Red-tailed Black Cockatoos at Lajamanu

The Red-tailed Black Cockatoos have been a constant sight during my trips to Lajamanu over the years, and my most recent trip was no exception.

I enjoy the excitement of hearing their calls  somewhere in the distance and then love finding them and seeing their tails spread as they land in the tops of trees, showing the red of the males or the more yellowy-orange of the females.

Here are a small sample of photos from early August this year:

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

The Red-tailed Black Cockatoos were in full voice around Lajamanu and surrounds. Both in town and out at the Turkey Nest "Swimming" Hole (wouldn't swim there myself).

Below are some shots I took over a couple of days.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

A second Black Bittern experience.

Sometimes birding is weird. Even though the sighting of one bird might suggest a second sighting in a reasonable proximity is possible, or even likely, over 400 kms away is stretching things. However, that is what happened to me.

I'd never seen a Black Bittern before Saturday. I wrote about my first experience here. Today was sighting number 2. By road more than 420 kms to the south, at Lajamanu. I had already scared off 2 White-faced Herons, and a Pacific Heron stayed a lot further down the creek. There were Double-barred Finches coming down to drink, Grey-fronted, White-plumed, Yellow-tinted and Brown Honeyeaters flitting around, as well as Striated Pardalotes piping from the treetops, and the mournful cries of 5 or 6 Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. A pair of Pied Butcherbirds seemed to completely ignore the alarmist honeyeaters, Willie Wagtails chatted away and a lizard went for a dunk in the creek before clambering up and scurrying away. All a pretty normal afternoon at Hooker Creek.

Settling in to my chair, compiling my e-bird list, a bird, a largish bird, appeared on my left side in my peripheral vision. The camera snapped into position and I stupidly fired off four or five shots before I even had a chance to focus. The last photo in the sequence was pretty much in focus and I could tell straight away it was yet another Black Bittern. Fully expecting it to continue on down the creek, I was ecstatic when it pulled up not far from me and landed in sight about half way up the tree. Unfortunately there were some pesky sticks in the way but I could see the bird clearly. At first it was fairly hunched over, then it straightened in a manner reminiscent of an emu, A weird sight. Hoping it would fly back from whence it came, I was overjoyed when it flew virtually across the river from me, alas via the backs of trees, butlanded in some tall grass. It slowly came out of the grass, very shyly, but standing quite upright. More photos, these ones even better than any from today or Saturday. I think I started to tremble. I always get excited when opportunities like this arise. The camera was having trouble focusing as the grass behind moved in the breeze. Then the Bittern squatted and flew up into the nearest very bushy tree. It stayed there for 10 or so minutes, before again flying to the ground, this time stalking behind the grass and a tree, until it flew up to the back of the trunk of the tree directly opposite me. After 30 seconds, it decided it would head back to its original location, and it disappeared from view.

I originally thought it was a male, but shadows can play tricks with both your eyes and the camera. Once I downloaded the photos it is obviously a female. A truly weird and wonderful experience. Hope you enjoy the photos. Make sure you check out photos 4 and 5. The two stances on the bough, and 1 and 2, the stances on the ground.

Black Bittern

A few bird photos from around Lajamanu

Not much to write here, other than there is water in Hooker Creek, the local creek at Lajamanu, which means there are lots of birds around. Here is a sample from the last couple of days.

Red-winged Parrot

Brown Honeyeater

Australian Ringneck

Grey-fronted Honeyeater

Diamond Dove

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

White-breasted Woodswallow

Black-chinned Honeyeater

Grey Shrike-thrush

Rufous Whistler

White-breasted Woodswallow, Brown Honeyeater and others from Lajamanu

After the weekend wanderings, it has been back into work over the past few days, apart from these shots at lunch time today of the White-breasted Woodswallows sitting on the power lines outside the accommodation I'm in:

After work this afternoon I grabbed the camera and headed off to the east along the North Tanami Rd (didn't even know it existed until I drove onto it!) I was originally heading towards the local sewerage ponds. I know, amazing to think I could be this far from a major town or city and still manage to find the poo ponds!
The ponds themselves weren't holding a large number of birds, and the majority of which I have much better chances at good quality photos at the Alice Springs Water Treatment Plant than here through the security wire, but species included Black-winged Stilts, Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterels, a lone Pacific Black Duck, Zebra Finches and the ever-present Willie Wagtail. There were a couple of birds just outside and occasionally just inside the perimeter fence, namely Paperbark Flycatcher and the below Jackie Winter:

The photos of the day however came once I'd left the poo ponds area and headed up the road a bit. The Brown Honeyeaters are ever-present in the locations I've been recently, and the one in the photos below kept stuffing its gob with little insects and returning to the same branch to munch away:

Pizzey and Knight states that they have a strong and varied voice often with a throaty "dup". Couldn't agree more, there weren't many other birds around but they were drowned out in the most by the throng of Brown Honeyeaters, and the "dup" was constant from all directions, I thought I was in New Zealand on a hot day and everyone was telling me they were heading off for a "dup" (dip in the ocean). (Sorry to the Kiwis out there, but it was the one way I could think of for those who haven't heard the Brown Honeyeater but have heard a Kiwi talk).

Another bird confused me for a little while as it was keeping quiet and the photos were at long range. Eventually one came close enough to identify properly, a Little Friarbird, which I don't think I have identified here at Lajamanu before now (the below photo was one taken at the weekend at Jasper Gorge as I didn't end up being able to take a decent shot this afternoon)

Happy Birding!