Our accommodation turned out to be an extremely basic roadside motel near the airport, but thankfully decent bird life improved things.
Black Kites were very common indeed- literally dozens of them circled above the motel. The only other raptors present were a couple of Nankeen Kestrels. It wasn't long before I found a new bird for the trip- a group of three Peaceful Doves:
Peaceful Doves, Darwin
These birds are fantastically small- about 20cm in length and were a very common sight across northern Australia.
It was fantastic to find a new species for me just next to the doves- the extremely elegant Double-barred Finch, about 10 of which were flitting about a small bush.
Double-barred Finch, Darwin
This species, like the Peaceful Dove, was abundant throughout the north.
On top of that, I saw three other new life species for me at the motel- the Varied Triller, an odd Shrike-like bird in the Cuckoo-Shirke family, the Partridge Pigeon and the White-gaped Honeyeater. Bar-shouldered Dove and the beautiful white Torresian Imperial-Pigeon were also seen in the area, both of which were new for the trip, as were Red-collared Lorikeet- the northern equivalent of the Rainbow Lorikeet, and Red-winged Parrot, a stunning close relative of the Australian King Parrot. Finally, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike was my first of the trip. In Darwin itself, a huge number of White-breasted Woodswallows were seen along with a fantastic Brahminy Kite right in the city centre.
The next day we took the short 45 minute flight to Kununurra, a real outback town marking the start of the Gibb River Road. We spent the afternoon buying supplies for our trip, before a brief visit to Lake Kununurra as it was getting dark. A large number of finches were present, and it was nice to pick out several Crimson Finches among numerous Double-barred Finches, which was a new species for me. Sadly only one of the stunningly-bright red males was seen (and I couldn't photograph it).
Two Crimson Finches with a Double-barred Finch, Kununurra
A fantastic Rainbow Bee-eater was also seen:
Rainbow Bee-eater, Kununurra
As was this very friendly Straw-necked Ibis:
Straw-necked Ibis, Kununurra
Black Kites were once more abundant around the town.
Black Kites, Kununurra
It was very pleasing to see a bird from a family I had not seen any of before- the Australo-Papuan babblers. Despite their very similar appearance to the Old World Babblers, a number of which I have seen in Africa, this family is not even a close relative. The birds in Kununurra were Grey-crowned Babblers:
Grey-crowned Babbler, Kununurra
The behaviour of these birds was very unusual- they hopped around the ground extremely frenetically wagging their tail up-and-down rapidly.
Red-collared Lorikeets were abundant, and a number of Red-winged Parrots were also seen.
On the lake itself were a number of very distant Magpie-geese and Pacific Black Ducks, as well as several closer Green Pygmy Geese:
Green Pygmy Geese, Kununurra
This fantastic bird is one of the world's smallest ducks at only 30cm long. It is found only in Northern Australia, New Guinea and East Timor and it really is a delightful species to see. An Intermediate Egret and a Pied Heron were the only Heron species present. Another highlight was a very distant Comb-crested Jacana. The Jacanas are an extremely cool family of birds- they are also known as 'Jesus-birds' as a result of their ability to walk on floating vegetation due to their enormous feet. The males of this family incubate the eggs on nests built on floating plants.
A bird from another cool family was very common in the area;
Great Bowerbird, Kununurra
The Great Bowerbird and its relative have a unique courtship display. The males build a large structure out of sticks and other things occasionally including litter (even rifles cartridges, glass and nails have been recorded), feathers and flowers for decoration, called a bower, in an attempt to attract a mate. Many hours are put into its creation by the male, but the structure is not used as a nest.
Sacred Kingfisher, Kununurra
A number of other interesting species were seen but not photographed. Whiskered Terns were abundant around the lake. This bird is incredibly widespread, ranging from Western Europe to Australia and Southern Africa and vitrually everywhere in between (only as a vagrant in Britain though...). The Blue-winged Kookaburra replaces the Laughing in this part of Australia, and one was seen briefly. Honeyeaters were abundant, with Rufous-throated being a new species for me and Yellow-tinted new for the trip among numerous White-gaped and Brown Honeyeaters. After my first Varied Triller in Darwin, I completed the set of Trillers with a nice White-winged Triller here. A nice Olive-backed Oriole was my first of the trip, as was a Paperbark Flycatcher. I had time to find another new species for me, in the form of the Weebill. These birds are just 9 cm long and Australia's smallest species. Finally, I had fantastic views of a Purple Swamphen on its nest by the lake and nearby several Australian Reed Warblers and a great Mistletoebird- Australia's second smallest bird, with a superb red throat. It is the only representative of the Flowerpecker family in Australia and was a very nice way to end a good day.
We went out to a restaurant in Kununurra in the evening. As we headed back, I saw what I assumed was an owl. I got out to investigate and the bird turned out to be my second ever Tawny Frogmouth! Wow!!!!!! This sighting was even better than the last, with the bird very much awake and diving down to hunt small creatures near the road. The bird was lit up by our car headlights and having the experience of its enormous red eyes staring into mine from extremely close range was arguably the greatest wildlife experience of my life. Aggravatingly I had left my camera back at the hotel, but I didn't care- I had seen something I shall remember for the rest of my life.
The next day, we started our outback adventure, visiting the world-famous Bungle Bungle, just south of Kununurra. I'll cover that in my next blog.
We went out to a restaurant in Kununurra in the evening. As we headed back, I saw what I assumed was an owl. I got out to investigate and the bird turned out to be my second ever Tawny Frogmouth! Wow!!!!!! This sighting was even better than the last, with the bird very much awake and diving down to hunt small creatures near the road. The bird was lit up by our car headlights and having the experience of its enormous red eyes staring into mine from extremely close range was arguably the greatest wildlife experience of my life. Aggravatingly I had left my camera back at the hotel, but I didn't care- I had seen something I shall remember for the rest of my life.
The next day, we started our outback adventure, visiting the world-famous Bungle Bungle, just south of Kununurra. I'll cover that in my next blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment