Lara Wetlands

Visited: autumn

Recommendation: The lake and campsite at Lara are predominately for recreational purposes and you will find mainly families there. However, there is still a lot for wildlife spotters. Water and bush birds can be found here and it is a very beautiful place to stay.

Lara Wetlands is just south of Barcaldine and a renowned birding location. As I turned off the main road onto the dreaded red sand track, it wasn't long before the fun started.

I spotted a bat hanging from fence wires. Not normal at this time of day so I stopped and was taking photos when I realized it was stuck. A part of its wing was tied up on a barb. I took my hat and approached it to try to help. It wasn't having that and spat and clawed at me. Aware that these big fruit bats can carry diseases, I returned to the van for a bigger weapon.

My trusty fly swat (named The Killer for obvious reasons) disconnected the torn wing with more protestations (just look at those claws!) from the bat.

The wetlands is really just a small lake with some vegetation around the outsides. Campers and caravanners can park all round the edge of the lake. It seemed very commercial but was very well managed and as it was just after Easter, it was not too full. Most holidaymakers were parked as close to the water as possible but I went to the back end where there were reeds and vegetation between me and the water. Plus there was shade too!

In between circling the lake several times a day, I just settled down to see what would come past the back of the van. There were no flies or mosquitos during the day so it was very pleasant.

The first things that surprised me was that there were Brown Treecreepers running around on the ground everywhere. There were between 4 and 6 at any one time close to the van. Next was that there were also Black-tailed Native Hens everywhere as well. I have been trying to get good shots of these shy birds for months and here they were just running around.

Black-tailed Native Hen (Tribonyx ventralis)

Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus)

Every now and then, I would hear a commotion from the resident Pied Butcherbirds. They would be mobbing a Hobby as it swooped through looking for small waterbirds. Bit of a cheek really. The Pied Butcherbirds catch small critters and impale them so they can strip the flesh easier.

Australian Hobby (Falco longinpennis)

Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis)

There were lots of herons and egrets coming and going and the Intermediate Egret and White-faced Heron would regularly wander past my van. They would flush if I moved by slowly got more used to watch me as I watched them fishing.

Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia)

White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)

Right behind the van were lots of dead trees and the Tree Martin were nesting in the cavities. I loved watching them coming and going.

Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans)

There were lots of rosella and parrots zooming about and I was lucky enough to get close to them. They truly are spectacular.

Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus)

Red-winged Parrot (Aprosmictus erythropterus)

As I was photographing the parrots above me, I heard the Yellow-throated Miners screaming. I looked up to see a rather large Sand Goanna approaching. Ever the professional, I got my shots before I got back in the van.

Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii)