Warrumbungles April 18-21

Warrumbungle Spires

Carmel and I visited the Warrumbungles to do some exploration and bird watching. The National Park was extensively damaged in a major bushfire in 2013, so it is always interesting to return to see the recovery process. We observed about 40 species of birds:

Wedgetail Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel, Common Bronzewing, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Crimson Rosella, Pallid Cuckoo, Laughing Kookaburra, White-throated Treecreeper, Brown Treecreeper, Superb Fairywren, Spotted Pardalote, White-browed Scrubwren, Speckled Warbler, Weebill, Noisy Miner, White-eared Honeyeater, White-plumed Honeyeater, Jacky Winter, Eastern Yellow Robin, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Magpie Lark, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Dusky Woodswallow, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Australian Raven, White-winged Chough, Apostlebird, House Sparrow, Red-browed Finch, Mistletoebird, Welcome Swallow, and Silvereye


There was a lone Wedgetail soaring very high above the crater floor. We saw it sitting in a tree on a ridge early one morning but it was flying for all the other times we saw it.

Cockatoos were plentiful and raucous as usual. They flew around in flocks in the morning and evening.

Crimson Rosellas were present. We saw a pair on Spirey Creek, both feeding on the ground.

The Pallid Cuckoo was a nice surprise on Belougerie Flats. My birding friends told me it was very late in the season to see them. This was a lifer (first-time sighting for me) so I was pleased to get some clear photographs of it.

There were quite a few Kookaburras around the Blackman's Camp area, attracted no doubt but the food scraps left by campers.

We found both the White-throated and Brown Treecreepers working the tree trunks along the creeks. This Brown Treecreeper flew down onto the road and sat there long enough for me to take its photograph. The Brown Treecreeper is often found on the ground, unlike most of its cousins.

The Speckled Warbler was a pleasant surprise. We had walked up to the Canyon Picnic Area when we were surrounded by the buzz of small birds. Among them were Spotted Pardalotes (which I did not get any good photographs of) and Weebills. The Speckled Warbler is listed as a vulnerable species in NSW so it was good to get its photograph. The Weebills (Australia's smallest birds were weaving their way through the foliage. They are pretty hard to photograph because they move erratically.Correction: the birds that I thought were Weebills are in fact Buff-rumped Thornbills, another first for me. I am leaving my original ID in here just to remind myeslf how difficult it is differentiate between the two when you have not had experience with them. The Buff-rumped Thornbill is another first for me.

Noisy Miners were present in numbers as usual. They were very used to people and were quite happy to get under your feet when you were sitting down. It was surprising that there were no Yellow-throated Miners around. My experience has been that they replace the Noisy Miners the further west you travel inland. The Warrumbungles appears to be Noisy Miner territory.

Dusky Woodswallows were present in quite large numbers particularly around the Spirey Creek area.


Jacky Winters were found on the Belougery Flats walk. Some of the time they behaved like Robins, sitting on the plant stalks and flying down to catch insects on the ground. At other times they were almost like Skylarks, fluttering and chasing one another high in the air for several minutes at a time. We visited the same area twice and they were present both times.


We found quite a number of Golden Whistlers around the Spirey Creek area. There were quite a few female/immature birds, prompting me to raise my hopes that I had found one of the less common Whistlers. However the male turned up for just a few seconds, dashing my hopes.

There were quite a few very vocal Pied Currawongs around the camp. They were quite friendly and gave several opportunities to get good portraits.


Inland NSW is the place to see Apostlebirds. There was a flock of about a dozen birds (as usual) in the camp area and you could always here them squabbling among themselves. They seem to spend most of their time either grooming or chasing one another.
There was a flock of Silvereyes in the Spirey Creek area and I thought they were to active to photograph until one sat on a branch right in front of me for several seconds. I now have more portraits of this beautiful bird than I really need.

Finally on the way back home we paused at the rest area in Merriwa. I had photographed House Sparrows here previously so I was not surprised to find them again. This is a male in non-breeding colours. He will be more vibrant in spring. I put this photograph up on the Hunter and Central Coast Bird Group Facebook page with the invitation for others who had sighted Sparrows to comment. There was not a lot of response but I did find out that there has been a world wide decline in Sparrow numbers across the world. No one seems to have a definitive explanation for it.

I remember that we used to have Sparrows around Cooranbong in the 1960s but I do not recall seeing one in the lat 6 years since I developed an interest in bird photography. It is probably worth investigating a bit more.