#302 Leaden Flyctahcer at Woodlands Historic Park, November 1

The first Tuesday in November is Melbourne Cup Day, a public holiday. I'm not at all a fan of horse racing, but I'm most certainly a fan of public holidays!!! Of course, being a teacher, any spare time at this time of the year is usually spent writing reports, which is what I planned to do today... after some recreation time, of course. I headed to Woodlands because it is close to home, not expecting to find much. But I was very pleased to find a female flycatcher, which in the field I thought was a Satin Flycatcher. I has since been identified as a Leaden Flycatcher by the good people at the bird ID Facebook page. Now, instead of writing reports, I'm writing this page. Oh, sweet procrastination...

#302 Leaden Flycatcher

#299 to #301 around Beindigo, Victoria, October 9

I DID IT!!! 300 SPECIES OF BIRDS PHOTOGRAPHED IN 2016!!!!

I go back to work tomorrow (Monday) for the madness of Term four of the school year (I'm a teacher). This means no spare time. Instead, I'll be writing reports. So I was hoping to reach my goal today... and I did! Yay!

I considered a range of locations for today, but ended up choosing Kamarooka in Bendigo because I felt I had a better chance of finding something new for the year there. But when I arrived, I found that most of the birds were hiding from the wind. I struggled to find anything until a family of Variegated Fairywren popped up and I snapped photo #299 for the year.

I pushed on towards the distillery dam where I always find a lot of birds. There were very few around today. Bugger. I moved on again to find the roads impassable in my little two-wheel-drive. Bugger. I moved back to the main road, and that's when I could hardly believe my eyes. A Square-tailed Kite was soaring right next to the car. I piled on the brakes and leapt out of the car. I fired off at least 100 photos before I realised that the settings were all wrong!!! I quickly adjusted, but the bird had moved too far away. Luckily a few adjustments to the photos on the computer recovered the photos somewhat. I was overjoyed to have this incredible species as #300 for the year, especially since seeing one and not being able to stop in time for a photo exactly a week ago when we were at Litchfiled National Park in the Northern Territory. Woo hoo!!!

I continued looking around Kamarooka wherever the roads weren't too bad, hoing to photograph a White-fronted or Purple-gaped Honeyeater, but couldn't find any. The wind was pretty ferocious and it was time to start going home.

While passing through Bendigo, I heard the familliar call of some Musk Lorikeet, a very common species that has eluded my camera all year long. I stopped, got a photo within 30 seconds, and then continued driving home. Species #301!

I might get a few more photos for the year, who knows, but I'll be taking it pretty easy from here. No more big drives until 2017 (unless something mega-rare turns up, of course).

#299 Variegated Fairywren

#300 Square-tailed Kite

#301 Musk Lorikeet

#298 Silvereye at The Jawbone, Williamstown, Victoria, October 6

Silvereye are extremely common, and I usually get a reasonable photo of one a few times each year. But this year I've struggled to get any sort of photo. Today I went to a place that I have seen Silvereye quite a few times and tried to track them down by call. I eventually found a small flock, and then began the difficult task of finding one that would come out into the open and stay still for more than a nanosecond. A few did and I ticked off species photograph #298 for 2016. I did feel a bit silly going somewhere and targeting such a common bird...! Two more photos to go...

#298 Silvereye

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31912572

#297 Fairy Martin at the Western Treatment Plant, Victoria, October 5

I came back from Darwin falling just 4 species short of my 300 species goal for 2016. I decided to go and find some 'easy' local species that I had neglected to photograph so far. The weather was terrible, about 12 degrees and extremely overcast. I was hopeful of finding some Fairy Martin perched on the fences at the treatment plant like they usually are. There were none perched. All were in flight. So I attempted the only stupid and ridiculous thing that I could do - I tried to get in in-flight shot of a Fairy Martin in overcast low-light conditions. Out of about 300 photos taken I actually got a few that would be passable. Yay!

