queensland

This Black-fronted Dotterel had found a decent morsel to eat by the looks of it. This was the very last picture from that remarkable visit to Bowra - even though it was very hot (though not humid fortunately)! A cracking place to go if you're ever in Queensland. Setting off back to Han and...

We'd been at Bowra for 5 days and it had been extremely hot 39-41 C (this was spring time mind, not summer). In addition there had been no rain there for many, many months. Although there was still water obviously, it was now getting very low. I think they've had some since I left though.

Also having a wander around the Homestead Dam was a handsome Magpie Lark. Strangely, this one seems to be the only one that I photographed round the homestead.

I've a real soft spot for Stilts and their long red legs, such neat looking birds.

We'd now made our way back to have a final look at the Homestead Dam. And there was this rather handsome White-faced Heron.

There are two flightless birds in Australia, the other is the Cassowary, which is found much further to the north. I'm sure this is a different family from others that we saw, as they were in quite different and well separated parts of the property. This lot were not far from where we saw the...

We finally left the Saw Pits and carried on travelling the tracks. Hans wanted to have another look at the main entrance road, where we'd often seen stuff on our way in to the reserve. Worked out fine 'cos sitting up on top of a tree near the road was another Lifer for the day... a Brown Falcon!

A lagoon in the middle of nowhwere! A wee dot in the middle is a grebe swimming over and behind him, where the trees are was a small group of Australian Nativehens and a Grey Teal. All rather distant to make good images though.

... this may be my best picture so far of any grebe species. We now got out to a part of the reserve named Saw Pits a rather large area of water, but I'm not sure how it got that name. Water is a big draw for creatures anywhere, but particularly in periods of drought in such an arid area anyway.

My book says these parrots like dry arid country! Well it couldn't have been much drier (nor hotter) when I was there (it was up to about 41c when I was there and there'd been no rain for a long time! Guess Mulga Parrots have adapted well to the conditions. Another Lifer of course.

Lunch over and the morning's pictures safely downloaded, we were off again exploring more of the tracks. I'd seen the male a few days before in town and here, at last was a female, on our very last day!

I'm wondering if this guy has been keeping company with a Wryneck? Couldn't resist this one for a Saturday Fun entry.

Don't think he could have buried his bill much further down into that mud LOL. The last bird before heading in to get lunch.

Not far from the Galahs, we found more parrots, a couple of Australian Ringnecks.... obviously a good area of them. They can be hard to spot in the leafy trees as they rather well camouflaged really. This is the one known as Mallee Ringneck.

Making our way back towards the Homestead for lunch we came across three Galahs in a tree, a male and female but there's another partnerless one there in the background

Mistletoe grows big out in Australia! This wasn't the biggest one I saw, but the first one I thought about taking a picture of.

Also seen on the Eastern Loop Road, was this Rufous Songlark, unfortunately the light was in the wrong direction! This was the second one of the morning, I'd seen another before breakfast!

Sorry, couldn't resist that... this is a Hooded Robin and another Lifer, of course. We'd now left the dam and were exploring Bowra's Eastern Loop Road, so a pleasing start indeed.

Just a bit along from the male sat his lady friend. Her mask is much paler of course. And this was the last picture I took at the Back Dam sadly.

This time a Masked Woodswallow. He was sitting in the tree on the far side of the dam from where we were sitting. It was nice of him to be out on an open bit, wasn't it.

I'd mostly seen this guy on the ground, but this day he was seemingly scanning the horizon. Nice birds these.

This lovely flock of Cockatiels flew in for a drink. When you see them so happy in a flock, it makes it seem all the sadder to know that there are so many kept in a cage in solitary confinement.

LOL do you think that eye looks evil or quite benign? Most times we visited the Back Dam there were three or sometimes four Australian Ravens there. These three look like quite a tight knit group, don't they.

This is the Yellow-throated Miner, not the Noisy one LOL I rather liked this pose he managed on that stick.

It was a lovely family group we had of this delightful parrot species. The female Bourke's Parrot has a white forehead. We were all in heaven watching them.