The Eastern Osprey was common in Broome
Bird life in the town itself was very similar indeed to that of the Gibb, though Silver Gulls were abundant, as were Australian White Ibises (which had been absent from the Gibb). Raptors were very much in evidence, with thousands of Black Kites present (especially at the town's dump which was an extraordinary birding experience, with Magpie-larks, Silver Gulls and White Ibises present in equally high numbers feeding on the large amounts of food waste), Little, Wedge-tailed and White-bellied Sea Eagles, Collared Sparrowhawks, Brown Goshawks, Brown Falcons, Eastern Ospreys and Nankeen Kestrels all being a common sight.
Broome is best known in birding circles from Broome Bird Observatory, which is situated 25 KM south of the town on Roebuck Bay, where over 800 000 waders spend the northern winter. Sadly August was right at the start of the 'wader season' and consequently only very small numbers were present. On top of that, high tide is the only time at which wader-viewing is feasible and both high tides on the only day we could visit were during darkness. We instead decided we would visit the saltpans and lakes of the area, only to find that special permission was required from the landowner for that privilege. Things were not looking good, but tried our best and we were rewarded with a number of interesting sightings.
Striated Herons were one of the view birds that came anywhere close enough to us to photograph on the low tide. They were chasing Mudskippers (three of which can be seen in this picture) and not having a great deal of success....
Black-winged Stilts were very common in the area as well.
This is probably the worst photo I have on my blog, but it serves as a record shot of what was a new species for me- the Far Eastern Curlew. Several of this species, the female of which is the world's largest wader, were feeding on the flats a very long way from us.
On top of this, a number of waders were just about close enough to be identified, some by silhouette. These included new species for me in the form of the Red-capped Plover and Grey-tailed Tattlers; firsts for me in Australia in Curlew Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Greenshank, Red Knot and the fantastic Terek Sandpiper, as well as my first Whimbrels, Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstones, Red-necked Stints and Pacific Reef Herons of the trip. Looking back, it seems a decent tally, but at the time it seemed anything but! I was deeply frustrated at not seeing Asian Dowitcher, Great Knot and Broad-billed Sandpiper, all of which would have been new for me, but the waders were just far too distant.
We had marginally more success with landbirds. The same species of raptor that were common in the town were also common here, though Brahminy Kite joined that list. I enjoyed a brief flurry of new species around a mangrove swamp, with the range-restricted Mangrove Fantail and Australian (also known as Canary) White-eye very common in the area and a single Broad-billed Flycatcher and Little Bronze Cuckoo seen.
Little Bronze Cuckoo, Broome Bird Obs
All of the species that had been common on the Gibb were here too, along with numerous White-winged Trillers and Variegated Fairywrens.
With an hour and a half until high tide, we decided to try Roebuck Bay for waders again. An Agile Wallaby, a new species for me, was seen as we headed back up the road. Surprisingly, this time not a single wader was seen in front of the viewing platform! I have no idea how that happened...
Thankfully, that was much more than made up for as my Dad picked out a roosting Tawny Frogmouth in a nearby tree:
The Frogmouth is hiding in here...
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My third of the trip, but I am certainly not getting bored of them!
After that we headed home, overjoyed by the Frogmouth but slightly frustrated at what could have been from our day visiting one of Australia's top birding destinations. I certainly have unfinished business here and I will be back (at a better time of year...).
The next day, we visited Cable Beach, apparently one of the world's top five beaches, where I saw my first Lesser Frigatebird and Brown Booby since I visited the Great Barrier Reef nearly eight years ago- how time flies!
I finally managed to photograph a Mistletoebird, when this one landed right next to me behind the beach. A range of common species were abundant in this area, especially Rainbow Bee-eaters.
It was nice to have this great view of a Black-faced Cuckooshrike nearby
The next place we would visit would be Ningaloo Reef, approximately half way between Broome and Perth, though rather annoyingly getting there involved flying down to Perth and then back up north to Exmouth the next day. Still, being in Perth offered me the opportunity to see some species I hadn't seen in some time. Australian Hobby and Australian Ringneck were both new species for the trip.
Australian Hobby, Perth
These Australian Ringnecks were sharing a rather intimate moment...
Laughing Dove was also new for the trip. Surprisingly Perth is the only capital city in Australia with a population of this introduced species. As was the case on the east coast, the introduced Spotted Dove was common here, along with other regular east coast birds like the Rainbow Lorikeet and Red Wattlebird.
Australasian Darters were common on Perth's Swan River, as were Pacific Black Ducks and some weird hybrid Mallard-domestic ducks.
We arrived in Exmouth (actually the nearby Learnmouth RAAF base) late the next morning. In the town, I found this nesting Eastern Osprey:
Eastern Osprey, Exmouth
A number of Crested Pigeons were present
Rather unexpectedly, I found a new species for me just in front of our hotel, the tiny Fairy Tern:
Fairy Terns, Exmouth
On top of that, a large number of Silver Gulls and several Crested and Caspian Terns were present, while Singing Honeyeater was easily the most common passerine in the area.
