Bribie Island - Queensland's
Birdwatching Hot-spot
Visitors
begin to notice the wealth of birdlife when crossing the bridge over the
Pumicestone Passage, with pelicans, gulls and terns soon distracting the driver.
The waters surrounding Bribie Island form part of Moreton Bay Marine
Park, ensuring protection for many species.
On the island, birds are everywhere. More than 300 species have occurred on
Bribie, due to its unique location and different habitat types, making it one of
the prime birdwatching destinations in Queensland, and you should see about 120
of them in a full day's birdwatching. Many of the waterbirds, parrots, pigeons
and honeyeaters will be familiar, but there are also some very special birds to
be found.
The
Pumicestone Passage is a wonderful area for birds and there are several vantage
points from the numerous beaches. Raptors are common and include spectacular
White-bellied Sea-Eagles, Ospreys and Brahminy Kites. Waders, including the
globally-threatened Eastern Curlew, are plentiful on the mudflats, especially in
summer, and you might even spot a majestic Black-necked Stork. Amongst the many
migrant waders that gather at the award-winning Kakadu Beach high-tide wader
roost at Banksia Beach can be the scarce Sooty Oystercatcher and, if you are
really lucky, Beach Stone-curlew. In winter Double-banded Plovers, visitors from
New Zealand, occur in small numbers at this man-made sanctuary.
Parrots
of various colours and sizes scream around the southern end of the island,
especially when Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets form large roosting flocks
at dusk, and many photogenic waterbirds inhabit the Bellara ponds. But the jewel
in the crown is Buckley's Hole Conservation Park. Waterfowl flourish in the
lagoon with Black Swans breeding annually, rails and crakes, including the
diminutive Spotless Crake, are seen regularly and rarities such as Hoary-headed
Grebe, Musk Duck, Pink-eared Duck and Lewin's Rail have occurred in recent
years. The sand spit is significant for its roosting waders, gulls and terns,
including wintering Lesser Crested Terns, and a Laughing Gull from America spent
several weeks here recently, attracting birdwatchers from as far away as
Victoria and Northern Territory.
A
variety of seabirds may be observed from the southern beaches and the drive
north along the ocean beach (permit required) can be spectacular.
Pied Cormorants accompany the ever-present gulls and terns and Australasian
Gannets visit during the winter, when Fluttering Shearwaters can be seen in
congregations of several hundred or more. Short-tailed Shearwaters stream past
on their southbound spring migration, whilst Wedge-tailed Shearwaters appear in
the summer. Albatrosses, petrels and frigatebirds are seen occasionally but a
telescope is essential for identifying distant seabirds
There are
many walking tracks that explore the National Park in the centre of the island
but a 4WD vehicle is necessary to fully appreciate the island's wallum heathland.
A relic coastal population of Emus, a Bribie speciality, survives here,
White-cheeked Honeyeaters are common and there is always a chance of finding a
Little Woodswallow. Small pockets of forest contain robins, whistlers, fantails
and flycatchers, and both Noisy Pitta and Rose Robin winter regularly.
Good
birding, and please enjoy Bribie's birds without disturbing them.
(This
article first appeared in the Bribie Island Holiday Guide, 2005.)
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