NT Road Trip 2015: Part 05 Whistling Kite v Magpie

Day 06 Morning -- Eringa Waterhole

I think Whistling Kites look a bit disorganised with their ruffled hair and mildly unkempt/frazzled appearance. They are a very common resident across Australia and we saw plenty on the trip, especially around water.

Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus

This is in contrast to the also very common resident across northern Australia, the Black Kite, who looks a lot snappier.

Black Kite Milvus migrans

A Whistling Kite decided to investigate the area and landed in a tree to check out the place/potential meals, doubtless at its usual watch station. A Magpie decided that it did not want the aforementioned predator in the vicinity and so made a vigorous attempt to discourage the kite's presence with a dramatic near-miss, but not too close, "swoosh"-past accompanied by appropriate vocalisation. This action was hard to miss by anyone with working hearing. On this occasion, just one pass was enough to move the kite along.

"Let's have a look around for breakfast"

"Incoming" Australian Magpie Cracticus tibicen

"Keep your eye on the birdie"

"I'll look elsewhere. It will be quieter"

Magic! t1250 and be there.

NT Road Trip 2015: Part 04 Eringa Waterhole

Day 05 overnight -- Eringa Waterhole

On this trip, I slept in a swag. It was excellent, snug and cosy in my sleeping bag, perhaps a tad too enclosed. I certainly couldn't sit up in it, couldn't raise my head more than 10 cm without opening the cover. It had a fly cover and a canvas cover over that; all with zips to make the thing impenetrable if necessary. I mostly slept with the canvas half down thus the lightening sky always woke me well before dawn. Which meant I was up and ready to bird at sunrise.

Eringa Waterhole was lovely. The light was superb [as it was every morning of the trip; a legacy of no clouds nor light nor pollution] for both birding and photos. Each morning was usually dead calm hence it was easy to spot a bird moving in the top of a tree.

A life tick was the Red-breasted Grey-crowned Babbler [yes, there is such a bird] spotted in the gums on the side of the waterhole.

Grey-crowned Babbler Pomatostomus temporals rubeculus

Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca

Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis

Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus

More on Whistling Kites in the next post.

Magic. t1250 and be there.

NT Road Trip 2015: Part 03 Tyres and Eringa Waterhole

Day 05 -- Coward Springs to Eringa Waterhole

Don't worry about Day 04. We spent it at Coward Springs, birdwatching, walking, spa-ing, checking out the few buildings, relaxing, sleeping, eating ... you know what I mean.

The next day we headed north, still on the Oodnadatta Track, stopping at William Creek and, of course, Oodnadatta [$1.79/L]. Bought a coffee and a pink Oodnadatta Roadhouse baseball cap from the German [or could have been French/Swedish/Pommy -- all the roadhouses and stations have backpacker-type employees and they all blur after a bit]. We topped up the fuel and pushed on. Whilst on the track, we assisted a station manager's wife who had a flat in her new Cooper tyre. After replacing it, we placed the flat in the back of the ute with the other flat new Cooper tyre!! She showed us where the tyre wall at the base of a lug had just cracked! The station hands use [almost] no-name El Cheapo tyres and have no problems.  I'm pretty happy with my Goodrich ATs. We ran our tyres on the gravel at 24 psi at the front and 26 psi at the back. Everyone runs tyres at low pressure. I met a lad in Yuendumu who runs his at 10 psi on the Tanami Road. Claimed his car "floats" across the corrugations. The Oodnadatta Track, though, was in excellent condition.

Travellers congregate outside the Oodnadatta Roadhouse

The vehicle to the far left was interesting. A closer image is below. I got a bit excited as Alberton is a small village south of Yarram in far eastern Victoria quite near home. Here was a vehicle from there. Wonders will never cease. However ...

... there is another Alberton, in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. This truck hadn't travelled far at all!

At Oodnadatta, we turned north [the Track itself makes it's way out to the Stuart Highway at Marla] to Hamilton Station and further on to Eringa Waterhole. This is a permanent waterbody on Lindsay Creek. It is about eight hundred metres long and up to 100 metres wide. It was an excellent place to camp with just one other camper. The sunset and stars were magnificent and the sunrise superb.

The galahs coming in for an evening drink were spectacular with their aerial displays in the light of a setting sun.

Galah Eolophus roseicapillus

More on Eringa tomorrow.