An incredible day; we saw and positively identified nearly 90 species of birds thanks to our guide Del! Commentary and more photos to come from our fellow birdwatchers Harold Bob and his wife, Joan, fellow Jewish Obama supporters from Baltimore.
Peaceful Dove
A Bush Stone Curlew (protecting her young under her wing)
A mud-flat right in town where we saw: Eastern Curlew, Silver Gulls, White-breasted wood swallows, Gull-billed terns, Jacana, Reef Egret, a Beach Stone (Thick Knee) Curlew (according to Del, quite a rare sighting) and others. And, in the parking lot: Peaceful Doves, Bar-tailed Doves, Wimbrel, Welcome Swallows, and Pied Imperial Pigeon, and others.
We drove by endless fields of sugarcane and headed up the mountains into our next ecosystem
Intrepid birdwatchers trying to "whistle down" small, hard-to-identify birds. We had mixed success at this.
Stalking honey-eaters in an abandoned private orchard
Lunch at a local eatery in the bush
Where we were joined by a group of begging Apostle Birds, so named because they always travel in groups of 12 or so.
Del and Peter discussing politics while Harold checks off new birds for his "life list."
Another little beggar--- a magpie lark
Bluefaced Honeyeaters
Galahs
Pale-headed Roselle
Bower for Bower Bird mating
The first of millions of termite hills we were to see on our travels
A great sighting of a female Australian bustard (hiding on the grass from nearby raptors (Collared Sparrow Hawk and Wedge-tailed Eagle).
The raptors go away and the Bustard emerges, a tall "state;y" bird.
1 comment:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY T!! WE MISS YOU! Thank you for blogging . . . I get to vacation vicariously through you!
Love, Shell
Post a Comment