AS WE CONTINUED OUR SEARCH for the elusive Rock Warbler on Wednesday, we were side-tracked not by the Three Sisters but by three Superb Lyrebirds scratching and pecking in the leaf litter along Cliff Walk Trail. We watched until an irate Kookaburra strafed and dive-bombed the trio, chasing two lyrebirds into the bush while the third hopped onto a branch.
Out on a limb—Superb Lyrebird
White-Browed Scrubwren
Eastern Yellow Robin
Up close and personal, Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo
We continued on about a mile along the cliff and saw three more Lyrebirds, dozens of Sulfur-Crested Cockatoos, a couple of Yellow Robins and a White-Browed Scrubwren. But no Rock Warblers. We—Connie, actually—did hear several skulking in the undergrowth along the cliff face but never got a look.
Eastern Spinebill
Worth the Effort—Rock Warbler
Today would be our last chance—we return to Sydney tomorrow and leave for Vietnam on Saturday—se made a beeline for the place where Connie had heard the warbler. We ignored a lyrebird, stopping only for photos of an Eastern Spinebill. We found our quarry hopping in the bushes near Tallawalla Lookout and were finally rewarded with these photos when the Rock Warbler emerged along side the trail. Mission accomplished!
My photo of Superb Lyrebird courtship
The “albino” lyrebird that the woman told us she saw just up the trail turned out to be a normal-colored Superb Lyrebird in a courtship display on his lek mound among the ferns. Lyrebirds can flawlessly imitate the sounds other birds and mammals that share ithe rainforest habitat—even chainsaws and car alarms—so they have a huge array of sounds to integrate into their love songs.
More complete view (internet photo)
What we couldn't see (Internet Photo)
We followed his mating aria to the lek but could see only parts of his white courtship feathers—we had to download photos from the internet to understand what we were actually seeing. Luckily for Lyrebirds, the use of exotic plumage for clothing was banned in England in 1921, years before the lyrebird’s courtship ritual was reported.
Blue Mountains National Park from Wentworth Falls overlook
Wentworth Falls, just a trickle today
How the Chamber of Commerce pictures Wentworth Falls (internet photo)
The sign to the village reads “Wentworth Falls, Where Darwin Walked” but the trail where Chuck allegedly strolled on his 1836 visit to Oz is currently closed due to water damage. Cliff Walk trail continues another 12 KM to Wentworth Falls—we drove instead then took a short, steep hike to one of the overlooks for the actual Wentworth Falls on our way back to Chiltern. The Blue Mountains were spectacular but the waterfall wasn’t much to see this morning. Following our late afternoon thunderstorms Wentworth Falls probably looked more like this Chamber of Commerce photo from the internet.
