Day 04
Birding at dawn anywhere is usually pretty good, especially on a calm morning. The BBO has a couple of paths through the bush to take. This morning I came across a small flock of Red-winged Parrots.
Red-winged Parrot Aprosmictus erythropterus
Male first image, female in other two.
The trip for today was out onto the flooded Roebuck Plains. Flooded enough that we didn't leave the safety of the tarmac of the Northern Highway.
Black-winged Stilt (White-headed Stilt) Himanoptus leucocephalus
Plumed Whistling-duck Dendrocygna eytoni
And one lone Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata on the left.
White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus Coming into breeding plumage
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus
Secondaries not bulging beyond trailing edge of wing. Plenty of tail behind feet. Tail rounded as the outer retrices on BG are shorter as they go out from the midline. Juvenile bird.
Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis
This, and the following two birds, were seen at the Roebuck Bay Roadhouse.
Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis
Australian Magpie (Black-backed) Cracticus tibicen eylandtensis
This subspecies of magpie has white trousers and is found on Groote Eylandt in the NT and the Kimberley area.
Roebuck Bay
The view from the observation station [chairs on the cliff top!] towards dusk. The colours are just stunning. There is no way that any of my images do it any sort of justice. The first image is off to the left of our position looking directly down the light whereas the second is looking across the light to the southern end of the bay.
The reason that so many waders are here is the amount of food it produces aided by a variance of up to 10 metres between high and low tide. It is shellfish heaven -- both for birds and humans. These lads were crabbing.
Here are some images of the main reason we were there. Watching and recording the species and numbers of birds heading off northward on their migration.
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica
Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis
