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I've just spent a month in the Kimberley on
Mornington Station and saw quite a few birds which we don't get here, with
the Long-tailed, Masked, Crimson and Gouldian Finches
being the highlights along with the Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, but the
real jewel to me was a Barking Owl in constant sight at the camp
where we were having dinner one night and many Bush-stone
Curlews calling every night just at the back door of the homestead.
Although I didn't go up there to see the birds, but a new baby granddaughter, I
spent an hour or so every day with my binos and was rewarded with these and
other sightings.
In the 10 days I've been home, and again without
trying, I've been privileged to hear and see Redthroats, who are
nesting, as are Red-capped Robins, Splendid Fairy-wrens whose colour is
so spectacular you can see these tiny little birds as a turquoise speck from 100
metres away. Coming home from town yesterday about 2 klms. from the homestead I
watched a Square-tailed Kite for about 20 mins. and was amazed
at a Magpie-larks audacity in attacking it. A Red-backed
Kingfisher was watching the spectacle from a safe vantage point in a Gidyea
tree. Late yesterday afternoon while watering a garden a Crested
Bellbird was hopping around only about 2 metres away and didn't seem at all
fazed by my prescience, Ian says he hasn't seen one in the vicinity of our
garden before.
The Mulga Parrots are feeding their young
who are nearly fledged. We have lots of Bourke's Parrots here at the
moment and a couple of days ago out in the Mulga country Ian pointed out some
Black and Pied Honeyeaters to me, and then a Chestnut-breasted
Q-thrush scuttled across the road in front of us.
Some people who left this morning had a good view
of a Painted Honeyeater here, which is pretty exciting as we don't
often see them.
I fully intend to spend more time actually looking
for birds in the next few weeks, but then again it's probably more exciting when
you are surprised by their prescience instead of expecting it.
Julie McLaren
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