HONEYEATERS in DURIKAI STATE FOREST - article and photos by Al Young

Durikai State Forest (SF) is located about 90 kilometres south of Toowoomba on the Cunningham Highway. Most of the SF is on the southern side of the Cunningham Highway and it covers about 13,000 hectares and is located in what is often called the Trap Rock Country. In this area, the soils are generally shallow with quite low fertility and water holding capacity. However, despite these apparent soil deficiencies the area has a fairly complex vegetation structure and high species diversity of plants and birds, especially honeyeaters.

The main vegetation type is a mixed dry sclerophyll forest dominated by Eucalyptus species, including Tumble-down Gum (Eucalyptus dealbata), White Box (E. albens), Yellow Box (E. melliodora), Grey Box (E. macro-carpa), Narrow-leafed Iron Bark (E.crebra) and Mugga Iron Bark (E. sideroxylon). There are also areas of Cypress Pine (Callitris spp) and Paperbarks (Melaleuca spp) in the moister areas. There is generally a well- developed understory of shrubs and grasses.

One of the most productive birding sites is a small dam, sometimes known as the Durikai Waterhole, which is covered with rushes and reeds. This dam or waterhole provides an excellent drinking spot for birds because in addition to the cover provided by the rushes, the forest vegetation comes very close to the edge of the water, thus allowing birds good additional cover from predators while drinking.

Over the past four years I have visited this dam 10 times over all seasons and have recorded 15 species of honeyeaters. This dam is certainly a ‘hot spot’ for honeyeaters. Although this ‘survey’ mainly concentrated on the birds coming to drink, in order to get photos I also noted other species, such as Brown, Striped, and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters which were identified by their calls. The survey method was biased because it concen-trated mainly on the area where most birds came to drink and afforded the best spots for photography. Never-theless, these observations might be of interest to ‘honeyeater fans’.

The number of times each species of honeyeater was recorded (sighting or call) during the study was quite variable, so the graphs (sighting or call) during the study was quite variable, so the graphs below show the frequency of occurrence as a percentage (f%) over the 10 observation periods. (See bar graphs below.)

Fucous Honeyeater

White-naped Honeyeaters

The honeyeaters most frequently seen were: Yellow-tufted (100%), Yellow-faced (100%), Noisy Friarbird (90%) and White-naped (80%). Five species, Little Friarbird, Striped, Lewin’s, Spiny-cheeked were only recorded once. Although no attempt was made to count the number of each species coming in to drink, it was apparent that Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters were the most abundant (or the thirstiest!), followed by White-naped, Fuscous and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. It was nice to see several species that I rarely see up close, such as Black-chinned, Brown-headed and White-eared Honeyeaters.

Black-chinned Honeyeater

It was also interesting to note that while the honeyeaters were ‘in drinking mode’ there was no apparent aggression or chasing behaviour that is so often associated with honeyeaters. Yellow-tufted, White-naped, and Fuscous Honeyeaters plus Noisy Friarbirds often shared the same space at ‘the bar’.

So why haven’t I recorded any White-throated and White-plumed Honeyeaters at this dam? Wrong habitat or mis-identifications? White-throated and Black-chinned Honeyeaters are very similar in appearance and so are Fuscous and White-plumed. The later species is more often associated with rivers and creeks (riverine habitats) in Durikai rather than dams. It is often difficult to pick the difference between Black-chinned and White-throated Honeyeaters unless you can see the black chin, blue crescent-shaped patch above eye and whitish nape band that reaches the eye in the Black-chinned Honeyeater. White-throated Honeyeaters tend to prefer the moister forest habitats and may be absent from Durikai. It is also a good idea to ‘brush-up’ on the calls of these honeyeaters because they are quite different and will certainly assist with your identifications.

In addition to honeyeaters there are also other interesting species, which included Turquoise Parrot (only seen twice), Dusky and White-browed Woodswallow, Australian Raven, Crested Shrike-tit, to name a few. So, for a great day’s birding head to Durikai Dam/Waterhole and sit quietly near the water’s edge and enjoy the experi-ence. Once the birds become accustomed to your presence they will come quite close in order to drink. Recently White-naped Honeyeaters were dipping into the water and then perched on a branch about one metre above my head and proceeded to ruffle their feathers spraying water droplets on my bald pate. Marvellous!

Brown-headed Honeyeater

Noisy Friarbird

Yellow-tufted Honeyeater

 (Article and photos by Al Young)