Below follows a trip report from our three week journey in WA. Please let
me know if you find any oddities, misspellings or have any comments. Sorry
for posting such a long letter, but I thought it might be of general
interst. If someone wants me to send it as a word file as an attached
document instead, so please let me know. A short bit in the beginning is
from Thailand. Here goes:
Western Australia
12 augusti - 2 september 1997
Claes Engelbrecht
Bo Eriksson
Eva Eriksson
Conny Palm
Tommy Tyrberg
Teet Sirotkin (tour guide)
Thailand
13/8 Bangkok-Kao Yai-Bangkok
On our way to Australia we had 16 hours in Bangkok, so we took the
oppurtunity to pay Kao Yai National Park a brief visit. Being in the park
during the middle of the day, the activity was very low and although no
rare birds or mammals were seen, we still had a good time and got a handful
of ticks and some nice photos.
Birds
24 birds were recorded, no endemics. Nomenclature follows A guide to the
Birds of Thailand (Lekagul & Round, 1991). * = not recorded by the leader
Little cormorant 3 Bangkok
Night heron 1 Bangkok
Javan pond heron 1 Bangkok
Little egret 3 Bangkok
Red junglefowl 2 Heard in Kao Yai
Feral pigeon Bangkok
Red-breasted parakeet 3 S Kao Yai
Green-billed malkoha 1 Kao Yai
Wreathed hornbill * 3 Kao Yai
Great hornbill 1 Kao Yai
Coppersmith barbet 3 Kao Yai
Moustached barbet * 1 Road to Kao Yai
Small minivet 1 Kao Yai
Red-vented bulbul 2 Kao Yai
Black-crested bulbul 2+1 Kao Yai
Yellow-bellied warbler 1 Kao Yai
Common tailorbird 2 Kao Yai
Dusky woodswallow 5 S Kao Yai
White-vented mynah 5+3 Kao Yai
Hill mynah 10 Kao Yai
Golden-crested mynah 1 Kao Yai
Olive-backed sunbird 2+2
Oriental white-eye 5 Kao Yai
Tree sparrow 3 Bangkok
Mammals
5 mammals were recorded, no endemics. Nomenclature follows A world list of
Mammalian Species (Corbet & Hill, 1991). * = not recorded by the leader
Pigtail macaque Macaca nemestrina 10+30 Kao Yai
Common (White-handed) gibbon Hylobates lar Heard Kao Yai
Sambar deer Cervus unicolor 5 Kao Yai
Black giant squirrel Ratufa bicolor * 1 Kao Yai
Belly-banded squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus 1 Kao Yai
(Syn: C. flavimanus siamensis)
Australia
- asbestos & cyanobacteria
The purpose of this trip was to see as much as possible of the birds,
mammals and the scenery between Perth and the Kimberley in three weeks.
This meant that many of the south-western endemics were out of range.
Nevertheless, plenty of good species were seen, such as Slaty-backed and
Slender-billed thornbill, Malleefowl, Pied honeyeater, Thick-billed and
Striated grasswren, Grey honeyeater, Banded stilt, Beach thick-knee,
Asiatic dowitcher, Redshank, Mangrove golden whistler, Purple-crowned wren
and Square-tailed kite. Strangely we managed to dip out on Black swan (we
ticked off George Swann, though)! Two rather odd sights on this trip were
asbestos and cyanobacteria (see below). We drove a total of 5.600 km (330
km/day).
Itinerary
14/8 Wungong-Bungendore-Yanchep
Our original plan was to go to Rottnest Island, but after discussing the
matter within the group, we agreed upon visiting a forest area 20 km
Southeast of Perth instead - Wungong/Bungendore. The main purpose of going
to Rotto was to look for Banded stilt, Rock parrot and of course the
Quokka. We reasoned that we would have good chances of seeing the two bird
species in other places, thus only sacrificing the strange poisonous mammal
in favour for a few Southeast forest endemics. Wungong was great with nice
scenery and good birds. During a few hours stroll we saw several
White-breasted robins, Red-capped parrots, Western rosellas and after a
great deal of searching one Red-eared firetail and one Red-winged wren
along the stream. Bungendore was badly damaged by a fire and by now we had
pretty heavy winds, so in the forest we saw bugger all. This was though
compensated by excellent views of Elegant parrots on the school ovals.
