Ten determined members and friends of the Darling Downs group ventured to Lake Broadwater, south-west of Dalby at the western edge of the main cropping belt, on 24 July 2021.
Despite significant overnight rain and increasing wind strength, observers split into two groups and completed surveys (2 ha, 20 minute standardised method) of five plots that had been designed in advance, in relatively easy-access woodland south of the lake. If you’d like to survey the same sites you can download a GPX or KML file here and then open them in a GPS device or Google Earth.
Habitats varied from tall stands of forest red gum close to the lake, to quite dense Callitris native pine and poplar box farther away, as well as short grassland with scattered shrubs.
After a late morning tea, some members examined waterbirds in the inflow corner of the lake, which was mostly inundated but not to capacity.
At least 46 species were documented on the cool but sunny morning.
| Apostlebird | Struthidea cinerea |
| Australasian Grebe | Tachybaptus novaehollandiae |
| Australasian Shoveler | Spatula rhynchotis |
| Australian Pelican | Pelecanus conspicillatus |
| Australian Raven | Corvus coronoides |
| Australian Reed-Warbler | Acrocephalus australis |
| Black Swan | Cygnus atratus |
| Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike | Coracina novaehollandiae |
| Brown Honeyeater | Lichmera indistincta |
| Crested Pigeon | Ocyphaps lophotes |
| Eastern Yellow Robin | Eopsaltria australis |
| Eurasian Coot | Fulica atra |
| Galah | Eolophus roseicapilla |
| Glossy Ibis | Plegadis falcinellus |
| Grey Butcherbird | Cracticus torquatus |
| Grey Fantail | Rhipidura fuliginosa |
| Grey Teal | Anas gracilis |
| Grey-crowned Babbler | Pomatostomus temporalis |
| Hardhead | Aythya australis |
| Jacky Winter | Microeca fascinans |
| Little Corella | Cacatua sanguinea |
| Little Egret | Egretta garzetta |
| Little Pied Cormorant | Microcarbo melanoleucos |
| Magpie-lark | Grallina cyanoleuca |
| Mistletoebird | Dicaeum hirundinaceum |
| Noisy Miner | Manorina melanocephala |
| Pacific Black Duck | Anas superciliosa |
| Pink-eared Duck | Malacorhynchus membranaceus |
| Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus moluccanus |
| Red-capped Robin | Petroica goodenovii |
| Restless Flycatcher | Myiagra inquieta |
| Rufous Whistler | Pachycephala rufiventris |
| Scaly-breasted Lorikeet | Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus |
| Singing Honeyeater | Gavicalis virescens |
| Speckled Warbler | Pyrrholaemus sagittatus |
| Square-tailed Kite | Lophoictinia isura |
| Striated Pardalote | Pardalotus striatus |
| Stubble Quail | Coturnix pectoralis |
| Torresian Crow | Corvus orru |
| Wedge-tailed Eagle | Aquila audax |
| Weebill | Smicrornis brevirostris |
| Whiskered Tern | Chlidonias hybrida |
| White-bellied Sea-Eagle | Haliaeetus leucogaster |
| Willie Wagtail | Rhipidura leucophrys |
| Yellow Thornbill | Acanthiza nana |
| Yellow-rumped Thornbill | Acanthiza chrysorrhoa |
Highlights of the woodland birds were a Square-tailed Kite, Red-capped Robins, Grey-crowned Babblers and Speckled Warblers. Waterbirds of interest included Australasian Shovelers, Pink-eared Ducks, Glossy Ibises and a lone Whiskered Tern.
An immature White-bellied Sea-Eagle passed over during refreshments.
There is plenty of scope for additional species on future visits, especially when summer migrants are present and when water levels are lower with more shallows and exposed lake bed. And there are other habitats, such as ironbark woodland, that can be surveyed including by BirdLife’s standardised methods.
2 replies on “Lake Broadwater”
Hi Scot, thanks for your interesting post on your outing to Lake Broadwater recently. Four of us recently spent a few hours there and counted 32 species, and wondering if there is a forum where I could post the list of what we observed, Thanks Norma
Thanks Norma – just email the list to me and I’ll append it to this page 🙂