Yesterday morning, on our way back south to Newcastle, we went looking for Albert – well his Lyrebird actually. The pristine mountain rain forests around Tamborine, are a good place for this shy and elusive species – so after another 4.30am start ( well more like 3.30, courtesy of the previous occupant of our motel room who had kindly set the alarm for us!) we were in position at the start of the Witches Falls trail for dawn. Right on cue an Albert’s Lyrebird began calling deep in the wooded valley below us. It was nearly an hour before we finally found it, sat high up in a tree and occasionally uttering it’s curious mix of whistles, tweets and gronks. Photography in rainforests at dawn is never an easy matter so, with this particularly elusive subject, I was tolerably pleased with the outcome:

We also managed to add another rainforest ‘tick’, in the shape of Pale Yellow Robin and a trip tick -Wompoo Fruit-Dove. Not a bad return for our efforts.

We’re back in Newcastle this afternoon and awaiting the arrival, at the end of the week, of Joe & Gabi and Rob & Gi for a big Australia Day get together.