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Visited: winter
Recommendation: These adjoining campsites are huge and they run parallel to the lakes. The area is stunning. I will never forget having breakfast with Brolga strolling past me. I can't wait to go birding here again.
These 2 lakes are just west of the little township of Camooweal, near the border with the Northern Territory. They run north south generally, as does the track. This allows for some shade in the camping areas from the trees that line the waterways.
The track leading to both the lakes is rough in parts and I certainly wouldn't travel there after heavy rain. The lakes themselves are beautiful and because of their unusual shape and the parallel access road, you can walk comfortably along both of them and get good views across the narrow stretches of water.
One of the best birding opportunities here is to get close to the Brolga. They will not tolerate you walking too close to them but as they are big birds and with a telephoto lens, you can get great photographs of them. The highlight of my stay here was early in the morning as I sat on the step of my campervan and watched them as they grazed along the water's edge right in front of me. They didn't seem to notice me until they were directly opposite. With some 'chucking' at each other, they then decided it was time to go.
Brolga (antigone rubicunda) in early light
There were numerous egrets working their way along the water's edge with Eastern Great, Intermediate and Pacific all present. My favourite, perhaps because I have seen it the least, was the Pacific or White-Necked Heron which I think has just the most gorgeous plumage.
White-necked Heron (ardea pacifica)
As I sat having a cup of tea in the afternoon outside my van just watching the comings and goings, a large raptor flew in with a kill. Usually you see lots of Black and Whistling Kites but I could see straight away this was something different with the strong barring under the tail. Turned out to be a young Spotted Harrier and once it had finished eating, it jumped up onto a rock and sat there for some time while I photographed it. Could be a supermodel with those long legs!
Juvenile Spotted Harrier (circus assimilis)
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