Although we have observed Superb Lyrebirds on previous trips to New South Wales we had never encountered juvenile Superb Lyrebirds until this year. The male Superb Lyrebird has a magnificent tail and we had a great encounter with one during the walk from Otford to Helensburgh over four years ago. This year we had a holiday in the Blue Mountains at the end of September instead of May, which we last did in 2014. Although the temperature was still very cold for us we could enjoy hiking the many trails in the Blue Mountains National Park. We were walking a trail near Katoomba when we noticed very fresh scratching at the edge of the track and both commented that there must be Superb Lyrebirds nearby. It was moments later that we noticed a female Superb Lyrebird just in front of us digging away searching for food. The female Superb Lyrebird also has an impressive tail as you can see in the header photo, but not quite as spectacular as the male bird. We then noticed that the female Superb Lyrebird was not alone, but had a juvenile Superb Lyrebird beside it.

Female and juvenile Superb Lyrebird

We held back on the trail and watched the two Superb Lyrebirds wander ahead feeding on the side of the trail. The juvenile Superb Lyrebird followed along and often stopped and rested in between taking food from its parent. It was an excellent opportunity to stop and observe the interaction between the two Superb Lyrebirds and enjoy the precious moments we had with them.

Juvenile Superb Lyrebird in the track

Juvenile Superb Lyrebird

One of the highlights of our observations was when the juvenile Superb Lyrebird appeared to just take a break propping itself against a tree trunk! Now that is one relaxed Superb Lyrebird!

Juvenile Superb Lyrebird leaning on a tree trunk!

This encounter with Superb Lyrebirds was by far the best that we had during our week of hiking in the Blue Mountains National Park. Even though we did encounter Superb Lyrebirds most days we did not see any other juvenile birds. We appreciate that we were very lucky that day to encounter these birds and they are doing an excellent job at turning over the leaf litter!

Written by Clare M
Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!