Birdwatching on Heatwave

Birdwatching on Heatwave

We thought we would really miss our birdwatching out on Heatwave, but not so... it seems we have a family of welcome swallows hitching a ride with us.  There were so many welcome swallows at Urangan Harbour; one morning I counted about 100 swallows on the rails of a Seawind catamaran, then next day more than 50 on our rails!  

Up on the Burnett River a great egret landed on our bow sprit to enjoy his ride upstream with a view.  We thought this unusual behaviour until we passed a fishing trawler with a great egret riding on his bow sprit too.  They must learn to follow the boats to get a free feed.  

As we anchored in Port Bundaberg a reef egret landed similarly on our bow.  Anchoring at the river’s edge we can still hear lots of bush birds, mostly honeyeaters.  And then there are the terns:  whiskered terns will fly around quietly all day until one catches a fish.  Then it’s bedlam!  The lucky one shows his fish to all the others, screeching and flying, until all the other terns join in, calling loudly to each other.  Brown boobies are a joy to watch as they cruise in very close to us, then dive under water to catch a fish.

At Pancake Creek we watched an Australian Hobby fly from the mangroves and chase a white-faced heron, twice his size, and they grappled talons to webbed feet until the heron broke away. What a sight!  On Great Keppell Island an osprey took exception to a pair of sea-eagles crossing his territory so he chased them both with lots of raucous calling.