#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!!!