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Visited: winter
Recommendation: The areas surrounding Mount Isa are well known for a variety of Outback animals. Visiting in the cooler months is a good idea but it should definitely be on your list.
On travelling through Mount Isa I based myself for a few days at Moondarra, several kilometres north on the main route to the West. But before I reached there I headed to the Pamela St water tanks to look for the endemic Kalkadoon Grasswren. It was quickly apparent that to find it I would need some more thorough planning, better walking shoes and some water (it's a big area!). As I walked between the first 2 water tanks there was lots of bird activity but as I turned the corner and headed towards the scrub land, it all went silent. Nothing. I am a firm believer that if there is bird activity in an area, stay there.
Consequently, I wandered between the 2 waters tanks and in that 50 metre stretch I started to see a variety of birds but nothing beat my first ever sighting of the Painted Finch. What a cracker and they sat on the rocks in the early morning sun for me. What a welcome to Mount Isa!
Painted Finch (emblema pictum)
I quickly realised that the caravan park in Moondarra is in a great location for birding. It is situated at the start of the road to Lake Moondarra and all along that road was a walkway. The lake itself was stunning and you can drive for miles around it. There had been reports of some very special birds at the lake but without specific locations or local knowledge I didn't have a hope of finding them. But not to worry, I am always quite happy seeing and photographing whatever is around. However, I did really want to see the endemic sub-species of the Australian Ringneck Parrot, the Cloncurry Parrot. To my absolute delight, I heard a somewhat parroty noise outside my van on my first afternoon and there they were. Feeding on the leaves of the gum tree less than a metre from me. Total magic.
Cloncurry Ringneck (barnardius zonarius macgilivrayi)
On the other side of the road was Tom O'Hara park which is a tiny space next to the Leichhardt River with a toilet block and picnic table. It looks totally unassuming and kind of forgotten. But for anyone who stops to look, it is full of bird life. I found the ringneck and corellas nesting there. In fact there was an almighty squabble over who should get this hole to nest in. The corella won but as soon as they left to feed, the ringneck moved right back in. An argument set to continue I think.
Little Corella (cacatua sanguinea)
Each morning, before it got too hot, I would just wander along the track adjacent to the road towards the lake and look for any birds there. There was a surprising amount of activity but the best find was a Spinifex Pigeon which (with a lot of creeping around - I must look very strange) let me get close enough to photograph it and then it hopped onto an ant mound and posed beautifully. Look at that hair!
Spinifex Pigeon (geophaps plumifera)
Another good place I found was the horse paddocks by the treatment plant to the south east of Moondarra. There was a very thoughtful viewing platform in place by the treatment ponds but I could only see coots and gulls. Adjacent to it, however, was a walk around and through a set of horse paddocks which in itself was lovely, who doesn't love the smell and feel of horses? There were many birds in that area including both Black-fronted and Red-kneed Dotterel which, with more creeping around, were obliging.
Red-kneed Dotterel (erythrogonys cinctus)
Someone had reported a Pallid Cuckoo here recently but after identifying around 200 Crested Pigeon which look quite similar, I gave up and had a cup of tea. Lovely morning out.
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