Day 1 13/8/18
Left Julatten just after 9.am with a stop in Mareeba to stock up on supplies. Then onto Mt. Hypipamee via Atherton for lunch, quiet for birds but a steady flow of tourists arrived.
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| Brown Cuckoo Dove |
Had lunch then continued on to Mt. Garnet, where we knew the fuel was the cheapest around, $1.46.9 ($1.55.9 everywhere else). Filled up the car and the 20lt gerry can (111lt). Next stop was the 40 Mile Scrub for a coffee. Few birds here, two Lewin’s Honeyeater, two Torresian Crow plus a single Laughing Kookaburra on a powerline. From here we drove to Mt. Surprise (45min) and managed to hit a small bullock along the way who came charging out of the grass in front of the car – unavoidable. Broke the rego plate protector and slightly bent the holding bracket and shifted the bull bar back a few millimeters. The bullock disappeared into the bush. Booked into the Bedrock Village camp ground at Mt. Surprise just after 4.00pm and set up camp. A check of the birds found Brown Honeyeater were the most common, with the noisy Blue-faced Honeyeater harassing them plus Grey-crowned Babbler calling in the distance.
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| Grey-crowned Babbler |
Mount Surprise--general area -18.1478914 144.3193662 04:55pm
Mount Surprise--Bedrock Village -18.1478914 144.3193662 06:50am
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| Yellow Honeyeater |
Then took a rocky pathway (old volcanic rocks) to nearby Elizabeth Creek, where there were a few birds such as Pale-headed Rosella, Red-winged Parrot and Leaden Flycatcher. Along the way we had a Great Bowerbird calling from a tree near his bower.
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| Elizabeth Creek |
Elizabeth Creek -18.14258 144.32767 08-14-2018 07:10am
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| Red-winged Parrot |
Packed up and headed to Georgetown, where we topped up the fuel. ($1.48.9lt). Then onto Cumberland Dam, 20km west along the Savannah Highway, a great birding spot. Look out for the big chimney on the left. This area has now been set up for free camping. Only a few caravans when we arrived but a few more came in whilst we were having a coffee and counting the birds on the lagoon. These arrivals were just checking out the facilities and not staying. Several of them were interest in the birds so we showed them some through the scope. Also met a guest from our days running Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge, who was camped here. Not too many waterbirds around, just a few Green Pygmy-goose, Jacana, Plumed Whistling Duck and Red-tailed Black Cockatoo perched in the surrounding trees were the best.
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| Cumberland Dam with our transport and T-Van camper-trailer |
Cumberland Dam -18.302 143.3514 08-14-2018 09:55am
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Australasian Darter
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Then onto Croydon 128km away, for a 30 min lunch stop, which we had at Reese Park, which is in the middle of town - tables, benches and amenities.
Reese Park, Croydon -18.2036092 142.2453514 08-14-2018 12:50pm
Blackbull -17.9407 141.75534 08-14-2018 02:25pm
Peaceful Dove
Arrived at Leichardt Lagoon (also known as Twelve Mile Lagoon) just before 4.00pm. This is a great camp for a small fee, even hot showers and excellent birding both on the lagoon and surrounding woodland. Set up camp before checking out the birds on the lagoon. Lots of birds but few species, mainly Comb-crested Jacana, Cattle Egret, Australasian Darter and Straw-necked Ibis. The woodland area proved to be more productive with Blue-winged Kookaburra, Red-throated Honeyeater, Weebill, Grey-crowned Babbler, Common Bronzewing, Apostlebird and White-winged Triller.
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Blue-winged Kookaburra |
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Apostlebird
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| Cattle Egret |
Twelve Mile Lagoon/Leichhardt Lagoon -17.85139 141.12694 4.30pm
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| Leichardt Lagoon Camp |
Several generators were going on and off during the evening, which was very annoying. The closest two eventually stopped but a distant one kept going, definitely not an asset to the camp ground.
