Eprapah Creek, Aug 2020

Summary:
Good creek and bush birds, small area but nice parklands and bridges, good photography potential.

Date of visit: Aug 14 2020 (plus revisit Oct 13)

Eprapah Creek lies in Redland, about 40 minutes west of Brisbane CBD. I visited the section of creek near Cameron Court Park, and explored the park and walked across the impressive footbridge to “Karl’s Pier” and back.

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I parked in Cameron Court which, although it’s just a tiny cul-de-sac, offers a couple of car parking spots and immediate access to the park and pathways. Sweet! A few trees on the edge of the path were alive with Figbirds, and there was a Black-Faced Cuckooshrike at the top of another tree looking stately in the gentle rain. Further on towards the footbridge were some fairywrens (Variegated and Red-Backed), an Eastern Yellow Robin and a rather proud-looking Spotted Dove. Crossing over the footbridge gets into an area dense with Casuarinas (not to mention many nearby mangroves), which hosted a female Leaden Flycatcher and a Rufous Fantail – pretty good for what is essentially a suburban (and reasonably well-trafficked) spot!

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Once around at the Pier area I got a good look at the bend in the creek. A small group of Striated Pardalotes were playing around in the dead trees beside the creek. These tiny birds are usually flitting around high in Eucalypt trees and thus quite hard to photograph, so this made for the best Pardalote encounter I’ve ever had – at eye level (or slightly below) and very close-up – as the photo and video demonstrate.

Across the creek sat a Torresian Kingfisher, a couple of Rainbow Lorikeets were nearby, and a few Rainbow Bee-eaters were aerially hunting on the creekside too.

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Then a most exciting sighting – a Brahminy Kite cruising up and down the creek, then alighting on a dead tree, where it sat for quite some time. Awesome stuff! The Kingfisher, Pardalotes and Bee-eaters proved to also be present on my second trip on October 13 too, so they’re probably regulars.

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Walking back to the park I then saw a Blue-Faced Honeyeater in the open, foraging around the base of an isolated tree, which was fun to watch for a while and yielded some good photos. They are rather interesting-looking, photogenic birds, with their striking colouring and beefy size. I also walked a little down the path towards Point Halloran, seeing some common species there such as Magpie-Lark, Brushturkey etc. Most paths here are paved (except around the pier area) and offer easy travel.

In the second visit in October I saw a total of 16 Galahs and 10 Little Corellas in the park area, mostly playing around in the grass, which was pretty cool; in fact, I haven’t seen a higher count of either Galah or Corella in or near Brisbane. And, as mentioned, I had a second encounter with a Torresian Kingfisher, and was able to get a much better photo this time as the bird was on a more exposed branch, seemingly rather unafraid of me, and I employed the tried-and-true technique of creeping slowly closer and closer to it without making any sudden movements to spook it.

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All in all, not bad for a muddy creek and suburban park combo!

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eBird hotspots:

• Eprapah Creek via Sewerage Treatment Plant (main hotspot)
• Beveridge Road Creek Corridor, Eprapah Creek (Thornlands) – barely used

Nearby eBird hotspots:

• Point Halloran Conservation Area (you can walk to this spot on some very pleasant paths which are also good for casual birding)

Notable species/close encounters seen in this visit:

• Striated Pardalote
• Rainbow Bee-eater
• Torresian Kingfisher
• Mangrove Gerygone
• Brahminy Kite
• Also seen of note: Eastern Yellow Robin, Leaden Flycatcher
• Common species: Black-Faced Cuckooshrike, Figbird, Red-Backed and Variegated Fairywrens, Bar-Shouldered Dove, Blue-Faced and White-Throated Honeyeaters, Magpie-Lark

eBird checklist for these visits: Aug 14 (34 species), Oct 13 (17 species).

Pluses and minuses:

+ Good mix of species and habitats; packs a punch for its small size
+ Lovely park area and well-maintained boardwalks and paths
– Limited area for birding (e.g. not much actual creekside path) unless you walk all the way around to Pt Halloran
– Muddy creek isn’t the most pristine-looking thing ever