Burke and Wills Roadhouse

Visited: mid dry season/winter

Recommendation: This is a great place to stop over in the hot Western Queensland Outback. You probably won't see anything new here but it is a nice place to have a rest and do some incidental birding.

Despite its name, the roadhouse has no connection to the famous explorers Burke and Wills. It's situated at the Burke and Wills Junction, a key meeting point for roads leading to Cloncurry, Julia Creek, Normanton, and Burketown in Queensland. This makes it a natural stopping point for travellers. Historical accounts place the establishment of the Burke and Wills Roadhouse around the 1970s. Once established, the roadhouse filled a crucial gap by providing essential services for travellers on long journeys. This included fuel, food, rest, and a chance to break up the monotony of the outback drive.

This famous roadhouse is a must stop with it's wonderful food and very efficiently run caravan park. I always try to arrive at my next place before lunchtime so I can get a good spot with shade and hopefully, birds. As I sat and watched dozens of caravans and campers arrive throughout the afternoon. It was a busy place. I parked up on the edge of the property next to some scrub land. The Apostlebirds greeted me as noisy as ever and I was delighted to see them as ever. They spent the entire afternoon going from van to van to see what they could scavenge.

Spinifex Pigeon (Geophaps plumifera)

I was tired at this stop so I didn't really intend doing any birding but I had seen an eBird listing for the dam so I thought I would check it out. I drove across the road (I was very tired) and had a quick look. No go, all fenced off with warning signs and I never argue with them. As I turned around I spotted something on the verge. My very first Spinifex Pigeon. After pulling the van off the verge and parking sensibly I worked my way back up to it. This is one bird you don't need an identification book for! It took me a while to realise that the surprised look on its face wasn't to do with me, just genetics.

Spotted Bowerbird (Chlamydera maculata)

One lifer down and I thought I should go for a walk to see what else was around and so I strolled along the road heading south in amongst the scrub when I heard a familiar call. The hissing and scratching of a bowerbird is unmistakable. I assumed it was a Great Bowerbird as I had been seeing plenty of them. Always looking for something to photograph I hung around until I could see it when it most obligingly sat on a dead tree right in front of me. A Spotted Bowerbird. Another lifer.

Brown Goshawk (Accipter fasciatus)

More squawking behind me before I could get over this new bird and I turned to see a Brown Goshawk being hounded out of the bush by angry Apostlebirds. I had to go and have a lie down after all this excitement.

This area proved to be an oasis for birds and I got around 30 species in less than 24 hours. Everything from honeyeaters, raptors, pigeons and even herons were here.