#297 Fairy Martin

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31912540

#286 to #296 around Darwin, Northern Territory, October 3

We spent the morning of our last day in Darwin driving to a few birding locations. First of all, we had a look around the botanic gardens for the Rufous Owl, but once again could not find it. Then we went to East Point to have a look for waders. I absolutely love waders, and fortunately for me, there were quite a few at East Point. I managed to pick out some nice ones too!

#286 Terek Sandpiper

#287 Lesser Sand Plover

#288 Striated Heron

#289 Forest Kingfisher

#290 Northern Fantail

Then we went to the East Point Mangrove Boardwalk. There wasn’t a lot around, but I did get a good look at (and bad photos of) two Torresian Kingfisher.

#291 Torresian Kingfisher

 eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31863245  

We only had a short time at this location because I wanted to be at Buffalo Creek early enough to have a chance of finding a Chestnut Rail, which of course, I couldn’t find. But I gave it a good go. I also had great view of a Black Butcherbird, but getting a photo was extremely difficult!

#292 Black Butcherbird

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31866220

I eventually gave up on the Chestnut Rail so that we could explore Lee Point (we were running out of time) where I got onto some very nice waders.

#293 Yellow Oriole

#294 Grey-tailed Tattler

#295 Grey Plover

#296 Greater Sand Plover

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31866960

And that was the end of our Darwin holiday. We went back to the hotel to collect our luggage, ate some lunch, and headed to the airport to fly home to Melbourne. I saw 110 species including 41 lifers (42 including Red-collared Lorikeet that eBird considers a sub-species of Rainbow Lorikeet, 43 including Masked Lapwing that has been split from our southern version). That’s a lot in just 4 days!

#277 to #285 around Darwin and Litchfiled National Park, Northern Territory, October 2

For our third day in Darwin we had planned to hire a car and drive to Litchfiled National Park. Not a well known birding location, but an incredibly beautiful place to explore.

We couldn’t get the car until 8:00am, so that meant that I could finally explore the park opposite our hotel (where we had been upgraded the most amazing room thanks to my wife’s industry contacts). I knew that there was a Barking Owl roost about 100 metres from our hotel, so that’s where I headed. Along the way I found quite a lot to photograph as well! We found the Barking Owls quite easily, as they were making quite a bit of noise!

#277 Double-barred Finch

#278 Torresian Imperial-pigeon

#279 Little Friarbird

#280 Orange-footed Scrubfowl

#281 Bar-shouldered Dove

#282 Barking Owl

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31842789

Then we picked up the car and headed to Litchfield. We had a wonderful day exploring the beauty of Litchfield, but as expected I didn’t find many birds. We did see quite a few raptors on the way and my wife was beginning to see the difference between the common Black and Whistling Kites, mostly due to the forked tail of the Black Kite. I mentioned that if we see anything with big, long wings and a square-shaped tail that we would need to pull over immediately. Then, on the way to Wangi Falls, we saw one. I started yelling, “Square-tailed Kite! Square-tailed Kite!” as the bird soared right next to the car. My wife was driving, and she stopped as soon as she could – there was a car right behind us, and there was nowhere to safely pull over. We found a spot a few hundred metres up to the road to do a U-turn, and went back for a look, but could not find it again. It was equally thrilled to see such a wonderful species and disappointed that I could not get a photo.

At Wangi Falls I found more birds than the rest of the park. I was hoping for a Black-tailed Treecreeper, but none were seen or heard. Then we headed back to Darwin, and somewhere along the way I saw a Dollarbird perched on the power lines, so we pulled over and got a photo!

#283 Great Bowerbird

#284 Red-tailed Black-cockatoo

#285 Dollarbird

 eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31849251

#259 to #276 around Darwin, Northern Territory, October 1

For day two of our Darwin holiday, we had booked a birding tour with Experience the Wild. Chris, our guide, picked us up at 7:00am from our hotel, and we made our way to the first stop of the day, the George Brown Botanic Gardens. The target was Rufous Owl. We didn’t find one! I did manage quite a few lifers here, mostly of the more common Darwin residents (Green Oriole, Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Torresian Imperial-pigeon, Radjah Shelduck, Spangled Drongo, Helmeted Friarbird (very dodgy photos only), Little Bronze-cuckoo (no photo), and Green-backed Gerygone).

