The road between Tilmouth Well and Laramba which runs through Napperby Station has some beautiful countryside, a few rocky outcrops and runs almost parralel with a riverbed which is dry at the moment. I have posted a couple of other birding experiences already, the Birds of Prey post can be found here and the Parrots post can be found here.
Another species which was a little unusual was the Ground Cuckoo-shrikes. At first I saw them in a tree (so much for being on the Ground ! :-) ) but I was looking into the sun and couldn't really tell what type of bird they were. I watched as they flew down onto the road ahead of me. There were three birds, all of them landed on the road, and after a short time, 2 of them quickly found their way into the grasses by the side of the road. The third one stayed on the road itself, walking between sun and shadows. A second one eventually joined it on the road, but the third stayed mainly in the grasses. They stayed a reasonable distance away from me so the photos aren't spectacular, but still better than I have managed before.
They were about 9 kms north of the Tanami Road turnoff to Laramba at the Tilmouth Well end. They eventually flew off towards the dry riverbed.
Another species which was a little unusual was the Ground Cuckoo-shrikes. At first I saw them in a tree (so much for being on the Ground ! :-) ) but I was looking into the sun and couldn't really tell what type of bird they were. I watched as they flew down onto the road ahead of me. There were three birds, all of them landed on the road, and after a short time, 2 of them quickly found their way into the grasses by the side of the road. The third one stayed on the road itself, walking between sun and shadows. A second one eventually joined it on the road, but the third stayed mainly in the grasses. They stayed a reasonable distance away from me so the photos aren't spectacular, but still better than I have managed before.
They were about 9 kms north of the Tanami Road turnoff to Laramba at the Tilmouth Well end. They eventually flew off towards the dry riverbed.
Ground Cuckoo-shrike
The above photos were taken in the morning, on the north side of the outcrop. In the afternoon when I was driving home, there were some Crimson Chats on the south side of the outcrop, happily feeding away on the side of the road. The males are just starting to get their full breeding plumage:
Crimson Chat
Enjoy your Birdwatching!
Richard,
ReplyDeleteI plan to eventually visit Australia - hopefully for an extended period of time. My main interest is in birds. I hope to find volunteer/or paying work while I am there. Can you recommend some sites to visit to find opportunities to consider.
I have no set ideas on where to visit - but I am tentatively thinking about North Western Australia.
I have been enjoying your bird photographs.
Thanks!
Wendy, Kakadu National Park and the Kimberley region would both be wonderful places to visit, but during the Dry season (April - October) is the main time to visit as a lot of places are inaccessable during the Wet season. Australia is such a large country and with so many different birding locations, it is difficult to recommend just one. North Western Australia does have seasonal food picking jobs, maybe that would be a good place to start as you would be working and birding at the same time. The other option is to look up birding tours in northern Australia in google or another search engine and find out where people get taken. You may be able to get a volunteer job at either the Broome Bird Observatory (north Western Australia) or the Eyre Bird Observatory (south Western Australia), or alternatively contact Newhaven Station (Central Australia) to see if they need volunteers (almost everyone needs volunteers!) for some of their programs. Thanks for looking at the blog, that is why I do it, to share my experiences with those not lucky enough to live where I do and see the things I gt to see. Cheers, Richard
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