Birding Humbles Creek/Buntine Highway, Northern Territory

We didn’t get there at the optimal time as we spent the early morning birding around the Victoria River Roadhouse, but it was still worth a try.  Humbles Creek is about 15 km from the main road going south on the Buntine Highway.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos showed well.

Road can sometimes be flooded in the wet season.

It was getting hot and these Galahs were taking a break.

A Crested Pigeon was hiding.

Apostlebirds watching us watch them.

Bad photo, can’t make this one out.

We left around 11am and drove back to Katherine after spending the night at Victoria River.  I was hoping for finches and mannikins but we should have gotten there earlier.  This would be on my list of places to go back to the next time we are in the Territory.

Birding Bowra Part 1 – Road To Homestead Area

Since there are so many places to see birds, I am breaking this down into several parts.  The first area to explore is the part where you first enter Bowra Station at the letterbox and drive the main road to the homestead – about 5 or 6 km.  This is a fantastic area for parrots, as you can see from the photos below we saw many species just in this area such as Cockatiels, Mallee Ringecks, Galahs, Major Mitchell Cockatoos, Mulga Parrots and various Honey-eaters, an Emu and of course lots of kangaroos!  I also saw a Bluebonnet flying away at the speed of light near the gate.IMG_8570a IMG_8582a IMG_8583a IMG_8585a IMG_8561 IMG_8559 IMG_8554a IMG_8549a IMG_8544a IMG_8537 IMG_8834a IMG_8834b IMG_8840a IMG_8842a IMG_8852a IMG_8854a IMG_8870a IMG_8874a IMG_8881a IMG_8902a IMG_8905a IMG_8908a IMG_8911a IMG_8912a IMG_8916a IMG_8924 IMG_8925a IMG_8935a IMG_8936a IMG_8938a IMG_8947 IMG_8965a IMG_8970

Bring boots as sometimes you have to walk through the bush!

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Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla)

One of the birds you are most likely to see in Australia is also one of the most beautiful.  The galah Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo, galah cockatoo, roseate cockatoo or pink and grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.

Notice how this first Galah’s crest (Nallan Station) is pinker than the other ones?

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IMG_0161Galahs are known for their silly, playful nature.  If an Aussie calls you a “galah”, they usually don’t mean it as a compliment!

You won’t have to try to hard to find them as they are pretty much all over Australia.  I’ve seen them around Perth, Nallan Station, Stirling Range, Tasmania, Melbourne, Brisbane, Bowra Station, Coolmunda, Karara, Girraween just to name a few.  They frequent the park a couple blocks from my house and I can usually hear them as they fly overhead in the morning to forage for breakfast.

Galah rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT GALAHS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

The Australian Galah

VIDEOS

Wild Galahs in  action – playing and foraging.

 

 

 

Birding Lake Coolmunda – Boat Ramp & Adjacent Areas

Lake Coolmunda is an amazing birding hotspot and has something for everyone!  There were plenty of parrots to keep me happy, lots of water birds in the lake and elusive little Fairy Wrens to watch out for in the bush.  These photos were taken around the boat ramp area which also has a campground and picnic area, the area across the road which is really good for parrots and the road leading to the dam.  The Coolmunda Caravan Park is where the purple dot is.

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As we approached the turn-off to the lake & boat ramp, some Galahs were waiting to greet us.

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Before we turned left down the boat ramp road, I heard parrots in the field across the street so we pulled over to investigate.  Good move as we found Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Eastern Rosellas, Pale-headed Rosellas, more Galahs, Red-rump Parrots and Little Corellas!

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Noisy Miner

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This camping area has spaces for tents and caravans and a nice picnic area which we used for breakfast.

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We drove a bit further towards the dam and saw water birds on the lake and some Superb Fairy-wrens in several bushes along the road.  Many birds were on private property and as you can see by the signs, trespassers are not wanted!  Fair enough, I wouldn’t want strangers traipsing around my property either!  The roads here are paved and in excellent condition, normal sedan cars are fine.

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We turned around at the above sign and went back to the picnic area for breakfast.  We enjoyed a nice view of many water birds while we ate.  A Pied Butcherbird came over to beg steal our food!  Public conveniences are available here.

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When we went back to this area in the evening, there were lots of Red-rumped Parrots foraging in the tall grasses.  The light was really beautiful on the lake!

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Magpies squabbling, probably over territory or a female.

IMG_0586 IMG_0587 IMG_0589 IMG_0590 IMG_0592 IMG_0585 IMG_0588And with these Outback sunset shots we ended a fantastic day of birding!

Last Chance Birding Near Hobart International Airport

Sadly our exciting birding adventure in Tasmania had come to an end.  We had seen all the parrots which are found on the island, some seen up close and easily photographed.  Others like the Blue-winged Parrots only flew overhead without warning or chance to grab a photo.  Our flight was around noon so that gave one last chance to go birding.  We left Customs House right after breakfast and drove out to the airport where I knew several parrots species would be easily seen.  I had been hoping the elusive Blue-winged Parrots would come closer but they didn’t.  This map shows the general area to look for birds.

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We started at the patch between the Travelodge and the caravan park where we had seen Galahs and Eastern Rosellas before.  They did not disappoint!

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I wanted to see birds but not badly enough to pay a $5000 fine!

