20180304-MMPI0046 - Bird Outing - Mungarra Reserve
On Sunday 4th March 2018 I ventured for the first time to Mungarra Reserve, Petrie, Queensland, Australia, about half an hour from my home. OPn arriving at the reserve, I noticed a pair of Black Swan on one of the ponds which I was very glad to see. I spent the first half hour shooting just these two Swans, they stayed halfway across the pond which wasn't too far as the pond isn't that wide. That placed them perfectly in a sunny spot, with lit backdrop of the raised opposite side bank. A very enjoyable time watching this pair floating around, feeding on some pond weed and keeping an eye on various smaller waterfowl cruising by. Such beautiful birds, I am very happy to have been finding them regularly over my past few outings.
I then wandered around to discover what the site had to offer. The south, west and east sides of the reserve are bounded by the North Pine River as it makes a meandering 180 degree turn. No birds to be found on the river, but I watched lots of flyovers by Torresian Crows, Eastern Cattle Egrets and Australian Magpies. A lone Channel-Billed Cuckoo flew overhead making its horrible, rasping call, pursued by a bevy of Pied Currawong, Magpies and Torresian Crows trying to make it leave the area. All of these birds are the preferred surrogate parents for the parasitic-nesting Channel-Billed Cuckoo, so they don't want them in their area. A couple of pairs of Eastern Whipbird were calling on each side of the river, I was able to briefly sight one male but no photos were possible as they are excellent at staying obscured in a thicket. Exploring a little further along the river, I was surprised when a Pheasant Coucal burst out of a shrub about 10 feet in front of me. It flew across the river, as frightened by me as I was when it took off. A shame, I really want to get more photographs of this species as I only have the one clean shot so far.
Some more wandering (I estimate about 5Km in total walked this morning), found Oriental Dollarbird, another Pheasant Coucal, a pair of Rufous Whistler but only got shots of the Dollarbird, with these being from across the river at fair distance (one keeper).
Returning to the car, found another pond where I was able to get good waterline shots of Pacific Black Duck, Pied Cormorant, Australasian Darter and Hardhead ducks. Back to the initial pond a few more shots of the Black Swans, and a couple of shots of a Dusky Moorhen feeding its baby.
All in all a spot with good potential (over 130 species logged on eBird), like most Brisbane spots it should come alive when the Summer heat is gone. I look forward to returning for another look in a few months.
Read MoreI then wandered around to discover what the site had to offer. The south, west and east sides of the reserve are bounded by the North Pine River as it makes a meandering 180 degree turn. No birds to be found on the river, but I watched lots of flyovers by Torresian Crows, Eastern Cattle Egrets and Australian Magpies. A lone Channel-Billed Cuckoo flew overhead making its horrible, rasping call, pursued by a bevy of Pied Currawong, Magpies and Torresian Crows trying to make it leave the area. All of these birds are the preferred surrogate parents for the parasitic-nesting Channel-Billed Cuckoo, so they don't want them in their area. A couple of pairs of Eastern Whipbird were calling on each side of the river, I was able to briefly sight one male but no photos were possible as they are excellent at staying obscured in a thicket. Exploring a little further along the river, I was surprised when a Pheasant Coucal burst out of a shrub about 10 feet in front of me. It flew across the river, as frightened by me as I was when it took off. A shame, I really want to get more photographs of this species as I only have the one clean shot so far.
Some more wandering (I estimate about 5Km in total walked this morning), found Oriental Dollarbird, another Pheasant Coucal, a pair of Rufous Whistler but only got shots of the Dollarbird, with these being from across the river at fair distance (one keeper).
Returning to the car, found another pond where I was able to get good waterline shots of Pacific Black Duck, Pied Cormorant, Australasian Darter and Hardhead ducks. Back to the initial pond a few more shots of the Black Swans, and a couple of shots of a Dusky Moorhen feeding its baby.
All in all a spot with good potential (over 130 species logged on eBird), like most Brisbane spots it should come alive when the Summer heat is gone. I look forward to returning for another look in a few months.
