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I ended up going to the Townsville Common with several other birders and it was nice to be in company. I found the common a little unsettling. There were cars seemingly randomly parked and people just hanging about. Always make me feel uncomfortable. So there were several of us making stops at the hides on the entrance road to the common and then we parked up at the freshwater bird hide to look around.
Visited: autumn
Recommendation: I wasn't very comfortable being at the Common but in the company of several other birders, it was productive. I would seek local advice before exploring the area.
As is often the case, there was no action in some places and lots going on in others. The lake was devoid of bird life but the surrounding area just got more interesting as the day got hotter. We saw the White-bellied Cuckooshrike. Not a particularly unusual bird but this one sat up nicely for us and you have to be grateful when that happens.
White-bellied Cuckooshrike (Coracina papuensis)
In one place, not far from where we had parked, we began to stalk an Olive-backed Oriole. A very attractive bird but it stayed in the shadows.
Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus)
We met another birder who had seen Plum-headed Finch not far away and I practically ran to find them. Sure enough, a large group were sitting on a woodpile and in the surrounding trees. At first sight of me, they shot up and disappeared. I was pretty disappointed but spotted some movement. I turned to see a solitary finch left behind in the wood pile. This time, I went a bit more carefully about things. I took lots of photos as the bird climbed up the branches and out of the shadows. It sat for just long enough in the sunlight for me to get the shot. On initial review, I wondered what all the fuss was about. It just looked like a plain, brown finch to me. It was only on processing my photos that I saw that beautiful purple crown. What a corker of a bird!
Plum-headed Finch (Aidenmosyne modesta)
As soon as the finch disappeared then there was something else in the woodpile. It had the beak of a cuckoo and with a bit of collaboration we decided the red eye meant it was a Little Bronze Cuckoo. It too skulked around in the shadows before briefly embracing the sunshine. It seemed to be the theme of the day, chasing birds in and out of the shadows. The Sahul Brush Cuckoo stayed determinedly in the shade.
Little Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus)
Sahul Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus)
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