Bowra Station, outback Queensland

Bowra Station, Outback Queensland.

Bowra Sanctuary is a 140 square kilometre nature reserve and former cattle station about 16 kms west of Cunnamulla in the Queensland outback and is managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. It is a well known and important birdlife hotspot in Australia. Well over 200 bird species have been seen in the area, a number are endemic to Australia.

Below are just a selected few of the many bird pics I took at Bowra. The first day was spent exploring the ‘Cottage Dam’ area, followed by the ‘Lagoon Walk’, I then drove to the ‘North Gumholes” area for the remainder of the day. Day 2 was spent at the ‘Saw Pits’ area including the ‘Mulga Walk’. On Day 3 a fire appeared on a neighbouring station and with wind gust reaching 90 kms/hr., everyone was removed from Bowra station as a safety precaution.

Click on pics to enlarge.

Brolga in flight

Brolgas are one of Australia’s largest flying birds – they stand a metre tall and have a wing span up to 2.4 metres. Saw Brolga’s every day during our 5 days in the Queensland outback compared to last year when I only saw one.

Black Breasted Buzzard

The black-breasted buzzard is a large raptor and is one of the larger Australian birds of prey, with a wingspan of up to 1.5 metres. The Black-breasted Buzzard is endemic to Australia (found only here), mainly in the north and in semi-arid and arid central regions.

Iconic Emu with off-spring.

Emus are an iconic Australian flightless bird with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 metres (6 ft 3 in) in height. They are endemic to Australia, the only country in the world where you will find an Emu in the wild. They are our largest native bird.

Cockatiel’s

The cockatiel is a medium-sized parrot that is endemic to Australia.

Australian Ringneck Parrot. (The Australian ringneck is a parrot native to Australia).

Brown Falcon

The brown falcon is a relatively large falcon native to Australia and New Guinea. Brown Falcons are the first bird species to re-enter bushland after a bushfire, looking for prey that has been killed by the fire.

Major Mitchell Cockatoo

An unmistakable cockatoo of the dry inland, Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo is the only Australian cockatoo that is salmon-pink below and white above. It is a medium-sized cockatoo that inhabits arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia.

Nankeen Night Heron

The Nankeen Night Heron is a large bird up to 60 cm in length and with a one metre wingspan. It has rich cinnamon plumage, huge eyes adapted to night vision, and a petrol-blue beak and cap.