November 24: Gavin Bieber on week two of his tour, Western Australia and Northern Territory
Our second week covered the tropics of the Top End around Darwin and the outpost town of Kununurra, back in Western Australia near the East end of the Kimberley Mountains. Such diverse habitats yielded an amazing array of birds and mammals. The humid and comparatively lush lands surrounding Darwin seemed stuffed with new birds at every turn. Waterbird concentrations were excellent, with hundreds of Magpie Geese and lots of Rajah Shelduck surrounding the remaining patches of water and waiting for the arrival of the rainy season.
Rajah Shelduck
Rainforest patches around Darwin hosted gorgeous and somewhat approachable Rainbow Pittas and lots of gleaming Forest Kingfishers, and in the Botanic Gardens we had a cooperative Barking Owl on a day roost.
Rainbow Pitta
Forest Kingfisher
Barking Owl
Kununurra has the feel of a real outback town, with isolated and very beautiful grottos, and almost comically swollen Baobab Trees dotting the savannahs. Out on the savannahs we found the remaining waterholes to be quite active, with wheeling flocks of Galah and Red-collared Lorikeets coming in to drink, and the occasional Blue-winged Kookaburra staring down from an isolated tree.
Galah
Rainbow Lorikeet
Blue-winged Kookaburra
We capped the trip off with a boat ride on Lake Argyle, where in addition to the hoped-for Yellow Chats we enjoyed excellent views of White-quilled Rock-Pigeons, and several Australian Bustards.
Australian Bustard
White-quilled Rock-Pigeon
Posted: November 24, 2019