After buying the new Pizzey, we got ourselves some well needed sleep at
Yanchep.
15/8 Yanchep-Murchison River crossing
In the early morning we were greeted by Short-billed black cockatoos and a
large flock of Western grey kangaroos on the golf course outside our
window. The park itself produced close views of Shelducks, Musk ducks,
incredibly tame Purple swamphens and a few showers. The 28 race of Port
Lincoln ringneck was common and there was plenty of small brown creature on
the other side of the lake, such as Western Gerygone, Spotted pardalote,
Yellow-rumped thornbill and Inland thornbill. Since we skipped Rotto, and
thus Rock parrot, we decided to check out Lancelin for this species. By now
we had strong winds and a brief check over the ocean revealed 5
albatrosses. The views were unfortunately to distant and we couldn't decide
whether they were Black-browed or Yellow-nosed. Just outside the coast
here, there are some nice small islands, where rock parrots surely breed.
We spent some time driving around checking lawns in the little village, but
eventually the rain spells and hunger drove us to the local pub for lunch.
We had barely poured vinegar on our chips when 7 parrots hurried past the
window - Rock parrots! Two of the travellers were watching horse racing on
the telly during this moment, and upon returning to the table they refused
to believe us. While the tour guide frustratingly tried to convince the
sceptics, two of the birds had the good taste of coming back and dropping
down just outside our window. They stayed there for the rest of our meal
and the respect for the tour guide was restored. In the Dongara area
there's a chance of seeing Western corella, but unfortunately we scored
nil.
16/8 Kalbarri-Monkey mia
The morning at the Murchison River crossing was cold +2°, but when we got
to Kalbarri NP it was nice and warm again. The unusually late spring
resulted in a lack of wildflowers in the south. Here we somewhat caught up
with the flowering and a lot of wattle and some banksias made a nice
background to the Tawny-crowned honeyeaters. Around a gravel pit we found
some White-backed swallows looking for breeding sites. The view from
natures window was one of the scenic highlights of the trip and the look
out offered nice views of Little eagle.
In the late afternoon we stopped for dinner at Billabong roadhouse, 140 km
further north. This proved to be an excellent stop. From our dining room
window we could se Rufous songlarks and Pallid cuckoos. In the bushes just
south of the roadhouse we found some small passerines. In a party of
Chestnut-rumped thornbills we found a different-looking thornbill. We
followed the bird and saw that it was constantly feeding 3 juveniles
sitting tight together. The parent had a red eye and lacked breast
streaking. Although the streaks on the forehead were difficult to see, we
concluded that the slaty back and the former mentioned field marks indeed
confirmed the id as Slaty-backed thornbill. This wasn't enough, though.
5-10 km north of the roadhouse, just after a grid where some power-lines
went in to the left, two Malleefowl were strolling around on the roadside.
Surely, this must be one of the westernmost observations of slaty-backed
thornbill and one of the north-westernmost observations of Malleefowl!
17/8 Monkey mia-Hamelin pool- Monkey mia
Early morning at the parking lot in Monkey Mia gave excellent opportunities
of studying and photographing Thick-billed grasswrens. They were literally
at our feet and had learned to pick roadkilled insects off the grilles of
the cars. This must be the most easily observable grasswren, and they were
common to! We also had good views of crested bellbirds, southern
scrub-robins and of course - bottle-nosed dolphins. Unfortunately the
dugong cruise was cancelled due to hard winds both days we were there.
At Hamelin pool we studied the earth's oldest known life form - the
stromatolites. I don't think I've ever twitched cyano-bacteria before, but
it was definitely a special feel to imagining the earth as it looked
3,000,000,000 years ago. In the area we also flogged a little buttonquail.
18/8 Monkey mia -New Beach
We arrived quite late at New Beach and despite both day- and night-driving,
we couldn't find nor Inland dotterels nor Orange chats. Pied honeyeaters,
though were everywhere and slender-billed thornbills where easy to find in
the samphire, just next to the mangroves. In the mangroves itself there was
plenty of Mangrove Flycatchers and a Dusky geregony. We camped a few km
south of New Beach.
