Notes to readers of this Blog


NOTES TO READERS OF THIS BLOG

Thank you for dropping by to check out my blog. You will see a lot of other Blogs about birds I follow down the left hand side. I strongly encourage you to check some of these out as well, they are entertaining and I love to see birds from all over the world, I hope you do too.
Cheers,
Richard

Thursday 20 June 2013

Robins up close, Cuckoo as well, Bellbirds, Honeyeaters, Frederick Blakeley Memorial continues to fire

The Frederick Blakeley Memorial on the road between Papunya and Haasts Bluff is one of the most unlikely birding spots to look at, but the variety and familiarity of the wildlife here continually amazes me. I've had a few encounters with camels, horse and cattle, as well as a dingo. Today produced a few more species of birds I hadn't seen (or noticed) before including Australasian Pipit, Varied Sittella, White-browed Babblers and experienced fly-overs by a Wedge-tailed Eagle, Black-breasted Buzzard and Whistling Kite.
However, it was the Robins - both Hooded and Red-capped that really made my day. Sometimes both these species can be very elusive, and other times they can be extremely trusting of a large person with a camera. It is a toss of the coin as to which one I wanted to put first, but as the last few weeks have been "Pied", I've gone with the Hooded Robin.
Hooded Robin



Red-capped Robin



The Pallid Cuckoo in the photos below almost followed me around. At one point I was concentrating on some Crimson Chats on the ground about 30 metres away, and then looked back towards the road and saw this lovely grey back (second photo) only 5 metres away, sitting on a small branch, facing away from me. Very trusting. The calls of the Pallid Cuckoo seem to be ringing in my ears everywhere I go around Papunya and the road to Haasts Bluff, and this one sang from the tree only 2 metres away (fourth photo). 

Pallid Cuckoo




Below are some more photos of other birds around this site:

Crested Bellbird


Pied Honeyeater


4 comments:

  1. There's something different about your photos these days ....... ;)
    Great shots of some birds I have had nothing to do with! Prompted by the post I've just been listening to some recordings of the Crested bellbird. I find myself wondering if the call is readily heard in the wild.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Pete, enjoying the new gear most of the time, still manage to fluff a lot though. As to Crested Bellbird call in the wild, definitely a yes for that one, would see probably 1 in 20 of the ones that I hear.

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  2. Buenas capturas,las del Red-capped Robin me encantan.Un abrazo

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