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Trip report top end part 1

To: "birding aus" <>
Subject: Trip report top end part 1
From: "Allan Benson" <>
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 23:08:07 +1000
Hi,
 
This report is long and in 2 parts. I've reported the highlights previously so unless you have special interest hit the delete button
 

Conditions were perfect to see the Chestnut Rail at Buffalo Creek near Darwin. The tide was below 4 metres and it was 6.50 am ?light but the sun not yet up. According to Niven McCrie in his guide "Finding Birds in Darwin Kakadu and the Top End" this was prefect conditions but as we all know in birding there is no such thing as a certainty. As I pulled up at the boat ramp and walked around the car to get my scope out of the boot, I casually scanned the opposite bank with my binoculars and there were not 1 but 2 Chestnut Rail. I got fantastic views in the scope once I had it set-up.

Others birds around the boat ramp included Striated Heron, Spangled Drongo, Helmeted Friarbird, Red-headed Honeyeater, Lemon-breasted Flycatcher, Orange-footed Scrubfowl

One down 8 to go. This was an 8-day trip to the Top End to get nine very difficult birds and this was an excellent start

After a day exploring Darwin (and what a vibrant city is it compared to our last visit in 1990), the afternoon birding was to be the famed Holmes Jungles Swamp. Target species-Red-backed Button-quail and Zitting Cisticola. The habit looked less than inviting consisting of thick waist high grass. I waded in and within 5 minutes had flushed an all-dark Button-quail which by a process of elimination I decided had to be a RBBQ. Despite hours of wading through this very unpleasant habit over several days, I never flushed another; the closest was something fluttering through the grass away from my feet.

There were dozens of Cisticola here. Almost all were clearly Golden-headed but eventually I found one with distinct yellow tonings, I was happy to tick. I saw other at a roadside stop near Mary River on the Arnhem Highway

Other birds at Holmes Jungle Swamp included Crimson Finch, Tawny Grassbird, Bush Stone-Curlew, Forest Kingfisher, Grey Whistler, Peaceful Dove, Rufous Fantail and literally 100?s of Black and Whistling Kites.The next species was the Chestnut-backed Button-Quail. Niven had told me that the CBBQ had been seen near the Pine Creek Cemetery at Easter so this seemed a good place to start. The habit between the Cemetery and the Sewage Ponds was open woodland with thigh high grass that was relatively easy to walk through. After 10 minutes or so I flushed a covey of 6-8 CBBQ which exploded in all directions affording reasonable views. I managed to flush a single bird again but that was it. Other birds on the Ponds were Black Duck, White-necked Heron, Austalasian Grebe and Pied Stilt.

After checking out Edith Falls (beautiful spot but no Hooded Parrot) with the best bird Grey ?Crowned Babbler, we spent the night in Katherine. Next day we headed down toward Timber Creek. The highlight of the trip was Victoria River Crossing. The dark red cliffs surrounding the area are fantastic. I saw a female Purple-crowned Wren and a Black Breasted Buzzard as well as excellent views of a perched Brown Goshawk.

At Timber Creek, I searched the airport for Star Finch and Yellow-rumped Mannikan. The secondary site was the access to Victoria River and while Long?tailed Finch were common, it took me some time to find a flock of something else. This something else was mostly immatures and while I was trying to work out what they were, a fabulous male Star Finch landed into the binocular view. I also flushed 3 Red-chested Button-quail in the grassland between the Victoria Highway and the airport. I clearly saw the Orange- buff flanks and they flushed very differently from the CBBQ and RBBQ and I saw the "white streaking" in the back. I then drove up to the lookouts where a birder had reported 60 mostly immature Gouldian Finches. I saw three immatures between the Sunset and Town Lookouts. Another nice bird for the trip there was Black-tailed Treecreeper. We watched the sunset at the Lookout. Beautiful!! Gouldians were also reported drinking in puddles on the Bullita track inside Gregory National Park. 

Early next morning, I was back at the River looking for Yellow-rumped Mannikan. At first things were quiet but at about 8 am clouds of finches were landing on a rocky spit in the river to drink. It was the most amazing sight. 80-90% were Stars and most were immatures but there were also Double Bars, Masked and Chestnut-breasted Mannikan. They landed to drink in lots of 60-100 but only stayed on the ground for 15-20 seconds. I desperately scanned the flocks looking for a Yellow-rump and was finally rewarded with fleeting glimpse. After the finches dispersed, I returned to the airport but had no luck. However, while driving back to town I saw another flock of finches close to the road. However, I was facing the sun and although I could tell they were Yellow-rumps because of the contrast between the wings and the body, a passing car flushed them before I could move to a better position. I finally got another unsatisfactory view but just enough to confirm ID.

Allan Benson
Ourimbah
NSW
43627189
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