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| Superb Fairy-wren female singing Vineyard Cottages, Ballandean, Queensland July 29, 2012 |
Back at the
end of July we enjoyed a couple of days break in an area known as the Granite
Belt. It is a really beautiful area for unique Australian landscapes and flora
and fauna. I think the central jewel to the area is Girraween National Park and
recommend you browse this fantastic website.
We actually
stayed at Vineyard Cottages. Upon arrival at our cottage, I noticed typical
Australian birds such as Australian Magpies about the place and within seconds
we had Superb Fairy Wrens and Double-barred Finches hoping around within
metres of our door. For dinner I had a huge T-bone steak sitting on a bed of
mashed potato with peppered mushroom gravy and a dessert with a nice hot cappuccino.
The next
morning I again found the wrens and finches as well as Eastern Spinebills,
various honeyeaters, magpies, doves, and European Blackbirds. The latter
regarded as a noxious invasive in Australia. I guess they aren’t good to have around native
plants as their foraging is quite destructive but I was familiar with them in
Melbourne years back and find them fairly attractive.
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| Double-barred Finch Vineyard Cottages |
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| Superb Fairy Wren male |
We
delighted in fresh and dried fruits with freshly made muesli, breads, plus
juices, coffee and yogurt for breakfast followed by a mid-morning visit to
Girraween. There, we were welcomed by a high-flying Wedge-tailed Eagle, a
Red Wattlebird near the information centre and Red-browed Finches frolicking
on the cut grass. We didn’t venture beyond the entrance but Girraween looked
fantastic with flowering native plants such as banksias and wattles all booming
in colour under the clear blue winter sky.
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| Wedge-tailed Eagle Girraween National Park |
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| Red-browed Finch Heavenly Chocolate, Queensland |
On the way
back, I finally managed a shot of a Red-browed Finch, be it, in a mix of bright light
and dark shadows at Heavenly Chocolate where we were warmly welcomed by some super
friendly canines. Then.
We went for
lunch.
We randomly
followed a road to Felsberg Winery where more wrens were hopping about and a
family of some kind of bird actually came into the restaurant. They sounded
interesting enough, however I couldn’t see them over a massive mound of mashed
sweet potatoes flattening out under the weight of sliced Bratwurst sausages and
caramelised onion gravy and another cappuccino. By the time the visual obstruction
was gone so were the birds.
Not long
after we entered the Bramble Patch, the lady there, having observed that I had a
camera hanging around my neck told me to get some shots of a Kookaburra just
outside on a fence post. I did.
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| Laughing Kookaburra The Bramble Patch |
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| Eastern Rosella The Bramble Patch |
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| Eastern Rosellas and Crimson Rosellas |
After having
various frozen berries mashed amongst fresh ice-cream, I went out looking for
the birds on their property and was excited to see Eastern Rosellas. The
Granite Belt is about the only area in South-eastern Queensland where I’ve seen them
going back at least 20 years.
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| Crimson Rosella The Bramble Patch |
Actually,
we didn’t have much for dinner that night opting for Olympics on TV followed by
an awesome outing to the Twinstar Guesthouse and Observatory. It was a very clear but
moonlight night and we studied the sky and stars for a good 90 minutes. It's an absolutely fascinating place to visit.
I only had
toasted sandwiches for lunch the next day; along with a cappuccino.
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| European Blackbird female |
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| Australian Magpie hanging out with Jack Frost Vineyard Cottages |
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| Yellow-faced Honeyeater |
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| Double-barred Finch Vineyard Cottages |
I apologise
if a have offended some readers with this post. It’s just the foods mentioned
here are rare in Japan.
More about the wineries and food places of the Granite Belt Wine Country can be found HERE!!
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| At first I thought this was an Orange Banksia but the leaves are different.. Hmmn, maybe it's a Hairpin Banksia... I have an app on my phone but can't quite find it. Girraween National Park |
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| Wattle and sky at Girraween National Park Maybe looks too vivid to northern eyes but I swear these colours are accurate! |
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| Some landscapes from the Granite Belt |
6 comments:
Wow Russell you really spoiled veryone with such a brilliant collection of photographs. Looks like a wonderful place to visit, and to eat and drink! the Superb Fairy Wren is indeed superb - like a diminutive warbler and i can't believe how different the sexes are. Lovely pose of the Kookaburra. Must say as a Pom I'm a bit disappointed that Blackbirds are persona non grata over there - they dig the borders up a bit yes but they keep the insects down and they are great songsters at 4am in the morning.
I just love your Fairy Wren images. Being back fond memories of my encounter with them during my visit to Australia.
Wow, looks like an amazing place to visit! What an incredible variety of stunning birds! They are all lovely, but the Rosellas are magnificent!
Great stuff Russell, enjoyed the read and the photos. Be on my wish list to visit next time I'm on the eastern seaboard. Cheers, Richard
Don't know what to be jealous of more, the food or the birds.
Wow!
This trip allowed you a beautiful reportage!
Some of the birds I haven't seen during my trips there, like those cute little wrens!
Seeing this of course makes me long to be back! :)
Well done Russell!
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