Judd's Lagoon, Yuleba, QLD.

Judd's Lagoon

Judd's Lagoon is a lovely free campground on the way to Roma. There is one pit toilet, a couple of picnic tables and bags of firewood are available for $6.

On Forestry Road, as we approached Judd's Lagoon, we spotted a pair of Australian Bustards. One was standing right in the middle of the road. It was an impressive sight; standing tall on lanky legs to a height of about one meter. By the time we pulled the van over, the pair had retreated to the long grass of an adjoining paddock. 

Australian Bustard

As we turned into Mongool Road we noticed a huge flock of small birds perched on dead trees stacked up in a paddock. After setting up camp, we walked back to where we had seen the mystery birds to see what they were. At first, we thought they had gone but thankfully they had just crossed the road and were now perched all over the small trees on the side of the road. We were delighted to discover that they were Plum-headed Finches. We estimate that there were at least 500 of them.

Plum-headed Finch, male.

Some of the Plum-headed Finches flying about.

The trees were teaming with Plum-headed Finches

We also saw a lone female Zebra Finch.

Zebra Finch, female.

Another bird that was of interest to us on our short walk was a White-plumed Honeyeater.

White-plumed Honeyeater

As might be expected, there were a number of water birds at the lagoon. 

White-necked Heron

There are a couple of mixed breed "ducks" that hang around the campground begging for scraps.

Details for Judd’s Lagoon:

Where: 420 km, 5 hours, west of Brisbane. Or 60 km east of Roma. 5 km from the eastern side of Yuleba, turn off the Warrego Highway onto Forestry Road and the camping area is another 3.5 km on Mongool Road.

Access: From the turnoff on the Warrego Highway is a narrow, sealed road. The entry is unsealed for about 500 m. There are a couple of boggy areas in the campground to avoid.

Facilities: Pit toilet with sensor light, fire places, bins, tables, phone reception. Pets allowed. Firewood for sale for $6 a bag. No water.

Activities: Fishing, kayaking, birdwatching.

Camping: Tents and all rig types.

Free: 7 night limit. No bookings. Run by Maranoa Council.

Birdlist: Australian Bustard, Black Kite, Grey Butcherbird, Cockatiel, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, Little Pied Cormorant, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Torresian Crow, Intermediate Egret, Grey Fantail, Zebra Finch, Plum-headed Finch (approx. 500), White-necked Heron, White-plumed Honeyeater, Australian White Ibis, Jacky Winter, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Masked Lapwing, Noisy Miner, Crested Pigeon, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail, a couple of mixed breed ducks. Heard: Tawny Frogmouth.