BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andrew Whitehouse" data-source="post: 1550356" data-attributes="member: 3550">Day 7: June 25th, Stirling Ranges to Oyster Bay, WAI don't remember any Einsteins at Stirling Ranges, Ads.  What should I have been looking for?Despite dipping on Einstein, I did see a few other decent birds at Stirling Ranges.  I spent the early morning birding the Retreat grounds.  The Dusky Woodswallows were still around and soon after dawn the trees were swarming with hundreds of noisy Purple-crowned Lorikeets.  The trees also held plenty of commoner honeyeaters.  After not too long I found a very engaging pair of Western Yellow Robins, a bird that I'd been struggling with up till that point.  Like most Australian robins they were obliging and characterful with the other advantage of being wonderfully bright in colour.  Where the bush edged onto the fields I found a group of three Crested Pigeons - the only ones I saw in the southwest.  Nice intricate wing markings.  Things were a bit quiet for a while until I had quick views of a group of very slender long-tailed parrots.  From the bright yellow shoulders and heads they were clearly Regent Parrots, but I was left hankering for better views.  Amongst the numerous honeyeaters I managed to pick out a a very smart Tawny-crowned Honeyeater.  Soon there were more parrots about, includng some Twenty-eight Parrots and a couple of Western Rosellas.  Better were some very lovely Elegant Parrots: small and slender and a mix of grass green and deep blue.  Eventually I saw at least twelve.Later in the morning I did the Ongarup Creek walk, which begins almost opposite to the entrance to the Retreat and goes through some good areas of mallee and wandoo.  I had views of a Brown-headed Honeyeater just near to the car park and soon saw a couple more Elegant Parrots.   Another medium-sized parrot puzzled me for a bit but I eventually figured out it was likely to have been an immature Red-capped Parrot, which isn't well illustrated in the guides.  There were more Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters and I had good views of a pair of Western Thornbills.Near the end of the trail I watched a handsome Western Scrub Wallaby in a small field.  At Ongerup Creek itself I had views of a rather chunky looking eclipse fairy-wren, which I was able to identify as a Red-winged Fairy-wren.  Nice but I was hoping for a 'real' one.  A large stubble field to the south of the trail held a few Scarlet Robins and two or three fleet-footed Emus, which hurtled across the fields as soon as I appeared in view.  There was another Western Yellow Robin and I finally managed good views of a group of five Red-capped Parrots.  The males of this species make other Australian parrots look pretty dull, which is no mean feat.After returning to the car I went to check whether the cafe by the Retreat was open for lunch.  It wasn't but I was rewarded instead with excellent views of a group of five Regent Parrots in the trees at the entrance to the Retreat. These are really good and smart parrots: a lovely yellow-green colour with long pointed tails and coral pink bills.  Another one of the numerous great Australian parrots.I then headed over the Stirling Range proper and down towards Albany.  The journey turned up four more Regent Parrots, Common Bronzewing and Western Rosella.  I also had brief views of my first Nankeen Kestrel.  After checking into my accommodation at <a href="http://www.corakicottages.com.au/" target="_blank">Coraki Holiday Cottages</a> on Oyster Bay I went for a short walk in lovely late afternoon weather.  The tide was up on the bay, so there weren't many waders but I did manage to see some Australian Pied Oystercatchers and Caspian Terns.  Lots of Australian White Pelicans could be seen in the distance.  I was then royally entertained by a couple of Ospreys in the trees, one of which was busily snacking on a fish.  I think the Australian Ospreys are mooted as a potential split and I can sort of see why.  They're much more vocal than Ospreys I've encountered elsewhere and the females (I think) are very dark on the breast.  But like other Ospreys they're still very much worth a look.As the sun set I watched four Yellow-billed Spoonbills feeding in the shallows, along with White-faced Heron, Great White and Little Egrets.Pictures1. Western Scrub Wallaby at Stirling Ranges2&3. Some decorative sunset shots over Oyster Bay</blockquote>

Verification