• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Two Months of Lifers Down Under (1 Viewer)

To continue with our morning at the Back Dam, a female White-winged Triller arrived and a flock of Galahs.

Then the one that had Hans jumping up and down with excitment ummm.... well metaphorically that is LOL (of course all of us were delighted really) a Brown Goshawk and he settled not very far from us. A male Masked Woodswallow landed in the tree on the far side.

Nothing much happened after that, so we started on the journey back for lunch, stopping first at the top end of the Homestead Dam... we'd only sat there for a couple of minutes when an Emu arrived with some youngsters, spotted us and ushered them back out of site behind some bushes.

They came out again though and we got good views of them, they're pretty well grown this lot.
 

Attachments

  • BF White-winged Triller female thread.jpg
    BF White-winged Triller female thread.jpg
    196.5 KB · Views: 112
  • BF Galah thread.jpg
    BF Galah thread.jpg
    178.5 KB · Views: 105
  • BF Brown Goshawk thread.jpg
    BF Brown Goshawk thread.jpg
    320.5 KB · Views: 133
  • BF Masked Woodswallow thread.jpg
    BF Masked Woodswallow thread.jpg
    110.5 KB · Views: 113
  • BF Emu young thread.jpg
    BF Emu young thread.jpg
    318.4 KB · Views: 161
Thanks Chris, but it's not too difficult to get good pictures of such beautiful birds, especially when they play ball and show their crests so nicely.
 
Then, much to our surprise, another Emu appeared from behind us (rather glad I was in the car LOL) and went into the water only about 20 feet away!!

I'm not too sure what would have happened if the other Emus had still been on the other side! I don't know if this one knew they had been there, for he walked straight across the water and left in the same direction as the other party.

This left the field clear for a Pied Stilt to pass right in front of us; presumably the chick belonged to him? Also near us was a Black-fronted Dotterel.

A Jackie Winter was on a dead branch in the middle of the water.
 

Attachments

  • BF Emu thread.jpg
    BF Emu thread.jpg
    311.5 KB · Views: 120
  • BF Pied Stilt thread.jpg
    BF Pied Stilt thread.jpg
    274.3 KB · Views: 107
  • BF Pied Stilt chick thread.jpg
    BF Pied Stilt chick thread.jpg
    413.5 KB · Views: 115
  • BF Black-fronted Dotterel thread.jpg
    BF Black-fronted Dotterel thread.jpg
    306.1 KB · Views: 121
  • BF Jacky Winter thread.jpg
    BF Jacky Winter thread.jpg
    172.7 KB · Views: 140
Delia, this is fantastic, thank you so much for sharing. You are doing so well with the new camera You mention Lorikeets before they look like Cockatiels, maybe another newbie? Does get a bit hot at times Eh?
Good on you :) looking forward to next installment.
Thanks again
 
Thanks so much Nora.

Yeah.... it was unseasonably hot there at that time, even the locals were moaning. It was in the high 30's - lower 40's for the 5 days we were there. At least the humidity was low!

Thanks for the correction on the Cockatiels. That was an SM, the picture was named correctly fortunately LOL
 
Also seen that morning, though I lacked getting any images, were Blue Bonnet, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Red-capped Robin and a wee flock of flighty Budgerigars. Though some of these I was successfully able to photograph later.

After lunch we had a drive round. Red-browed Pardalote wouldn't let himself be photographed. Hans had heard him while we were driving one of the tracks. We got out of the car to try and find him in the bushes but just couldn't see him well enough to photograph. Then he disappeared. However, I did get a poor picture of a Common Bronzewing hiding in the shadows. We also came across a flock of Peaceful Doves and a White-faced Heron at one of the dams.

Back at the Homestead Dam, were some Maned Ducks, a Rainbow Bee-eater, who seemed to be regular on the dead tree and a Spotted Bowerbird, displaying on a log. Unfortunately it was in the shade and the photos are useless!

The picture shows a typical trail at Bowra.
 

