Nyirripi - land of Banded Whitefaces, Falcons, Hawks and Buzzards, and weather phenomenons

Finally back to visiting remote Communities. Nyirripi was the destination and my love of this area hasn't waned after another spectacular birding display.

With the dryness of the surrounding area, the Poo Ponds was the place packed with action. 1000+ Zebra Finches make enough noise and movement to excite any bird of prey. Throw in a few Sandpipers and a small flock of Crested Pigeons, and mayhem is bound to follow. It did.

Even after looking at old photos, current photos, and the ones I took, I still can't work out if the bird of prey below is a Collared Sparrowhawk (had the elongated middle toe and a shortened call compared to the Goshawks I've been watching recently) or a Brown Goshawk - rounded tail and beetle brow. Regardless, it was pretty brutal with the unfortunate Sharp-tailed Sandpiper:

The Black Falcon and Peregrine Falcon preferred the Zebra Finches, but I also watched as the Peregrine took out a Crested Pigeon

This Black-breasted Buzzard landed across and up the road from me before being mobbed by Yellow-throated Miners then to my delight flew back towards me

 By far the highlight was a close-up experience with a Banded Whiteface, which was followed later in the day at a different location with another 6, although not quite as close

The first morning moon was spectacular just before it set. I turned around to be confronted by an equally stunning sunrise

The Tanami Road is possibly going to have bitumen from Alice Springs all the way to Halls Creek. That would be awesome but I suspect only an act of God may make this happen for the price they are quoting ($680 million)

And finally, couldn't not have the Zebra Finches in a post about Nyirripi, and I've included yet another example of the strange discolouration quite a few of them have

Birds of Prey Bonanza - photos

Over the past week I have been very fortunate to see and observe a number of Birds of Prey.

Apart from the Grey Falcon experience I mentioned in the previous post, the area west of Alice Springs has been a BoP watcher’s paradise. From the sheer awe of a close-up encounter with a Wedge-tailed Eagle, the exhilaration of hearing the whoosh of a Black Falcon swooping prey only ten feet away, the variety of “sentry” alarm calls echoing across the “killing fields”, to the gentle soaring of a Black-breasted Buzzard and the almost trance-like slow flapping of the Spotted Harrier. The speed demons – Peregrine Falcon and Australian Hobby, the stealth of the Brown Goshawk and the Collard Sparrowhawk, and the hover-crafters – the Nankeen Kestrel and the Black-shouldered Kite. The Whistling and Black Kites, common but still delightful to watch and hear, and finally the inquisitive Little Eagle. All in a week. All different. All inspiring. All large (in bird terms) and generally easy to spot in the sky.

The following is a range of photographs I’ve managed over the past week. I hope you enjoy,

Wedge-tailed Eagle

 Australian Hobby

Black Falcon

Black-breasted Buzzard

Brown Falcon

Brown Goshawk

Collared Sparrowhawk

Little Eagle

Nankeen Kestrel with 9 Willie Wagtails

Spotted Harrier

 Whistling Kite

Black Falcon, Bourke's Parrot and Crested Bellbird photos

Finally snagged a decent shot of the Black Falcon at Papunya.

Black Falcon

It is little wonder it was there, there are a gazillion Zebra Finches, a number of Cockatiels and Budgies, White-backed Swallows as well as about 20 Grey Teals and few other water birds.

Also saw the Bourke's Parrots again.

Bourke's Parrot

and had a lovely close-up encounter with a Crested Bellbird:

Crested Bellbird