Quilpie

The road from Eromanga to Quilpie went through oil fields. This old "oil donkey" was a good place to stop for a photo, and as soon as we got out of the car we could hear a number of birds. 

Chestnut-crowned Babbler 

Crested Bellbird 

White-breasted Woodswallow

Rufous Songlark 

A bit further along the road some parrots flew up into a tree, taunting Dazz to stop. Unfortunately they were on the wrong side for the light and in behind branches. It was a Blue Bonnet feeding a juvenile. 

With all the rain over the last few months there are lots of flowers around.

It was a great stretch of road for birds, but not for getting close enough for good photos. There were a number of juveniles in this emu family.

After the rain we knew it would still be too early for a riverside camp, so we planned to stay at the rest area on the corner of the Cooper and Diamantina Developmental Roads. The spot itself was nothing special, but it was dry and level. There was quite a nice sunset too!

The next morning it was on to Quilpie, with a stop for a Bearded Dragon.

We camped on the Bulloo River in Quilpie for a couple of days. 

Pied Butcherbird 

We went for a drive out to Baldy Top, which showed the extent of the flat plains back toward the east. 

Brown Falcon

We had been hearing and seeing quite a few birds around the camp, but they hadn't been close enough for good photos. On our last afternoon we decided to try a bit harder and just stand around and wait for them to get closer to us. We enjoyed watching their behaviours and got some nice photos.

Little Friarbird 

Rufous Songlark 

Red-backed Kingfisher

We watched these White-plumed Honeyeaters come and go for a while. The juvenile doesn't quite have its white plume fully formed.

It flew down to the water for a drink.

When Dazz looked at this photo on the back of his camera he thought it had its tongue sticking out, but when I looked at it on the computer I realised it was a small fish!

It then started bellowing for its parent...

... who dutifully flew down before they both flew off together.

Eromanga

When I was researching which way we would head south I came across some information about the Eromanga Natural History Museum. It looked interesting and being smaller and more "out of the way" it was also cheaper! There's a free camp in Eromanga, too, so that was another good reason to stop there.

The afternoon we arrived was nice and sunny, but the wispy clouds confirmed the weather forecast of coming rain. 

Later in the afternoon Dazz noticed this Black-shouldered Kite catch something. It seems to have a tail, so it is probably a mouse, rat or dunnart.

The only way to see the museum is as a part of a tour, and the museum was not open Monday afternoon, so we decided to do the first tour of the day at 9am Monday morning. While we waited for our tour to start we enjoyed the views from the large windows.

There was a 20 minute video, then a tour of the research area where they explained the process of digging the fossils out and enclosing them in jackets for transport. They are then slowly cleaned up. After the tour we were able to take photos.

This is "Cooper", Australia’s largest dinosaur. Replicas of his front and rear legs are on display in the research shed, spaced at the distance apart they would have been when he was alive. The actual fossils would be too heavy and dangerous to have up in the air!

On the left is a bony feature on the femur (thigh bone) known as the 4th trochanter. It was where the tail muscle connected to help pull the leg back (since the legs were so heavy).

Some of the actual fossils.

Looking at the end of a bone fossil through the magnifying light.

These fossils are all in various stages of being worked on. Some are from dinosaurs, and some are from mega fauna, including the Diprotodon. It means "two forward teeth", which can be seen at the left of the fossil below.

They also had samples of marine fossils.

Fossilised pieces of wood.

Fossilised brachychiton leaf

Fossilised callistemon leaf

Fossilised eucalypt leaf

A banded iron formation - such a pretty rock!

On our way out Dazz noticed a moth hanging in a tree. While he went to get his camera I snapped this sculptor's impression of a dinosaur nest.

Mistletoe Emperor Moth

During the afternoon Dazz noticed some parrots outside, and after missing a good photo the previous day, was quick to grab his camera.

Blue Bonnets

Apostlebirds

By late afternoon the storm clouds were gathering.

We had gentle rain most of the night. Even though it looks a bit messy this was a lot better camping option than the black soil of most camps on creeks and rivers in this part of the country. We decided to stay an extra night to let everything dry out a bit. Dazz had plenty of work to keep him busy, and I had photos and blogging to amuse myself with.

Things had dried out enough by the afternoon for a walk around the town. Eromanga is in the area where boulder opal is found in Queensland.

It also boasts a small oil refinery.

Dinosaur sculptures in the park

The town was home to a small flock of Helmeted Guineafowl.

Australian Hobby 

Black-shouldered Kite

A soggy sunset

With the sun out we had all our solar panels working hard. Between the ones on the roof and our new blanket we were generating 54 amps!