Brown Falcon with Prey, White-fronted Honeyeater, Crimson Chat, Centralian Blue-tongue and other photos around Nyirripi

Late yesterday afternoon I was watching a few of the water birds at the local Sewage Ponds at Nyirripi when a Brown Falcon arrived clutching some freshly caught prey.

This morning I ventured out early to see what was around some of the more cleared areas of Emu Bore Road. The sunrise was pretty spectacular.

A Chiming Wedgebill was singing its heart out as the sun rose, but as hard as I tried I couldn't locate it. Competing for the early morning noisiest bird was a Crested Bellbird, but again it stayed beyond sight. The White-fronted Honeyeaters and Crimson Chats were much more accommodating, if a little shy. Once the sun had broken over the horizon, birds came from everywhere out of the grasses and the few trees around. Willie Wagtails, Grey-headed Honeyeaters, Singing and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters as well as a few Black-faced Woodswallows. I tried to get as close as I could to the White-fronted Honeyeaters as they have proved elusive in the past, below are some of the better shots, as well as a Crimson Chat that came very close to the car just as I headed back to the Community to start work.

Finally for this post, yesterday afternoon I went scouting for a spot for this morning along Emu Bore Road, and was very happy to spot this Centralian Blue-tongue on the road.

The weather is warming up, birds are nesting and maybe rains are coming

In the past few days I have noticed the reptiles have started to re-appear after the colder winter months. The Bearded Dragon (above and below) is one of the more obvious species as they have been appearing on the top of posts, tops of trees and on the roads.

Another species I have seen a few times now is the Centralian Blue-tongue. This can be very colourful even though the one below isn't showing all the colours and it was taken late in the afternoon.

The birds seem to be actively building nests which makes me wonder if we are perhaps not getting rain in the Centre soon. Some, like the Black-shouldered Kite have made sure they are ready by hatching chicks early. You can just see the heads in the third photo of the chicks in the nest.

The smaller birds are the ones who are most actively building nests. The Thornbills below were actively foraging for nesting material, and there are lots of nests in trees and shrubs around Alice Springs and even more out of town.

Yellow-rumped Thornbill

Inland Thornbill

Nyirripi and back - birds, reptiles and storms

This week I was working at Nyirripi, a small community 150 kms westish from Yuendumu. The birding wasn't spectacular, but the storms and sunrises were, not to mention the reptiles along the roads to and from.
The water treatment plant was a little disappointing (and overflowing) but I was prepared for this as there was a lot of rain around and plenty of places for the birds to get a drink.
This Grey-headed Honeyeater was very busy around the accommodation area:

Grey-headed Honeyeater

Here are a small selection of other birds seen both at Nyirripi and on the way back to Alice Springs:

The Crimson Chat Family Tree (near airstrip)

- female lower branch, male in the middle, young one on top

Fairy Martins (on fence near airstrip)

Mulga Parrot

Zebra Finch

With the rains that had been and were coming, the reptiles were out on the roads in numbers I haven't seen for a while. At one point I counted 20 sand goannas in a 5 km stretch. They generally stand on their front legs, back legs lowered, and from a distance look like another stick on the road. Then they drop their heads as the car approaches, and scurry off, their scurrying speed depended on the speed of the car.

Sand Goanna

This poor sand goanna was near the ponds at Nyirripi

Centralian Blue-tongue

This snake was in the middle of the road, probably hit by a car (not mine)

By far the most exciting part of the trip out to Nyirripi was the weather. The storms, the sunrises, the rainbows, and the clouds. Here is a selection of photos:

Sunrise

Double Rainbow

Storm Clouds

 

and I loved this signpost!

Enjoy your Bird-watching!