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Musk Lorikeets were everywhere!IMG_8201a - Copy IMG_8204 - Copy IMG_8217a - Copy IMG_8218a - Copy IMG_8222a - Copy IMG_8226 - CopyAnd that concludes my birding report on Tasmania, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and are inspired to plan your own trip!  If you want to find all the posts in this series, simply click here.

Easy Birding At Yanchep National Park

In my last post, I talked about Yanchep as a destination.  The nice thing about Yanchep is you can be as active or as lazy as you want and you will STILL see lots of birds!  I’m in the lazy camp.  I did do one hike around the small lake opposite Yanchep Inn but mostly I just kicked back at a picnic table or my room’s porch.  Eremaea has a good bird list to give you an idea what to expect.  Here’s some of the birds I saw.

Lots of Waterbirds

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Cheeky Galahs

IMG_6526aCarnaby’s Cockatoos

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Black SwansIMG_6459

Australian Ringnecks

IMG_6445a IMG_6609Laughing Kookaburras (they will try to steal your food!)

IMG_6540 IMG_6542 IMG_6446Purple Swamphens

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Scarlet Robins

 

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Brown Honeyeater

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Splendid Fairy-wrens (vivid males and duller females)

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Australian Wood Ducks (I think)

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Australian Wood Ducks (I think)

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Australian Wood DuckIMG_6527

Red Wattlebird

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Welcome SwallowsIMG_6610

Surprise Corellas – Small Town Between Mt Magnet & Geraldton

This was another lucky call of nature that led to a surprise sighting of some Little Corellas in the trees in a tiny Outback town somewhere between Mt Magnet and Geraldton.

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There were blue-eyed crows too.

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Not far from the road was a pond with breeding dragonflies and Zebra Finches and Galahs.

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That’s the magic of the Aussie Outback, you never know what you are going to find!  A local told us we had missed a small flock of Cockatiels by one day!  It was sad to be saying goodbye to this vast wilderness but we were hoping the western coast would bring different and interesting birds that we haven’t seen yet.

Meet The Parrots – Nallan Station, Western Australia

There are so many avian delights at Nallan Station, I will need to break them up into several posts.  Let’s start off with my favourites – the parrots!

BOURKES PARROTS

Seen mostly by Judas Well.  I have a profile on them here.

IMG_5756a IMG_5799a IMG_5980a IMG_5742aMULGA PARROTS

Also seen at Judas Well and in surrounding trees.  Note the brightly coloured male vs the duller female.

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Found flocking with these Mulga Parrots.

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Seen near the shearing shed.  They weren’t the least bit afraid of the workers who were using some pretty noise machinery!

IMG_5852 IMG_5862a IMG_5866 IMG_5874 IMG_5879a IMG_5883a IMG_5886a IMG_5897 IMG_5903 IMG_5912See my post on Cue for more information on how to get here and Western Australia to learn how I organized this trip.

 

 

 

The Birds Of Stirling Range – Pictorial

I’ve already blogged about the Stirling Range National Park but it got too long so I saved the bird photos for this post.  Just as a reminder, here are the bird lists that have been recorded here:

Since we have the long Easter weekend coming up, over the next 4 days, I will get caught up on some bird profiles and then move on to the next stop which was Two People’s Bay.  So for now, just enjoy some of these beautiful birds!
Regent Parrot
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Galah
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Elegant ParrotIMG_5021 IMG_5024a IMG_5027a IMG_5037
Dusky Wood Swallows (I think)IMG_5044
Owlet NightjarIMG_5047 IMG_5051a
Honey-eaterIMG_5066
Elegant ParrotIMG_5069 IMG_5072
Singing Honey-eaterIMG_5074
Elegant ParrotIMG_5077 IMG_5078
Splendid Fairy-wrenIMG_5081 IMG_5084 IMG_5086
Elegant ParrotIMG_5100 IMG_5104 IMG_5105
Australian RingneckIMG_5113 IMG_5118 IMG_5126 IMG_5135
Regent ParrotsIMG_5157a IMG_5170 IMG_5173 IMG_5178a IMG_5184 IMG_5206 IMG_5213 IMG_5229
Western RosellaIMG_5261 IMG_5263 IMG_5265
Elegant ParrotIMG_5268
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Elegant ParrotIMG_5270
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Elegant ParrotIMG_5280
Australian Owlet NightjarIMG_5285

 

Birding Foxes Lair, Narrogin, Western Australia

Foxes Lair is a small reserve on the outskirts of Narrogin, Western Australia.  It makes a perfect complement to nearby Dryandra Woodland, especially for parrot watchers.

Google Maps don’t show it but it is where I have made the yellow highlights.

Foxes Lair

It’s well worth planning both a morning visit and an afternoon visit here as you can get different birds.  I saw more Carnaby’s Cockatoos & Galahs in the morning and in the afternoon, I got my first look at Red Capped Parrots and Regent Parrots and of course more Port Lincoln Ringnecks.

Here’s a few pics of the birds I saw over 2 days.  Sorry about the silhouettes of the Carnaby’s Cockatoos, it was around 5:30am-ish!  You can see birds both on the side of the road near the caravan park opposite Foxes Lair and then drive into the reserve where there is a car park and a few trails you can follow.

You can stay in Narrogin where there are several options such as Bella’s Country Place (where we stayed-my review), Albert Facey Motel & Narrogin Motel.

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