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We arrived in Broome with hopes of cooler weather
and plenty of waders.Fortunately both eventuated, and we had the bonus of hiting
town during their annual Shinju Matsuri (pearl) festival with a
variety of multicultural entertainments.We stayed in Broome for 2 weeks visiting
many of the recommended birding sites , with a number of full and half days on
the shores of Roebuck Bay.Good birds as easy to find in Broome, we got
Lesser Frigatebird, Brown Booby and nesting
Osprey at Cape Gantheaume just doing the tourist
thing.Streeter's Jetty was visited a number of times as it's right in town and
very accessible, I got Mangrove Golden Whistler, Mangrove Gerygone,
Red-headed Honeyeater, Broad-billed Flycatcher,Yellow
White-eye, Northern Fantail,Common Sandpiper as well as more usual
species.Although I didn't attempt to get inside the wire at the sewerage ponds,
good views were had from a slight rise on the perimeter track on the eastern
side.Two visits produced a total of 38 species including my first Broome tick,a
single Little Curlew.Other good birds included a single
Ruff, Pacific Golden Plover,Marsh,Common,Curlew,Sharp-tailed
and Wood Sandpipers.Plumed Whistling-Duck were in
large numbers with a few Grey Teal, Hardhead and
Pacific Black Duck.Whiskered Tern skimmed over the ponds with
Whistling and Black Kites and a
White-bellied Sea-Eagle soared higher.We also took to regular
drives along Cable Beach( heading north from the patrolled beach) were we swam
and relaxed watching small groups of Sanderling scuttling along
the waters edge. I had not seen this bird for 13 years.Flocks of Silver
Gull, Crested and Lesser Crested Terns loafed on the
beach, with Red-capped Plover and Greater Sand Plover
in ones and twos.We were surprised to see a solitary Oriental
Plover also on the beach one day.Ruddy Turnstones were
consistent on the few rocky outcrops along the beach.
But the real reason to visit Broome is to
experience the magic of Roebuck Bay, which I did on a number of occasions,
visiting sites recommended by the wardens, most of whom were fully occupied with
participants in their 5 day October course.The reported single Redshank eluded
me on every visit, though I had fun scanning the waders, seeing yellow-flagged
birds in numbers, and marvelling at the number of Broad-billed
Sandpipers present, another bird I hadn't seen since my SA days.But it
wasn't only waders I was after, and after hearing reports of Yellow Chat
I walked the Malrus Track behind the BBO.After 30 mins I spied
movement in low shrubs beside a small wetland and then joyfully watched a pair
of the elusive Yellow Chat perch in full view and full sun only
10 mtrs away.I pushed my luck and walked through the long grass for another hour
hopeing to flush quail,and managed to put up two Brown Quail,
but not the button-quail I had hoped for.I saw Spotted Harrier
and Brolga before heading-off to Little Crab
Creek.Plenty of loud whistler-type calls were heard from the mangroves fringing
the creek and bay, but it would take an hour of peering into the trees before I
figured if they wern't coming to me, I'd have to go to them.Within minutes of
plunging into the mud I came face-to face with my target, a male
White-breasted Whistler(tick)(You won't be
surprised to learn I then saw them regularly and easily without the
mud-trudge).As there was an exceptionally high tide that day (+9 mtrs), I spent
some time watching flock after flock of waders fly up the bay to roosts back
towards Broome.On my last visit to the Bay I managed to identify
Dusky Gerygone(tick) which I suspect I had overlooked on
previous visits.Mangrove Grey Fantail proved easier to
locate.Lower high tides meant there were fewer mass movements so we contented
ourselves with locating and observing roosting flocks of mixed waders and
sharpening our wader id skills.Red-necked Avocet were in small
numbers, but always lovely to see.
We visited Coconut Wells only to find it bone
dry and without a single bird (is this a wet season lagoon only?) so went
further to Willie Creek.There we saw any number of Dusky
Gerygone,as well as two beached Indonesian fishing boats recently
impounded by Customs.Brolga were on the claypans, and a
Black-breasted Buzzard rose from a dam on the trip
home.
Non- birding highlights included
watching the AFL grand final at the Mangrove Hotel amongst (surprise, surprise)
highly excited, and very loud,West Coast Eagle supporters.I thought Sydney
deserved to win as they played the better rugby on the day, and should really be
wearing the green & gold Wallaby strip.
It was time to move-on so we headed for Derby with
the hope of a flight over the Buccaneer Archipelago.We had sought permission to
visit Taylor's Lagoon on the way and spent an hour there watching a small party
of Long-toed Stint work their way along the edges of some small
islands.We were able to 'scope their yellow legs and observe the jacana-like
feet (the stints are well named).All-up we saw 26 species on or near the lagoon,
with 5 raptor species (Black-breasted Buzzard,Black Kite,Spotted
Harrier, Wedgie, Nankeen Kestrel),Red-winged Parrot, Cockatiel,Red-necked
Avocet,Common Greenshank, Common and Wood Sandpiper,
and both Black-fronted Dotterel and Red-kneed
Dotterel.On arriving in Derby we learnt we had scored two seats on that
afternoons flight, a truely wonderful flight from Derby north to Point
Torment,Stokes Bay, over King Sound,Cascade Bay, Strickland Bay and then
Cockatoo and Koolan Islands. One can see how it's other name is Thousand Islands
Archipelago, there are small islands everywhere, with the larger ones having
sheer sandstone escarpments down to tiny mangrove-fringed bays. The flight then
circled the Horizontal Waterfall before heading back to Derby by the more direct
route over the McLarty and Wyndham Ranges.With still a couple of hours of
daylight left, we headed for the Derby wharf, scaned the mudflats to the south
and in fading light saw ,at long last, a Great-billed
Heron(super-tick),the last of the bogey-birds I had carried for
years.What a relief to have finally caught-up with it, and what a day it had
been. Another two-tick day, with a great flight thrown-in.
We returned to the wharf next morning for further
views of the heron before moving onto the www (waste water wetlands) south of
town.Nothing much was seen from the very exposed platform overlooking the
settling ponds, but the small ?natural wetland behind the ponds was very
productive.We again saw Long-toed Stint as well as
Red-necked Stint, Red-necked Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Marsh
and Wood Sandpiper and the usual common ducks.We
headed east with the intention of spending more time in the Central Kimberleys,
but furnace-like conditions of 43 degrees put paid to that.The plan now was to
drive, drive, drive until we found cooler weather.
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