19/8 New Beach-Exmouth
At Babbage Island, Carnarvon, we saw Rufous fieldwren quite easily and also
a magnificent Shingleback (a skink) just outside town. On the road to Cape
Range, we got acquainted to the fascinated Thorny devil. The last hour of
sunlight was spent looking for Rufous-crowned emu-wrens and Spinifexbirds
along Shothole Canyon Rd, unfortunately without success. We stayed at
Ningaloo Lighthouse caravan park.
20/8 Cape range-Paraburdoo
In Cape range we were fascinated by the abundance of Euros and Red
kangaroos. The most spectacular mammals though, were the Black-footed
rock-wallabies basking in the early morning sun at Yardie Creek. Western
bowerbird was common in the park and at Mangrove Bay Dusky gerygone was
easily pished into the open. From Vlaming Head Lighthouse we located some
Humpback whales, of which two put up the most spectaculare show, complete
with breaching and hitting the surface with flippers. Truly amazing! From
here we took a long drive via Nanutarra roadhouse to a parking pocket at
Dixon Peak, where we camped rough. On the road east from Nanutarra there
was an enormous concentration of Euros. We counted about 200 animals on a
stretch of 100 km.
21/8 Paraburdoo-Tom Price-Karijini
The early morning came with a nice surprise. Just a few hundred meters from
our camp I suddenly heard some high pitched squeaking. My first association
was mice, but after some pishing, a nice Striated grasswren jumped up for a
brief look. The exact location of this spot is 66,4 km west of Paraburdoo,
where there's a parking pocket on the southern side of the road. Just
across the road (north of the road) there's a little hill. The birds were
on the top of that hill. Unfortunately the birds were impossible to
relocate. We had a look a the giant truck in Paraburdoo and then got
installed at Tom Price Caravan Park. Our main target in this area was of
course Grey honeyeater, and this was what we set out for. There's a small
creek just Northwest of the sewage works, with river red gums (note that
they are white, not red, here). We started following this and immediately
saw Mistletoebirds, which was a good sign, since the Grey honeyeaters are
reputed to like mistletoes. Just a few minutes later we discovered two
small grey birds with a non-gerygone-ish song. After a while we managed to
get good looks of them and they were indeed Grey honeyeaters! High above
Tom Price we saw 500 Straw-necked ibis circling. Karijini produced little,
apart from some really good views.
22/8 Tom Price-Auski Roadhouse-Pt Headland
The next day was pretty eventless apart from the asbestos-ghost town
Wittenoom and the Spinifex pigeons at Auski roadhouse. We also stopped
shortly at a waterhole at Indee homestead. The night was spent at the
crowded Dixon's caravan park.
23/8 Cargill saltworks-Sandfire roadhouse
The next day we had the pleasure of being guided by Mal McKenzie at the
Cargill Saltworks. He managed to show us a nice flock of 500 odd banded
stilts. Other good birds in that area were 2 Painted firetails, Peregrine
and of course a lot of terns and waders. In the evening we drove to
Sandfire roadhouse. We spent the night 10 km north of there.
24/8 Sandfire roadhouse-Broome bird observatory
In the morning we watched modern cowboys chasing cattle with choppers.
Around the waterhole there was a flock of Australian prats and 55 Brolgas.
We were pretty eager to get to Broome Bird Observatory and when getting
there we immediately went out for some wader-watching. Quickly we located 6
Asian dowitchers of which one was still in lovely breeding plumage. We also
saw other nice waders, such as Sooty oystercatchers, Pacific golden plovers
and lots and lots of Great knots. A few Brown boobies were fishing way off
and a Lesser frigatebird flew just overhead.
25/8 Broome
This day we managed to locate the Redshank that had been here for a while.
We also cleaned up the mangroves with nice sightings of White-breasted and
Mangrove golden whistler and Dusky gerygone at Crab creek, Red-headed
honeyeaters at Quarry beach, Mangrove gerygones and a Broad-billed
flycatcher at the town mangroves. An odd twitch was to the Liqurerama,
where a Tawny Frogmouth had chosen to roost. We also had brief views of
Nicolas Day and a small dolphin. Although Chris Hassell suggested it was a
Melonheaded whale, we found Irrawaddy dolphin far more likely. Melonheads
are found in much deeper water.
26/8 Gibb River Road Tour
George Swann picked us early morning and we his Gibb River Tour had began.
