Pheasant Coucal with frog, Australian Koel, Australian Bustard photos

On the way back to Alice Springs from Mataranka yesterday, I saw another 3 Pheasant Coucals. I think that made 10 for the Saturday and Sunday. Considering I'd only ever seen 1 bird on a few occasions previously, to see so many in quick succession was wonderful for me. The one in the photos below was just near the Todd Memorial on the Stuart Highway just south of Dunmurra. First photo is the bird with a frog, and the other 3 photos are to show the beautiful tail and wings. Alas it was overcast and rain/showers for most of the trip until below the Devils Marbles, but the rain cleared in certain spots for a few minutes and this was one.

Pheasant Coucal

Before I got to the Pheasant Coucal spot, I had stopped in at Stuart's Tree at Daly Waters for a break/coffee. As I drove back onto the road, I had my windows down. Again the drizzle had stopped. Before I got to the creek bridge, I heard the distinctive call of the Australian Koel. I had heard this on the podcast of Steve Abbott's "BirdBrain" series and was in no doubt it was the same call. After searching for a little while, I spotted one of the two birds calling high up in a dead tree.

Australian Koel

Continuing down the Stuart Highway, the clouds were beginning to get higher and the drizzle less frequent. Just before the Newcastle Creek bridge, I saw two Australian Bustards, or Bush Turkeys, about to cross the road in front of me. An adult and a juvenile, the juvenile was the more tentative, but as I had stopped for them, there was no problem crossing the road. I took some photos from inside the car, and quickly checked the camera to make sure I had the dials set correctly, then looked up, and they were gone. A chance encounter that was very brief. A bit further down the road I past another single adult that was in the ditch beside the road but I was almost level with it before it had put its head up. I have included a shot I took at the Alice Springs Desert Park recently that shows the throat shape of the Bustard I had just driven past.

Australian Bustard

 

Captive Bird from Alice Springs Desert Park

Birds of Prey rule the sides the Highways - Wedge-tailed Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite and more

I drove to Alpurrurulam (Lake Nash) yesterday and was lucky to have some close encounters with a number of birds of prey along the side of the highways.

The first was a Wedge-tailed Eagle on the Stuart Highway just before the turnoff to the Plenty Highway. It was perched in a tree beside the road and it was so big on the exposed branch I could slowly approach it. It looked amazing in the morning light. For some reason it didn't seem perturbed by my approaching and then stopping car. It sat there, then looked like it was going to fly off, then settled again after I'd stopped. But a passing truck sent it off into the sky:

I saw a number of Black-shouldered Kites. The perched one in the photos below was another bird seemingly unperturbed by my presence, until a Willie Wagtail came and sent it into the sky. I didn't manage to get the closer shot I was hoping for. Normally I like Willie Wagtails but I was unimpressed by this one as it had spoilt a 10 minute slow creep towards the BSK!

I was especially happy with this one as it focussed nicely on the eye.

Apart from the above two Birds of Prey, I saw a number of others - Black-breasted Buzzards circling high, Whistling Kites hunting the middle of the highways as I zoomed past, Black Kites in groups by the side of the Sandover Highway, normally near the cattle from the cattle stations, and nankeen kestrels fluttering above the fields.

There was a group I thought were all Brown Falcons, but I noticed one bird in amongst the other 5 was a fair bit larger. A beautiful Spotted Harrier that sat a bit further away once it had landed.

Spotted Harrier

Brown Falcon

Happy Birding! 

A few other birds from Alice to Elliott to Alice this week

A few other birds from the drive up, then around Elliott, and the drive home to Alice Springs this week:

Probably the most spectacular sight for the trip, a flock of Glossy Ibis (this is about a third of the flock) at Renner Springs, about 625 kms north of Alice Springs:

Australasian Darter

And guess who ... a Buff-Banded Rail to really put the wind up me as I could see a nice clear pale white chest, but it is still a BBR!

Cattle Egret in the distance

Dragonflies doing the natural thing you do in a flood!

Great Egret

Grey Shrike-thrush

White-necked Heron

Brown Goshawk

Emu (first for the year!) Adult also had two juveniles with it. Seen near Muckaty Station. Not sure if they were checking out the site of the nuclear waste dump or not.

Red-backed Fairy-wren, a poor photo but hopefully will see some more in a couple of weeks. This male was with a female but they were both gone pretty quickly.

White-winged Fairy-wren, at a roadside stop called Attack Creek, between Banka Banka Station and 3 ways.

White-winged Triller female.