Rockwarbler Special!

There is a species of Australian bird, the Rockwarbler, whose range is restricted to eroded sandstone and limestone outcrops of the Blue Mountains. It is the only Australian bird species that is confined to New South Wales. It is a small dark brownish-grey bird with a cinnamon-tinged face and forehead, a dull white throat speckled black, reddish-brown underparts, and a black tail, which is often flicked sideways.

Rockwarbler Image linked to Charlie's Bird Blog


They appear to occupy a similar ecological niche to the European Wallcreeper, as they flit around rock faces, entering caves and crevices as they search for insect food. Being a fairly secretive species, they are not easy to find. During my visit to New South Wales in January 2002 I spent several hours in suitable habitat with the company of local birdwatchers, and failed to see one.

On 15 October this year Simon, David and I visited the popular beauty spot at Wheeny Creek in the Wollemi National Park in the Blue Mountains and, after a little searching, found one and had good clear sustained views. As this was my main "target species" for this visit to Australia, it is another "mission accomplished".
Also on this trip we had excellent views of Superb Lyrebird, Gangang Cockatoos, Superb Fairy Wren and Grey Fantail bringing the trip species list to exactly 150.