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

Finches, Finches, Finches .... and a Mannikan

I have travelled through the land of Finches in the past couple of days. I feel like I'm living atop the Magic Faraway Tree!

The collection of Finches is a wonderful sight. Some places had one or two species, others had 6 or more. The Top End, or the southern extremities of the Top End of the Northern Territory are a bird-watcher's paradise. The Finch species are normally quite noisy, and the bird song has been everywhere. Here are a few snaps:

Gouldian Finches

Long-tailed Finches

Masked Finch

Crimson Finches

Double-barred Finch

Long-tailed, Double-barred and Zebra Finches

and a Pictorella Mannikan

Gouldian Finches, Long-tailed Finches, Double-barred Finches

As I left Dunmarra this morning before the sun was up, I was hoping to come across a gully with some water to check out the birding action. As I drove slowly along the dirt, I managed to interrupt some pre-dawn activity on the road of Common Bronzewings, Owlet-Nightjars, as well as a couple of kangaroos.

The Buchanon Highway was very smooth, with one exception. As I drew closer to the Hazard sign, it looked like a detour ahead. As I was only doing about 45 kms/hr, I hit the washout fairly slowly, but it still gave me a jolt. Needless to say I was even more cautious the following "hazards".

And so, I didn't find a gully but I did find a small dam. Just tucked in off the road, I spotted it just as it was light enough to see without the car lights. There was already lots of bird activity. Black Kites, Brown Falcons and Brown Goshawks were everywhere. The pair of Brown Goshawks were giving everything the hurry up, mainly the Galahs, Varied and (Red-collared) Rainbow Lorikeets. A family of 5 dingoes put the wind up me a little bit. They saw me, but kept coming all the way to the little dam. Thankfully they turned around after a quick drink.

And then the party started. At first it was just Double-barred Finches, then the Long-tailed Finches joined in, followed by a brief glimpse of a Gouldian Finch adult, then Zebra Finches, all the while being constantly sent packing by the Brown , Banded , Grey-fronted, Yellow-tinted and Rufous-throated Honeyeaters, not to mention the Willie Wagtails and Magpie Larks. And then there were the pigeons and doves - Bar-shouldered, Peaceful and Diamond Doves all arrived, Common Bronzewings, Crested Pigeons, the bird list just kept growing. I managed a few decent shots of the three finches in the title. Here is a sample:

Gouldian Finch

Long-tailed Finch

Double-barred Finch

Gouldian and other Finches - Top End, Northern Territory

Two very successful visits to the Edith Falls Road site. The first time was great to see the Gouldian Finches with some of the other finches around, but the second was spectacular with about 70 Gouldian Finches flying around.

Gouldian Finch

Crimson Finch

Long-tailed Finch

Masked Finch