Varied Lorikeet (Psitteuteles versicolor)

The Varied Lorikeet (Psitteuteles versicolor) is a cute and colourful species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to northern Australia.  Unbelieveably, I stumbled across a small flock at Donkey Camp Weir near Katherine!

The Varied Lorikeet lives in tropical eucalypt forests, wetland and grassland areas in northern Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.  They are highly nomadic so it’s a matter of luck, but you can see where I got lucky at Donkey Camp Weir.

LEARN MORE ABOUT VARIED LORIKEETS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

VIDEOS

Stunning close-up to show off their beauty.

Look for them in flowering gum trees like this one.

 

Birding Donkey Camp Weir, Katherine, Northern Territory

I never would have known about this place had it not been for the book “Top End Birdwatching” by Mike Reed.  The curiously named “Donkey Camp Weir” is not an obvious stop when driving between Katherine town and Nitmiluk NP so I was glad to have the map and recommendation that Northern Rosellas could be seen here.

It’s 9.8 kms from town and this is the sign you will see if headed towards Nitmiluk.  There are no signs in the opposite direction and we went past it before turning back and looking real hard.

Drive down this dirt road past a farm to the end of the road and park.

Then walk through this gate and follow the trail down to the river.  Don’t go to close to the water as there could be crocodiles.

It was dry and hot and we were there at a bad time, around 11am so not expecting to see anything but gave it a try anyways.

Suddenly I heard parrot squawks above.  Much to my delight and surprise, there was a small flock of Varied Lorikeets up in the trees.

They hung around a good half hour so we got to spend some quality time watching them.  Finally they flew off and we walked back to the car park.

I just had to take this shot as I couldn’t get over seeing any parrot species at this time of day…………..and so well!