Springfield Lakes

Summary: Classic suburban birding with three lakes to choose from Dates of visits: 8 Mar 2022, 24 Aug 2024, 14 Oct 2024 Springfield Lakes is a suburb in Ipswich, south-east Queensland, which is notable to the bird-lover for its three large lakes – Spring Lake, Regatta Lake and Discovery Lake. I don’t rate these quiteContinue reading “Springfield Lakes”

Varsity Lakes, 2022-2023

Summary: Enjoyable location with better bird habitats than you might expect in Gold Coast suburbia Dates of visits: 20 Aug 2022, 13 Aug 2023, 25 Dec 2023 Varsity Lakes is a locality on the Gold Coast which, like many suburbs on the Goldy, is dominated by waterways (canals and lakes). In this case the largestContinue reading “Varsity Lakes, 2022-2023”

Lake Moondarra, 2021 and 2023

Summary: Huge lake in the outback that acts like a giant magnet for birds Dates of visits: July 21 2021, Sep 30 2023, Oct 2 2023 Lake Moondarra is a huge artificial lake 16km north of the outback township of Mount Isa in western Queensland. It is stocked with fish every year making it popularContinue reading “Lake Moondarra, 2021 and 2023”

Lake Argyle Cruise, Aug 2023

Summary: Terrific trip with bird and wildlife spotting on a huge man-made lake; guaranteed Yellow Chats Date of visit: Aug 4, 2022 The completion of the Ord River Dam in the 1970’s created Lake Argyle, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Australia, lying about 60km to the south-west of Kununurra in WA. It isContinue reading “Lake Argyle Cruise, Aug 2023”

West Lake Robina, 2021-2023

Summary: Fairly typical Gold Coast suburban lake with some interesting bird life Dates of visit: Various from April 2021 to April 2023 I’m covering West Lake Robina on the Gold Coast in Queensland here not because it’s a stand-out birding location, but more as a case study in observing a “local patch” over an extendedContinue reading “West Lake Robina, 2021-2023”

Lake Galletly, 2021-2022

Summary: Excellent compact site with bird hides for uncommon duck and water bird species Dates of visit: Jun 27 2021, Oct 17 2021, Mar 20 2022, Jul 17 2022, Aug 23 2022, Oct 30 2022 Lake Galletly, within the grounds of the UQ Gatton Campus, is a well-known birding site (at least to seasoned birders)Continue reading “Lake Galletly, 2021-2022”

Lake Eacham, Apr 2021

[A stop on the Cairns + Atherton + Daintree, 2021 trip] Lake Eacham, part of the Crater Lakes National Park, was once a volcanic crater formed around 9,100 years ago, by magma rising to the surface of the earth’s crust and super-heating the water table, causing massive explosions and craters. It is now isolated from other waterwaysContinue reading “Lake Eacham, Apr 2021”

Forest Lake, 2021-2022

Summary: Beautiful suburban lake which is fantastic for bird photography Dates of visits: Apr 8 2021, Feb 10 2022, Mar 8 2022, Jun 8 2022 Forest Lake is the man-made lake (completed in 1994) upon which the surrounding suburb is named, and is located in the south-west of Brisbane, reasonably easily reached via the CentenaryContinue reading “Forest Lake, 2021-2022”

Lake St Clair, Feb 2021

Summary: Good network of trails and amazing visitor centre with reasonable birding Date of visit: Feb 9, 2021 [A stop on the Tasmania Trip, Jan-Feb 2021 trip] Lake St Clair is a large lake that sits at the southernmost end of the famous Overland Track, a multi-day hike that begins many miles north at Cradle Mountain in Tasmania.Continue reading “Lake St Clair, Feb 2021”