Was woken up by a Tawny Frogmouth calling outside the T-Van at 5.20am. Got up at first light to a 7ºC morning. Had a hot drink to warm up before going for a walk along the edge of the lagoon, plenty of birds but only added White-faced Heron and White-bellied Sea-Eagle to the trip list.
Twelve Mile Lagoon/Leichhardt Lagoon -17.85139 141.12694 06:45am
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White-necked Heron |
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Straw-necked Ibis
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Then walked the fence line beside the woodland area. Nothing much happening here apart from 100+ Apostlebird, along with a few Black and Whistling Kite resting in the trees.
Twelve Mile Lagoon/Leichhardt Lagoon -17.85139 141.12694 07.05am
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Whistling Kite
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Packed up and left by 9.00am heading west towards Normanton until we came to the Burke Development Road, where we turned south towards the Burke and Wills Roadhouse. New birds for the trip on this stretch of road were Australian Pratincole and Australian Kestrel. Arrived at the roadhouse just before 12 midday in time for lunch. Set up the table and chairs and watched fellow travellers as we ate. We were joined by a group of 50+ Apostlebird looking for a hand out, only got a few crumbs.
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| Apostlebird |
Continued on south avoiding the 4 trailer mining trucks and 3 trailer cattle trucks. The road still has stretches of single lane bitumen, which slowed us down. Made it to the Flinders Highway and turned west towards Mt. Isa.
Our overnight stop was to be Clem Walton Park were we had been once before, a great camping spot beside a creek.
Arrived and set up camp after negotiating the steep rocky road in. Quite a few interesting birds, Australian Grebe, Australian Pelican, Varied Lorikeet, Spotted Bowerbird, and Yellow-rumped Thornbill were a few of the new trip birds. Going to be a cold night as the thermometer started to fall early – down to 9ºC before we went to bed.
Lake Corella-Clem Walton Park Camp Ground -20.84611 140.05194 04:10pm
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Budgerigar
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Day 4 Thursday 16/8/18
Whilst enjoying our breakfast a Collared Sparrowhawk flew over and landed in a nearby tree. The tree was already occupied by a female sparrowhawk tearing apart a prey item – hope it was not a babbler! The newly arrived male sat on a nearby branch watching the female until he decided it was time to copulate, while she was otherwise occupied. This brief encounter was soon over and captured on camera. The female resumed her breakfast and the male perched nearby looking pleased with himself. Time to resume our breakfast and pack up, leaving behind the most delightful camping area and head for Mt. Isa.
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| Collared Sparrowhawk - mating |
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| Collared Sparrowhawk - male |
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| Spotted Bowerbird |
Lake Corella--Clem Walton Park Camp Ground -20.84611 140.05194 07:00am
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| Mt. Isa, dominated by the mine |
Arrived in Mt. Isa and booked into the Sunset Caravan Park for two nights. Left a gas bottle to be filled at the office and set up in our site among the hordes of other caravans – not really our scene but we had to catch up with such mundane chores as clothes washing and having showers ourselves. Also all the electronic gadgets needed charging so we took advantage of a powered site. After setting up it was lunch time so we decided to treat ourselves at the information centre and to log on and check out our emails. A cautionary tale of phone coverage: We looked online at the coverage map for our pre-paid phone provider Belong, who we had recently changed to as they said they used the Telstra network and had cheaper plans. After looking at the coverage map we soon realised that they did not use all the Telstra towers and their coverage was severely limited away from main population centres, this made sense as we had been unable to get coverage, where we knew there were Telstra towers. Now Belong are a subsidiary of Telstra, which maybe OK for those in cities but the coverage was no good for us in the outback. So we decided to change back to a Telstra plan.
We managed to break a support leg on our T-Van floor in Mt. Isa so had to find a welder to repair it. We found Wright's Welding at 17 Ryan Road late in the afternoon and dropped it off. Picked it up the following morning repaired. It was a small job for which they refused to accept any payment. Great service and highly recommended.
