Dusky Grasswren, Red-browed Pardalote and Red-backed Kingfisher

Back in the home environment and the birding continues to be amazing.

If the Centre has Spring, then it has sprung. Birds are nesting everywhere, and with a slightly cooler than average period at the moment, they are active under the cloudy skies.

The weekend activity included a short bike ride where Moses and I found a Red-browed Pardalote frenzy. They were calling non-stop and actively building their "nests" in the side of a dirt mound. The Red-backed Kingfishers were out as well, the one in the photo with the remains of an unfortunate, unknown small reptile.

But by far the most exciting was the Dusky Grasswrens I ran into today. I had tried to find them, and, after searching the spinifex-laden, rocky gullies, finally found some. One in particular was enjoying being a model for the camera.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Dusky Grasswren

Red-browed Pardalote

Red-backed Kingfisher

Dusky Grasswren, Pied Honeyeaters, other birds and scenery photos

Dusky Grasswren

Pied Honeyeater

Rainbow Bee-eater

Brown Falcon

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

Sunset just north of Alice Springs

Lots of Budgerigars, Black Falcon chasing and catching Budgerigars, Dusky Grasswren and Brown Falcon

I went out looking for a large group of Budgerigars with my youngest son. We left mid-afternoon and our first efforts went largely unrewarded, although we did find a couple of trees with about 100 Budgerigars perched keeping out of the heat of the day near the road. So we tried a different road, and seemed to drive past virtually empty skies. We headed off to a well known location and found Dusky Grasswrens, a species that I have seen in this spot before but not for a few years. That was pretty exciting. But the real excitement was still to come.
We had seen a Black Falcon earlier, but returned to where Budgerigars had been seen by others near the airport at Alice Springs. After our first try, I wasn't overly confident, but we could see a few small flocks rising above the grasses, and noticed a couple of Falcons sitting on trees on the western side of the road. Suddenly the grasses burst into a sea of green as hundreds of Budgerigars took to the sky briefly and then re-settled in the grasses. They started looking more like the swarms of insects I had seen before. The numbers were definitely in the hundreds, and then as more and more groups appeared, into the thousands.
The Black Falcon finally had had enough salivating over its meal and made a dash for the Budgies, keeping low across the top of the grasses. It dove in and claimed its prey, then flew off. My youngest managed to capture it on video, but had kept the angle quite wide to capture the action.
After the Black Falcon had left, the Budgies seemed to go on their merry way, and then they started to gather for the flight to (presumably) their night time roosts. The numbers grew and gathered, in total I would estimate over 3000. It truly was a wonderful sight and one my son has been wanting to see for nearly 18 months. He was pretty chuffed, as was I. We'll be back to hopefully see this again. Here are a few photos of the afternoons birding with Moses.

Budgerigars

One of 4 or 5 large flocks that eventually joined togather

The earlier Budgies in the tree

The Black Falcon starts its run

and collects its prey

A Brown Falcon that didn't really enjoy us stopping in admiration

Dusky Grasswren

Red-browed Pardalote and a Dusky Grasswren

The Red-browed Pardalote is a bit of a cross between a Striated Pardalote and a Spotted Pardalote. It has the wing colourings of the Striated (streaked white) and the head spots of the Spotted. Its call is similar but longer than the Striated. Saw these ones recently:

Also saw my first Dusky Grasswren for the year:

Happy Birding!

Crested Bellbird, Dusky Grasswrens, Little Woodswallows, and Spinifex Pigeons

Dusky Grasswrens

I've been hoping to get better photos of some of the local but not easily seen birds around Alice Springs, and I managed to take the below photos recently of dusky grasswrens on the path from Flynn's grave to the western side of Mt Gillen. I thought I was going to have a usual experience, as the first couple I saw were about 50 metres away and despite the telephoto, really not what I was after. But I was lucky to stumble across a few pairs in different locations which were a bit closer, some quite close ie within 5 metres, others a bit farther away.