A short stop at Logue river increased our wildfowl list, but due to the big
rains early this year, birds were largely spread out. At Fitzroy River we
saw some bush birds like Brush cuckoo and Olive-backed oriole. Derby Sewage
Works were nice with Australian spotted crakes running around, a Wood
sandpiper and plenty of other waders. One of us was lucky enough to see a
Yellow bittern. At the Derby jetty we managed to see Kimberley flycatcher,
but unfortunately missed out on the Great-billed heron. The night was at
Kimberley Downs. During spotlighting we found two Spotted nightjars and a
Nankeen night heron.
27/8 Gibb River Road Tour
An Owlet nightjar was the highlight of the morning. We continued to
Wombarella Creek with nice views of Star Finch. At Marsh Fly Glenn we saw
the first of our three Black Bitterns. Shortly thereafter we had excellent,
but brief views of a very pale Square-tailed kite. Bell Gorge produced
White-throated Gerygone and the first White-quilled rock pigeons. The night
was spent at Silent Grove, where Short-eared rock wallabies watched us
while we were cooling off in a lovely pool.
28/8 Gibb River Road Tour
In the morning we saw plenty of 25 Blue-faced and 60 Banded honeyeaters
around some flowering trees. After some searching we found three
Purple-crowned wrens at Mt House.
The night was spent at Manning Gorge.
29/8 Gibb River Road Tour
A long and hot walk in the morning gave nothing much than Chestnut-breasted
mannikin.
Galvans Gorge was a lovely swimming spot and we saw White-quilled rock
pigeons and another Black bittern here. Later that day we had our first
(and only) puncture. You could imagine the words George was saying when he
discovered that the Avis vehicle he had hired had a broken jack! Anyway,
why do it the easy way? George came up with the clever idea of digging a
hole in the road and then changing the tire. Needless to say, just when we
were ready, a vehicle came...
30/8 Gibb River Road Tour-Broome bird observatory
Surprise Falls was a very picturesque area and there was plenty of birds
to. Up on the escarpment there was a Yellow oriole, a Dingo and we also
found a nest of a Spinifex Pigeon. Around the camp there was a King brown
snake. On the way to Tunnel Creek we finally found some big flocks of
Pictorella mannikin and some Bustards. Tunnel Creek itself was really worth
a visit, with nice views of the big carnivorous Ghost bat. While wading
through the tunnel we saw a Freshie, some Black flying foxes and some
Common sheathtail bats. Outside a Peregrine was watching. We arrived at
Broome Bird Observatory very late, but satisfied.
31/8 Broome-Perth
This morning we had one target species and this was Beach thick-knee. A
bird had just turned up a few days ago and after a long walk we manged to
locate this odd looking wader. We also found an nesting Tawny frogmouth.
Then we flew to Perth and had a quick search for Western spinebill in Kings
Park. There were sadly not many flowering banksias and thus no honeyeaters.
We enjoyed the sunset over Perth and the Kangaroo paws, though. We also
made a desperate twitch for black swan. We took our spot-lights and walked
around the Hyde Park lakes. This manoeuvre produced Mallard - hooray! The
final species of this trip. The night was spent at the comfortable Regency
Motel.
Birds
266 bird species were recorded of which 9 where WA endemics. Nomenclature
and taxonomy follows me. * = not recorded by the leader. Bald denotes
endemics.
