Longreach Waterhole near Elliott, waterbirds and birds of prey

This area is one of the jewels of the Territory. Following a dirt track for 11 kms off the Stuart Highway just north of Elliott, the scrub opens out onto a vast expanse of water, teeming with fish and birds.

Camping overnight is worth the wait for the morning. Whistling Kites call before the sun rises, the herons, egrets and ibis croak in the still morning air, and cormorants and pelicans frequent this haven in their thousands. Honeyeaters, pardalotes, crows, Apostlebirds ... the list goes on of birds around the shoreline.

Elliott is half way between Alice Springs and Darwin, and Longreach Waterhole is the perfect place for a stop-over. You may end up staying longer than you thought.

Here are a few photos from my recent stay.

Pied Heron

Nankeen Night Heron

White-necked or Pacific Heron

Australian White Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis

Australian Pelican

Australasian Darter

Intermediate Egret

Little Black Cormorants

Black Kite

Brown Falcon

Whistling Kite

Photos of some Waterbirds from Northern Territory

The following is a number of photos from various places on a recent trip to Darwin.

Australasian Darter (Yellow Waters, Kakadu and Longreach Waterhole near Elliott)

Australian Pelican (Yellow Waters, Kakadu)

Australian White Ibis (Holmes Jungle CR, Darwin)

Great Crested Grebe (Longreach Waterhole near Elliott)

Little Black Cormorant (Longreach Waterhole near Elliott)

Magpie Goose (Yellow Waters, Kakadu)

Pied Cormorants (Longreach Waterhole)

Straw-necked Ibis (Longreach Waterhole near Elliott)

Water birds from drive from Alice Springs to Papunya - 2 Mile campspot on Finke River near Glen Helen

I have seen a couple of strange Pelican poses, and this one was keeping its bill warm in its back feathers.

Pelican hiding its bill with a Little Black Cormorant

Australasian Darter

Dusky Moorhen

Little Black Cormorant

Little Pied Cormorant

Purple Swamphen

White-faced Heron

Whistling Kite, Black Kite, Intermediate Egret, Australasian Darter, Little Black Cormorant in flight

Drove from Alice Springs to Haasts Bluff and had to stop as there were three birds of prey swooping the road, 2 Whistling Kites, and a Black Kite. I'll try to pair the two different kites together in roughly the same pose to assist others with identifying them from one another.

Whistling Kite

 Black Kite

Comparison of Black Kites (on left below) and Whistling Kites (on right below)

 Depending on the angle, it can be difficult to tell these two kites apart. The photo joining above shows how this angle may be a harder guess than the angle below, where the forked tail of the Black Kite is definitively different to the rounded tail of the Whistling Kite

Some other birds I saw on the trip to Haasts Bluff were at Two Mile near Glen Helen. It has the beautiful red cliffs of Glen Helen as the backdrop:

Intermediate Egret: (orange bill is rationale for Intermediate over Great Egret)

 Australasian Darter

Little Black Cormorant in flight