Attachments

  • BF A typical Bowra Trail thread.jpg
    BF A typical Bowra Trail thread.jpg
    342.9 KB · Views: 95
  • BF Common Bronzewing thread.jpg
    BF Common Bronzewing thread.jpg
    410.8 KB · Views: 118
  • BF White-faced Heron thread.jpg
    BF White-faced Heron thread.jpg
    292.1 KB · Views: 100
  • BF Maned Duck thread.jpg
    BF Maned Duck thread.jpg
    237.8 KB · Views: 104
  • BF Rainbow Bee-eater thread.jpg
    BF Rainbow Bee-eater thread.jpg
    111.4 KB · Views: 103
Cunnamulla

First the Evaporation Ponds where there were Hardhead, Australian Grebe and Grey Teal out on the water.

As we walked along the track, a Latham's Snipe shot out from the bank and across to the far side. I thought I saw where it landed and took a picture, but that turned out to be a Black-kneed Dotterel LOL.

Something above attracted my attention and I started firing off some shots at.... a Little Eagle! It was being mobbed by, I think, a Torresian Crow.

Also seen or heard here were Rufous Whistler and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater.

We couldn't see into the other ponds as the surrounding grass and bushes were too high, so we made our way back to the car and headed into town. However, it was still an hour until dinner time at the hotel so I suggested we head for the bridge and see if we could get access to the river there.

This proved to be a good move! A Black Kite flew over and then Hans spotted a White-browed Woodswallow sitting in a tree. What a nice looking bird it is.

Then back to the hotel, dinner and my last night there.
 

Attachments

  • BF Australian Grebe, Grey Teal thread.jpg
    BF Australian Grebe, Grey Teal thread.jpg
    356.2 KB · Views: 118
  • BF Black-fronted Dotterel1 thread.jpg
    BF Black-fronted Dotterel1 thread.jpg
    227 KB · Views: 105
  • BF Little Eagle thread.jpg
    BF Little Eagle thread.jpg
    116.6 KB · Views: 126
  • BF Black Kite flight thread.jpg
    BF Black Kite flight thread.jpg
    86.9 KB · Views: 96
  • BF White-browed Woodswallow thread.jpg
    BF White-browed Woodswallow thread.jpg
    208.4 KB · Views: 156
Bowra

9 October 2019


Hans and Judy came early for breakfast then we loaded my stuff into the car as there was now room for me at the centre.

At the junction of the road leading to Bowra, Judy spotted a Little Corella feeding on the verge and I managed a couple of shots out of the car window.

Then, just after entering the reserve a rather distant Square-tailed Kite was seen flying around. A bit further along the entrance road Major Mitchell's Cockatoos were feeding on the grassy bank. None raised a crest for me though!

The first arrivals at the Back Dam were some Apostlebirds, still not seeing the 13 though LOL.

Then a tiny Diamond Dove - I remainl amazed at how small they are.
 

Attachments

  • BF Little Corella thread.jpg
    BF Little Corella thread.jpg
    314.7 KB · Views: 114
  • BF Square-tailed Kite thread.jpg
    BF Square-tailed Kite thread.jpg
    71.7 KB · Views: 127
  • BF Major Mitchell's Cockatoo thread.jpg
    BF Major Mitchell's Cockatoo thread.jpg
    467.6 KB · Views: 82
  • BF Apostlebird thread.jpg
    BF Apostlebird thread.jpg
    253.2 KB · Views: 117
  • BF Diamond Dove thread.jpg
    BF Diamond Dove thread.jpg
    211.3 KB · Views: 110
Last edited:
A flock of Galahs arrived (the picture shows a female as she has a red eye), they really do look pretty and I was getting used to picking them out in flight by now too.

Of course the White-plumed Honeyeaters were there and the three Ravens from the day before came back. Also needing a drink were both Crested Pigeons and Peaceful Doves.
 

Attachments

  • BF Galah female thread.jpg
    BF Galah female thread.jpg
    160.8 KB · Views: 105
  • BF White-plumed Honeyeater thread.jpg
    BF White-plumed Honeyeater thread.jpg
    324.5 KB · Views: 112
  • BF Australian Raven thread.jpg
    BF Australian Raven thread.jpg
    292.7 KB · Views: 103
  • BF Crested Pigeon thread.jpg
    BF Crested Pigeon thread.jpg
    300.5 KB · Views: 102
  • BF Peaceful Dove thread.jpg
    BF Peaceful Dove thread.jpg
    304 KB · Views: 102
Thank you Chosun. Of course my hosts played a great part in helping me find the birds and, in most cases, naming them for me.
 
