Red-backed Kingfisher in the morning sun

One of my most enjoyable stopping places between Haasts Bluff and Papunya is the Frederick Blakely Memorial. I have had a few enjoyable birding experiences there, including a close-up "viewing" by a Black-breasted Buzzard, watching a pair of Red-capped Robins hopping about the road chirping away to one another, and last week I enjoyed a rare close-up experience with a Red-backed Kingfisher.

As I pulled off the road into the small memorial area, the kingfisher took off (as per usual) from a tree very close to the memorial itself. I watched as it flew not far away (not normal) and perched on an exposed branch on a nearby tree. I inched the car forward, winding down the window as I progressed, trying to reach over to the camera at the same time. It was still there. I stopped the car, turned off the engine and slowly brought the camera to my eye. It is normally at about this point in time I realise I have settings on the camera for a completely different shot, ie on the TV setting, with the lens set for a long distant shot and lots of the focal points selected. I was pleased to realise the camera was on the right settings for the shot in front of me. I clicked away. The resultant photos below are a few of the ones I chose.

Red-backed Kingfisher

Robins up close, Cuckoo as well, Bellbirds, Honeyeaters, Frederick Blakeley Memorial continues to fire

The Frederick Blakeley Memorial on the road between Papunya and Haasts Bluff is one of the most unlikely birding spots to look at, but the variety and familiarity of the wildlife here continually amazes me. I've had a few encounters with camels, horse and cattle, as well as a dingo. Today produced a few more species of birds I hadn't seen (or noticed) before including Australasian Pipit, Varied Sittella, White-browed Babblers and experienced fly-overs by a Wedge-tailed Eagle, Black-breasted Buzzard and Whistling Kite.
However, it was the Robins - both Hooded and Red-capped that really made my day. Sometimes both these species can be very elusive, and other times they can be extremely trusting of a large person with a camera. It is a toss of the coin as to which one I wanted to put first, but as the last few weeks have been "Pied", I've gone with the Hooded Robin.

Hooded Robin

Red-capped Robin

The Pallid Cuckoo in the photos below almost followed me around. At one point I was concentrating on some Crimson Chats on the ground about 30 metres away, and then looked back towards the road and saw this lovely grey back (second photo) only 5 metres away, sitting on a small branch, facing away from me. Very trusting. The calls of the Pallid Cuckoo seem to be ringing in my ears everywhere I go around Papunya and the road to Haasts Bluff, and this one sang from the tree only 2 metres away (fourth photo). 

Pallid Cuckoo

Below are some more photos of other birds around this site:

Crested Bellbird

Pied Honeyeater

Black-breasted Buzzard photos

Returned to my new favourite birding spot on the way home today - the Frederick Blakeley Memorial. I had changed a few settings on the camera the night before and had pulled up at the memorial and was taking some shots just to see if the settings were right. As I pulled my face back from the camera view-finder, I noticed a very large, moving shadow on the ground next to the car. I looked up but whatever it was had gone over the car. I looked again and this time saw the Black-breasted Buzzard pictured below. I'm not sure how close it had come, but I laughed at myself - "great birder you are - taking some lovely photos of far-off almost unseeable small birds when a wonderful bird of prey just about sits on your head AND YOU MISSED IT!" I recovered in time to take a few decent shots, hope you enjoy.

Black-breasted Buzzard

Red-capped Robins dancing, Southern Whiteface nesting and a loud Pallid Cuckoo - photos and video

I drove from Papunya to Haasts Bluff and back again yesterday for work, and stopped off at the Frederick Blakeley Memorial. The memorial is about half way between the two Communities at the base of some enormous rocky hills. It is the only place on the drive where you can get off the road with a small semi-circle driveway near the memorial. I stopped there during the day and then again on the way back, much later.

After the excitement of the Pied Honeyeaters at Papunya, I was now attuned to their calls and there were lots of them here as well. In fact, whenever I slowed the car with the windows down throughout the whole drive yesterday, I could hear their calls so there must be hundreds of them around this area at the moment.

I had seen some Red-capped Robins during the midday stop, but it was the late afternoon stop that was almost comical. I had gone across the road from the memorial with the camera and had taken some distant shots of a number of birds, but could hear the clicking sound of the Red-capped Robin back towards the road. It was unusual to my ears however as it was more like a Grey Shrike-thrush or a Pied Butcherbird hitting an insect on wood and it was constant. Finally I could stand it no more and headed back to the road and there were two male Red-capped Robins clicking constantly, doing a dance, which looked like a power struggle. I think it was possibly a younger Red-capped Robin trying to either fight for the female that was nearby, or fight for the nesting spot, or possibly it was being told it was no longer allowed to be in the family home, not really sure but it was entertaining to watch. In all the photos and the video, the bird on the left seems to be the one in charge. The middle of the road is probably not the best place to be standing/crouching/kneeling to take photos and video but luckily for me there was no traffic during the whole sequence!

Red-capped Robins

 

The female perched above the road, watching the two males squabble

   

In the video, the two Red-capped robins do a little shadow-boxing dance to start with and then the one on the left gets the upper hand in the second and forces the one on the right to fly off.

At around the same time the Robins were going toe (or should that be claw) to toe, a couple of Southern Whiteface hopped down on to the road behind me. One of them was either very fluffed up like a young one, or, as I suspect judging by the nesting material of the other, was a soon-to-be mum. The light wasn't fantastic by this stage but the photos still show the two birds fairly clearly.

Southern Whiteface

"Where's this house I'm supposed to build, you look ready to drop an egg!"

One species that has been rather vocal recently is the Pallid Cuckoo. During my midday stop, I heard a Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo calling from one of the taller trees by the side of the road and took a couple of photos from a distance with the intention to get closer and take some more. I had been on the other side of the road, and paused briefly by the car to use the car as a steadying influence to take the next photo and was disappointed to see that Cuckoo had flown off. I kept moving towards the tree thinking it had possibly dropped down to some lower branches, and when I got to the tree I looked up and was surprised to see a much larger Cuckoo sitting on an exposed branch. I thought maybe I had mistaken the first one, but was glad when I checked the photos I hadn't. The Pallid Cuckoo that had flown in while I was walking across to the tree then began calling. I snapped off some photos and then took some video of the call.

Pallid Cuckoo

The female Red-capped Robin wasn't impressed the Cuckoo was in her neck of the woods

Video of the Pallid Cuckoo calling

The Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo

There were quite a few other birds around, one species I love to see and hear are the Crimson Chats. They didn't come close, but were in the same tree as the Pallid Cuckoo:

Crimson Chat

Below is a photo of the memorial plaque for Frederick Blakeley: