Quick Trip to Tennant Creek

I headed up the road for a short drive with a friend to Tennant Creek. Only 1200 or so kms in a day and a half. It was nice to feel a bit warmer!

Our targets were the species in the spinifex-laden hills around TC, and I learned a lot from my friend about habitats.

By far the most numerous were the Grey-fronted Honeyeaters. They were very curious. Weebills also would come close to check out the weirdos on the ground below. The Spinifex Pigeons were also there in numbers and if we sat quietly, they only seemed to notice us at the last second before they stumbled into us. Birds of prey were constantly circling, and Painted Finches could often be heard in small groups flying overhead. We saw a Ground Cuckoo-shrike on the way up the highway, and a few small flocks of Budgerigars and Zebra Finches. A very enjoyable day and a half.

Wedge-tailed Eagles soaring

Nankeen Kestrel flyby

Ground Cuckoo-shrike on the way up the highway

Grey-fronted Honeyeater by a soak

Spinifex Pigeons

A curious Weebill

Ground Cuckoo-shrikes on the Tanami Road

Drove out to Papunya today via the Tanami Road. I stopped at an area where someone had told me they had seen a Grey Falcon in a tree over a period of years. I noted that there was a fair bit of nest building that had taken place since I was last there, but no sign of any Grey Falcons. Will continue to check on this site each time I pass. I ventured further up the road a bit and 3 birds flew from my right across the road and landed on my left on some scrubby-covered ground. I stopped the car and grabbed the camera, wondering if I was just chasing a group of Magpie Larks, although they had a different flight pattern to the M-Ls.
I have seen Ground Cuckoo-shrikes previously, but never really managed decent photos. Once I looked through the camera and realised my hunch was correct, I snapped off around ten photos, but from a decent distance and realised later the wire fence in between was beautifully in focus, the birds a lovely grey, white and black blur in the background. There was a bush between me and the birds so I crouched and hurried up behind the bush. In the meantime, they had fluttered a further 20 metres away from me. Below is a sample of what I managed to capture:

Ground Cuckoo-shrike

Ground Cuckoo-shrikes, Crimson Chats and others near Tilmouth Well

The road between Tilmouth Well and Laramba which runs through Napperby Station has some beautiful countryside,  a few rocky outcrops and runs almost parralel with a riverbed which is dry at the moment. I have posted a couple of other birding experiences already, the Birds of Prey post can be found here and the Parrots post can be found here.

Another species which was a little unusual was the Ground Cuckoo-shrikes. At first I saw them in a tree (so much for being on the Ground ! :-) ) but I was looking into the sun and couldn't really tell what type of bird they were. I watched as they flew down onto the road ahead of me. There were three birds, all of them landed on the road, and after a short time, 2 of them quickly found their way into the grasses by the side of the road. The third one stayed on the road itself, walking between sun and shadows. A second one eventually joined it on the road, but the third stayed mainly in the grasses. They stayed a reasonable distance away from me so the photos aren't spectacular, but still better than I have managed before.

They were about 9 kms north of the Tanami Road turnoff to Laramba at the Tilmouth Well end. They eventually flew off towards the dry riverbed.

Ground Cuckoo-shrike

The above photos were taken in the morning, on the north side of the outcrop. In the afternoon when I was driving home, there were some Crimson Chats on the south side of the outcrop, happily feeding away on the side of the road. The males are just starting to get their full breeding plumage:

Crimson Chat

Enjoy your Birdwatching!