Warrumbungle National Park

A hill rises above a sea of trees. It is split down the middle making an imposing view.

Visited: Winter

Recommendation: This is a very pleasant area with lots to explore. The wildlife is abundant and the camping facilities very good. I look forward to returning and trying other campsites. Definitely worth a visit.

Warrumbungle National Park, in New South Wales, is a wonderful destination famous for its dramatic volcanic rock formations and its status as Australia's first Dark Sky Park. It is half an hour drive west of Coonabarabran, which itself is north of Dubbo. It is a very pleasant drive into the hills and through the rock formations. We stayed at one of the many campsites in the area - Camp Wambelong. It's a beautiful large campsite with around 25 sites, all unpowered. The campground runs alongside a creek, which was mostly dry. The little water that was there did attract birds, wallabies, kangaroos and some feral goats.

Behind the campsite is the Split Rock, one of the main attractions here. It's a very beautiful hill and apparently you can go off the main track around the hill and scramble to the top if you wish. After falling and breaking my foot this year, it didn't sound very appealing. It was very, very windy when we were here on the first day, which was good because the temperature was unseasonably high, nearing 40 degrees. It also meant that a lot of the tracks were closed because of the high risk of fire.

Still, there was plenty going on around the campsite with it being early spring, it was cuckoo season. I heard the Black-eared, Shining Bronze and Fan-tailed Cuckoos all singing from the trees and hills. I didn't see any of them, however. A Cicadabird was also calling in the afternoons and I would chase it from one end of the park to the other. Each time I would give, and I never saw it either. But it was a very nice place to sit and enjoy the surroundings as I do have a soft spot for cuckoos so to sit somewhere and be able to listen to them calling and going about their business was quite special.

Crimson and Eastern Rosellas were here. The Eastern Rosellas had that very almost luminous colour. They had a very nice green neon back, which you don't tend to see anywhere else other than this far east. It was very attractive. Unfortunately, they stuck to the shade in the searing heat.

Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)

A colourful parrot with red, yellow and blue plumage.

Each afternoon there were Eastern Grey Kangaroos that would come out onto the campground to graze. There were quite a few with joeys and that was very nice to watch as the joeys would venture out of the pouch. They would crouch and scamper around for about 10 seconds before diving back into safety. There was a huge Swamp Wallaby I saw feeding one afternoon on the opposite side of the creek in the shade so I couldn't photograph of it, but I have rarely seen them that big.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)

A young kangaroo sits on the ground looking around.

A large white parrot with a bright yellow crest.

In the grass and scrub on the other side of the creek there was plenty of activity. My favourite bird to watch was the ubiquitous Sulphur-crested Cockatoo who often feasted on the thistle in between screeching. Rufous Whistler and Red-rumped Parrots sheltered in the relative cool of the trees above.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)

A scene of a nearly dry creek with trees and bushes in the background.

A grey backed bird with rufous front, black breast and white throat.

Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris)

Bright green parrot with red patch on the rump.

Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus)

After our first night, I hobbled off early on the newly opened track to Split Rock and just wandered around the entrance and a short way up the main track. A raucous family of babblers were tending to a nest. I love these family groups of birds that all work together and the delicious squawkings they make.

A brown bird with a white throat tends a large nest.

Grey-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis)

A huge brown and cream kingfisher with a thick bill.

Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)

Lesser Wanderer Butterfly (Danaus petilia)

Little and Noisy Friarbird called frequently in the area and several Laughing Kookaburra added to the general noise. There were some more gentle creatures here, however. Butterflies were also attracted to the thistle which was in flowering abundance.

Large brown songbird with blue facial skin and yellow throat.

Large brown songbird with bare black head and small knob in front of the eyes.

Little Friarbird (Philemon citreogularis) anf Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus)

Large olive songbird with pale front and bright blue eye patches.

Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)

A pale brown bird with a thick black and yellow streak under the eye.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops)

Other honeyeaters were busy here, with the Blue and Yellow-faced busy looking for food. Meanwhile a young White-plumed Honeyeater sought food from its harassed parents. Last on my list was a family of White-winged Chough, again with a hungry youngster waiting, not so patiently, for breakfast. Not too bad a collection for a lame birder!

Young yellowish grey bird with faint white plume on the cheek.

Yellow-plumed Honeyeater (Ptilotula ornata)

A large black bird with white on the wings and a bright red eye.

White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos)

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