Birds Queensland Campout at "Bellthorpe Stays"

A weekend at “Bellthorpe Stays”, Bellthorpe near Maleny was a fun and invigorating time, in the company of welcoming hosts, David and Wendy Clark, and members of the Birds Queensland fraternity.  The venue for the camp introduced an amazing place: 400 acres of rainforest, eucalypt forest, creeks and cattle pasture create a refuge for a variety of plant and animal life often under threat from development and human interference. 

Rainforest walks

The added bonus of friendly banter and shared knowledge from fellow BQ members made for a great weekend. We enjoyed comfy cabins, cool nights and shared bird and animal sightings. 

We visited a neighboring property which the owners have decided to protect by establishing a Voluntary Conservation Agreement. 

John Giles & David Clark

John Giles and his wife on their property, “Our Place”, were happy to explain the pros and cons of the agreement and explain their progress in the journey of discovery as to what treasures their property has yet to reveal via animal and bird surveys, vegetation regeneration and wildlife protection through the provision of nest boxes.

Rose-crowned Pigeon

Refreshments then Bird Call

The nightly Bird Call listed the variety and number of local species.  
Flocks of topknot pigeons had tantalized us with a long range view.  Rose-crowned pigeons called and posed for photos.  

Topknot pigeons

Regent and satin bower-birds feasted on the purple fruit of the Syzygium oleosum (Blue Lilly), cat birds called constantly and white-eared monarchs lurked in the undergrowth.   

Regent Bowerbird (Male)

Regent Bowerbird (Female)

White-eared monarch

An after-dark foray into a palm grove gave us a splendid view of Marbled frogmouths and revealed a group of luminescent fungi.  David, the owner, plans to conduct surveys of this special bird species.

Eastern sedge, Tusked, Striped marsh, Great Barred and Emerald Spotted frogs created a clamor of joyous sound from the creek. (Thanks Eva Ford, MRCCC for the IDs.  It was Find a Frog in February month.)  A small-eyed snake, curled on a fence, caused us to pause and tread more cautiously.  The property supports a healthy population of Richmond Birdwing butterflies.

The sharing of information and location of sightings was particularly a useful and great learning experience.

The recent rainy-period and humid weather brought the unwelcome presence of leeches.  The ability of some people to attract them was soon evident.  

Many thanks to John and Janette Thurley for the efforts they made organizing this interesting and fun Birds Queensland camp.  Things went like clockwork.

Contributors:  Janette Thurley, Andrea Schafer, Maggie Overend, Annette Bourke