Prince Henry Drive is a much loved birding hotspot in Toowoomba – with great accessibility, a huge range of birds and views off the range it never disappoints.
We surveyed four two hectare sites as we went around the drive, and then combined them all into one 500m raidius survey as embedded sites, along with the incidental sightings we recorded between the survey points.
All up 37 species in total were seen. The number of species for each 2ha plot was 10, 13, 11 and 9; so averaging around 11 species per 2 Ha plot.
37 species is a good number for a warm morning. Most abundant were Silvereye, Red-backed Fairy-wren and Lewin’s Honeyeater. Here’s the complete list:
| Australasian Figbird | Sphecotheres vieilloti |
| Bar-shouldered Dove | Geopelia humeralis |
| Black Kite | Milvus migrans |
| Blue-faced Honeyeater | Entomyzon cyanotis |
| Brown Goshawk | Accipiter fasciatus |
| Brown Thornbill | Acanthiza pusilla |
| Cicadabird | Edolisoma tenuirostris |
| Crested Pigeon | Ocyphaps lophotes |
| Double-barred Finch | Taeniopygia bichenovii |
| Eastern Whipbird | Psophodes olivaceus |
| Eastern Yellow Robin | Eopsaltria australis |
| Grey Butcherbird | Cracticus torquatus |
| Grey Fantail | Rhipidura fuliginosa |
| Grey Goshawk | Accipiter novaehollandiae |
| Grey Shrike-thrush | Colluricincla harmonica |
| Laughing Kookaburra | Dacelo novaeguineae |
| Lewin’s Honeyeater | Meliphaga lewinii |
| Little Eagle | Hieraaetus morphnoides |
| Magpie-lark | Grallina cyanoleuca |
| Mistletoebird | Dicaeum hirundinaceum |
| Noisy Miner | Manorina melanocephala |
| Olive-backed Oriole | Oriolus sagittatus |
| Pale-headed Rosella | Platycercus adscitus |
| Pied Currawong | Strepera graculina |
| Red-backed Fairy-wren | Malurus melanocephalus |
| Red-browed Finch | Neochmia temporalis |
| Rufous Fantail | Rhipidura rufifrons |
| Sacred Kingfisher | Todiramphus sanctus |
| Silvereye | Zosterops lateralis |
| Spangled Drongo | Dicrurus bracteatus |
| Spectacled Monarch | Symposiarchus trivirgatus |
| Spotted Pardalote | Pardalotus punctatus |
| Striated Pardalote | Pardalotus striatus |
| Topknot Pigeon | Lopholaimus antarcticus |
| White-browed Scrubwren | Sericornis frontalis |
| Wonga Pigeon | Leucosarcia melanoleuca |
| Yellow-faced Honeyeater | Caligavis chrysops |
Four species of raptor, comprising Grey Goshawk (semi-regular around PHD), Brown Goshawks and Black Kites (7 birds in total) catching a thermal, and a Little Eagle. The Little Eagle was the pale morph and was spotted over the southern lookout. This is mainly a seasonal visitor around Toowoomba, most typically in autumn, less than three weeks away.
There were two species listed as migratory under national legislation: Rufous Fantail and Spectacled Monarch. Remarkably, no Regent Bowerbirds were recorded, normally a certainty on PHD, but perhaps they were about earlier in the day. The Spectacled Monarch was hidden deep in a gully of tall privet with some puddles of water; this bird is rarely seen this high up on the escarpment.
This unusual sight of a juvenile Sacred kingfisher missing its tail feathers was seen by Scot, on his way out.
One reply on “Prince Henry Drive”
A very profitable outing to Prince Henry Drive recently – haven’t heard of so many raptors being identified in that area for years. Plenty of other interesting sightings too.