Things that fly

Time for a guest blogger ...

So, because we've been doing little in Darwin other than walking around in shorts, drinking cold beer and eating ice cream, I get to have a special blog. I've called it "things that fly", but, essentially, it's my bird shots with a few extras thrown in.

 

I actually paid a ridiculous amount of money for a very small handbook on common birds of the Australian outback, and most of my birds aren’t in it. So I figure I’ve managed to capture some extraordinary ones and I have no idea what they are called, but happy to hear from anyone who knows.

The finches are the cutest, but the hardest to photograph. They never stay still. Managed to get a couple. 

Zebra finch on Oodnadatta track

 

Double-Barred Finch. Watching us while we enjoyed scones with lots of jam and lots of cream at Ellenbrae Station on the Gibb River Road.

We came across this bedraggled fellow feeling the heat in the middle of the day walking back from a waterhole. I found out later, when I visited the museum and art gallery in Darwin, that this is a fairy wren. Their specimen also looked a bit disheveled, but being stuffed and mounted could have been a factor in the way those looked.

The campsite we stayed in at Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) had hundreds of birds, not all easy to catch on camera. Here are some.

Peaceful dove

 

Barking owl

I don't know - shining flycatcher or honey eater?

Here's his buddy contemplating day's end.

Mmmm...lunch

Red tailed black cockatoos (or Banks' black cockatoo). This fella was wooing really hard for the better part of an hour. A very noisy affair. She was having none of it. He finally gave up and flew off. 

A fig bird - no figs here, but they also eat berries and insects.  

A straw necked ibis. Country cousin to our Sydney bin chicken.

Ian's favourite. A red dragon fly. He has a Hiroshima story around this one. He can tell you later. It involves music and samples.

We arrived at Manning River late in the afternoon - hot as. So we parked in the shade under a very large flowering gum. In the morning we were woken by groups of cockies and lorikeets laughing and crapping all over the car. 

Would you believe four different birds all in varying stages of landing.

First time in a helicopter. Flew out of Mount Hart all the way to Walcott Inlet on the WA coast. The pilot introduced himself as 'Eagle'. Girls, I knew straight away that everything was going to be okay!

More residents of Mount Hart

Spinifex pigeon from Larapinta.

Willie wagtail having a quiet moment.

Elegant parrots from the Flinders Ranges

An emperor moth also from the Flinders Ranges. They develop in these orange hard shelled cocoons underground. Then make their way to the surface, flying straight to the dark toilet blocks at camp. They are the size of an open palm, and all urges to pee disappear when you see one.

Remember the Stainmaster carpets ad?

The bird with the best name has to be the Australian Bustard. Closely related to the bush turkey, the Kimberley is one of the few areas they are seen. This old, tall one ran in front of our car on the road from Mitchell Falls.

And here’s a picture of an old, tall one next to the car (too easy? Couldn't resist!)

Heaps more pictures, but that's probably enough for now. Chat soon.