists. They may be seen in other trees but they are never far from the Eucalypts that they nest and feed in.
The bird below is a Chestnut-breasted Finch. Quite a remarkable bird to look at in chestnut, black and silver. I actually took this photo up in the Northern Rivers area but didn't think it good enough to post. However as I'm focussing on Australian finches and the like I will put it in. It was a really nice sighting but I couldn't manage a clear shot at it so this will have to do.

Chestnut-breasted Finch

The following are are four birds that I picked up in the grounds of Binalong. The photographs are not great but I include them for the record. The first is a White-winged Chough, there was a resident flock of about ten birds around the grounds. They are only very distantly related to our Red-billed or Alpine choughs. They are in a separate family of two species known as Mudnest Builders, the other species being the Apostlebird. They are not strong flyers but spend most of the time foraging on the ground in the leaf litter. They were called choughs because of the close physical resemblance to that species. They build interesting looking flowerpot shaped nests of mud and grass and one group may steal and raise nestlings from another group because there is more security in numbers with these ground foraging birds.
The Common Bronzewing is a large, imposing looking pigeon, quite common but a very wary bird difficult to get close to. I had to sit quietly in the car for some time before this one came within range and even then it was not a clear shot. Pity as it's a very striking looking species.

White-winged Chough - corcorax melanorhamphos

Common bronzewing - phaps chalcoptera

White-winged Triller - lalage sueurii

Peaceful Dove geopilia striata

The White-winged Triller is a small member of the Cuckooshrike family. Not uncommon in woodland but another one very hard to get close to. The Peaceful Dove is a small pinkish pigeon that creeps around on the ground. It is still common but is suffering from competition from the introduced Spotted Dove, which is unfortunate.

Superb Fairy-wren - malurus cyaneus

I post another shot of a Superb Fairy-Wren taken at Binalong, because it's a good one. Below is an Australasian Pipit, a bird of open country such as grassland and pasture, roadsides and light woodland. Very similar in appearance to Richard's Pipit, but a separate species.

I rarely mention the animal life but there are lots of Kangaroos all over the place, wallabies, various large Lizards and an occasional Wombat are all that I remember.

The Capertee Valley is one of the few places that the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater is still seen. There are massive conservation efforts going in to try to save this flagship species from becoming extinct. It is a very spaectacular bird that was once common throughout much of Australia but fragmentation of its habitat has decimated the population. Extensive tree planting is ongoing and surveys show that the decline has been arrested but there is a long way to go to save the species. I hoped to catch sight of one but was not lucky. April told me that it is seen on the property sometimes and she gave me maps of the locations that I would have a chance, I was not there long enough though as I decided to cut and run when the weather turned bad. rain was forecast for the foreseeable future after I had been there for just three nights so I decided to pack up & head back to Sydney & the flights home. It had been an amazing holiday and I hope to return someday. It would be great to come back & see a thriving population of Regent Honeyeaters, I will be following their fate online.