The Cockatiels returned and flew around for a while checking everything out, giving me a chance to practise flight shots.

Then some Budgerigars arrived. I followed them in then sort of lost them. I thought they must have landed on the far side so did a few clicks in the hope they were there, but it wasn't until I zoomed in on my tablet when I downloaded the day's images did I see that I'd captured them LOL.

Suddenly Judy notice the disembodied heads of a few distant Emus walking behind a bank near the forest. They just looked so funny. We then saw them on the other side, behind us and think they were checking out the dam for safety.

Another Lifer appeared in the shape of a Yellow-throated Miner; then finally the Cockatiels settled in the tree on the far side.
 

Attachments

  • BF Cockatiels flight thread.jpg
    BF Cockatiels flight thread.jpg
    178.6 KB · Views: 114
  • BF Budgerigar thread.jpg
    BF Budgerigar thread.jpg
    325.4 KB · Views: 127
  • BF Disembodied Emu thread.jpg
    BF Disembodied Emu thread.jpg
    134.3 KB · Views: 115
  • BF Yellow-throated Miner thread.jpg
    BF Yellow-throated Miner thread.jpg
    290.9 KB · Views: 117
  • BF Cockatiels perched.jpg
    BF Cockatiels perched.jpg
    489.5 KB · Views: 117
Thank you so much both of you. Indeed, prior to this, the only time I'd seen budgerigars was in a cage.

Another installment is in preparation 3IB;)
 
Thought it was time to show you an overall view of the Back Dam. The bush just peeking in on the right is where Judy and I sat, Hans chose one a bit further along. The channel in the foreground is where the Brown Goshawk came in to drink.

The tree is where the Cockatiels perched after flying around and where the Black-faced Cuckooshrike (second picture) was sitting.

The little bush on the right hand bank is the area where the Budgies drank and where the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater was (3rd picture) and that bush too, is where the Apostlebirds were hiding before walking down to the water's edge.

The Spotted Bowerbird, kindly, was almost in front of us.

Hope that makes some kind of sense.;)
 

Attachments

  • BF Back Dam thread.jpg
    BF Back Dam thread.jpg
    316 KB · Views: 110
  • BF Black-faced Cuckooshrike thread.jpg
    BF Black-faced Cuckooshrike thread.jpg
    239.9 KB · Views: 115
  • BF Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater thread.jpg
    BF Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater thread.jpg
    354.6 KB · Views: 116
  • BF Apostlebird thread.jpg
    BF Apostlebird thread.jpg
    331 KB · Views: 105
  • BF Spotted Bowerbird thread.jpg
    BF Spotted Bowerbird thread.jpg
    334.9 KB · Views: 120
We then had a run of black, or black and white birds LOL

A Magpie-Lark looked huge beside the tiny Diamond Dove; not sure what's photo-bombing the picture, but think it might be a Peaceful Dove. The first time we'd seen the Magpie-Lark there, though knew they should be around as there was an old nest in the tree.

I was really rather pleased with this picture of the Australian Raven, so decided to add him to this set as well.

Another black and white was a Willie-Wagtail that sat in the bush above Hans' head.... we had to tell him not to move LOL.

Before we left the flock of Cockatiels returned, and I couldn't resist trying for flight shots. The P900 certainly seems to focus much more easily on them than the Fuji EXR did.

On our circuitous route back to the Homestead for lunch, I had to take a picture of this post, which we affectionately called the Bones Junction.
 

Attachments

  • BF Magpie-Lark, Diamond Dove thread.jpg
    BF Magpie-Lark, Diamond Dove thread.jpg
    368.3 KB · Views: 100
  • BF Australian Raven thread.jpg
    BF Australian Raven thread.jpg
    187.1 KB · Views: 101
  • BF Willie Wagtail thread.jpg
    BF Willie Wagtail thread.jpg
    186.5 KB · Views: 104
  • BF Cockatiels flight thread.jpg
    BF Cockatiels flight thread.jpg
    64.7 KB · Views: 111
  • BF Bones thread.jpg
    BF Bones thread.jpg
    170.9 KB · Views: 151
Warning! This thread is more than 1 year ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top