After the heolter skelter the boys and I have been doing over the past week, today was one of those days where we just relaxed around the campground at Batchelor. Swims in the pool, mini-golf, washing and walking around bird watching was the order of the day.
The main excitement came in the late afternoon when a Pacific Baza decided the clump of trees around our campervan was a good place to hunt. We were treated to some tremendous views near the van, then the boys went chasing it around the campground for the next half an hour.
The first inkling was a large bird moved from one tree to another out of the corner of my eye. I knew it was large, so not most of the species we had been seeing. I ran around to the other side of the trees, hoping for a Collared Sparrowhawk or similar. When I saw the little crest on the head I called to the boys to grab their cameras and said there was a Picfic Baza. No, this isn't a typo, my son Banjo called the Pacific Baza a Picfic Baza in 2010 when we were travelling around WA. The boys didn't need much bidding. We were quite surprised how large it was, how large the wingspan, how small its moves from tree to tree or even within a tree were the majority of the time. It allowed great views.
While the boys chased the Pacific Baza, some Northern Rosellas flew into the top of a nearby tree
The day started early as my youngest son spent two hours waiting for and eventually getting some wonderful, almost professional quality video of some Red-collared Rainbow Lorikeets. Check out his blog to see some of the video on his blog (see the blog post here.) I took a few snaps as well.
The main excitement came in the late afternoon when a Pacific Baza decided the clump of trees around our campervan was a good place to hunt. We were treated to some tremendous views near the van, then the boys went chasing it around the campground for the next half an hour.
The first inkling was a large bird moved from one tree to another out of the corner of my eye. I knew it was large, so not most of the species we had been seeing. I ran around to the other side of the trees, hoping for a Collared Sparrowhawk or similar. When I saw the little crest on the head I called to the boys to grab their cameras and said there was a Picfic Baza. No, this isn't a typo, my son Banjo called the Pacific Baza a Picfic Baza in 2010 when we were travelling around WA. The boys didn't need much bidding. We were quite surprised how large it was, how large the wingspan, how small its moves from tree to tree or even within a tree were the majority of the time. It allowed great views.
Pacific Baza
While the boys chased the Pacific Baza, some Northern Rosellas flew into the top of a nearby tree
Northern Rosellas
The day started early as my youngest son spent two hours waiting for and eventually getting some wonderful, almost professional quality video of some Red-collared Rainbow Lorikeets. Check out his blog to see some of the video on his blog (see the blog post here.) I took a few snaps as well.
Olive-backed Oriole
