We went to Victoria Park for Russet-tailed Thrush, Noisy Pitta and Wompoo Fruit Dove. We weren’t disappointed.

We arrived and immediately saw a Pale-yellow Robin peeping out from behind a tree. The forest was dark, so we had extremely slow shutter speeds and high ISO. We walked around the bend and spotted an Eastern Yellow Robin on a tree branch.

With both robins ticked off in the first 5 minutes, we then proceeded to try and spot Noisy Pitta, the first of our 3 target species. We kept walking and were rewarded with Eastern Whipbirds and Rufous Shrike-thrushes.

We rounded a corner and then heard a scuffling in the leaf litter. There it was! The first of our target species! Noisy Pittas are a dumpy ground bird about 21 cm in size, and they are shy and hard to spot. Their beautiful green back and buff breast stand out in the gloomy rainforest. This one was curious and not at all afraid, which was unusual.  

We took some snaps and then noticed another bird behind it. The other bird clearly saw us and took off. Was that the elusive Russet-tailed Thrush? We wandered on and saw a Spectacled Monarch and a Wonga Pigeon. We met a friendly old man who asked us if we wanted to go see the “frogmouths”. Frogmouths!?

We went with him and on the way out of the carpark we spotted the second of our target species! The Wompoo Fruit Dove is a large dove that feeds on figs and other fruit. It has a maroon breast and a green back. It was chilling after a lunch of figs in the canopy and was a beautiful sighting. 

We walked for 5 minutes along the road and got to the man’s backyard. Immediately we saw 3 Tawny Frogmouths sitting in a gum tree. This was a surprise as although they turn up all over the place, they can be hard to spot due to their brown camouflage that makes them look exactly like a tree branch. 

We said thank you and walked back to the carpark, seeing some Pacific Emerald Doves on the way.

I asked mum if I could do one more walk around the boardwalk to see if I could get the last of the target species, the Russet-tailed Thrush. She agreed and I set off at a quick pace along the boardwalk. I walked over a pitta that was feeding underneath the boardwalk, and I saw a Green Catbird up in the canopy. Pademelons were abundant but easy to miss with their brown fur. I was just about to finish when I saw it. The Russet-tailed Thrush! It was going through the leaves looking for worms. It spotted me, and I was only able to get some ID shots before it flew away. 

What a nice end to a lovely trip!