Hi all
Spent Friday night at Sandy Creek (S 11o43.59, E 133o15.02) at Aurari Bay on
the way to Gurig NP (Cobourg Peninsula). The creek is totally lined with
Mangroves and then opens up to beautiful beaches and coastline. On the way
there we almost ran over a Crocodile at Cahill's Crossing on the East Alligator
River - it was about 75cm deep when we went through on Friday afternoon and
flowing out.
Birds seen were:
Black Butcherbird, Yellow White-eye, low numbers of Red-headed Honeyeaters,
Grey Whistler, Brahminy, Whistling and Black Kites, Osprey and White-bellied
Sea-eagle, Large-tailed Nightjars, White-faced Heron, Striated Heron, Little
Egret, Black-naped Tern, Crested Tern, Common Noddy, Lesser Frigatebird, Common
Sandpipers, Whimberel, Black-necked Stork, Brolga (Flying overhead), Radjah
Shelduck, Peaceful and Bar-shouldered Doves, White-breasted Woodswallows,
Pheasant Coucal, Blue-winged Kookaburra, Azure Kingsfisher, Black-tailed
Treecreeper, Grey-crowned Babbler, White-thoated Honeyeater, White-bellied and
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Little Friarbird, Silver-crowned Friarbird, Northern
Fantail, Yellow Oriole, Magpie Lark, Great Bowerbird, Very large flock of
Rainbow Bee-eaters (estimated to be about 150 all together - I've seen large
flocks of up to about 20 birds before but not this many), lots of Varied
Lorikeets and smaller flocks of Rainbow Lorikeets, Red-winged Parrot.
We also noticed Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos flying well out over the ocean
heading towards Goulburn Island (Warruwi) - they must have had some idea where
they were going because over about 20 minutes small flocks of 2 to 5 birds kept
on coming and heading in the same direction.
Surprisingly no flycatchers or gerygones. Certainly with a bit more time a few
more mangrove birds might present themselves (Mangrove, Large-billed,
Green-backed Gerygones, Whistlers, Fantails and flycatchers). There was also a
nice bit of littoral vine thicket adjacent to the mangroves and the beach that
might be good for Rainbow Pitta too.
Quite a few crocs live in the creek and we also spotted a small group (about 5)
Australian Snubfin Dolphins, including a smaller young one with its mother,
about 100m from the creek mouth.
To top it off we had a Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon fly in front of the car
near the Jabuluka Mine track (about 2ks North of the Jarr Jarr turnoff between
Ubirr and Jabiru) on the way home yesterday morning.
Cheers
Marc
Jabiru NT.
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