Tasmania

Superb Fairy-wren

A couple of weeks back Emily had a conference down in Hobart and so I thought I'd better tag along as not only is Tasmania great but I also had unfinished business with the place. With 11 out of the 12 Tasmanian endemic bird species already on my list, the Forty-spotted Pardalote remained the only missing member of that club.

Brown Quail

After a couple of days birding round Hobart while Emily attended her conference, we spent a long weekend up on Freycinet which should have been a relaxing time had we not decided to tramp for hours and hours all over the peninsula. I don't think my legs have fully recovered yet!

Freycinet Peninsula

It's a beautiful spot to tramp in for hours and hours though and there was also some good wildlife to be seen.

Echidna

Bennett's Wallaby

Of course I had to get my rod and line in the water at some point too. I'm blaming the cold water temperature (probably incorrectly) for the relative lack of action this time but at least I didn't draw a blank.

 Leatherjacket

Anyway, it's always an absolute pleasure to visit Tassie and, between the rain and hail showers, it's got to be one of my favourite destinations in Australia.

Five Hundred

Morning ferry to Bruny Island

The clear consensus from the folks on the birding mail lists was that a trip to Bruny Island was the best chance of tracking down that final Tasmanian endemic. Bruny Island is a 20 minute hop across the water from Kettering which is a nice short drive south from Hobart. I had two full days to get the job done while Emily did her conference thing and so early on the first morning I headed for the ferry.

 Gum tree between the two lagoons on the Cape Queen Elizabeth Track

I had a good tip-off regarding a very specific spot on the Cape Queen Elizabeth Track and so I got myself down there to begin the hunt. Within minutes of finding the group of gum trees between the two lagoons I saw movement in the canopy and there it was. The Forty-spotted Pardalote #500 with it's lemon cheeks and forty spots showing well in the early morning sun.

 The rain arrives

There were a pair of them in the end and they flitted around me for quite a while before the wind suddenly got up and the rain came in and they were gone. Being tiny pardalotes that hop about in the canopy, pictures were not so easy with my little camera but being number 500 I have to share a couple of record shots!

Forty-spotted Pardalote

An early start paying off once again and Tasmania is now complete. From a birding point of view anyway!