Emu Common from Kalbarri to Cape Range NP
Hoary-headed grebe Fairly common
Australasian grebe Fairly common
Yellow-nosed albatross 5 Lancelin (Possibly Black-browed)
Wedge-tailed shearwater Common Cape Range NP
Lesser frigatebird 1 Broome Bird Observatory
Brown Booby 5 Broome Bird Observatory
Little pied cormorant Fairly common
Little black cormorant Scattered observations, 10 Perth
Australian darter Scattered observations N of Port Hedland
Great cormorant 10 Lancelin. 1 Perth
Pied cormorant Common
Australian pelican Common
Brolga A few pairs from Port Hedland northwards. 55 N Sandfire roadhouse
Jabiru (black-necked stork) 5 Broome. 2 Logue river
Eastern reef egret 10 Yardie creek, Cape Range NP. 4 Broome Bird
Observatory
Little egret Common from Port Hedland northwards
Intermediate egret 1 Logue river
Great egret A total of 12 at various places
White-faced heron Fairly common
White-necked (pacific) heron Fairly common
Nankeen night heron Fairly common
Striated (green) heron 3 Cape Range NP. 4 Broome Bird Observatory
Little bittern * 1 Derby Sewage Works
Black bittern 1 Marsh Fly Glen. 1 Bell Creek. 1 Galvans Gorge
Royal spoonbill Scattered observations. 35 Derby sewage works
Yellow-billed spoonbill 1 Kings Lake, Tom Price
Straw-necked ibis Scattered observations. A flock of 500 circling
above Tom Price
Sacred ibis Fairly common
Australian shelduck 2 Wungong, 2 Yanchep
Pied goose 30 Logue river
Plumed whistling-duck 30 Logue river
Wandering whistling-duck 1 Logue river
Wood duck Fairly common
Hardhead Scattered observations. 20 Logue river
Pacific black duck Common
Mallard 3 Perth
Australian grey teal Common
Musk duck 2 Yanchep
Collared sparrowhawk 1 Monkey Mia. 2 Pilbara. 1 Inglis gap
Brown goshawk Scattered observations
Swamp harrier 4 from Shark Bay to Exmouth
Spotted harrier 2 in Kimberley
Black kite Common
Square-tailed kite 1 Bell creek.
Black-breasted kite 5 scattered observations
Whistling kite Common
Brahminy kite Common near coast
Osprey 1 Cape Range NP. 1 Port Hedland. 5 Broome
Little eagle 1 Kalbarri. 1 Nanutarra. 2 Gibb River rd
White-breasted sea-eagle 5 Cargill Salt, Port Headland. 3 Broome.
Wedge-tailed eagle Fairly common
Black-shouldered kite Fairly common
Brown falcon Common
Nankeen kestrel Common
Australian hobby 5 scattered observations
Peregrine falcon 1 Cargill Salt, Port Headland. 1 Tunnel Creek
Malleefowl 2 N Billabong Roadhouse
Australian bustard 5 Mt House. 1 Fairfield Valley
Painted button-quail * 2 Carbla Station
Brown quail Fairly common E Kimberley Downs
Red-backed button-quail * 5 at Manning gorge were possibly of this species
Little button-quail 1 Hamelin Pool. 1 New Beach
Australian spotted crake 6 Derby sewage works
Eurasian coot Fairly common
Dusky moorhen Common Yanchep. 6 Derby sewage works
Beach thick-knee 1 Broome Bird Observatory
Bush thick-knee 2 E Nanutarra Roadhouse
Lesser golden plover 1 Broome Bird Observatory
Grey plover 20 Broome Bird Observatory
Masked lapwing Logue River
Red-kneed dotterel 35 Derby sewage works
Black-fronted dotterel Fairly common
Large sand-plover 600 Broome Bird Observatory
Mongolian sand-plover 4 Broome Bird Observatory
Red-capped dotterel Fairly common
Red-necked stint 100 Broome Bird Observatory
Sharp-tailed sandpiper 2 Cargill Salt, Port Headland. 5 Derby sewage
works. 1 Broome BO
Curlew sandpiper 300 Broome Bird Observatory
Grey-tailed tattler 1 Cargill Salt, Port Headland. 20 Broome Bird
Observatory.
