Town Common

A friend at work told Stuart about a place called Town Common park here in Townsville. This area is apparently world famous for the bird watching opportunities, but it wasn't on any of our maps or in our guide books. All I can say is, Jason did us a favor. The very first thing we saw on arrival were two kangaroos grazing near the golf course adjacent to the park.



This isn't a very good close-up, but we still are enamored of kangaroos and can't help taking many pictures whenever we see them! The park is quite large and covers most of Pallerenda Point. There are a few bird-blinds for viewing scattered along the 7K road on the way in.


From the blinds, you have an excellent view of the wetland area inhabited by ducks, geese, herons, cormorants, egrets and many more. I can't recall the name of this black bird, Stuart says it is similar to a cormorant. (He tells me it is an Australian darter.) They were holding their wings open to dry them in the sun. In the center are some pelicans.


The rest of the park is also full of many species of bird, including these brolga cranes. None of us had ever seen a crane before and we were not disappointed. These birds are large, graceful, and beautiful to watch as they 'dance' with each other. If any of you remember the crane maneuver from The Karate Kid, I understand it a lot better now!


After driving very slowly with many stops out to the parking area at the end, we hiked for just a bit on one of the trails above the mud-flats. We were unprepared for the vast area of the park, and didn't pack proper shoes, so we didn't go far. Just far enough for a black whip snake to 'whip' off the path to get out of our way before deciding we needed to come back with boots if we want to hike!



We have lots more to do today, so one last look at the view, and we are off.