Wrapped around the edge of the escarpment Prince Henry Drive has a reputation as one of the best birding spots in Toowoomba, and certainly lived up to that when we visited.
Following rain and storms on the preceding few days, the Darling Downs group met at Katoomba Lookout on 2 October 2021 for a walk on Prince Henry Drive on a delightful fine morning.
We undertook standardised surveys (2ha, 20 minute), with some training, at four sites along the road, realising 37 species collectively.
Nine White-headed Pigeons hidden in dense foliage of a vine-scrub tree, a rather brown Tawny Frogmouth roosting remarkably low to the ground in privet/celtis thicket, and six Regent Bowerbirds feeding among the fruiting stems of a leafy weed were species of particular interest.
On the way back, our youngest participant (Alex) drew our attention to a passing Black Falcon and a Rufous Fantail, missed earlier, flitted across the road.
Here’s the full species list for the morning:
| Australasian Figbird | Sphecotheres vieilloti |
| Australian Brush-turkey | Alectura lathami |
| Australian White Ibis | Threskiornis moluccus |
| Bar-shouldered Dove | Geopelia humeralis |
| Black Falcon | Falco subniger |
| Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike | Coracina novaehollandiae |
| Brown Cuckoo-Dove | Macropygia phasianella |
| Brown Honeyeater | Lichmera indistincta |
| Double-barred Finch | Taeniopygia bichenovii |
| Eastern Whipbird | Psophodes olivaceus |
| Fan-tailed Cuckoo | Cacomantis flabelliformis |
| Golden Whistler | Pachycephala pectoralis |
| Grey Shrike-thrush | Colluricincla harmonica |
| Laughing Kookaburra | Dacelo novaeguineae |
| Leaden Flycatcher | Myiagra rubecula |
| Lewin’s Honeyeater | Meliphaga lewinii |
| Mistletoebird | Dicaeum hirundinaceum |
| Noisy Miner | Manorina melanocephala |
| Olive-backed Oriole | Oriolus sagittatus |
| Pied Butcherbird | Cracticus nigrogularis |
| Pied Currawong | Strepera graculina |
| Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus moluccanus |
| Red-backed Fairy-wren | Malurus melanocephalus |
| Red-browed Finch | Neochmia temporalis |
| Regent Bowerbird | Sericulus chrysocephalus |
| Rufous Fantail | Rhipidura rufifrons |
| Scarlet Honeyeater | Myzomela sanguinolenta |
| Silvereye | Zosterops lateralis |
| Spotted Dove | Streptopelia chinensis |
| Spotted Pardalote | Pardalotus punctatus |
| Striated Pardalote | Pardalotus striatus |
| Tawny Frogmouth | Podargus strigoides |
| Torresian Crow | Corvus orru |
| Variegated Fairy-wren | Malurus lamberti |
| White-browed Scrubwren | Sericornis frontalis |
| White-headed Pigeon | Columba leucomela |
| Yellow-faced Honeyeater | Caligavis chrysops |
Addendum
And three days later Roger spotted a Rose-crowned fruit dove in the same tree we saw the White-headed pigeons in.