Red knot 20 Broome Bird Observatory
Great knot 2500 Broome Bird Observatory
Ruddy turnstone 6 Cargill Salt, Port Headland. 40 Broome Bird Observatory
Asian dowitcher 6 Broome Bird Observatory
Bar-tailed godwit 3000 Broome Bird Observatory
Black-tailed godwit 200 Broome Bird Observatory
Whimbrel 30 Broome Bird Observatory
Eastern curlew 300 Broome Bird Observatory
Common greenshank 10 Broome Bird Observatory
Redshank 1 Broome Bird Observatory
Common sandpiper Fairly common
Wood sandpiper 1 Derby sewage works
Terek sandpiper 20 Broome Bird Observatory
Australian pratincole 15 N Sandfire roadhouse. 20 Roebuck Plains. 4 Derby
sewage works
Banded stilt 500 Cargill Salt, Port Headland
Black-winged stilt Common Cargill Salt, Port Headland, Broome & Derby
sewage works
Red-necked avocet 50 Cargill Salt, Port Headland. 8 Logue River
Pied oystercatcher 10 Monkey Mia. 100 Broome Bird Observatory
Sooty oystercatcher 3 Broome Bird Observatory
Pacific gull 7 Denham
Silver gull Common. 1500 Langley Park, Perth
Gull-billed tern 10 Cargill Salt, Port Headland. 20 Broome Bird
Observatory. +singles
Lesser crested tern 5 Monkey Mia. 200 Broome Bird Observatory
Crested tern Fairly common
Caspian tern Scattered observations
Little tern 2 Broome Bird Observatory
Fairy tern 3 Monkey Mia. 4 Cargill Salt, Port Headland
Whiskered tern Common Cargill Salt, Port Headland.10 Broome Bird Observatory
Common tern 1 Broome Bird Observatory
Crested pigeon Common
Spinifex pigeon 2 Karijini NP. 20 Auski roadhouse. 4 Surprise Falls
White-quilled rock-pigeon 6 Bell Gorge. 3 Galvans Gorge. 5 Surprise Falls
Common bronzewing 1 Monkey Mia. 2 TP
Feral pigeon Perth, Derby
Diamond dove Common from Karijini NP northwards
Peaceful dove Common northwards from Port Hedland
Bar-shouldered dove Common northwards from Broome Bird Observatory
Laughing turtle-dove 7 Perth. 1 Monkey Mia. 1 Babbage Island
Galah Common
Sulphur-crested cockatoo Scattered observations in Kimberley
Little corella Common
Longbilled blackcockatoo Possibly 2 at Wungong
Shortbilled blackcockatoo 10 Yanchep
Red-tailed black-cockatoo Common
Rainbow lorikeet Scattered observations northwards from Broome
Varied lorikeet 4 Gibb River rd. 2 Surprise Falls
Red-winged parrot Scattered observations Gibb River rd
Cockatiel Common
Port Lincoln ringneck Common S Yanchep (semitorquatus). 4 Kalbarri 5
Pilbara (occidentalis)
Red-capped parrot 2 Wungong
Western rosella 4 Wungong
Northern rosella 13 Kimberley
Rock parrot 7 Lancelin
Elegant parrot 7 Bungendore
Budgerigar A few flocks between Tom Price and Sandfire roadhouse
Brush cuckoo 4 at Willare bridge. 1 heard Kimberley Downs
Pallid cuckoo Fairly common
Horsfields cuckoo Scattered observations
Pheasant coucal Scattered observations northwards from Broome
Blue-winged kookaburra Fairly common northwards from Tom Price
Laughing kookaburra 5 Yanchep
Sacred kingfisher Fairly common northwards from Port Hedland
Red-backed kingfisher 1 S Nanutarra roadhouse. 1 Auski roadhouse.
Azure kingfisher 1 Manning Gorge
Rainbow beeater Fairly common northwards from Tom Price
Southern boobook Fairly common
Spotted nightjar 2 E Nanutarra roadhouse. 2 Kimberley Downs
Australian owlet-nightjar 1 Breeding Kimberley Downs.
Tawny frogmouth 1 heard Murchison river. 2 breeding BBO. 1 Broome. 1
Surprise falls
Welcome swallow Common north to Tom Price
Fairy martin Common Kalbarri. Fairly common Kimberley
Tree martin Common . A flock of 400 Broome Bird Observatory
White-backed swallow 8 Kalbarri
Singing bushlark Common
Rufous songlark Fairly common
Richards pipit Fairly common , Common at Cargill Salt, Port Headland
Black-faced cuckoo-shrike Common
White-bellied cuckoo-shrike A total of 9 in Kimberley
White-winged triller Fairly common
Red- capped robin 2 Kalbarri. 5 Hamelin pool
Scarlet robin 2 Wungong
Hooded robin 2 Kalbarri. 6 Karijini
White-breasted robin 6 Wungong
Jacky Winter Fairly common Kimberley
Kimberley flycatcher 1 Derby jetty
Southern scrub-robin 9 Monkey Mia
Golden whistler 1 Wungong
Mangrove golden whistler 1 male Crab Creek, Broome Bird Observatory
White-breasted whistler 6 Broome
Rufous whistler Fairly common
