Thursday 7 December 2017

Australia Part 5 - Darwin & Wetlands

We arrived late afternoon in a very hot and sticky Darwin from the Ghan Train, looking forward very much to our Wetlands tour the next day.

The trip out to the wetlands took about 90 minutes with a stop for a comfort break and coffee, we stopped first at Fogg Dam to see what was about,
Intermediate Egret
 Whiskered Tern,
 Paperbark Flycatcher,
 Wandering Whistling Duck,
 Glossy Ibis,
 Magpie Goose,
 Straw-necked Ibis,
 Crimson Finch,
 Wandering Whistling Duck & Comb-crested Jacana,
In a distant field there was also a flock of Brolga,
So not a bad start to the day, because of the schedule we could only spend a short time here, plus it was HOT, so some shade and aircon was welcome as we got back into the minibus.

Our next stop was at a Wetlands Visitor Centre, loads of info about the local environment, and good views over the wetlands. There were a number of birds about outside,
Black Kite,
 Rufous-banded Honeyeater,
 A view from the visitor centre.
 Dragonflies!
Varied Triller,
 White-throated Honeyeater,
 Black-faced Cuckooshrike,
 Misteltoe Bird,
 Rufous-banded Honeyeater,
 Australian Figbird (f)
 Australian Figbird (m)

From the visitor centre we drove about 20 minutes out to a Billabong and boarded a boat, we then cruised the waterways for just shy of 3 hours. It was a brilliant afternoon, blazing sunshine, a great lunch out on the water. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the company that ran the trip, but I'm sure if you are ever in Darwin, you can track it down, your hotel concierge will know. I can't recommend this trip highly enough, it was brilliant.

Anyway back to the wildlife........

So we saw quite a few birds from the water, a boat trip in the tropics, is a great way to see things.
First a couple of shots to set the scene;


Now for some birds........
Willy Wagtail on the nest,
 White-bellied Sea Eagle,
 Little Pied Cormorant,

 Nankeen Night Heron,
 White-bellied Sea Eagle
 Australian Darter,
 Little Black Cormorant,
 Comb-crested Jacana,
 Great Egret,
 Swamp Harrier,
 Australian Darter,
 Glossy Ibis,
 no apologies for another White-bellied Sea Eagle shot,
 Black-necked Stork,
 Purple Swamphen,
  Black-necked Stork,

 Magpie Goose,
 Swamp Harriers,

 Water Lily!
 Northern Fantail,
 (Tree!) Magpie Goose,

 Brolga,




 Willy Wagtail,
 Black-necked Stork,
 White-bellied Sea Eagles,
 Brolga,
 Lunch time again for an Australian Darter,
 Swamp Harrier,
 Plumed Whistling Ducks,
 Pied Heron,

A great day out, capped by seeing this beauty next to the boat!
Saltwater Crocodile



Not a mega list for the day, but we were well pleased!

Australasian Darter
Australasian Figbird
Australasian Grebe
Australian Pied Cormorant
Australian White Ibis
Black Kite
Black-faced Cuckooshrike
Black-necked Stork
Brolga
Cattle Egret
Comb-crested Jacana
Crimson Finch
Forest Kingfisher
Glossy Ibis
Great Egret (modesta)
Grey Fantail
Little Black Cormorant
Little Pied Cormorant
Magpie Goose
Magpie-lark
Mistletoebird
Nankeen Night Heron
Northern Fantail
Orange-footed Scrubfowl
Paperbark Flycatcher
Pied Heron
Plumed Whistling Duck
Purple Swamphen
Raja Shelduck
Rufous-banded Honeyeater
Straw-necked Ibis
Swamp Harrier
Varied Triller
Wandering Whistling Duck
Whiskered Tern
Whistling Kite
White-bellied Sea Eagle
White-throated Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail
Yellow-throated Honeyeater

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