Sunset Tourist Park, Mount Isa -20.7092921 139.5003004 07:20am
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| Pamela Street Escarpment |
After this we set off for the water tanks on Pamela Road to look for Kalkadoon Grasswren. Great habitat but not a sign of grasswrens, however there were some other good birds and some Purple-necked Rock-wallaby. This species was classified as being many other species of rock wallaby, since being described in 1924 but finally was recognised as a separate species in 2001. They are sparsely distributed in rocky outcrops around Mt. Isa and north-west to the Northern Territory border
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| Purple-necked Rock-wallaby |
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| Purple-necked Rock-wallaby |
Peaceful Dove Brown Honeyeater Willie Wagtail
Wedge-tailed Eagle Little Friarbird Torresian Crow
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Varied Lorikeet
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Mid morning we set out to explore Lake Moondarra, first checking out the lakeside.
Grey Teal Pied Stilt Straw-necked Ibis
Hardhead Little Pied Cormorant
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Australasian Grebe
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Then we ended up at Peacock Park for lunch. Counted 32 feral peacocks/peahens in the park making a living off handouts. Peacocks are always good for photos!
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| Peacock (Indian Peafowl) |
Peacock Park (Lake Moondarra) -20.5813874 139.5758486 12:35pm
Indian Peafowl (Introduced) Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Australian MagpieDiamond Dove Varied Lorikeet White-winged Triller
Peaceful Dove Yellow-throated Miner Magpie-lark
Whistling Kite Striated Pardalote Zebra Finch
Galah White-breasted Woodswallow
Little Corella Pied Butcherbird
Stopped off at Kingfisher Bay where a few birds were foraging on the shoreline and just off shore.
Hardhead Australian Pelican Brown Honeyeater
Australasian Grebe Glossy Ibis Magpie-lark
Pied Stilt Straw-necked Ibis
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Brown Honeyeater
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From here we visited the horse paddocks on the way to the Mt. Isa Treatment Works. A small creek runs through the paddocks attracting a good variety of birds.
Grey Teal Black-fronted Dotterel Willie Wagtail
Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon) Little Egret (Australasian) Australian Raven
Crested Pigeon Straw-necked Ibis Fairy Martin
Pied Stilt
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Little Egret
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Then onto the Mt. Isa Treatment Works and parked up in the birders parking area by the front entrance. Birds are viewed from a platform outside the fence, not ideal as you can only see birds on the bund wall, not right into the ponds. Only a couple of ponds had water on them, one of which could be seen reasonably well. This one was dominated by about 150 Pink-eared Duck and over 100 Silver Gull. Interesting to see 23 Black-fronted Dotterel together on the side of the pond. A new treatment works opened nearby in 2017 and it seems some of the old works ponds have been decommissioned.
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Pink-eared Duck
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Mount Isa Wastewater Treatment Plant -20.6991587 139.5065832 02:12pm
Greylag Goose (Domestic type) Eurasian Coot Spotted BowerbirdAustralian Wood Duck Pied Stilt White-plumed Honeyeater
Grey Teal Black-fronted Dotterel Willie Wagtail
Pink-eared Duck Silver Gull Magpie-lark
Hardhead Cattle Egret Australian Raven
Australasian Grebe Rainbow Bee-eater Fairy Martin
Crested Pigeon Galah
Diamond Dove
It was becoming too hot for birding so back to camp for a short rest before returning to Pamela Street for another attempt at the grasswrens. This time we met another couple looking for the grasswrens as well on the same track we had used in the morning. We teamed up and were fortunate to find two Kalkadoon Grasswren, who popped up for brief views before disappearing up the escarpment. Zebra Finch were plentiful here and one of the few sites we had seen them so far.
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Zebra Finch
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Left Mt. Isa heading to McNamarra Road, which is 61km West of Mount Isa towards Camooweal. Turned off at McNamarra Road and travelled the 8km down to the famous cairn (to birders) on the right with the site hat on top. Had a quick look at the sightings book, not many Carpentarian Grasswren seen recently - the reason to visit this site. This road is now closed off and out of bounds due to mine site access.
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| Checking the cairn sightings book |
Whilst up on the rocky escarpment we could see trucks with 3 trailers travelling up and down McNamarra Road. They were coming from the Lady Loretta Mine along with other mine traffic.
