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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Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius)

If Australia were to have a beauty contest for parrots, the Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius) would be a definite contender!

IMG_5764 IMG_5762a IMG_5838aThe Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius), also known as the Many-colored Parrot, is endemic in arid scrublands and lightly timbered grasslands in the interior of southern Australia.  In the photo just above you can see 2 brightly coloured males and one duller female.

Mulga Parrot range.
Red dot – Nallan Station, Blue dot – Bowra Station

The species ranges across the dryer interior of the Australian continent, from Western New South Wales through the northwestern tip of Victoria and across South Australia and into the dryer central regions of Western Australia west to the Wheatbelt and north to the Pilbara.  The Mulga Parrot is generally encountered in pairs in arid grassland and mulga scrubland.   I have personally seen them at Nallan Station and at Bowra Station.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MULGA PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Beauty of Birds

Alice Springs Desert Park

VIDEOS

Breeding pair

 Live action from a webcam.

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.