Long-billed Corella's in Highfields 01/12/11

Long-billed Corella's at Highfields, 01/12/11. Photo by J Gray.

One day last week when driving home from work, I spotted two Long-Billed Corella's in Reis' Road at Highfields.  I turned the car around to get a photo for evidence of this sighting, but alas, they had gone by the time I turned the car around.

My First sighting of a Long-billed Corella was on the 19th September 2006 and in the very same location on overhead powerlines. (See: Page 4 http://toowoombabirdobservers.org.au/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=11&Itemid=46) On that occasion I stopped and took some poor photographs of the birds and submitted a rare-bird report to the Toowoomba Bird Observers Club.  In the weeks after that sighting, my husband had sightings of the LBC in the same area.  My next sighting was of one lone Long-billed Corella that visited Jarowair with some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos on the 7th of October 2009.  (See:  http://jarowairourpatch.blogspot.com/2009/09/long-billed-corella-visits-with.html)  I had not seen one since until this last week.

Such Funny looking Characters the Long-billed Corella's are!

Today when driving again along Reis's Road at Highfields I spotted a small group of Long-billed Corella's on the side of the road and I pulled straight over to get a few photos on my little trusty camera that I keep in my handbag.  On this occasion there were 6 LBC and they were on the side of the road eating the leaves of the flowering dandelions.  I was able to get a few pics, a few of the birds flew up on to nearby fence posts and I was able to get a few photos of them keeping still.  They are the most funny looking bird and rather ugly, but fascinating at the same time!  Great to see that this local population are still present.

J.G.