#259 Radjah Shelduck

#260 Spangled Drongo

#261 Helmeted Friarbird

#262 Green-backed Gerygone

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31828788

Next, we headed to East Point where the life list continued to grow – Rufous-banded Honeyeater, Black Butcherbird, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, Grey Whistler (only terrible photos), Eastern Reef Egret, and a bird that I have always wanted to see, Terek Sandpiper!! I got some better photos of the waders a few days later, so I’ll use those photos for this blog later.

#263 Lemon-bellied Flycatcher

#264 Bush Stone-curlew

#265 Rose-crowned Fruit-dove

#266 Red-collared Lorikeet

#267 Rufous-banded Honeyeater

#268 Eastern Reef Egret

 eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31830362

After a good look around East Point, we made our way to Knuckey’s  Lagoons where the tour owner, Mike, had a spotting scope set up and some exciting news. He had just seen an Eastern Yellow Wagtail. I was super keen to add this one to my life list! Unfortunately, the bird could not be located again. We did a very, very thorough search but it was all to no avail. I did, however, pick up another lifer as there were a few Silver-crowned Friarbird making a huge noise as they sped through the tree tops.

#269 Silver-crowned Friarbird

#270 Cattle Egret

 eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31831017

The next location was a place that I had wanted to visit for a long, long time. Fogg Dam, a place that during a good year can be a birder’s paradise! Our tour guide did warn us that it was not a good year for Fogg Dam since the last wet season was pretty much non-existent. But I still loved it. Sure, there weren’t as many birds as expected, but it was still fantastic. I picked up some more lifers with Crimson Finch and Long-tailed Finch.

#271 Paperbark Flycatcher

#272 Crimson Finch

#273 Long-tailed Finch

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31832478

The next stop was at a place called Window on the Wetlands where saw huge numbers of water birds. The guide said that this is what Fogg Dam is usually like, only better and with closer views. I can only image what that would be like! This was the only location throughout the day that I didn’t get a lifer! I did get some nice photos though…

#274 Varied Triller

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31832612

 

The final stop for the day was at Howard Springs Nature Reserve, the best place to find Rainbow Pitta, and our last chance to see this beautiful little Top-end endemic. The mosquitoes here were ravenous, with insect repellent making no difference. We found a pair of Little Shrike-thrush (lifer), and with persistence, we saw two beautiful Rainbow Pitta, another lifer.

#275 Little Shrike-thrush

#276 Rainbow Pitta

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31832979

On the way back to the hotel, I spotted A Collared Kingfisher sitting on some power lines above the mangroves near Darwin Harbour, my last lifer for the day, racking up a total of 20 new species. It was a great day!!!

 

#249 to #258 around Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, September 30

At the start of the year when I told my wife that I was going to try and get 300 bird photos in 2016, I half-heartedly suggested that to do it we would need to visit Darwin. Amazingly, she was ultra-keen to go to Darwin as well, and a few months later it became a certainty as we booked flights and a hotel for a 4 day holiday. My wife’s parents graciously offered to stay at our house and look after our children which meant that this was our first holiday as a couple for many years. Then the countdown began…

We arrived in Darwin a bit after midnight on the 30^th of September, collected out luggage, and got a taxi to our hotel room. After checking in and settling, we finally got to bed at 1:30am. It took me the usual hour and a half to get to sleep. The alarm woke us up (well, I don’t think I got any ‘real’ sleep) at 5:00am so that we could get ready for our tour to Kakadu on a big tour bus. Two hours of attempted sleep would have to be enough! It wasn’t a birding tour by any means, but I was hoping to see plenty of birds anyway! We made our way to the pick-up location just outside of our hotel by 6:00am and were greeted by hordes of Red-collared Lorikeets flying around in the pre-dawn light. Lifer number one!

After only a short wait, the bus turned up, we got on, and began the long drive to Kakadu. Along the way I spotted many, many birds, but could only identify a few as it was still a bit dark. There were many raptors around, most of them Black Kites (I saw at least 50) and Whistling Kites.

