The birds and the bees - photos from Alice Springs

Recently I've been restricted to local birding, but still managed a few nice shots. Some excitement around the house was a bee swarm, not a hive, just a huge group of bees all clumped together in the lemon tree. They stayed for a couple of days then flew off. The internet was very useful to work out what was likely to happen.

The local sewage ponds in Alice Springs are being visited by the returning long-range migrants/waders, and ID can be a bit tricky as most of the time they don't stand next to each other, but there are a few I have managed to work out after seeing them in flight and hearing them as they fly off.

The Bee Swarm

Grey-crowned Babblers in the backyard

Black-winged Stilt 

Common Greenshank

Common Sandpiper

Grey Teals

Pacific Black Duck 

Red-necked Avocets

Variegated Fairy-wrens

A few recent photos from the Alice Springs Sewage Ponds

Black-winged Stilt

Australian Pratincole

Black Kite

Black-tailed Native-hen

Fairy Martin

Bunny

Red-necked Avocet

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Whistling Kite

White-winged Fairy-wren

Wood Sandpiper

Some birds in flight from the Alice Springs Treatment Plant

I took these photos recently and found that I was concentrating on the "in flight" shots for some reason. Right at the end of the session, the other "in flight" thingy came into the viewfinder and I captured the natural versus the man-made.

To start things off, I enjoyed this moment when a group of Red-necked Avocets and Black-winged Stilts took off together, the juvenile Black-winged Stilt seemed to be being shielded from any attack by the Red-necked Avocet

Black-winged Stilt and Red-necked Avocet

Black-winged Stilts

Australian Wood Duck

 

 Grey Teal

Pink-eared Duck

Black Kite

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Whistling Kite

White-faced Heron

As I was leaving, the Straw-necked Ibis decided to put on a show for me

Straw-necked Ibis in flight

as the Ibis flew towards the horse paddocks, the Kites already around the horse paddocks were disturbed by something (not me I was too far away) and they soared into the air in large numbers

and as the Ibis joined in with the Kites, a Qantas jet came into the frame

Masked Lapwing, Red-necked Avocet, Whistling Kite in flight Orange Chat. Little Grassbird and Black-winged Stilts

Took these photos recently. The Masked Lapwing has been referred to by some as the 24 hour bird, hear it all through the day and night and it looks vicious with those weapons on the wings:

Masked Lapwing in flight

Red-necked Avocet in flight

Whistling Kite in flight

Orange Chat

Little Grassbird

 

Black-winged Stilt immature

Black-winged Stilt - two beaks, 4 legs, 3 wings, 1 eye!