Return to Charlie Moreland Camping Area, Imbil State Forest, Kenilworth, QLD.

Little Yabba Creek near the causeway into Charlie Moreland Campground is a popular swimming area.

We had planned a two week trip into northern New South Wales but sometimes things don't go to plan. National Parks NSW closed one of the parks we were going to stay at and put fire bans in place due to the early onset of very hot weather and high fire danger. A series of thunderstorms were forecast and with the high likelihood of destructive winds, rain and hail we reluctantly decided that a new plan was prudent. In the end we decided to go back to Charlie Moreland campground, near Kenilworth. We had only been there the week before but we were keen to spend more time there. For details about the campground please refer to our previous post here. With temperatures in the mid 30's we choose a nice shady spot.

A heavy storm with hail went through the campground the night before our arrival. When we went for a walk on the first afternoon we discovered that the crossings over Little Yabba Creek were both underwater. However, by the next morning the water had started to recede.

We only had a fleeting glance at a Noisy Pitta on the walk this time but we did see a beautiful 2.5 meter Carpet Python crossing the path so perhaps the Pittas had fled to avoid becoming python breakfast.

The colours of this Carpet Python are quite good camouflage and I nearly walked right into it.

There were a number of butterflies flying about and we had our first sighting of a Four-barred Swordtail. As usual I couldn't get any photos of the Blue Triangles or Glasswings which flit about too fast for me.

Four-barred Swordtail Protographium leosthenes

Yellow Albatross (female) Appias paulina and Monarch (male) Danaus plexippus

With more time and better light on this trip we saw a few more birds than on our trip the week before. See bird list below. The highlight was seeing a male Paradise Rifflebird up close on three separate occasions. The only female Paradise Rifflebird we saw was high up in a Black Bean tree feeding on the flowers. We also had good views of Rose-crowned Fruit Doves high up in the trees.

Front and rear views of the same Paradise Rifflebird on a large tree branch.

Female Paradise Rifflebirds look entirely different to the males.

The Topknot Pigeons and Woompoo Fruit-Doves were no longer feeding at the fig tree in the campground but Brown Cuckoo-Doves were feeding in a Cheese Tree.

Brown Cuckoo-Dove and closeup of the Cheese Tree.

Black-faced Monarchs were common but we didn't see any Spectacled Monarchs which are also found in this area.

Golden Whistler and Black-faced Monarch.

The call of the Eastern Whipbird resounds around the bush but they can be hard to get a photo of so we were pleased when this immature bird showed itself.

Eastern Whipbird, immature.

Red-necked Pademelons are abundant and as cute as ever.

Red-necked Pademelons.

One of the special things about roadtrips is meeting fellow travelers. Often we are the first out and about and we have the trails to ourselves. On this trip we found ourselves bumping into fellow nature lovers on our early morning and late afternoon walks. It wasn't long before we were sharing observations and knowledge and enjoying the company of like-minded new friends. When observing wildlife we tend to creep about stealthily so it was a new experience for us to walk with Lyn who liked to call in birds with clever imitation calls and whistles.

Birds seen on this trip at Charlie Moreland campground: Australian King Parrot, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Topknot Pigeon, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, Emerald Dove, Spangled Drongo, Eastern Pale-headed Rosella, Crimson Rosella, Lewin's Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Paradise Riflebird, Regent Bowerbird, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Butcherbird, Torresian Crow, Noisy Pitta, Australian Logrunner, Rufous Fantail, White-browed Scrubwren, Variegated Fairy-wren, Weeble, Brown Thornbill, Red-browed Treecreeper, Bell Miner, Noisy Miner, Eastern Whipbird, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eastern Yellow Robin, Pale-yellow Robin, Grey Shrike-thrush, Golden Whistler, Australasian Figbird, Black-faced Monarch, Willie Wagtail, Pheasant Coucal. Heard many Green Catbird calls.