This was the Spring version of the Brisbane Ranges bird walk. The weather was sunny and wind ok. There was a good turnout and John Newman was leading the bird walk. On the drive there we saw some White-winged Choughs by the side of the road. We started at Stieglitz (historic) Court House around 9:15am.
Full bird lists for each of the two locations we visited are given in the section below. These lists are also recorded in eBird.
Similarly to the previous bird walk in March 2024, we spent around two hours within several hundred metres of the court house. This is a good spot for seeing Mistletoebirds (in Spring) and we did spend some time following a calling male Mistletoebird through the trees – see photo when it briefly sat still.
Mistletoebird
Other highlights included:
- Jacky Winter – not a glamorous species, but a bird not seen at Anglesea
- Shining Bronze-Cuckoo – lots of calling and showing off those colours in the sun
- Varied Sittella – always a fun bird to see
- Weebill – easier to hear than see!
Jacky Winter
Shining Bronze Cuckoo
We had morning tea at Steiglitz. We then drove to Stony Creek Picnic Ground. On the way we stopped at the Durdidwarrah Reservoir. The reservoir sometimes has lots of ducks, but not today. Highlight was a Whistling Kite.
The Stony Creek Picnic Ground (accessed via a steep and rocky road) is a great place to see Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters. And sure enough we did get many excellent views of the handsome yellow and black honeyeater along the walk.
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
We also saw Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters, and a Sacred Kingfisher. At Steiglitz and Stony Creek, Spotted and Striated Pardalotes were busy calling. I had to leave early for a grandchild’s birthday in Melbourne, and after I left a koala was seen.
Brisbane Ranges delivered an exciting day of bird watching again. Thanks to John for taking us around, and in particular: thanks for improving our bird call identification skills.
James Orton
Bird Lists
The table below shows the names and count of birds seen on the walk. Note this list has been recorded in eBird.
Stieglitz Historic Park – Courthouse
| Species | Count |
| Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo | 1 |
| Shining Bronze-Cuckoo | 1 |
| Collared Sparrowhawk | 1 |
| Galah | 4 |
| Long-billed Corella | 2 |
| corella sp. | 3 |
| Sulphur-crested Cockatoo | 3 |
| Crimson Rosella | 6 |
| Red Wattlebird | 6 |
| White-naped Honeyeater | 2 |
| Spotted Pardalote | 2 |
| Striated Pardalote | 12 |
| Weebill | 3 |
| Brown Thornbill | 2 |
| Buff-rumped Thornbill | 4 |
| Black-faced Cuckooshrike | 2 |
| Varied Sittella | 6 |
| Grey Shrikethrush | 3 |
| Rufous Whistler | 4 |
| Australian Magpie | 2 |
| Grey Currawong | 2 |
| Grey Fantail | 5 |
| Australian Raven | 2 |
| Jacky Winter | 2 |
| Welcome Swallow | 4 |
| Silvereye | 4 |
| Common Blackbird | 1 |
| Mistletoebird | 4 |
Stony Point Picnic Ground
| Species | Count |
| Shining Bronze-Cuckoo | 1 |
| Fan-tailed Cuckoo | 1 |
| Sacred Kingfisher | 2 |
| Galah | 2 |
| Sulphur-crested Cockatoo | 3 |
| Crimson Rosella | 3 |
| White-throated Treecreeper | 2 |
| Superb Fairywren | 3 |
| Yellow-faced Honeyeater | 2 |
| Yellow-tufted Honeyeater | 7 |
| Red Wattlebird | 3 |
| White-naped Honeyeater | 6 |
| Spotted Pardalote | 2 |
| Striated Pardalote | 2 |
| Brown Thornbill | 2 |
| Grey Shrikethrush | 4 |
| Golden Whistler (Eastern) | 3 |
| Rufous Whistler | 4 |
| Australian Magpie (White-backed) | 2 |
| Grey Currawong | 1 |
| Grey Fantail | 2 |
| Australian Raven | 1 |
| Little Raven | 1 |
| Eastern Yellow Robin | 3 |