Corroboree Billabong is north of the Arnhem Highway. The boys and I went there for a cruise and weren't disappointed.
The guide was quite knowledgeable and pointed out the Comb-crested Jacana family and who was who. Unusually, the female bird is the more colourful one in the pair. Being in a boat allows close-up photos, check out those toes!
The Wandering Whistling Ducks are a bird species I don't get to see very often, and have often been confused between the Wandering and the Plumed Whistling Ducks. Our guide informed us that the Wandering have the black legs, probably doesn't help if they are sitting either on land or on the water. Either way, they are both "beautifully plumed!"
The guide was quite knowledgeable and pointed out the Comb-crested Jacana family and who was who. Unusually, the female bird is the more colourful one in the pair. Being in a boat allows close-up photos, check out those toes!
Comb-crested Jacana
Female
Male
Juvenile
We also had a close encounter with a Brown Falcon which we thought initially was a Black Falcon
Brown Falcon
The cruise gave us wonderful opportunities, but it was only an hour long. This Jabiru with its young one was on the way back to the boat ramp and unfortunately we didn't have time to stop so this shot was the only one I managed from the speeding boat
Jabiru with young Jabiru
The Rainbow Bee-eater seems to be another favourite of the cruise staff on a number of cruises. As much as I love them, and think their colours are spectacular, they probably weren't the species I was hoping we would sit and watch for about 5 minutes, but it did put on a display and eventually caught an insect so we could all gush "oohhhh.... aaahhhh... must be a bee it has caught!"
Rainbow Bee-eater
The Wandering Whistling Ducks are a bird species I don't get to see very often, and have often been confused between the Wandering and the Plumed Whistling Ducks. Our guide informed us that the Wandering have the black legs, probably doesn't help if they are sitting either on land or on the water. Either way, they are both "beautifully plumed!"
Wandering Whistling Ducks
Plumed Whistling Duck for comparison - these shots taken at Yellow Waters cruise
Hi
ReplyDeleteGreat bird serie as allways, the Comb-crested Jacana have i never heard about.
have a nice evening
/Ingemar