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Visited: Autumn
Recommendation: Cobar is a great stopover with a couple of great locations around water. Highlights here for me were the Striped Honeyeater, Plum-headed Finch, chats, bowerbirds and a mass of waterbirds.
Close to the very centre of New South Wales is the old mining town of Cobar. On the way there, I stopped at a rest area on the main road. If these places have a water tank then the chances are there will be birds. Success, this had one and I pulled up right opposite and had a cup of tea while I waited. The common Magpie Lark and Crested Pigeon were the only takers but soon I heard a familiar rasp. It was a bowerbird, must be the spotted species in this area. Soon, one came down with a mouth full of grasshopper and was then joined by another 3. Magic.
Spotted Bowerbird (Chlamydera maculata)
The Spotted Bowerbird is a fascinating Australian bird known for its elaborate courtship displays.
Skilled Architects: Spotted Bowerbirds are renowned for building spectacular bowers. These aren't just nests; they are elaborate structures constructed by males to attract mates. The bower itself is a collection of sticks and twigs, but what makes it special are the decorations.
Magpie Mania: Males meticulously collect an assortment of colourful objects to adorn their bowers. Anything bright and shiny catches their eye, including feathers, bottle caps, bones, and even stolen tools! They have a particular fondness for blue objects.
Mimicry Masters: Spotted bowerbirds are impressive songbirds. Not only do they have a diverse repertoire of their own calls, but they are also talented mimics. They can imitate the sounds of other birds, animals like kookaburras and dingoes, and even human sounds like car alarms and chainsaws!
Vulnerable Status: Sadly, the spotted bowerbird is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, but their population is decreasing. Habitat loss due to land clearing and predation by feral cats are threats to their survival.
Buoyed by bowerbirds, I headed to Cobar. There were a couple of free camping spots in town but I headed to the Old Reservoir campsite on the edge of town. It was a fantastic space with loads of room for all the caravans around the lake. There was plenty of activity on the lake too, with a group of Little Pied Cormorants fishing. It was quite a frenzy and I soon saw what they were catching - yabbies, a sort of local crayfish (I think).
Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)
The Black-tailed Native Hen is a medium-sized, dark, flightless bird native to Australia. They are roughly chicken-sized, reaching about 38 cm in length and weighing around 400 grams.
Their plumage is primarily brownish-grey with prominent white spots on their flanks. They have a distinctive erect black tail, which they hold folded most of the time. They have a bright green and orange bill, long pink-orange legs and feet, and bright yellow eyes.
These terrestrial birds prefer areas with permanent or temporary water sources. You'll find them in wetlands like swamps, shallow lakes, pools, and along rivers and creeks.
They are omnivores and opportunistic feeders. Their diet consists of a variety of things they find on the ground or in shallow water, including seeds, plant material, insects, snails, frogs, and even small reptiles.
Black-tailed Native Hen (Tribonyx ventralis)
Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus)
The Pink-eared Duck's distinguishing feature that gives them their name is actually a very small patch of pink feathers behind the eye. It's particularly difficult to see from a distance, especially in the wild.
A much more noticeable feature is their zebra-like striped body pattern on the flanks. This distinctive black and white barring is far easier to spot than the tiny pink patch.
Some people find the "Pink-eared Duck" moniker inaccurate due to the inconspicuous pink feature. An alternative name, "Zebra Duck," more accurately reflects their striking striped pattern.
Early one morning I went back into town to visit the Newey Reserve. Set around another lake, it was stunning and the whole area was buzzing. My best sightings were of a new bird, the Striped Honeyeater and some juvenile Plum-headed Finches.
Plum-headed Finch (Aidemosyne modesta)
The Plum-headed Finch, also known as the Cherry Finch, is endemic to Australia and their habitat is dry savannah and subtropical/tropical lowland dry shrubland. They are found in inland eastern Australia from Sydney to Cairns.
These juvenile birds were quite hard to identify as they have such plain plumage, and not a plum head in sight!
Striped Honeyeater (Plectorhyncha lanceolata)
Last up was my first sighting of the Striped Honeyeater. Typically, it had a unique call which always makes honeyeaters difficult to distinguish. After a little hunting around I found a couple of them searching the gum trees for food.
They are found in eastern Australia, mainly inland, ranging from the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia to the coast of New South Wales and up to Charters Towers in Queensland. They inhabit forests, woodlands, often along rivers, mangroves, and even urban gardens.
So, while you might not see them everywhere you go, they are a fairly common bird in their range. Once I had found them and learned their call, I started to see them everywhere in the area.
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