Beyond The Pilliga - wildlife encounters

My other half and I are both recuperating from a stubborn cold. We headed up to our recently purchased retirement house at Baradine, rather than spend the time moping around at home wishing we were 'somewhere nice'.

We went exploring today, beyond the Pilliga, further northwest. When we move up here full time a few years down the track, I intend to study and catalogue as much of the flora and fauna of The Pilliga and beyond as I can, and record it on a dedicated web site, but for now, I'll just share snippets here.

As soon as we left the bitumen, we encountered a struggling Ground Cuckoo-shrike caught up on a fence. Close inspection found it was tangled in some twine, hanging by one leg.

I put my gloves on and held the bird gently but firmly, while Grahame cut the thread and disentangled the bird. There were pieces of green cotton caught up in its wing as well as tightly bound around its foot, but once the bird was free, it was released onto the ground, and flew off quite strongly to a flock of its kind in the paddock. One foot was dangling a little, but I hope it survives. As I held the bird, I could feel its heart beating - a moving moment for me, and what a special thing it is to be able to assist a helpless creature.

The Ground Cuckoo-shrike as we found it

A close up of the tangled bird

A portrait shot before the bird is released

Our next wildlife encounter was a good vantage point on the road to observe a Wedge-tailed Eagle as it waited for the coast to be clear for a feeding session at a fresh kangaroo road-kill. I never fail to be impressed by these magnificent raptors.

We had an excellent day bird watching. We identified 46 species today, but there were many, many that we didn't get to identify. Some of the more notable birds from today's outing were Red-capped and Hooded Robins, White-winged Fairywrens, and Blue-bonnet and Red-winged Parrots.

We pulled into a roadside waterhole to boil the billy for a cup of coffee, and what a special place it turned out to be, with mature and young River Red Gums, lovely reflections, bird life, and golden late afternoon light. It was hard to leave such a peaceful bush setting.

And because we were so long leaving the billabong, it was dark before we got home. We'd seen plenty of roos and emus throughout the day, so we were vigilant as the light faded.

We didn't envisage meeting an echidna in the dark, though. I guess the bitumen was warm, and the echidna was soaking up all the warmth it could. I put my gloves on again, but they weren't a match for the spiky beast, so I had to keep nudging him with my foot until he reached the roadside. As soon as he was on the grass, he rolled into a ball, so I was able to nudge him a little further off the road, hopefully safe from traffic. Ahh, another successful rescue!

I wonder what adventures tomorrow will bring!