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| Mining truck |
Restless night due to the wind getting up, blowing up to 40kph. It did keep it warm it only dropped to 16ºC, which was relatively warm so far on the trip. Went for a walk early morning away from the road to a gully we had seen grasswrens in before but no luck, too windy. There were three Black-tailed Treecreeper, which was a new trip tick and a few more Grey-fronted Honeyeater. A few more walks around the area only found a Crested Bellbird and Grey-fronted Honeyeater. A disappointing day with the wind playing a big part in the lack of sightings.
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| McNamarra Road Camp |
Temperature dropped to about 8ºC overnight. Had our usual hot drink and went for a walk along the track towards the main road and turned of to walk along the creek, where grasswrens had been seen a few days before. Walked further along the creek than previously but still no sign of the grasswrens. More Grey-fronted Honeyeater and some Yellow-throated Miner. Walked back to the track, then past our camp and found the Black-tailed Treecreeper. Met some other birders who had seen the grasswrens here 3 days ago but not since. So we packed up and left after recording 4 species over two days, call ourselves birders!
Next destination was Camoweal and the campsite at Lake Canellan. Stopped in Camoweal to use the dump point and noted a few birds.
Camooweal -19.9215 138.1201 12:35pm
Crested Pigeon Whistling Kite Magpie-larkPeaceful Dove Galah House Sparrow
Black Kite Yellow-throated Miner
Then onto Lake Francis and Lake Canellan just out of town on the left adjacent to the Georgina River. Lake Francis look crowded with caravans so we kept going until we reached Lake Canellan, which had plenty of sites. Found a spot overlooking the lake and set up the T-Van and had lunch. Lots of birds on the lake including a few new trip ticks, Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Red-kneed Dotterel were two of them.
Lake Canellan (Camooweal) -19.9488511 138.1075596 03:10pm
Australian Wood Duck Whiskered Tern CockatielGrey Teal Australasian Darter White-plumed Honeyeater
Pink-eared Duck Little Pied Cormorant White-br. Woodswallow
Hardhead Little Black Cormorant Pied Butcherbird
Australasian Grebe Australian Pelican Australian Magpie
Crested Pigeon White-necked Heron Willie Wagtail
Eurasian Coot Straw-necked Ibis Magpie-lark
Pied Stilt Black Kite Torresian Crow
Masked Lapwing Whistling Kite Fairy Martin
Red-kneed Dotterel Galah
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Whistling Kite
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It was a cold welcome to the day with 1.9ºC to greet us! Coldest yet. We got rugged up but had cold fingers. Even the hot drink did not warm us up much. Did another scan of the lake before we had porridge for breakfast.
Lake Canellan (Camooweal) -19.9488511 138.1075596 07:30amGrey Teal Black-fronted Dotterel Yellow-throated Miner
Pink-eared Duck Whiskered Tern Pied Butcherbird
Hardhead Australasian Darter Australian Magpie
Australasian Grebe Little Pied Cormorant Willie Wagtail
Crested Pigeon Little Black Cormorant Magpie-lark
Peaceful Dove Australian Pelican Zebra Finch
Eurasian Coot Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Brolga Black Kite
Pied Stilt Galah
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| Whiskered Tern |
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| Pied Stilt |
Packed up and went into Camoweal to top up the fuel, ($1.79) in a much improved Puma Camoweal Roadhouse since we were last there two years ago. Then it was off along the Barkly Highway towards the Barkly Homestead. Stopped for a coffee break at Sudan rest stop and only saw a Torresian Crow in 20 minutes.
Reached the Barkly Homestead at lunch time (we were now on Northern Territory time 30 minutes behind Queensland) and decided to get something to eat. Did a quick bird survey before we had a couple of toasted sandwiches and lovely cup of coffee all arriving without much of a wait.
