Sunshine Coast Birdlife Australia Blog : Tin Can Bay / Rainbow Beach Weekend 20 / 21 August

View of Double Island from Carlos Blow, Rainbow Beach

BirdLife Sunshine Coast – Tin Can Bay / Rainbow Beach Weekend 19/20/ 21 August 2016

Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach were the main destinations for a weekend away and despite the fact that a couple of the ‘specials’ remained unseen, an excellent weekend was enjoyed by all.

Tin Can Bay Woodland

A full complement of 17 people squeezed into our Budget rent a bus and departed not long after 5pm from Nambour and had a quick trip to The Sleepy Lagoon Motel at Tin Can Bay. This is a nice clean place at a more than reasonable price. And as it is right next door to a pub a perfect place for a group of birders to stay!

The trip really began on Saturday when we met our hosts, Lionel Muir and his wife Jeanette, keen members of the Gympie Field Naturalists, at 7am at our hotel.

Little Black Cormorant

Dolphins ready for feeding

Australian Humpback Dolphin

First stop was to observe first the feeding of the [Australian] Humpback Dolphins nearby. This has become an institution at Tin Can Bay and is by far the easiest way to see this rare species. Many enjoyed a quick coffee and breakfast and our first birds; Brown, Mangrove, White throated, Blue-faced and White Cheeked Honeyeaters plus both friarbirds, nesting Whistling Kites, Pelicans and Cormorants, who were keen to spoil the dolphin’s feasting.

male Fairy Gerygone [S. Popple]

Next stop was Inskipp Point where the search for the elusive Black-breasted Button-quails began in earnest. The quail’s scratchings were frustratingly evident however the birds remained unseen. The scrub at Inskipp was noisily birdy – many honeyeaters, drongos, Eastern Yellow Robin, Whistlers, Variegated Fairy Wren, and, for me best of all, Fairy Gerygones – their rapid cyclic calls giving them away. Also of note were excellent views of a pair of Beach Stone Curlews which people viewed in between getting bombed by over-zealous Masked Lapwings. Australian Pipit parading on the beach was, perhaps, an interesting record also.

Beach Stone Curlews

Carlos Point proved to be an excellent spot for an early lunch. An abundance of Honeyeaters in the flowering gums and melaleucas, including a single Striped Honeyeater, made it difficult to concentrate on the food. A determined nesting Lapwing remained stationary throughout our time there despite a few photos. Tree Martins and Welcome Swallows drank and collected nesting mud while a steady stream of other birds sailed through.

Tree Martin

Welcome Swallows

Next on the agenda was the short bush walk to the famous Carlos Sand Blow. Carlo Sand Blow was named by Captain Cook after one of his deck crew named Carlo. The unique "moonscape" sand mass covers over 15 hectares and overlooks the towering coloured sands. From the Rainbow Beach water tower at the top of Cooloola Drive.

the whole gang...

A quick walk in the shade of the rainforest of Bymien Picnic Area prevented us from getting to the exposed plain at Cooloola too early…. A few good birds were there but most remained unseen. Wompoos, Pittas remained invisible however Pale Yellow Robins, Green Catbirds, Brown Gerygones and White-browed Scrubwrens were easily seen.

Cooloola Plains - Ground Parrot habitat

Some took time to meditate

But soon we negotiated our way onto the Cooloola Plains and its heath habitats that were home to Ground Parrots. Only two of our group managed to lay eyes on the birds and for them they proved to be lifers. The rest of the group contented themselves with hearing the ringing calls of the birds as the sun set. Before then we scored some good raptors; Swamp Harrier, Brown Falcon and a hite-breasted Sea Eagle. As night fell we made our way back to Tin Can Bay and its hotel where the waitress had forgotten our booking [for 19 people] and we had to sit at make shift tables in front of the live music act. It could have been worse…

Sunday started like Saturday – coffee near the dolphins and adjacent species. Next - Twitching the Bush Stone Curlews at the Golf Course before a nice walk down to Snapper Creek. A visit to a wader roost on the estuary and a sewerage works rounded out our morning. After lunch we headed for home with just a brief stop off at a country billabong to jag a few more species for our weekend away.