Australian Good Birding Guide: Southern & Central Queensland. Ted Wnorowski

Spotless Crake, Australian Reed-Warbler, Golden-headed Cisticola, Tawny Grassbird, Australasian Pipit, Red-browed Finch, Variegated Fairy-wren, Superb Fairy-wren and Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.

      The selection of waterbirds and waders includes Hardhead, Chestnut Teal, Wandering Whistling-Duck, Royal Spoonbill, Little Egret, Great Egret, Australasian Grebe, Red-kneed Dotterel and Pied Stilt.

      A walking path through Deagon Wetlands may produce Forest Kingfisher, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Dollarbird, Collared Sparrowhawk, White-throated Honeyeater, Little Friarbird, Brush Cuckoo, Shining Bronze-cuckoo, Pheasant Coucal, Pale-headed Rosella and Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo. We found four lorikeet species on this walk (Rainbow, Scaly-breasted, Little and even a small flock of Musk Lorikeets).

Boondall Wetlands Reserve

      Boondall Wetlands are located 15km north of Brisbane CBD. This 1,100ha reserve protects the largest natural wetlands of Brisbane. The site is situated on the edge of Moreton Bay between Nudgee Beach, Boondall and Shorncliffe.

      The reserve provides a broad range of habitats including tidal flats, mangroves, estuaries, saltmarshes, grassland, paperbark swamps, open eucalypt forest and remnants of rainforest.

      Paperbark swamp in Boondall Wetlands

      To get there, from Gateway Mwy (M1) take the Bicentennial Rd exit and drive under the motorway into Paperbark Dr which will take you to the Boondall Wetland Environment Centre. The site can also be accessed from Nudgee Rd by foot or bicycle. Good site amenities include shelters, picnic tables, toilets and information boards. There is also a network of cycling and walking tracks, a boardwalk and a bird hide. For further details see Boondall Wetlands Track Map, downloadable here: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/20150219-boondall-track-map.pdf. Insect repellent is a must and is a life saviour – there are trillions of mozzies and midges here.

      Over 180 bird species have been recorded in the reserve. Key species are the waders, Little Tern, Glossy Ibis, Common Cicadabird, Mangrove Gerygone, Mangrove Honeyeater, Collared Kingfisher and Pacific Baza. Other birds of interest include Buff-banded Rail, Striated Heron, Spectacled Monarch, Rufous Fantail, Tawny Grassbird, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, White-throated Needletail and Tawny Frogmouth. Rarities include Common Sandpiper, Oriental Cuckoo, Shining Flycatcher, Speckled Warbler, Fork-tailed Swift and Masked Booby.

      Waders that dominate the roost seen from the bird hide are Lesser Sand Plover (in large numbers here), Pied Stilt, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Curlew Sandpiper. There will be also a few Whimbrels, Pacific Golden Plovers, Red-kneed Dotterels, Great Knots, Australian Pied Oystercatchers and occasionally Red-necked Avocets, Common Greenshanks, Common Sandpipers and Grey Plovers. Birds usually hanging out with the waders include Little Tern, Caspian Tern, Striated Heron and Little Egret.

      Curlew Sandpiper

      The disabled parking near the causeway is a regular roosting spot of Tawny Frogmouth. Brown Goshawks nest near the Visitor Centre. We observed Osprey carrying several loads of nesting materials over the Visitor Centre. The nest must be somewhere in the area.

      Bush birds around the Visitor Centre and on the walk to the bird hide include Sacred Kingfisher, Forest Kingfisher, Rainbow Bee-eater, Rufous Whistler, Black-faced Monarch, Spectacled Monarch, Restless Flycatcher, Scarlet Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Striped Honeyeater and Little Wattlebird. It has been reported that Shining Flycatcher breeds in this reserve.

      In the mangroves, look for Mangrove Gerygone, Collared Kingfisher and Mangrove Honeyeater. Shining Bronze-cuckoo, Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo and Channel-billed Cuckoo are regular visitors here. The rare Oriental Cuckoo was also reported from this site.

      Other birds recorded in the reserve include Glossy Ibis, Royal Spoonbill, Nankeen Night-Heron, Tawny Grassbird, Pacific Baza, Pale-headed Rosella and Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.

Nudgee Beach Reserve

      Nudgee Beach Reserve is located 19km northeast of Brisbane CBD. It is in fact the eastern part of Boondall Wetlands, accessible from the suburb of Nudgee Beach. The main attraction is a long, 1.5km boardwalk, running through the mangroves along the Nudgee Creek to a bird hide. Excellent views of the Bay can be captured along the boardwalk. You may observe flocks of waders feeding on the mudflats at low tide. When the boardwalk ends, the trail continues with a walking track, completing a 2km circuit called Tabbil-ban Dhagun.

      To get there, from Gateway Mwy (M1) take Nudgee Rd in the easterly direction. In Nudgee Beach, turn left into Oquinn St and find a carpark near the end of the road; one is provided for each end of the Tabbil-ban Dhagun Circuit.

      Various facilities are located on the foreshore along Fortitude St. These include toilets, barbecues, picnic tables, a boat ramp and a walking trail.

      Over 180 species have been recorded in the Nudgee Beach Reserve. Key species are the waders, Little Tern, Beach Stone-curlew, Striated Heron, Mangrove Gerygone and Collared Kingfisher. Other birds of interest here include Common Tern, Mangrove Honeyeater, Striped Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Buff-banded Rail, Rose Robin, Rufous Fantail and White-throated Needletail. Rarities include Broad-billed Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Sooty Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, Lesser Crested Tern, Arctic Jaeger, Shining Flycatcher, White-eared Monarch and Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove.

      32 wader species are on the birdlist of this site. A pair of Beach Stone-curlews is resident in the area and can be seen in the Nudgee Creek mouth or sometimes hunting along the Nudge Beach foreshore in front of the mangroves. A large flock of Whimbrels regularly uses this roost. Other waders here are Pied Stilt, Lesser Sand Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Great Knot, Australian Pied Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit and Black-tailed Godwit. Rarer species include Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Grey Plover, Terek Sandpiper and Marsh Sandpiper. A good variety of terns can be found in the area including Little Tern, Common Tern, Australian Gull-billed Tern and Caspian Tern.

      Beach Stone-curlews

      It is an excellent area for the mangrove species such as Mangrove Gerygone and Collared Kingfisher; these are numerous here. Check the hollows in trees along the boardwalk – sometimes Australian Owlet-nightjar may be peeping out of the hollow.

      Other bush birds in the reserve include Rose Robin, Rufous Fantail, Rainbow Bee-eater, Black-faced Monarch, Spectacled Monarch, Striped Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Little Friarbird, White-breasted Woodswallow and Eastern Whipbird.

      Cuckoos are loud in summer, particularly Brush Cuckoo, Channel-billed Cuckoo and Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo.

      Osprey, Brahminy Kite, Whistling, Kite and White-bellied Sea-Eagle are always present but you may also encounter Australian Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Swamp Harrier and Brown Goshawk.

Nudgee Waterhole Reserve

      This site is a small, 18ha reserve located on Nudgee Rd near Gateway Mwy (M1), 10km from Brisbane CBD. The main feature of Nudgee Waterhole Reserve is a natural spring-fed lagoon surrounded by bushland and grassland.

      To get there, from Gateway Mwy (M1) take Nudgee Rd. The reserve is situated in the corner of both these roads. A carpark is provided. Other facilities include shelters, picnic tables and barbecues. A shared pathway runs around the lagoon. Please taken note that due to the major road works at the time of publishing this book, access to the reserve was no longer available from Childs Rd. Access details may still change in the future.

      Over 110 bird species