Australian Good Birding Guide: Southern & Central Queensland. Ted Wnorowski
is an affluent, leafy suburb located in the bend of Brisbane River about 8km southwest of Brisbane CBD. There are several spots worth exploring here, such as Fig Tree Pocket Riverside Reserve, Biambi Jumba Park, Lone Park Koala Sanctuary and Fig Tree Pocket Equestrian Centre.
Access to the suburb is from Centenary Hwy (M5). Take the Fig Tree Pocket Rd off-ramp.
80 bird species have been recorded in the area. Key species are Bush Stone-curlew, Buff-banded Rail, Striated Heron, Mangrove Gerygone and Dollarbird. Other birds of interest include Nankeen Night-Heron, Hardhead, Pale-headed Rosella, Australian King-Parrot, Golden Whistler, Sacred Kingfisher, Scarlet Honeyeater and Channel-billed Cuckoo.
Biambi Jumba Park
Biambi Jumba Park is a large recreational park with a big lagoon in the middle. Access is from Ormsby St at the end of Fig Tree Pocked Rd.
This site is good for common waterbirds such as Australasian Grebe, Grey Teal, Hardhead, Little Egret and Intermediate Egret. Regular findings here include Nankeen Night-Heron and Buff-banded Rail. Australian Reed-Warblers can be heard calling from the reeds.
Bush birds in the area include Eastern Whipbird, Rainbow Bee-eater, Leaden Flycatcher and Spangled Drongo.
Fig Tree Pocket Riverside Reserve
To get there, from Ormsby St take Mandalay St and drive to the boat ramp.
In the mangroves, look for Mangrove Gerygone, Rainbow bee-eater, Dollarbird and occasionally Collared Kingfisher.
Check the pontoons near the boat ramp – Striated Heron loves to hunt from them. Brahminy Kites patrol over Brisbane River. Their nest is located nearby. Channel-billed Cuckoo, Australasian Figbird and Olive-backed Oriole are often found in the fig trees near the boat ramp.
Brahminy Kite
You’ll see plenty of parrots in the park, such as Australian King-Parrot, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (breeding there) and Little Corella.
Fig Tree Pocket Equestrian Centre
It is worth driving or walking around the centre in search of Bush Stone-curlews that can be spotted resting under the trees in the Centre.
Lone Park Koala Sanctuary
The Sanctuary is a small zoo for the tourists, and also a magnet for wild birds. You even don’t need to enter the facility to watch the birds attracted to the captive bird feed. Australian Brush-turkeys are everywhere. Bush Stone-curlew roost in the carpark and at the entrance to the site. Tawny Frogmouths feature in the bird show inside but you may be able to spot a couple of wild ones in the tall trees surrounding the Sanctuary. Topknot Pigeons make a stop there whenever any of the trees are fruiting.
In the water baths scattered inside and outside the facility, you may observe Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, White-browed Scrubwren and more.
Raptors are always around. In particular, look for Brown Goshawk, Australian Hobby and Pacific Baza.
John Wilson Reserve
This small, 20ha Reserve is located in the suburb of Pinjarra Hills 20km west of Brisbane CBD. The whole site adjoins the Pullen Pullen Creek and otherwise is surrounded by cleared acreage blocks. Most of the reserve has been revegetated by a local Bushcare Group. Site coordinates are 27o33’10’’S and 152o53’48’’E.
To get there, from Moggill Rd (33) turn into Pinjarra Rd, then turn into Houston St. It soon changes name to Glenhurst St. Drive to the end of the road and park in the cul-de-sac. Walk to the creek through a grassy paddock along a fence line. There are no facilities or signposting.
Over 120 species are on the reserve’s birdlist. Key species are Pale-vented Bush-hen, Dollarbird, Square-tailed Kite and Spotted Harrier. Other birds of interest include Common Bronzewing, White-necked Heron, Sacred Kingfisher, Golden Whistler, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Varied Triller, Common Cicadabird, Striped Honeyeater, Brown Quail and Tawny Grassbird. On the list of rarities are Speckled Warbler, Rufous Songlark, White-winged Triller, Jacky Winter, Red-capped Robin and Western Corella.
While we walked to the reserve, Spotted Harrier was flying over the paddock. Rainbow Bee-eater, Sacred Kingfisher and Golden-headed Cisticola were sitting on the fence. In the short grass, we found Australasian Pipit, Double-barred Finch and Yellow-rumped Thornbill. A large flock of Straw-necked Ibises and several Cattle Egrets landed on the paddock.
At the edge of the reserve, we had an excellent view of Striped Honeyeater and also saw Black-faced Monarch, Golden Whistler, Spangled Drongo, Rufous Fantail and White-winged Triller (the latter feeding on the paddock). Red-browed Finches were building their shaggy nest in the thicket that borders the track. Several gum trees and paperbarks were flowering and teeming with honeyeaters such as Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater and White-throated Honeyeater. A group of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets joined the feast.
On the ground under the tree in western corner of the reserve, we came across a large mixed flock of parrots (about 250 birds), mostly Little Corellas, Long-billed Corellas and Galahs. Among them we spotted nine Western Corellas, the progeny of cage escapees – this small population has survived here for years.
On the water, we ticked off Australasian Grebe, Royal Spoonbill, Hardhead, Plumed Whistling-Duck, Pied Stilt and Black-fronted Dotterel.
On our way back, we heard the characteristic ‘cutting scissors’ call of Restless Flycatcher. We saw it flying among the trees.
Pale-vented Bush-hens breed in this reserve. They were observed several times with their fluffy little chicks along the creek. Brown Quail and Tawny Grassbird are regularly found here.
Moggill Road Wetlands Reserve
This small reserve is located at the corner of Moggill Rd (33) and Aitcheson St just 1km before Moggill Ferry. Site coordinates are 27o35’12’’S and 152o51’37’’E.
There are two lakes on this site, one on each side of the road, surrounded by bushland. The wetland regularly dries out, so birding results depend on the water levels.
Over 150 bird species have been found at this tiny site. Key species are Glossy Ibis, Pale-vented Bush-hen, Buff-banded rail, Apostlebird and White-winged Triller. Other birds of interest include Latham’s Snipe, Wandering Whistling-Duck, Comb-crested Jacana, Brown Quail, Red-kneed Dotterel, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Shining Bronze-cuckoo, Forest Kingfisher and Dollarbird. Rarities at this site include Freckled Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Diamond Dove, Pallid Cuckoo, Dusky Honeyeater and Red-rumped Parrot.
Male White-winged Triller
The site is most productive when the lakes just begin to dry out. In the western lagoon, expect to find Buff-banded Rail, Lewin’s Rail, Baillon’s Crake (occurs in good numbers), Latham’s Snipe and Red-kneed Dotterel. There is a good chance here for Pale-vented Bush-hen. Once we observed two adults with two young feeding at the edge of the western lagoon. At the same time, we were amazed with the raptor activity over the wetlands – we recorded nine species including Spotted Harrier, Swamp Harrier, Black-shouldered Kite, Brown Falcon and Pacific Baza.
We stopped there to look for Freckled Ducks, reported as visiting at the time, we located five of them, and also a pair of Australasian Shovelers.
On a large flowering gum tree, we found four lorikeet species feeding together, with Little Lorikeet being dominant.
Pullenvale