Grey shrike-thrush Fairly common
Crested bell-bird 3 Monkey Mia. 1 New Beach
Sandstone shrike-thrush 2+1 Gibb River rd
Restless flycatcher A total of 8 in Kimberley
Broad-billed flycatcher 1 Broome. 1 Derby jetty
Leaden flycatcher 2+1 Gibb River rd
Grey fantail Common north to Monkey Mia
Mangrove fantail Fairly common New Beach, Broome
Northern fantail A total of 4 in Kimberley
Willy wagtail Common
Wedgebill Common from Kalbarri to New Beach
White-browed babbler Common Monkey Mia, New Beach
Grey-crowned babbler Common from Broome Bird Observatory northwards
Clamorous reed-warbler 5 Scattered observations
Tawny grassbird * 1 Derby sewage works
Golden-headed cisticola 4 Scattered observations in Kimberley
Purple-crowned wren 1 male, 2 female Mt House
Splendid wren 10 in Wungong. 4 Kalbarri
White-winged wren A total of 11 from Kalbarri to New Beach
Red-winged wren * 1 Wungong
Variegated wren Common
Red-backed wren Fairly common Kimberley
Thick-billed grass-wren Common Monkey Mia
Striated grass-wren 2 E Paraburdoo
White-browed scrub-wren Scattered observations north to New Beach where C
Rufous fieldwren 1 Babbage Island, Carnarvon
Mangrove gerygone 2 Broome. 1 Derby
Western gerygone 2 Yanchep. 2 Tom Price
Green-backed gerygone 2 Bell Gorge
Dusky gerygone 1 New Beach. 2 Cape Range NP
White-throated gerygone 2 Bell gorge
Weebill Fairly common from Karijini northwards
Southern whiteface 10 Hamelin Pool. + singles
Slender-billed (samphire) thornbill 4 New Beach
Yellow-rumped thornbill Common Wungong
Chestnut-rumped thornbill 5 Billabong roadhouse. 10 Hamelin Pool
Inland (brown) thornbill Scattered observations north to Monkey Mia
Slate-backed thornbill 1 ad feeding 4 juv Billabong roadhouse
Varied sitella A total of 9 in Kimberley
Black-tailed treecreeper A total of 14 in Kimberley
Spiny-cheeked honeyeater Scattered observations. Common New Beach
Red wattlebird Common north to Kalbarri
Little wattlebird Common from Broome Bird Observatory northwards
Silver-crowned friarbird Common in Kimberley
Blue-faced honeyeater Scattered observations in Kimberley. 25 Silent Grove
Yellow-throated miner Fairly common from Cape Range NP northwards
White-throated honeyeater A total of 6 in Kimberley
White-naped honeyeater 3 Wungong
Black-chinned honeyeater 1 Manning Gorge, 1 Galvans Gorge
White-gaped honeyeater A total of 17 in Kimberley
Singing honeyeater Common
Grey-headed honeyeater Common in Cape Range NP and Karijini
Grey-fronted honeyeater 20 between Bell and Manning Gorge
White-plumed honeyeater Scattered observations. Common in Port Hedland
Yellow-tinted honeyeater Common in Kimberley
New Holland honeyeater Common in Perth
Bar-breasted honeyeater 3 Silent Grove
Rufous-throated honeyeater Common in Kimberley
Tawny-crowned honeyeater 5 Kalbarri
Grey honeyeater 2 Tom Price
Red-headed honeyeater A total of 10 in Broome area
Banded honeyeater Common in Kimberley. 60 Silent Grove
Pied honeyeater Common New Beach
Brown honeyeater Common
Yellow white-eye Common in mangroves
Silvereye Common N to New Beach
Mistletoebird 2 Karijini, 2 Tom Price, 6 Broome
White-fronted chat * 1 New Beach
Crimson chat 8 Carbla Station. 5 New Beach
Spotted pardalote 1 Dongara
Striated pardalote Scattered observations
Star finch 10+18 Wambarella Ck (only 1 ad)
Painted firetail 1 W Paraburdoo, 2 Port Hedland
Red-eared firetail 1 Wungong
Double-barred finch Common from Broome northwards
Zebra finch Common from New Beach northwards
Crimson finch Common near water in Kimberley
Masked finch Fairly common between Bell and Manning Gorge
Long-tailed finch Common between Bell and Manning Gorge
Chestnut-breasted mannikin 2 Mt House. 2 Manning Gorge
Pictorella mannikin 20 Mt House. 100 Tunnel Creek
Yellow oriole 1 Surprise Falls
Olive-backed oriole A total of 4 in Kimberley
Magpie-lark Common
Little wood-swallow 1+5+5 in Kimberley
Black-faced wood-swallow Common
White-breasted wood-swallow Common from Carnarvon northwards
Pied butcherbird Fairly common
Grey butcherbird 1 Yanchep
Grey currawong 1 Dongara
Australian magpie Scattered observations. Common Perth
Western bowerbird 10 Cape Range NP.
