Sorry for being slack posting the rest of the pictures from the Atherton Tablelands but I have been caught up with other things, not least of which being birding! I have found time now to write this post as my other half has taken off on a camping trip to the tablelands from which I have been excluded due to obligations with work. As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I didn’t really get a hold of the camera often and to be honest, most of my time there I spent with binoculars or notebook on hand.

Now with that qualification I present some of the images I managed to get! First is a particularly common bird endemic to the tablelands, the Grey-headed Robin (Heteromyias albispecularis). These robins can be seen all over the area often in plain sight near tracks and in local gardens.

Near Lake Barrine I snapped what I thought was a Lemon-bellied Flycatcher (Microeca flavigaster) chasing some insects from its position low in a shrub. Actually, after recently reading a post by Lloyd Nielsen regarding this species, I am revising my ID to a Grey Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis). I’ve posted in a few places about it, we will see what the experts say!

The only other discernible images were these two taken of a female Victoria’s Riflebird (Ptilotis victoriae) and a Spotted Catbird (Ailuroedus melnotis) by Alex. Unusually, it was incredibly easy to actually see a Spotted Catbird on this trip. I have heard them in the past, but never seen them in numbers.

One other interesting shot I got was of this group of Helemted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) near the road into Dinden National Park. Not sure whether these birds are feral or domestic, but there are known feral populations in the surrounding areas. Incidentally, it was on this road that I managed to finally get a good look at some Red-back Fairy-wrens (Malurus melanocephalus) in breeding plumage.

All in all, much fun was had on the trip and I can’t wait for the next one!

Tags: Atherton Tablelands, birding, birds, riflebird, robin, whistler