Broome Roadtrip 11

Another visit whilst in Albany took me to the mudflats of Rushy Point at Little Grove across Princes Royal Harbour from Albany CBD. As it was low tide, I walked out a few hundred metres onto the mud to see what was about. Suddenly all the birds were up and swiftly disappeared. This usually means a raptor is about so I scanned the horizons and saw nothing. "A bit strange"' I thought. Scanned again. Nothing. Then about 60 seconds later a Peregrine Falcon came sailing past me about 20 metres away and 10 metres into the air. Wow. Just two pictures taken and only one decent image.

Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus

Next day I was off again heading eastwards and home but first stop was Two Peoples Bay and Cheynes Beach. Not much going on in the faunal world at TPB but the plants were going well.

Banded Lapwing, juvenile Vanellus tricolour

New Holland Honeyeater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae

Purple-crowned Lorikeet Glossopsitta porphyrocephala

Further east along the coast just a short way is the skulking hotspot of the universe, Cheynes Beach. Home to the Noisy Scrub-bird (neither note nor pixel), the Western Bristlebird (seen fleetingly and well heard) and the Western Whipbird (seen at Stirling Ranges but not here). The best I could do was Sooty Oystercatcher.

Sooty Oystercatcher Haematapus fuliginosus

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 06

After the Baudins came lunchtime in Narrogin. I had a good look at some Western Magpies, the race dorsalis of our Australian Magpie, Cracticus tibicen. The Victorian race, tyrannica, is the White-Backed Magpie.

Black-backed Magpie, Cracticus tibicen dorsalis.
 Youngster on left, dad on right 

This is mum.
Black back feathers, edged in white, forming a contrasting scalloped pattern.
[Pizzey & Knight]

Close up of same.

Then it was on to the Dryandra Woodlands where I camped for a night.

Rufous Treecreeper Climacteris rufus

Spotted Scrubwren, Sericornis frontalis maculatus
The western race of the White-browed Scrubwren.

Western Gerygone Gerygone fusca

Western Spinebill Acanthorhynchus superciliosus

Brown-headed Honeyeater

Grey Currawong Strepera versicolor plumbea

Inland Thornbill Acanthiza apicalis

I had been wanting to tick the Purple-crowned Lorikeet for a long while now and Dryandra gave me the opportunity to do so. They are not the slowest flyers around so to get some on the ground was providential.

Next stop -- Stirling Range.