'Beautiful plague' draws birdwatchers to Outback

Most city-dwellers see them only in cages, but in the Outback the budgerigar is a wild bird that inhabits open woodland and scrub.

Even rural Australians, though, have rarely witnessed the great flocks descending on far western Queensland, where some are describing them as a "beautiful plague".

Good rains earlier this year have created ideal breeding conditions for the vivid green and yellow birds, as well as plentiful food.

Locals around the town of Boulia have spotted half a dozen flocks of up to 3000 budgies, gathering to feed on grass seeds, and the spectacle is drawing birdwatchers to the area. The birds have not been seen in such numbers since 1997.

"From a distance they just look like a huge black wave ... rolling up on the beach," grazier Ann Britton told ABC radio.

Kate and Brian McGlinchey offer farm stay holidays where tourists can experience life on a cattle station and feed the animals. At present visitors are coming just to see the budgies.

Kate McGlinchey said: "They're pretty amazed that they come together in such huge packs. It's probably something that they don't see every day in the city."

She is gripped by the spectacle herself: "I've never seen anything like it. It's quite beautiful."