Hi all!
This year, my wife, Kay, and I made our second trip to Australia, visiting
WA & NT over the period 24th August to 19th October 2003. We travelled
around in medium-sized camper vans. This is the first part of the trip
report. Since we saw a lot of birds on the trip, it concentrates on the
lifers and birds of special
interest. I'll post a detailed report on the web in due course. New birds
are mentioned in the text or indicated by an asterisk*.
Tuesday 26th August
After arriving in Broome the day before, we went out for the morning in the
Roebuck Bay area with Chris Hassell of Turnstone Nature Tours. We had a
great morning. We didn't find any Asian Dowitchers but managed 23 species of
shorebird, including our first Grey (Black-bellied) Plover & Common Redshank
in Oz (the first time I've really got excited about seeing the latter since
I was knee-high to a grasshopper!) and all the target mangrove species. New
birds were Eastern Reef Egret, Red winged Parrot, Dusky Gerygone, Singing &
Rufous-throated Honeyeaters, White-breasted Whistler, Broad-billed
Flycatcher, Mangrove Grey Fantail & Yellow White-eye. Striated Herons seemed
to be everywhere and an Australian Hobby obligingly landed on the beach. It
was great fun tramping through the mud in old clothes we'd brought for this
purpose - it was the only way to get close to the White-breasted Whistlers!
Chris is a nice guy who knows his fauna and flora - we recommend
him highly.
Wednesday 27th & Thursday 28th August
We spent the two days travelling to Kununurra, spending the Wednesday night
at Fitzroy Lodge by the Fitzroy River. On the first day we saw a
Spotted Harrier*, some 40 kms south of Fitzroy River. A short stop at the
Nillibubbica Rest Area that day gave us great views of Long-tailed Finches*
coming into drink. In the camping ground at Fitzroy Lodge we saw
Silver-crowned Friarbird*, Yellow-tinted Honeyeater* and Black-faced
Woodswallow* - all easy to see here. A short walk to the river produced a
bit of a surprise - several Major Mitchell's Cockatoos* with the Galahs and
Sulphur-cresties.
The second day was a long haul - 401 miles. On the way we saw Ground
Cuckoo-Shrikes* about 40 kms south-west of Hall's Creek and
Yellow-throated Miners* just north of Hall's Creek. Late afternoon we
arrived at Kununurra and settled in at the Kona Lakeside Park. A short walk
here
produced a roosting Nankeen Night-Heron. Paperbark Flycatchers* were
abundant
Friday 29th August
A dawn walk along the road from the Park and around the golf course was
quite productive. I thought I heard a Black Bittern calling but wasn't sure.
The only new bird was Clamorous Reed Warbler but there were many
White-gaped, Yellow-tinted, Brown and Rufous-throated Honeyeaters
(particularly the latter). Other birds of note included White-winged
Triller, Great Bowerbird, Crimson Finch and Golden-headed Cisticola.We spent
the late morning around Hidden Valley National Park (after seeing
Grey-crowned Babblers* at the caravan park near there). With a bit of
patience we managed to find White-quilled Rock Pigeon* and Sandstone
Shrike-Thrush*. A late afternoon walk around Kona Lake TP produced one very
tame White-browed Robin*! Great Bowerbirds were easy to see here.
Saturday 30th August
As we prepared to leave Kona Lake we had two White-browed Robins around
our van, one perching a metre from it! We went to Wyndham for the day. On
the way we stopped at the Grotto, which was virtually birdless, apart from a
Jacky Winter and Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike. At Wyndham we found a couple of
Masked Finches* on the ground opposite the road to the caravan park. Wyndham
Crocodile Park was interesting - great views of Saltwater Crocodiles and a
few birds thrown in, including Crimson and our first Star Finches. On the
way out of the town we stopped by the jetty where we had brief views of
Mangrove Gerygones* flitting about - the first we had seen (though we'd
heard many in Queensland the year before). We stopped at the Cockburn Rest
Area, at the junction of the Great Northern and Victoria Highways, since
several raptors were soaring in the area. A good decision because we picked
out our first Black-breasted Buzzards among the Black Kites.
We spent that and the following night at Hidden Valley TP in Kununurra. A
late afternoon walk into Hidden Valley National Park produced several
species, including Great Bowerbird (with bower by the track), Euros and a
Short-eared Rock-Wallaby.
Sunday 31st August
I went for a dawn walk into the National Park, where I found a couple of
White-quilled Rock-Pigeons and heard a Sandstone Shrike-Thrush calling.
We spent the morning at Lake Argyle, where we'd booked a cruise. As we
walked from our van to the bus pick-up we saw a White-quilled Rock-Pigeon
wandering around the streets of the village! On the cruise, the scenery was
gorgeous. Best birds on the cruise were Black-necked Stork, Black-breasted
Buzzard and White-bellied Sea-Eagle (two newly fledged juveniles on or near
the nest, which was also occupied by nesting Willie Wagtails & Long-tailed
Finches!). We also saw a Short-eared Rock-Wallaby. A visit to the Argyle
Homestead Museum was productive - here there were 2 Spinifex Pigeons* coming
in to drink and another White-quilled Rock-Pigeon. A Great Bowerbird was
attending his bower in the grounds. As we drove back to the Victoria Highway
we flushed a pigeon from the road. The sighting was brief but we were sure
we'd seen a Partridge Pigeon - but one of the red-faced, Top End race. It
was bigger than a Spinifex Pigeon and had white above the red eye patch.
Where does the demarcation line between the two races occur?
When we got back to Kununurra, we drove around River Farm Road and Ivanhoe
Road, looking for finches. On a field by the former we saw
Australian Pratincoles*. By an irrigation channel by Ivanhoe
Road, just north of Mills Road, some birds were coming into a small pool on
a partly dried-up ditch. After a bit of searching we found 3 Yellow-rumped
Mannikins*, Double-barred, Crimson and Star Finches and Chestnut-breasted
Mannikins. A Spotted Harrier was quartering
the fields.
To be continued.
Rob
Robert Grimmond
Kent, UK
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