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