Our first stop was the Warradjan Cultural Centre, which was only a quick stop for people to go to the toilet and buy souvenirs from the shop. In other words, a quick look around in the area for birds! There were plenty to be found, and I racked up five lifers in about five minutes (Red-tailed Black-cockatoo, Shining Flycatcher, White-throated Honeyeater, White-gaped Honeyeater, and Northern Fantail). I’m also 99.99% sure that I saw a Bar-breasted Honeyeater, but that .01% of doubt comes from no photo and only a brief view. Bugger! I managed to get photos of quite a few species in a short time, but I got some better photos of some species later on and chose to use them for later posts...

#249 Shining Flycatcher

#250 White-throated Honeyeater

#251 White-gaped Honeyeater

#252 Mistletoebird

Then we got to Yellow Water, for which I had very high expectations! And to be honest, it did not disappoint, even though the tour operators said it was the worst time for birding. There had been recent rain that had filled up the area, pushing the birds into the floods and out of the main areas. The heat was also against us. The thermometer on the bus was reading 41 degrees. It certainly felt like it as well. As a result, many birds were hiding in the shadows. On top of all of this, there had been a recent influx of honeyeaters that had just (in the past few days) dispersed as the trees had stopped flowering. But I loved it anyway. We had some great views of saltwater crocodiles, and I managed to get some ripper photos of them. I was able to photograph all of the birds that I expected to see on the cruise, except for the kingfishers, of which we saw none. On the cruise, I picked up four lifers (Green Pygmy-goose, Paperbark Flycatcher, Black-necked Stork, and Pied Heron) as well as a few photos for the year list. At the hotel next to the car park where we had lunch, I was lucky enough to find two more lifers (Great Bowerbird and Dusky Honeyeater). 

#253 Green Pygmy-goose

#254 Black-necked Stork

#255 Pied Heron

#256 Plumed Whistling-duck

#258 Intermediate Egret

#259 Dusky Honeyeater

Our final destination was Nourlangie Rock, the place that I was looking forward to the most. This location hosts a few of the top-end endemic species that I was hopefully optimistic of finding. This most certainly was not the case. It had gotten even hotter, and impossibly more humid. I was really feeling the heat. Dehydration had set in. I was preparing to disappoint myself by staying in the shade and not exploring the location. I searched deep within for some inner-strength and failed to find the courage to proceed. I got moving though when I saw that a group of old ladies from our tour bus walking off in front of me. I guess it was embarrassment that pushed me onwards! I made it up the short path and few steps to the rock art site. While everyone else was exploring the rock art, I heard a Sandstone Shrike-thrush calling, and was off to find it! The heat, dehydration and exhaustion were all temporarily gone as I followed that call. A lot of frustration followed as it was very difficult to find the source of the call, but eventually I got a few glimpses here and there. The photo that I longed for was simply too difficult to get. Then I heard a White-lined Honeyeater, but couldn’t get a visual at all, so according to my own birding rules, I couldn’t claim it as a lifer. Bugger! And then the heat got me again, so I walked back to where the bus was parked and sat in the shade, pouring the remains of one of my water bottles over me. I could still hear the Sandstone Shrike-thrush, but I had run out of energy. The bus left soon, and we started heading back. Out of the bus window I saw a Partridge Pigeon, a bird that I had really hoped to see, causing me to do my ‘lifer dance’. Yes!!!

We stopped off a few times at various places to let some more people off the bus at the accommodation within Kakadu, and then we all changed onto another bus before starting the long drive back to Darwin. On the way back I was quite happy to see a Blue-winged Kookaburra out of the bus window. Unfortunately I didn’t know where I was because there was absolutely no mobile phone coverage for the maps app to work! Luckily I saw a few more throughout the trip. All of them eluded my camera!

It was dark by the time we made it back to Darwin. On the way I witnessed the single most amazing sunset I have ever seen in my life! I also managed to drink four bottles of water without the need to pee. The headache started about an hour before we got back to the hotel. At least I wasn’t sunburnt!

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31819591

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31819608

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31819618