In the early evening, we took a drive around the Exmouth area. The countryside was truly stunning (as most of Australia seems to be!). Black-shouldered Kites and Little Eagles were abundant and after an absurdly-long time, I finally saw my first Emu of the trip. Considering that the Gibb has a reputation of being fantastic for this species, it seems remarkable that it took me so long, but it was worth it. We watched this incredible prehistoric, two metre tall beast for some time, before it disappeared behind some thick vegetation.
One of my favourite birds, the Emu, near Exmouth
Western Red Kangaroos, the largest Kangaroo at 1.6 metres tall, were abundant around Exmouth.
The remainder of the evening was spent enjoying a truly awe-inspiring spectalce- eight or so Humpback Whales leaping out of the water several hundred yards off our hotel. It doesn't get much better than that.
All-too-soon the sun set on what had been a fantastic day
The next day was spent fishing on the reef (all fish were released alive and well). Ningaloo is home to Australia's only reliable Bonefishing area, though flooding in April had made the area virtually impossible to fish. We tried, but had no more luck than seeing several Bonefish, Permit and Giant Trevally in the area and catching several Queensland Groupers. Earlier, we had tried for Giant Trevally in the 'Trevally pool.' Again we had had no luck- it had been extremely windy and difficult for fishing and our small reward was a single Golden-spotted Trevally, several more Queensland Groupers, a Barracuda, a Lizardfish and a number of Spangled Emperors. Despite not catching many fish, it was a fantastic day- we saw several great fish and a ridiculous number of Green Turtles. Sadly it was too windy for Dugongs to show, so this remains one of my 'most-wanted' mammal species. The only birds seen out to sea were Caspian, Crested and Lesser Crested (new for the trip) Terns, Silver Gulls and several Eastern Ospreys.
The next day we snorkelled on the reef. On the way, we passed through town, where this herd of Emus was strolling across a cricket field.
They were heading for a nearby campsite water tap:
While snorkelling, we saw a number of fantastic tropical reef fish, including an enormous (approximately six feet long) Potato Grouper, several Parrotfish and Triggerfish. Two Octopi were fantastic to see as well. The beach was absolutely incredible, maybe my favourite I have visited, but sadly all-too-soon we had to head back. We enjoyed another evening of Humpbacks- there are not many ways that I would prefer to spend an evening. We had a quick walk down to the nearby marina and were rewarded with a surprise sighting of a Spotted Harrier flying over our hotel at dusk. I suspected that this would be my last new species of the trip and a great one to end with. When we got to the marina, I had an horrific shock as an huge Brown Sea Snake came out of the water, seemingly heading straight for me, hissing! I darted out of the way and it took me some time to regain my breath. Creatures like this really help to make Australia the wonderful place it is- there is something truly magical about the bizarre creatures of this extraordinary country. It really is like nowhere else.
The next day we headed back down to Perth for the night. It was dark by the time we arrived and I woke up the next morning feeling really rather sad that our wonderful adventure was coming to an end. I decided to have a walk so I could have one last session of enjoying Australia's fantastic wildlife. Caspian Terns, Silver Gulls, Australian Pelicans and Australasian Darter were abundant along the Swan River, but a really great bonus came when I came upon a small urban pond in a small area of parkland. On it were a number of ducks- the usual suspects in the form of Dusky Moorhens, Eurasian Coots, Purple Swamphens, Caspian Terns, Pacific Black Ducks, Australian Wood Ducks and Hardheads were present, along with several Australasian Grebes, Australian Shelducks and Black Swans. It was an awesome surprise when a Blue-billed Duck, a rufous bird with a bright blue beak, swam out of some reedy vegetation. This was a new species for me, and certainly not something that I was expecting. I went over to have a closer look and another appeared, before I spotted two sleeping Australasian Shoveler in the same reedbed. It was a second new duck species for me in the morning and a really fine way to end a wonderful trip to what is truly a magnificent country.
Later in the day, we flew to Dubai, where we spent a morning, before heading back to Heathrow. My birding had not yet finished though, as our craftily-positioned hotel overlooking Dubai Creek gave me the perfect opportunity to find one final new bird for the trip- the globally-threatened and range-restricted Socotra Cormorant. Approximately ten of this great species were feeding just off the hotel, though sadly I had left my camera packed in my bag ready for the next flight, but it was a fantastic bonus species to see before we returned to England. On top of that, numerous White-cheeked Terns were flying around the creek, and several White-cheeked and Red-vented Bulbuls, Common Mynas, House Sparrows and Indian Silverbills were seen.
I am already missing being in Australia hugely. It really is an incredible place, with unbelievable wildlife and wilderness and fantastically nice people- being at university there should be awesome. It's just a shame that I have to wait for about a year before I will be back!
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