Wedge-tailed Eagles in flight

Saw a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles today near Alice Springs. I suspect I actually drove past them and didn't notice them sitting in a tree, or perhaps they were sitting on the ground. I was concentrating on some puddles ahead on the road, and then saw something out of the corner of my eye and one of them was taking off through the trees. I kept watching and they circled fairly low (for Wedgies) and continued to get closer and closer until they decided I wasn't good enough to eat, neither was the car. The photos don't do justice to just how majestic these raptors really are:

It was interesting to see which birds continued on with their business with the Wedgies around, and which ones who are normally quite vocal sat quietly under the foliage of trees. Is a Willie Wagtail scared of anything? The budgerigars and zebra finches kept fairly quiet, although I think the finches are a bit like 7-9 year old children, can't stay quiet for too long, and soon they were making quiet and short but constant "cheeps".

Also took some photos of Galahs and Cockatiels:

Happy Birding!

Delightfully colourful Budgerigars - photos

I often wonder how it is that Budgerigars are not being constantly taken by Birds of Prey. They are noisy, often travel in large groups, and surely colourful enough to be spotted from high above. I have observed two possible reasons why they aren't taken more often (as I know they are taken at times). The first is the "lookout" bird. This isn't necessarily a Budgerigar, but I have seen at least one "lookout Budgie sentry" sitting propped on a nearby tree if others are drinking from a puddle. The second observation is that even though they appear very colourful, they have quite dull wings on the skyward side, and they must be well camouflaged in the trees when they are on the outside of the tree (have heard a lot of budgies inside trees lately).

The sentry in a nearby tree

Happy Birding!

Ducks and Avocets in flight

Saw these birds at the Alice Springs Water Treatment Plant (Poo Ponds) last week. The Avocets have grown in number whereas the Hardheads seemed to have reduced in number. The Grey Teals are probably the most prolific for the time I have been observing here, and the Pacific Black Ducks often catch my eye due to their size, and then their beautiful fluorescent coloured wings when they fly:

Grey Teal

Hardhead

Pacific Black Duck

Avocet

Avocet Pair

Another Avocet Pair

also had a lovely close-up view of a Black-fronted Dotterel:

Happy Birding!

Wild Zebra Finch Bath Time - Photos and Video

These photos and video were taken at the turnoff from the Sandover Highway to Ampilatwatja in the NT. There was a fair bit of rain over the weekend and yesterday morning and the puddles made a perfect playground. There is a table and chairs under cover and the puddles were right next to it, perfect to sit and watch, take photos and videos of these gorgeous little birds:

 

And the video, lots of noises of other birds in the background, if you can hear beyond the Zebra Finches:

Happy Birding!

Long-billed Corella

Visited the Alice Springs Water Treatment Plant (aka Poo Ponds) the other day and saw 3 Long-billed Corellas. I think I have only ever seen 2 in amongst the Little Corellas before so I am wondering if there might be a younger one with two older ones. They are quite distinctive compared to the Little Corellas when you can get close enough, apart from the longer upper beak, they have wonderful flashes of red around their head and neck: The Little Corellas were by far the most numerous, and it was funny watching both varieties do a little hop, or more a jump as both feet went at the same time, I was thinking they were catching small insects in their feet.

 

And a Little Corella for a comparison:

Happy Birding!

Pallid Cuckoo and Western Bowerbird

These two birds are what I would call mid-sized. For the most part, one is fairly quiet, whereas the other can be quite noisy.

The Pallid Cuckoo is a bird I have seen in a few locations. This one was sitting in a tree beside the road on the Plenty Highway last week. It was one of a pair who seemed to enjoy confusing me by swapping sides of the road and mixing then flying into different trees:

The Western Bowerbird is one from the front yard from last weekend. I have thought we had a Whistling Kite in the front yard a few times, only to realise the Western Bowerbird was doing a pretty good impersonation. Not sure why. They also have some other fantastic calls, one of which sounds a bit like a cat which is also interesting.

the distinctive magenta splash on the back of the head

Happy Birding!

Cockatiels, Major Mitchell Cockatoo, Galah and Budgerigars

More photos of this group of birds from the past few days from Alice Springs to Ampilwatja and back.
The Cockatiels are around in small to medium groups, and the best part is to hear them, even though their colours are stunning, their little tweeps that come through the air alert you to them and when there are 30-40 of them, it sounds fantastic. These photos are Cockatiels on the same tree, the first is during the day and the second is early in the morning. As you can see, they like to congregate in small to medium groups:

Next on the list were some Major Mitchell Cockatoos that I saw on the road on the way home, and literally on the road. I'd just come over the top of a crest and they were about 50 metres in front of me. Fortunately I was being wary coming over the crest so I was going quite slow and it was relatively easy to slow to a stop without scaring them off. They did fly a bit further than I would have liked, but this little guy was demonstrating his huge toes that I had to include a couple of photos on the blog:

Left foot

Right foot

This Galah was one of a pair sitting in a tree above the accommodation. The flocks don't seem to be as large as those in Alice Springs, but I'm sure they are out there somewhere. I've included this photo as the morning light was hitting it nicely:

and finally, the Budgerigars from the past few days. These photos could have been taken anywhere between Alice Springs and Ampilatwatja, but they were taken about 60 kms north of Alice springs at Burt Creek, which is next to the Warburton Memorial on the Stuart Highway. There were lots and lots of pairs, going into holes in trees and always making lots of chatter:

Happy Birding!