Birds and Captions - starting with a Zebra Finch "Sometimes I could just shed a tear, a big tear"

While going through some photos I kept getting particular captions in my head so thought I'd share some starting with the Zebra Finch:

Zebra Finch

"Sometimes I could just shed a tear, a big tear"

"When I grow up, I want to be a walrus"

 "but then again, I'm too tired to be one now"

"Taxi!"

Willie Wagtail

"When I grow up, I'm going to be a Rooster just like my shadow!"

Singing Honeyeater

"Ewww! I hate untreated water!"

Rufous Songlark

"If I just put my beak in ...."

"Went to the hairdresser, go a shampoo and condition and a new gel style. What do you think?"

Diamond Dove

"Safety!" (this one is for my kids)

Brown Honeyeater

"I am the Dancing Queen...."

Budgerigar

"Upon Reflection ... this way?"

 "Upon Reflection ... or this way?"

A fleeting Peregrine Falcon experience, Brown Honeyeaters in an upside down dip, and a Rufous Songlark

Papunya has turned up a nice surprise. A young Peregrine Falcon without its usual "zoom" but still fast enough and alas a little way off but some photos just the same.

Peregrine Falcon

I think I counted 10 Brown Honeyeaters in the shrub in the middle of a large puddle, using the shrub to launch for a dip. Some weren't as keen as others and they were quite comical, almost human-like, with some plunging in and others just getting the smallest of dips. As I watched, one of the "plungers" did something strange- they flipped over just as they hit the water so it looked like they were bathing with their head up. Here are a few shots.

Brown Honeyeaters

Rufous Songlark

Birds in a puddle - Budgerigars, Rufous Songlark, Diamond Dove

There has been a few storms around Alice Springs recently, but only a few puddles remain. At one of those puddles, I watched a variety of birds cautiously come and have a drink, while others simply plonked into the water.

Budgerigars

Rufous Songlark

Diamond Dove

Young birds and little bird photos

Unusually, the middle of Australia is having a normal Spring boom for birds. I haven't noticed this in previous years, and it is nice to experience similar events to the rest of Australia. The juveniles have thrown me quite a bit, and thankfully the parents have been around to give me a clue. The Masked Woodswallow was one that really confused me until the parent flew onto a branch beneath the juvenile.

Masked Woodswallow juvenile

A few moments later a young Budgerigar joined the Woodswallow on the same tree

Budgerigar juvenile

further down the road I came across a bird that I just couldn't finger for an ID. Eventually I decided it was a young Rufous Songlark

There were a few of the smaller birds around, they can be noisy and cheeky. One of them was a Chestnut-rumped Thornbill

Chestnut-rumped Thornbill

Another small bird that is enjoyable to watch is the Australasian or Richard's Pipit

and I couldn't have a small bird post without putting in the Zebra Finch. They have such character and even though I see these a lot, I could watch their playful shananagans all day.

Zebra Finch

Rufous Songlark Taking a Bath

Driving back from Yulara yesterday I stopped off at the Mt Connor Lookout on the Lasseter Highway. I didn't intend to initially but as I drove past a tree about 500 metres before the Lookout, it burst into life as over 100 budgies flew off. The tree turned from green back to brown and the air was suddenly specks of green. I had remembered seeing parts of Lake Amadeus away from the road had water in it so I decided to stop and head over the sand dune and take a look. I had numerous flybys by groups of budgies:

and was a little disappointed to see the lack of water in the lake as it had looked like it would have much more water from my earlier sighting, but still, this was the first time I had seen any water in the lake:

Mt Connor itself was showing for the first time I had seen it in 4 attempts (down to Yulara and back twice) as the first two of these sightings the mountain was covered by a thick cloud of smoke back in November, and my trip down earlier in the week it had been covered by a low misty rain cloud, but this tie it was clear:

The stop itself isn't normally much chop for bird-watching, crested pigeons, yellow-throated miners and white-plumed honeyeaters the mainstays, so I continued on, keen to get a photo of the incessantly calling chiming wedgebill I had heard earlier in the week on the Erldunda side of Mt Ebenezer roadhouse. I stopped there again, and could hear it again, but couldn't see it at all and thus no photo. The Brown Songlark was there again though, and I realised that I hadn't heard a Rufous Songlark since I had left the Stuart Highway on the Monday. I have noticed this before. Although their range does overlap, I can't recall actually seeing the two of them in the one location. I continued on my drive back home and as I drove past a puddle recalled that I had seen a Rufous Songlark having a bath out at Ilparpa Road last week.Below are some of the photos: