Mallee Birding with Ethan_04

Our last day was essentially driving back to Melbourne via some good birding spots. First we checked out the railway line again [still 1/3] then off to Lake Tyrell and its Asian tourists. Rufous Fieldwren was seen from the car, a flock of a dozen Orange Chats flew past and we saw 5 Blue-winged Parrots on a fence line. Breakfast in Sea Lake then further east to Goschen where Pied Honeyeaters had been seen reliably over the previous few days. Goschen is a great place. Black Honeyeaters, a mixed flock of over >100 White-browed and Masked Woodswallows hawking overhead then landing in a flowering etc to gorge on nectar, Hooded robins ... but no Pied HE. It was still pretty windy; we moved on, visited Lake Tutchewop [1,400 Grey Teal and a few Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers], had a look in at the Ibis Rookery at Middle Lake [1,400 Straw-necked Ibis and some Grey-crowned Babblers] and our final destination in the Inglewood Nature Conservation Reserve. A Shy Heathwren wasn't, a Little Eagle was seen, yet another Pallid Cuckoo and a smattering of thornbill species.

The total number of species for the trip exceeded 160. Ethan saw 17 of the potential 23 parrot species, Andrew saw almost everything he wanted to except a Crested Bellbird and I had a great time.

I can't speak too highly about our guide Simon Starr. He knows his birds and localities and geography just oh so well. We had a great time.

Pallid Cuckoo Cocomantis pallidus

Rufous Fieldwren Calamanthus campestris

Striated Pardalote Pardalotus striatus

White-backed Swallow Cheramoeca leucosterna

White-browed Woodswallow Artamus superciliosus

Broome 2017 _ Wave The Waders Goodbye _ Day 06

Day 06

This was the last day of the course. Our excursion today was to visit the sites and sights around Broome itself. Birds seen included Red-headed Honeyeater, Little Curlew, Striated Pardalote at the Water Treatment Plant but no Semi-palmated Plover, Ruddy Turnstones and Pacific Golden Plovers within sight of nesting Ospreys on the docks and the obligatory Tawny Frogmouth in a tree in the Woolworth’s car park. It was in the same tree as in November last year at Ashmore Reef Pelagic time.

Eastern Osprey  Pandion cristatus

Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres

Striated Pardalote Pardalotus striatus substriatus

Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides

Back at base it was Wader Watch time. I went down to the cliff top a bit earlier. Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstones, Marsh Sandpiper featured for me. The others arrived and we concentrated on watching waders looking to see if they were lining up on the mud, listening to the calls. Sometimes there would be false take offs where birds would lift off, sometimes quite high [5-700 metres] and in good numbers [50-100] and you would reckon, “That’s it. They’re off”, but, no, suddenly they would all come back down. It was as if no one individual bird felt competent or ready enough to lead off heading north with the setting sun on its left shoulder. Another day done.

Here are views of the bay at low tide. The guys in the boat just had to wait for the incoming tide. It was a ten metre difference between low and high tide!

The birds are well spread out at low tide. Just a few Eastern Curlew in view. These would have been 500 metres away.

We wondered if an Eurasian Curlew may have been present. At these distances, the only distinguishing mark would be  a clean white rump for the Eurasian so plenty of flight shots were taken. No Eurasian Curlew detected.

Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis

But some birds do come closer.

Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis

These need to be differentiated from Common Greenshank. The Marsh is quite a bit smaller and has a white rump and wedge up the back (see image 3). Q. What are the two birds at the back?

Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus

Broome Roadtrip 13 _ Gluepot

Gluepot, 50km north of Waikerie towards the Victorian border from Adelaide, is one of Australia's birding Meccas. A fair degree of self sufficiency is required whilst camping there (bring everything!) which means the experience is carefully planned and much appreciated, even more so when you see a heap of birds. There are several bird hides with water points, usually within a few metres of a carpark so the job is relatively easy. If you don't need the birds to come to you there are plenty of walking tracks of various lengths getting you in to some of the specialist environments. Scarlet-chested Parrot, Black-eared Miner, Red-lored Whistler and Chestnut Quail-thrush are key species.

Bird images are in alphabetic order by "surname".

Bronzewing, Common Phaps chalcoptera

Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae

Honeyeater, Spiny-cheeked Acanthagenys rufogularis

Honeyeater, White-faced Plectorhyncha lanceolata

Honeyeater, White-eared Nesoptilotis leucotis

Honeyeater, Yellow-plumed Ptilotula ornata

Pardalote, Striped Pardalotus striatus

Parrot, Mulga Psephotus varius

Ringneck, Australian (Mallee) Barnardius zonarius barnardi

Thornbill, Chestnut-rumped Acanthiza uropygialis

Treecreeper, Brown Climacteris picumnus

Weebill Smicrornis brevirostris

Woodswallow, Masked Artamus personatus

Magic. f4.5 and be there.!