Am currently
on my annual 2 week Top End birding trip and enjoyed visiting some excellent
spots in Darwin before travelling to Katherine.
A walk along
the Katherine River produced some nice birds making the most of sprinklers in
the hot afternoon.
I met up
with Phil and Trish who were leading a group across the Top End. They were
passing through Katherine with their guests and I joined them for the last few
days of their tour to Kununurra. It was much more economical to do it this way
and with Phil’s knowledge of the area the chances of finding my target species
greatly increased.
We enjoyed
great views of Purple-crowned Fairy-wren at Victoria River feeding in the grass
along with large flocks of Pictorella Mannikin.
Feral Scrub Bull
Freshwater Croc
Pictorella Mannikin
Masked, Double-barred, Crimson and Gouldian
Finches were enjoyed in numerous locations and Australian Bustards were in high numbers.
Bustard flying down Victoria River at sunrise
This Bustard was busted crossing the road!
Gouldian Finch
At Timber
Creek we came across a large flock of Yellow-rumped Mannikin on the Victoria
River feeding in the cane grass. Gouldian Finches were in good numbers and we
watched them drinking from a small water hole while we ate our lunch.
Carving by Augustus Gregory 1853 - Australian Explorer
Feral Brumby
Timber Creek
Buff-sided Robin
Yellow-rumped Mannikin
Black-chinned
(golden-backed form), yellow-tinted, rufous-throated, grey-fronted and banded
honeyeaters were showing well.
Black-chinned Honeyeater
We journeyed
across the border to Kununurra before taking a cruise on Lake Argyle where we
enjoyed amazing views of Yellow Chat, White-quilled Rock-pigeon and Sandstone
Shrike-thrush along with the gorgeous Short-eared rock wallaby.
White-quilled Rock-pigeon
A drive out to Wyndham and Parry's Lagoon provided great views of Red-chested Button-quail and Letter-winged Kite! A surprising find for this area! Also flushed a pair of Flock Bronzewing.
3 metre croc swam past the bird hide!
We took a flight
to Mitchell Plateau followed by a short helicopter trip to the campground to
commence a hike to find the Black Grasswren. This was my main target bird for
this trip along with it being my most wanted Australian bird. My pre-birding
anxiety was at an all time high and I hardly slept the night before. Amazingly
it took less than an hour to find a group of 7 birds and they showed very well!
Woo Hoo, to say I was stoked would be an understatement. I feel like I have
achieved my aim in life now. They were even more incredible in real life than
any picture can portray.
Me just after seeing Black Grasswren - exhausted and deliriously happy!
While
watching these stunning little balls of personality a Kimberley Honeyeater flew
over head and the Kimberley form of Varigated Fairy-wren came in for a look. The
female looks amazing with her pink bill.
Kimberley Honeyeater
By this time
the heat had taken its toll and I was feeling very unwell. While resting at the
campground a family of Partridge Pigeons – Kimberley form with yellow eye
wandered past feeding.
Anyone
planning this trip take note – it is HOT and HUMID. Drink plenty of water!! In
the 6 hrs I was there I drank just over 2 litres which was nowhere near enough.
My companions drank 3-4 litres. Ensure
you drink heaps! A huge thank you to my companions for taking such good care of
me!
Even feeling
so unwell it was definitely worth every minute to see such an amazingly
beautiful bird. Nothing can top that! Thank you Phil & Trisha for a great few days!!