Barkly Homestead -19.73638 135.86583 08-21-2018 12:04pmWhistling Kite Magpie-lark Torresian Crow
Galah Yellow-throated Miner
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Brown Goshawk
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41 Mile Bore Rest Area, Barkly Hwy -19.32141 134.85069 03:55pm
Galah Grey-headed Honeyeater Zebra Finch
Brown Goshawk Willie Wagtail
Brown Falcon
Back to camp for another relax before returning to the patch of bore water. Not much going on, the goshawk was still lurking in the same tree and the honeyeaters were feeding in the same tree. Ten Crested Pigeon plucked up enough courage to come in for the briefest of brief drinks, probably aware of the goshawks presence.
The forecast warmer weather did not come overnight, it was 0.2ºC, when we got out of bed for our warm drink - the coldest yet. It soon began to warm up so we went over to the bore water pond to look for birds, not much around – a few finches, honeyeaters and a couple of Little Crow.
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Singing Honeyeater
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Galah White-winged Triller Zebra Finch
Singing Honeyeater Willie Wagtail
Keith was having knee problems, so we decided to make a detour to Tennant Creek (25km from 3 ways). Found a pharmacy and an elasticated support to fit his knee. Stopped off at the BP servo ($1.69.9) on our way out of town to top up.
Black Kite Little Crow House Sparrow
Whistling Kite Torresian Crow
Back on the road we kept travelling north stopping for a five minute break at Elliot and to change drivers. Arrived about 4.30 at Dunmarra Wayside Inn
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Crested Pigeon
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Dunmarra Wayside Inn -16.6793 133.4125 05:15pm
Went over to the roadhouse for dinner in the evening. Birding was good but the evening was spent listening to Australian Army trucks arriving for the night and road trains thundering by.
The truck noise was not too bad during the night, which was relatively warm, down to 12ºC. Up for a coffee to start the day then off to do some birding in the surrounding area. Plenty of action with lots of Brown Honeyeater, White-winged Triller, Black-faced Woodswallow, Apostlebird, Double-bar Finch and a few Variegated Fairy-Wren. Had breakfast and packed the T-Van then topped up the fuel ($1.62 with a discount because we had a meal there).
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| Double-bar Finch |
Common Bronzewing Great Bowerbird White-winged Triller
Rainbow Bee-eater Rufous-throated Honeyeater Apostlebird
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Brown Honeyeater Mistletoebird
Galah Grey-crowned Babbler Double-barred Finch
Cockatiel Black-faced Woodswallow
Travelled the 8km up the Stuart Highway from the Dunmarra Wayside Inn to the start of the Buchanan Highway west.
This is a 393km gravel road, we had deflated our tyres (26psi) back at Dunmarra in readiness. The road condition was not too bad with the usual corrugations, an average speed for us was 60-70kph. After an hour we pulled over for morning coffee break at a station road, which led to Drovers Dam, so the sign said on the gate. Here we had four Long-tailed Finch, new for the trip list.
Buchanan Hwy at -16.67607, 132.88513 -16.67603 132.88513 10:30amContinued on for another hour before pulling into a small camp area beside the road for lunch. Had a few birds here including another party of Apostlebird.
Cockatiel Weebill Mistletoebird
After lunch we continued on to Top Springs, where we had decided to continue along the Buchanan Highway to the Victoria Highway instead of the 500km gravel road to Halls Creek.
Continued on to Dashwood Crossing on the Victoria River, where we found an overnight camp site with a pair of Tawny Frogmouth.
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Dashwood Crossing Camp
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Had a relaxing few hours watching a procession of birds pass by.
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| Dashwood Crossing |
Victoria River at Buchanan Hwy (Dashwood Crossing) -16.333596 131.11435 04:30pm
Peaceful Dove Great Bowerbird Rufous Whistler
Tawny Frogmouth Rufous-throated Honeyeater Weebill
Little Egret (Australasian) Little Friarbird Masked Woodswallow
Blue-winged Kookaburra Silver-crowned Friarbird Magpie-lark
Rainbow Bee-eater Grey-crowned Babbler
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| Little Friarbird |
Cooled down to 8ºC overnight. After our hot drink we walked to Dashwood Crossing, where we saw a Grey Falcon fly over. This certainly got the other birds attention as they all went quiet. Plenty of other birds along the river and adjacent riparian woodland.
