Finally, after wondering if I was destined not to see this very special bird (the first recorded sighting on the Australian mainland), I managed to see it, and get some decent photos and a couple of handheld camera videos of the Forest Wagtail.
It has now been in a backyard of an Alice Springs property for about a week, and many of the birding top guns have flown in from around Australia. (Maybe Tourism NT could arrange a few more of these to boost tourist numbers!) Being a bird-watcher and a resident of Alice Springs I was concerned all of these others would twitch this bird and I would miss out - a real shame job! As luck would have it though, I got my chance today, the same day as the Anular Eclipse. I should remember this day for one of these two reasons!
The Forest Wagtail doesn't have striking colours, or the chatter of the local Willie Wagtail. There are a couple of dodgy photos with both Wagtails as the local decided to come down for a play in the same area as the Forest Wagtail. If I had seen this bird in the wild, I couldn't be sure I wouldn't have past it off as some sort of Pipit. It is nice to know there are people out there who are able to identify strange birds to the local area.
With anything wild, it is impossible to tell how long the bird will remain in its current location, but I hope it stays a while so many more people are able to experience something new in Australia.
Finally, a huge thank you to Will and Anne Cormack for allowing me (and a lot of others) to come into their back yard and enjoy this experience.
Forest Wagtail
