Jacky Winter, Forest Kingfisher, Flycatchers and Doves photos

My youngest son and I ran into the Jacky Winter birds in the middle part of the Northern Territory, namely at Elliott and Dunmurra. They were very accommodating.

Jacky Winter

Forest Kingfisher

Leaden Flycatcher

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher

Paperbark Flycatcher

Shining Flycatcher

Bar-shouldered Dove

Peaceful Dove

Top End Birds Part 1

It is the time of year for a Top End visit and the birds have been very happy to flock together and display some of their numbers and fantastic colouring. Here is a short selection to start with:

Rainbow Bee-eaters

Bush Stone-curlew

Double-barred Finch

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher

Sacred Kingfisher

Black Kites - ALL of Them!

Flycatchers from the Top End - photos

The Flycatchers are birds I find synonymous with the pandanas trees in the Top End, their occasional "zzzztt" echoing from "somewhere" until eventually they present themselves. (I hope I have these named correctly, please feel free to point out if I have inadvertently got them wrong.)

Broad-billed Flycatcher, seen at Fogg Dam

Leaden Flycatcher, seen at Yellow Waters

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, same in name only, different sounds completely but still name a flycatcher for some reason, seen at lots of places including this one from Marrara in Darwin

Paperbark Flycatcher, seen at South Alligator campground

Shining Flycatcher, seen at Yellow Waters

Happy Birding!

Kakadu small birds

Spending 2 weeks in Kakadu and the Douglas-Daly region was a time to get used to the sounds of new birds, and the small birds were no exception. By far the friendliest was the Lemon-bellied Flycatcher. A very inquisitive bird that constantly flew close to where we walked. On more than one occasion, one of these little birds came to almost arms length above me on a branch and there was not enough distance to get all the bird in the photo. More similar to a robin rather than the other flycatchers, but a delightful, busy bird to watch.

The fantails were an interesting mix. The grey fantails would display themselves, and fan their tails, whereas the Northern Fantail was much less extravagant with its tail movement, and the Mangrove Fantail was extremely shy in comparison. The Northern Fantail was in many of the treed places the lemon-bellied flycatcher was, and was similar in that its movements were largely catching insects, then perching and watching until the next victim was spotted. The Mangrove Fantail was only spotted in the pandanas-strewn riverside of the Douglas River, in the thickly branched lower regions of the larger trees or close by to this cover.

Perhaps the most surprising small bird I saw (for me) was the Golden-headed Cisticola. I had seen these birds in Victoria and was delighted to see them again. They were in the tall grasses around the campground at Gunlom and were easy to hear, but not the easiest to spot wandering around. However, standing quietly and close to the tall spears beside the campground and in the grass/thickets near the camping ground manager's/day use toilets (always a tricky thing with camera in hand!), they usually came up for a perch to see what was around.