Uluru/Kata Tjuta over Easter

Spent a few days over Easter visiting Ulura and Kata Tjuta, staying at the campground at Yulara. The birding was ok, without being overly spectacular, but a few nice shots were taken. A few new birds for the year and a few lifers as well, very excited to see the Painted finch for the first time, although the excitement made the camera a bit shaky and at a little distance, the photos aren't too clear, but clear enough for identification.

The Black-breasted Buzzard was the first really nice shot for the trip:

This was by the side of the road as we headed into the Uluru part of the NP. We got excited about a potential Black Falcon that turned out to be a Brown Falcon instead but there was a lot of discussion about the merits of both until finally a consensus was agreed based on our Birds of Prey expert, Moses. 

Next came the visit to Kata Tjuta and the Finches reigned supreme. Firstly, the Painted Finch:

and then, without doubt fast becoming my favourite photographic subject, the Zebra Finches:

There was a bit of a lull in proceedings until I found a White-backed Swallow just near town:

and then we managed a decent shot of a Wedge-tailed Eagle near Mt Ebenezer, despite having seen them near Yulara on the way out to Uluru on previous days:

Finally we had two unusual "bird" sightings. The first was due to the promise of a block of chocolate to anyone who could spot an emu. Annie took up the challenge and Moses played his part:

And then, for those of you who remember the old hand signals for indicating left or right on cars, a White-plumed Honeyeater decided they would be our left hand indicator as demonstrated when we stopped at Jim's Place at Stuart's Well: