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Sunday, January 1, 2017

Charlie Moreland Campground, Imbil State Forest, QLD. Pre-Christmas Revisit.

After the amazingly prompt delivery of our new Aussie Wheel caravan mover from Perth we decided to pop over to Charlie Moreland Campground for a couple of nights. We were pleasantly surprised how quiet the campground was in the week preceding Christmas. 


Red-necked Pademelon
We love the plants and wildlife at Charlie Moreland. Once again we saw Regent Bowerbirds, unfortunately, they seem to be shy here and we have never been able to get a great photo but just to prove that we really do see them, here is a photo of the male:


Regent Bowerbird, male.
Unfortunately, we dipped out on seeing Paradise Riflebirds or Noisy Pittas on this trip. We did see a Russet-tailed Thrush in the early morning; a bird we haven't seen here before. We also enjoyed observing the antics of about 20 White-throated Needletails overhead one afternoon.

Russet-tailed Thrush
There are usually some nice butterflies to be seen around the campground. Little Yabba Creek is a great place to spot dragonflies and turtles.

Varied Eggfly, male Hypolimnas bolina
Yellow-tipped Tigertail Choristhemis flavoterminata


Short-necked Turtles at Little Yabba Creek


Lacebark Tree Brachychiton discolor

Paradise Riflebirds, Regent and Satin Bowerbirds are attracted to Lacebark trees. At this time of year the flowers form a carpet on the forest floor. One advantage of visiting the area at different times of the year is that we get to see the different seasons reflected in the flora. 


Native Rosella, Native Ginger in flower, Cheese Tree.

Red-necked Pademelons, Brush Turkeys and goannas are frequent visitors to the campground.

Lace Monitor (goanna)
Of course not all things in nature are cute and furry. We spotted this fearsome looking wasp nest on the underside of a solar panel at the "beach" area of Little Yabba Creek. There was also a damaged termite nest beside our campsite and this proved to offer access to a tasty snack for the native Brush Turkeys.


Insect nest high up on a solar panel.


Damaged termite nest

A few more bird photos:
Logrunner, female (L) male (R)
Black-faced Monarch and Spectacled Monarch
Brown Cuckoo Dove, Crimson Rosella and wompoo Fruit Dove.

Bell Miner
Common Koel, female

Charlie Moreland is one of our favourite campgrounds and I have written several blogs about this beautiful area. To access the blogs either type Charlie Moreland in the search box in the top right hand corner above or click on Charlie Moreland in the label list along the right hand side.


Wildlife List:
Red-necked Pademelon, Eastern Water Dragon, Short-necked Turtle, Lace Monitor (Goanna).
Butterflies: Meadow Argus, Brown Ringlet, Monarch, Varied Eggfly.
Bird list: Australian Brush-turkey, Pacific Black Duck, Azure Kingfisher, Noisy Miner, Bell Miner, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Lewin's Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Spangled Drongo, Regent Bowerbird, Australasian Figbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Wonga Pigeon, Golden Whistler, Brown Gerygone, Brown Thornbill, Variegated Fairy Wren, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian King Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Grey Shrike-Thrush, Grey Fantail, Rufous Fantail, Eastern Yellow Robin, Pale Yellow Robin, White-throated Needletail, Russet-tailed Thrush, Logrunner, Black-faced Monarch, Spectacled Monarch, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Willie Wagtail, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Common Koel. We saw platelets but no quail. Heard but not seen: Green Catbird, Pheasant Coucal, Paradise Riflebird.


Charlie Moreland Campground
Details for Charlie Moreland Campground, Imbil State Forest:
Where: About 130 km northwest of Brisbane. Southwest of Kenilworth on Sunday Creek Road. 
Access: About 5 km of 2WD gravel road to the campground. Past the campground Sunday Creek Road becomes 4WD and is a popular drive through to Jimna.
Camping: Suitable for tents and all rig types. Open grassy sites, some shade.
Bookings: https://qpws.usedirect.com/QPWS/Facilities/SearchView.aspx or phone 13 74 68. No mobile phone reception at campground. There is a booking phone at the rangers station on the drive in on Sunday Creek Road.
Fees: $6.15 per adult per night, family rates.
Facilities: Flush toilets, non-potable water taps, fire rings, BYO wood. Swimming in Little Yabba Creek. Walks. 
Prohibitions: No pets. No generators. No fishing.
Cautions: Gets extremely busy at peak times. Bookings are taken for up to 380 people.

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