Great bowerbird Common from Broome northwards
Torresian crow Common from Carnarvon northwards
Little crow Common in Monkey Mia. Probably more northwards
Australian raven Common north to Kalbarri
Mammals
19 mammals were recorded. Nomenclature follows Encyclopedia of Australian
Animals, Mammals (Strahan, 1992). * = not recorded by the leader.
Order Marsupialia
* Black-footed Rock-wallaby 2 Cape Range NP
* Short-eared Rock-wallaby 4 Silent Grove, 6 Surprise Falls
* Agile Wallaby A total of 25 seen from Broome Bird Observatory Northwards
* Western Grey Kangaroo 50 Wungong, 15 Yanchep
* Euro (Common Wallaroo) Common from Monkey Mia Northwards. 200+ E
Nanutarra!
* Red Kangaroo Scattered observations between Kalbarri and Wittenoom.
Common in Cape Range NP
Order Chiroptera
* Black Flying-fox 50 Tunnel Creek
* Ghost Bat 60 Tunnel Creek
* Common Sheathtail-bat 10 Tunnel Creek
Order Carnivora
* Dingo (Introduced) 2 Manning gorge, 1 Surprise Falls
* Fox (Introduced) 1 Shark Bay
* Feral Cat (Introduced) 1 Kimberley Dows, 1 Gibb River Road
Order Cetacea
* Humpback Whale 10 Vlaming Head, Cape Range NP
* Bottlenose dolphin 7 Monkey Mia
* Irrawaddy dolphin 1 Broome Bird Observatory
Order Perissodactyla
* Donkey (Introduced) 10 Manning Gorge
Order Rodentia
* Water-rat * 1 Manning Gorge
* Spinifex Hopping-mouse 1 Monkey Mia
Order Lagomorpha
* Rabbit (Introduced) Common from Kalbarri to Cape Range NP
Reptiles
11 reptiles were recorded. Nomenclature follows Encyclopedia of Australian
Animals, Reptiles (Ehmann, 1992). * = not recorded by the leader.
Order Crocodilia
Family Crocodylidae
* Freshwater crocodile Crocodylus johnstoni 1 Silent Grove, 4 Manning
Gorge, 1 Tunnel Ck
Order Testudines
Family cheloniidae
* Unidentified marine turtle 3 Broome Bird Observatory
Order Squamata
Family Agamidae
* Gilbert's lashtail Amphibolurus gilberti 1 Galvans Gorge, West Kimberley
* Thorny devil Moloch horridus 1 NV Minilya roadhouse
Family Varanidae
* Yellow-spotted monitor Varanus panoptes 1 NV Minilya roadhouse
* Mertens's water monitor Varanus mertensi 3 Surprise Falls, West Kimberley
* Black-tailed monitor Varanus tristis 1 Kimberley Downs
Family Scincidae
* Shaded-litter rainbow-skink Carlia munda * 1 Broome Bird Observatory
* Centralian bluetongue Tiliqua multifasciata 1 N Port Headland, 2
Manning Gorge
* Shingleback lizard Trachydosarus rugosus 1 Carnarvon
Family Elapidae
* King brown snake Pseudechis australis * 1 Surprise Falls, West Kimberley
Acknowledgements
Thanks a heap for all the valuable info!
Chris Hassell & Janet Sparrow at Broome Bird Observatory. George & Lindsey
Swann at Kimberley Birdwatching. Shane Raidal, Petina Pert, Gil Langfield,
Peter Lansley and especially Frank O'Connor at the internet. Mal McKenzie
at Cargill Salt. Roger Syme at Monkey Mia. Uthai Treesucon in Thailand.
This report was compiled by
Teet Sirotkin
Öfre Slottsgatan 19A
S-753 12 Uppsala
SWEDEN
018 - 12 15 42
0705 - 55 76 56
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