A (loving?) couple of Zebra Finches

I stumbled across a puddle (there's a surprise to regular readers) in the middle of a track recently. Apart from a few other species (Diamond Doves, Crested Pigeons, Spiny-cheeked and Singing Honeyeaters, Black-faced Woodswallows etc), the main attraction were a couple of Zebra Finches, in amongst a few dozen more. This pair seemed to have a tiff, and then a make-up bath together. Very cute.

Zebra Finch

Crimson Chats, Crested Pigeon, Zebra Finch and a Bee on a Poached Egg Daisy flower

Recently I sat by a puddle on an outback road. I noticed a Bourke's Parrot that flew off as I walked up to the puddle. I figured it was probably a good place to sit for a while. Alas, the Bourke's Parrot never returned for a drink, although I could hear them calling and feeding nearby.

I did manage to take some nice photos of some Crimson Chats though. They reappeared a number of times, and I eventually put the camera down and just watched them drink and bathe. I haven't seen this behaviour before, so it was interesting just to observe. Many more of these birds flew over me, and didn't stop, but enough did to make the stop worthwhile.

Of course the Zebra Finches were almost ever-present (disappearing briefly when an alarm call rang out from a nearby Singing Honeyeater). And a few Crested Pigeons strolled down the well-covered banks to have a drink as well. Other birds I could see but didn't come for a drink included White-fronted Honeyeaters, Black-faced and Masked Woodswallows, Australasian Pipits, Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo and a couple of Pallid Cuckoos filling the air with their calls.

All in all, a nice little bird-watching and photography session.

Crimson Chats

Young female

Adult Female

Crested Pigeon

Zebra Finch

One of the other delights of the area were the wildflowers. Below is a single Poached Egg Daisy flower with a bee

Birding the highways - Alice Springs to Lajamanu

Back on the road for work once more. Leaving an almost freezing Alice Springs (I think it was 4 degrees when I woke up yesterday morning), it was a nice thought to be heading back into warmer weather.

Day 1 was fairly uneventful, stopped in quickly just north of Tennant Creek to check out a newly discovered site then at Newcastle Waters and finally stopped for the night at Dunmarra.

Early start this morning, and stopped for a coffee about 60 kms down the Buchanan Highway where I met a grader driver working for Buchanan Downs. He said since the new dams had been put in there were now lots more finches, including Gouldians. Great to hear.

I had a couple of great birding stops. The Illawarra Creek almost at the western end of the Buchanan Highway as you approach Top Springs once again proved fruitful for finches - 6 types in total - Gouldians, Double-barred, Masked, Long-tailed, Zebra and Crimson Finches were all there. The second place was Camfield River on the Buntine Highway. I had found Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens there before and was delighted to find them again, although the photo opportunities weren't great.

And finally, some Australian Bustards strolling across the road just before I turned off the bitumen onto the Lajamanu Road. A tiring but enjoyable drive.

Gouldian Finch

Double-barred Finch

Long-tailed Finch

Masked Finch

Zebra Finch

Purple-crowned Fairy-wren

Australian Bustard

Get on the Budgie Train to Alice Springs and see a world of beautifully coloured Parrots

The Budgerigars are flocking in Central Australia!
Larger and larger groups are being spotted in the areas surrounding Alice Springs. But the budgies are not the only parrots that are full of colour against the red of the outback.
Cockatiels, Mulga Parrots, Red-tailed Black Cockatoos and Australian Ringnecks like the one in the photo below are also taking advantage of the disappearing puddles while they last.

Australian Ringneck

The puddle I was sitting at was being visited by small flocks of Budgerigars. There were quite a few young ones, being policed and shepherded by the adults. Lots of squawking, chatting, and nervous scouting flights around the puddle before settling in the dead tree. If they had their back to me, sometimes I could hear them clearly but really had to scan to find them on the branch. This camouflage obviously assists them from being spotted by birds above.

Budgerigar

And a puddle wouldn't be the same without the presence of a lot of Zebra Finches. After sitting quietly for about ten minutes I had some very close encounters with a number of finches, normally the females, coming to check me out and then land only a few metres from me. Eventually I spotted a few juveniles in the small flock which explained a bit more about this rather aggressive behaviour by the adults.

Zebra Finch

Nyirripi - land of Banded Whitefaces, Falcons, Hawks and Buzzards, and weather phenomenons

Finally back to visiting remote Communities. Nyirripi was the destination and my love of this area hasn't waned after another spectacular birding display.

With the dryness of the surrounding area, the Poo Ponds was the place packed with action. 1000+ Zebra Finches make enough noise and movement to excite any bird of prey. Throw in a few Sandpipers and a small flock of Crested Pigeons, and mayhem is bound to follow. It did.

Even after looking at old photos, current photos, and the ones I took, I still can't work out if the bird of prey below is a Collared Sparrowhawk (had the elongated middle toe and a shortened call compared to the Goshawks I've been watching recently) or a Brown Goshawk - rounded tail and beetle brow. Regardless, it was pretty brutal with the unfortunate Sharp-tailed Sandpiper:

The Black Falcon and Peregrine Falcon preferred the Zebra Finches, but I also watched as the Peregrine took out a Crested Pigeon

This Black-breasted Buzzard landed across and up the road from me before being mobbed by Yellow-throated Miners then to my delight flew back towards me

 By far the highlight was a close-up experience with a Banded Whiteface, which was followed later in the day at a different location with another 6, although not quite as close

The first morning moon was spectacular just before it set. I turned around to be confronted by an equally stunning sunrise

The Tanami Road is possibly going to have bitumen from Alice Springs all the way to Halls Creek. That would be awesome but I suspect only an act of God may make this happen for the price they are quoting ($680 million)

And finally, couldn't not have the Zebra Finches in a post about Nyirripi, and I've included yet another example of the strange discolouration quite a few of them have

The "Stare-downs" - Bird Photos head on

Sometimes I wonder who is watching who between me and the birds. There have been very few times when I wonder if some of those talons may, just possibly, dig into my flesh at some times. I normally get a tingle down the spine from being able to take a really good close up photo. There have been a couple of times, not many, when I get a different sort of tingle - that slight feeling of nervousness. Here are a couple of recent photos head on, none of which really gave me that worrying feeling, although the Black-breasted Buzzard certainly checked me out nice and close after the photo below.

Peregrine Falcon

Black-breasted Buzzard

Zebra Finch

Crested Bellbird