During July I found myself needing to stay in Lismore for a few days so explored some sites I hadn’t visited before as well as a couple I had birded a few times over the years.

While in town I stayed at Lakeside Lodge Motel  which is a great spot to be based as a naturalist as it is beside Lismore Lake and on the Bruxner Hwy on the west side of town.  Although the lake was almost dry, a Black-necked Stork was observed on several days.

A vehicle was hired through Hertz in Lismore (Contact number (02) 6621 8855) who were great to deal with.

July 21st

Large numbers of Topknot Pigeons were noticed between Bangalow and Lismore during the drive through in the morning.

An afternoon visit to the Three Chain Rd STW at Lismore didn’t provide anything out of the ordinary but was nice birding all the same and Hoary-headed Grebes were nice to see. This site is strictly roadside birding. My eBird list for the visit is here.

July 22nd

Today was spent visiting some sites that I have visited a few times before around Kyogle and Casino. A nice bird on the way to Kyogle was a single Spotted Harrier floating across the road at Leycester

, the early morning light enhancing its already beautiful colours.

First stop was Lake Harrison at Geneva on the outskirts of Kyogle – eBird list here.

After this stop, an enjoyable visit was made to Anzac Park in Kyogle. This can be a great little stop if you’re passing through town and looking for somewhere to pull over and have a cuppa. See here  for a list of the 40 species observed during the visit.

Travelling through to Casino, I made a brief stop at Fairy Hill Swamp where Blue-billed Ducks can occasionally be seen. No such luck today though. See the list here.

Last birding stop for the day was Jabiru  (Geneebeinga) Wetlands at Casino. Usually I stop and walk around the short track but today I birded along Queensland Road beside the reserve. Several Black Swans were on nests, a single Glossy Ibis and some Comb-crested Jacanas were some of the birds recorded. See here for list of birds sighted during my visit.

July 23rd

Not much birding today apart from a stop at Schuster Park in Tallebudgera on my way home to pick up some fresh clothes and food. Here is the list.

July 24th

Today I decided to check out some new sites I hadn’t birded before. It was a great day and I was happy with the choices I made. First stop was Victoria Park Nature Reserve. This place is a little gem. First bird heard calling when I hopped out the car was a White-eared Monarch and one of the first birds I saw when entering the short circuit trail was a Noisy Pitta (the first of four recorded around the circuit). Several Red-necked Pademelons were present in the rainforest. With 30 species of birds recorded during my visit, I look forward to returning to this site in the future.

Next stop was the lookout at Evans Head. On arriving a couple of Humpback Whales were observed in the mid distance with plenty of Australasian Gannets and Greater Crested Terns above the water.

Hoping to get closer to the whales for photos, I made my way out to Goanna Headland which falls within Dirawong Reserve. No luck with the photos but numbers of honeyeaters in the coastal scrub and heath (including Red and Little Wattlebirds as well as White-cheeked Honeyeaters). Australian Pipits were out on the short grass of the headland. Red-backed Fairywrens were present along grassy areas between the scrub and the cliffs. For the list click here.

On the way back to Lismore I stopped at Tucki Tucki Nature Reserve. This reserve is in two parts and I visited the northern section which is along Wyrallah Road at Tucki Tucki. This reserve was created in the 60’s after locals had planted out the area with numerous species of food trees for Koalas in the late 50’s. There is a pleasant circuit walk at the site and I managed to see 27 species during a short time in the late morning.

While having lunch back at the room I enjoyed watching the Black-necked Stork foraging around Lismore Lake.

July 25th

I headed straight to Evans Head this morning and after a quick stop at the boat ramp – where Silver Gulls followed by Little Black Cormorants were the most common birds and a Striated Heron was located – I continued to Chinamans Beach.

A few whales were observed throughout the time I spent in the area here although all distant and I spent my time birding the heath along the road which had views out to sea. Black (Swamp) Wallaby was the only other mammal recorded. White-cheeked Honeyeaters were common with a nest also found containing nestlings. Raptors included Swamp Harrier and Whistling Kite. A flock of 16 Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo feeding in the heath was great to see. Over  an hour and a half 25 species of birds were recorded here.

Returning to Lismore via Ballina

, I stopped at Meldrum Park on the bank of North Creek to check through the waders and terns. Plenty of Double-banded Plovers and some Pacific Golden Plovers were among the waders recorded and Greater Crested Terns were common as to be expected. For the list see here.

July 26th

The only birding I was able to do this morning was 20 minutes at Lake Lismore. Plenty around to keep me interested as can be seen here.

Look forward to being able to get back sometime and revisiting several of the sites.