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

Wedge-tailed Eagles - the Royal Family of the birding world in the Centre

Wedge-tailed Eagles are so majestic. As the sun starts baking the earth in Central Australia, the roadkill becomes more prevalent, and so do the sightings of these magnificent birds.

Here are a few recent Wedge-tailed Eagle photos.

Some recent shots from around and near Alice Springs

Australian Hobby with Budgerigar (always wondered if they were fast enough, now I know)

Whistling Kite landing

White-necked Heron landing

Black-shouldered Kite take-off

Rainbow Bee-eater take-off

Red-backed Kingfisher - the effects of light

Wedge-tailed Eagle circling

A Divine Wedge-tailed Eagle, a Sparrowhawk that almost came in the car and other bird photos from Papunya NT

In the heat of the Australian Outback, with the sun behind, I looked up and saw this vision. I think you could forgive me thinking this was some sort of Divine Angel of Goddess coming to spirit me away. For some reason, the more I look at this photo, the more religious-symbolic it appears.

The bird in the photo above, a Wedge-tailed Eagle, was one of a pair that decided to scare the congregated ducks on the ponds of the water treatment ponds of Papunya, a remote community about 250 kms WNW of Alice Springs. I thought the ducks had become a little bit neurotic but then looked behind me and saw the WTEs. One of them came closer than the other, and I haven't witnessed them swooping ducks before even though I have heard lots of people say this happens. Up close, they really are amazing birds, and even "tucked" they still look huge. The pair dipped on the ducks, and headed off to hunt further afield. The following is a series of photos as it turned and swooped, with the final photo showing a very lucky Grey Teal in the background as the WTE was checking me out, not its normal food..

My second Bird of Prey experience comes with no photos, but a story. I was watching the Zebra Finches fly from behind the car, over the fence and down to the water in the Ponds. They would then fly back in numbers and head for the trees behind the car once more. On the third occasion of this event, as they were returning, I spotted what I thought was a pigeon to start with, but then soon realised it was a bird of prey. It was coming fast, and swooped down low over the ponds, rose sharply to avoid the fence, still chasing the Zebra Finches and then chose a finch to target. The Zebra Finch sped over the fence, flew close to the ground between the fence and the car and then flew safely into some thickly branched part of the tree behind the car. The Sparrowhawk had almost caught the finch as it went over the fence, then followed the finch down low and came directly over the front door of the car towards the tree behind. I could have almost reached out and grabbed it as it flew past it was that close. Not that I would have been anywhere near quick enough. It failed in its attempt to catch the finch and after realising too late it couldn't go into the branches, it seemed to flutter about above me then flew off to a nearby tree to lick its wounds, still hungry. I'm not sure who got the biggest shock, but I certainly had a much more enjoyable experience. For once the camera wasn't at the ready, but it was special to watch the events unfold for a change.

The rest are photos of birds and some of the countryside around the Papunya area:

Australian Ringneck

Pied Butcherbird

Varied Sittella

Zebra Finch

The beautiful colours of the road and the hills

Are you a birdwatcher? If you answer "No", please read this Blog Post!

Over the past couple of years, I have talked to a lot of people about birds and bird-watching. When I ask them if they are a bird-watcher, most of them say "No". But really, after talking to them for a little while, they are doing exactly the same as I do, but are doing it sub-consciously. I think most people are bird-watchers, or nature-watchers.

The conversations normally start out like this:
"Richard, someone told me you are a bird-watcher. The other day I saw this bird .... "
Sometimes after trying to work out what the bird was the other person had seen is the end of the discussion. But the majority of the time, the discussion goes much further. One of the most enjoyable tips I give to people is to start using their ears more than their eyes. I met a couple in Batchelor, NT, last year. They had seen a slideshow of birds on my laptop screensaver and asked if they could have a chat about the local birds. We agreed to meet later that night and I would do a slideshow just of the local birds. Another 2 groups joined our "fireside" chat. They all asked how they could better appreciate the birdlife in the area, and I suggested as they were walking around, to look for the different birds based on their sounds. The next day, the lady from the original couple saw me and came over and said she and her husband had been amazed by the amount of birds they had heard and seen that morning. They had done the same walk the previous day and hadn't noticed nearly as many birds. She then asked about books on birds and what I would recommend. We are spoilt for choice in Australia with 4 really good bird identification books, with my personal favourite being Pizzey and Knight. With the digital age, both the Pizzey and Knight and the Michael Morcombe books can now be purchased in digital format, which can help more than the books as they also have the bird sounds for most species.

Not everyone will want to bird watch all the time. No everyone will want to spend money on specific cameras and lenses. But anyone and everyone can appreciate or wonderful wildlife, and bird life in particular. Anyone who has seen the amazing colours of our parrots could not help but be amazed at the colour and for some species their gregarious nature. Galahs for instance are fairly common birds around Australia and anyone who takes 5 minutes to watch them couldn't help but smile at their sometimes outrageous behaviour.

For those people driving along our roads, the sight of Wedge-tailed Eagles either soaring above, or sitting and eating roadkill couldn't help but be impressed by their size and grace soaring above.

Wedge-tailed Eagle

 

  So, I ask you the same question as the Post Title - Are you a birdwatcher? Is the answer still no?