Thursday, September 28, 2006

Spotted Quail-thrush

John & ShirleyTongue write : After Phil Robinson's post in August about the Quail-thrush at White-water Wall in Freycinet, we ventured up there today and happened upon one, lone, but very co-operative male. He fed nonchalantly along the track which crossed in front of us, for about 5 minutes or so. Sadly the limitations of our camera, the dappled light, and the constant movement of the bird means I don't have brilliant pictures. It would certainly be worth visiting for any Tassie birders looking for this species.
[Ed: I've taken a lot worse with more sophisticated gear!--well done, John. Perhaps you could give directions for anyone interested].

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Alan,
You need a four wheel drive to get there, or to be prepared to walk about 3 km each way - the track os pretty rough going to drive, but would be a reasonable walk, and others have seen them cross the main, sealed road, too. The place is called Whitewater Wall, and is a popular rock-climbing and abseiling spot in Freycinet National Park. Just south of Freycinet Lodge, you take the Cape Tourville Lighthouse Rd. About 200-300m before the lighthouse carpark, an unmarked dirt track (4WD only) turns off left (north), and just a littl way along is a Parks sign to Bluestone Bay. Approx 3km along this rough track, one fork goes left to Bluestone Bay, and the other right for about 100m to the camping area for Whitwater Wall. We saw the bird between the camping area and the climbing area, but all the way in from the main road looks suitable, and others have seen them cross the main road further back.

Happy spotting!