Invasion of South Australia 02

Day 05/06 Strzelecki Track

Target birds along the Strzelecki Track were the Thick-billed and Eyrean Grasswrens, Letter-winged Kite, Cinnamon Quail-thrush and Gibberbird. All bar the LWK were seen though not necessarily photographed. Grasswrens are FAST!

Here is a collection of presentable images of birds photographed in chronological order over two days.

Black-breasted Buzzard Hamirostra melanosternon

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Coracina novaehollandiae

Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus

Chirruping Wedgebill Psophodes cristatus

Cinnamon Quail-thrush Cinclosoma cinnamomeum

Galah Eolophus roseicapilla albiceps

Little Crow Corvus bennetti

Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides

Orange Chat Epthianura aurifrons

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Acanthagenys rufogularis

Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys

Zebra Finch Taeniopygia guttata

Banded Whiteface Acephalocephala nigricincta

 
Gibberbird Ashbyia lovensis

Peaceful Dove Geopelia placida

Pied Honeyeater Certhionix variegatus

Red-browed Pardalote  Pardalotus rubricatus

White-breasted Woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
White-plumed Honeyeater Ptilotula penicillata

Go South 15 -- Bowra, Cunnamulla

This last post from Bowra concerns itself with the banding exercise I participated in as a scribe. You need to have a licence to handle the birds but I was more than happy to just be part of setting up and taking down the nets and doing whatever was needed during the banding. It also meant that I was able to see [very] close up some birds I normally only get a glimpse of.

The banding routine was to set up the mist nets [perhaps 12-15 at each site x 2 or 3 sites each session] the previous afternoon, catch birds until dusk, furl the nets overnight, arise at 5.15am, be on-site at 6.15 at the latest, unfurl nets, catch and process until the capture rate became nil [anywhere between 9 and 10.30]. The welfare of the birds is top priority thus each set of nets was checked every 20 to 30 minutes, caught birds taken out, bagged individually then brought to a common table at each site for processing [lots of metrics taken: leg, wing, beak, head lengths, weight, moult] then photographed if not a White-plumed HE and released. The majority of birds of the 600 or so birds caught this year were White-plumed Honeyeaters. Last year they caught 2,000 Zebra and Double-barred finches plus a thousand others. This year? Zero Zebs and 4 DBs. Just goes to show the boom or bust cycle of life in the outback.

Bags with birds for processing

Three banders in full swing processing birds.

A typical scene. An interrupted breakfast.

First bird on the first morning was an Australian Owlet-nightjar!! Other notables I saw were Willie Wagtails, Brown and White-browed Treecreepers, Spotted Nightjar, Mulga and Bourkes Parrot, Halls Babbler, Spiny-cheeked and Brown-headed Honeyeaters, Grey Butcherbird, Peaceful Dove, Crested Bellbird, Red-capped and Hooded Robins and a Weebill. Did you know that a Weebill weighs only 6g? It was a special birding moment to be involved.

Australian Owlet-nightjar

Pied Butcherbird

Mulga Parrot

The Mulga Parrot has the reputation of being the feistiest bird in-hand and, indeed, drew blood several times from his handler.

Peaceful Dove

Inland Thornbill

Brown-headed Honeyeater

Crested Bellbird

Striped Honeyeater

Go South 14 -- Bowra, Cunnamulla

There were plenty of raptors to see each day. Brown Goshawk, Wedge-tailed Eagle and Peregrine Falcon were ones I failed to get a photo of.

Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus 

Little Eagle Hieraactus morphnoides

Collared Sparrowhawk
Acipiter cirrocephalus

Australian Hobby Falco longipennis

 Some of their potential prey could include ...

Peaceful Dove  Geopelia striata

Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes

Waite-Browed Woodswallow
Artamus superciliosus

female White-browed Woodswallows ??

Black-faced Woodswallow in a pickle
Artamus cinereus

Little Woodswallow
Artamus minor