Undoolya Road Birds

Went for a drive at lunch time today. This side of the town doesn't seem to be as badly burnt as the western, northern and southern side so thought there may be a few birds hiding out.
Started the drive well with a Nankeen Kestrel sitting in a tree beside the road:

Drove off road onto one of the dirt tracks next. The grass is tinder dry as are the leaves, everything is browning off over there, and once up onto some of the taller hills I could see the blackened earth looking in all directions except to the east and Undoolya Station area. Pulled the car over and was just getting my gear ready when I noticed a wee bird in one of the shrubs next to the car. A beautiful little Inland Thornbill:

A little bit further up the track I could hear the fairy-wrens twittering away. There must have been a number of families, and I snapped a fully-mature male first:

bit further up the hill, one not quite so "all-over" blue:

There were spiny-cheeked and singing honeyeaters, port lincoln parrots and zebra finches all chirping away, until they all fell silent when a pair of Australian Hobbys flew overhead at high speed, wind-assisted. Finally the bird noises started again and a group of Grey-crowned Babblers I had seen and heard a fair way off the track previously decided to come right next to the track and sit low on a branch for me to whip off a couple of snaps:

Eventually my time was up and I had to head back to the car. On the way back it was fantastic to see a bearded dragon sunning itself on the road. I didn't want to disturb it so only got a blurry shot through the windscreen. Then, where the powerlines start again as you get back to civilisation, a Diamond Dove sat on a wire for me and then I managed to get a lot closer to a Black-faced Woodswallow:

Not a day for any unusual species, but a delightful time spent watching and photographing in any case.