Broome Roadtrip 10 _ Albany

Albany is a nice town with excellent facilities and lots of different habitats within a short distance of the town. The main function of Lake Seppings appears to be to water the golf course but there is a heap of birds present and an excellent walking/bike riding track around the perimeter which goes through various habitats. The birding was just great.

Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca

Blue-billed Duck Oxyura australis

Musk Duck Biziura lobata

Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa

New Holland Honeyeater  Phylidonyris novaehollandiae

Red-eared Firetail Stagonopleura oculata

Red-winged Fairy-wren Malurus elegans

Splendid Fairy-wren Malurussplendens

Varied Sitella "Black-capped Sitella"
Daphoenositta chrysoptera pileata

White-browed Scrubwren "Spotted Scrubwren"
Sericornis frontalis maculatus -- note the spots on the chest!

Welcome Swallow  Hirundo neoxena

Broome Roadtrip 09

One of the very special birds of the Stirling Range is Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo. They weren't hard to find. They flew past the Retreat each evening and I found the ones below in a bunch of trees on the corner of Chester Pass Road and Formby South Road just a few kilometres south of the Stirling Range Retreat.

Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus latirostris

Purple-crowned Lorikeet

Restless Flycatcher Myiagra inquieta

Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus entering nest hole

Broome Roadtrip 08

It wasn't all parrots at SRR. There were plenty of other birds too. And all of these in the views of the Stirling Ranges just a few kilometres away to the south. Highly recommended spot.

A selection of grass trees, both far and near.

Then there were the birds ....

Finally, a relatively decent pic of a Purple-crowned Lorikeet Glossopsitta porphyrocephala

Not sure what this is. Same bird as immediately below.

Crested Shrike-tit Falcunculus frontages leucogaster. Now a full species

Gilbert's Honeyeater Melithreptus whitlocki Has recently been split from White-naped HE

White-winged Triller Lalage suerii 

Dusky Woodswallow Artamus cyanopterus

Galah Eolophus roseicapillus assimilis The western race

Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa preissi The western race

And finally, some nice pics of the Western Spinebill Acanthorynchus superciliosus.

Broome Roadtrip 07

Stirling Range Retreat is an excellent place to stay. Unpowered campsites through to mud-brick, self-contained cottages, all set in acres of bush within sight of the Stirling Ranges. Birds are not the only attraction in the vicinity. The flora is special too -- wildflowers and orchids are a speciality. I confined myself to the birds, getting up before dawn and walking the tracks of the Retreat. I had a few target birds. Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo, Red-capped Parrot, Elegant Parrot.

I was there in late November towards the end of the grain harvest. This means grain trucks [semis and B-doubles] and thus plenty of grain lying on roadsides. My first morning walk took me out onto the main road at about 06hr30. Just a few parroty birds further down the road so I did a bit of stalking and, to my delight, found RCP, EP, Regent Parrots and Ringnecks all together. I tried very hard to get all four species in one photo but three was the limit. Tick. Tick.

Australian Ringneck, Regent Parrot, Regent Parrot, Red-capped Parrot, Ringneck, Red-capped Parrot.

Red-capped Parrots Purpureicephalus spurius, male

Red-capped Parrot Purpureicephalus spurius, male

Red-capped Parrot Purpureicephalus spurius, female/juvenile?

Regent Parrots Polytelis anthopeplus, female L, male R 

Regent Parrots Polytelis anthopeplus, female front, male back

Regent Parrot Polytelis anthopeplus, male

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans, female

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans, female

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans, male

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans, female

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans, female

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans, female

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans, female

Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans, female