I have just spent a very pleasant time on Groote Eylandt. Unfortunately bird
watching time was limited by work and local issues but the place is a real
gem with great potential and apart from the directly mined areas it is
relatively untouched and well cared for by the Anindilyakwa Land Council and
people. The small count we got (43) should not be seen as a reflection of
the place but the constraints we were under. Those we saw were easy with
Great Bowerbirds wandering the coffee shop and a lot of the water fowl
conveniently parking off on the Angurugu sewage ponds. The land council
joint ventures the brand new Dugong Resort (I think the only accommodation
on the island) which looks very commodious and well designed for the
landscape. The book "Birds of Groote Eylandt" (Noske and Brennan, Charles
Darwin uni) is a must take as it provides great background to habitat and
the birds though some of the "rare or uncommon" (e.g. Hardheads, Pied Heron
) have either become a bit more common or we need to mine a little more of
the indigenous knowledge (e.g. Red-tailed Black Cockies).
This would be a great location for a Lord Howe style "Bird Week" around the
East Asian Flyway return time (August/Sept) with some atlas work thrown in.
Ciao
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