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| Black Kite |
Black-fronted Dotterel Galah Rufous Whistler
Little Pied Cormorant White-gaped Honeyeater Masked Woodswallow
Black Kite Blue-faced Honeyeater Paperbark Flycatcher
Blue-winged Kookaburra Little Friarbird Torresian Crow
Grey Falcon Striated Pardalote Double-barred Finch
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Weebill
After breakfast we continued north along the Buchanan Highway (track) towards Victoria River Downs Station, where we stopped to view about 500 Little Corella coming in to drink.
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VRD Mustering Helicopters
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Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Masked Woodswallow Torresian Crow
Galah
The road opened out after awhile as it entered escarpment country with towering rock faces. Quite a spectacular landscape, some of it in Judbarra (Gregory) National Park. We stopped at the Jasper Gorge day use area for a coffee break. Jasper Gorge is not actually inside Judbarra (Gregory) National Park but situated between the eastern and western parts of the park. This was really a nostalgic place for us as the last time we had been here was in 1985. We surveyed the area and wrote a short article about the bird and reptile fauna in the NT Naturalist Journal (Fisher K. & Fisher L. (1985). Some observations of Jasper Gorge, Victoria River Downs, NT. Northern Territory Naturalist 8:13-16).The current Day Use Area/Campground did not existed when we were here before. Lindsay spotted a Sandstone Shrikethrush perched at the top of a bare tree, new for our trip.
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| Jasper Gorge |
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Brown Honeyeater Magpie-lark
Rainbow Lorikeet (Red-collared) Weebill
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Weebill
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From here we moved on the 8km to the new Lupayi campground, which had only recently been opened or so we thought.
Found a spot to park the van off the service road and set up. took it easy after lunch as it was very hot.
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Lupayi Campground
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Later in the afternoon went for a walk to find a few birds who were braving the 32ºC temperature. Found a few who were feeding in a tree adjacent to our camp.
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Rufous Whistler - male
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After the walk we had a visit from a local Aboriginal Ranger on his way back from Katherine searching for a lost person. He told us that the campground was definitely closed and that it would not be open until next year due to funding problems. He was OK about it and said we could stay the night. The official campground was still the Jasper Gorge Day Use Area despite signs pointing to the new one and the gate into the campground open. All very confusing.
Before breakfast we went for a walk along the road back towards Jasper Gorge. At least five Great Bowerbird along here plus lots of White-throated Honeyeater, Little Friarbird and White-winged Triller.
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Little Friarbird
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Peaceful Dove White-gaped Honeyeater White-winged Triller
Bar-shouldered Dove Yellow-throated Miner Willie Wagtail
Whistling Kite Rufous-throated Honeyeater Magpie-lark
Blue-winged Kookaburra Brown Honeyeater Paperbark Flycatcher
Rainbow Bee-eater White-throated Honeyeater Torresian Crow Little Corella Little Friarbird
Varied Lorikeet Silver-crowned Friarbird
Back for breakfast and to pack up. Drove the rest of the Buchanan Highway and stopped at a gravel area at the junction of the Victoria Highway for a morning coffee and to pump up the tyres for bitumen highway driving.
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Inflating Tyres
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Decided not to stop at Timber Creek and to travel on towards Kununurra. Passed through Timber Creek and turned right just after the township to go two kilometres to Policeman’s Point Lookout, which overlooks the Victoria River. A sign said it was not suitable for caravans but the T-Van had no problem. Had lunch here whilst doing a bit of birding. A Black-necked Stork flew over and landed on the edge of the river, whilst a Pelican tried out a small pond in the river bed. Ate some of our fruit, apples, tomatoes, banana and mandarins as we found out they were not allowed into WA.
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Policeman's Point Lookout
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Black-necked Stork Blue-winged Kookaburra Torresian Crow
Australasian Darter Rainbow Bee-eater Fairy Martin
Little Pied Cormorant Yellow-tinted Honeyeater
Australian Pelican Brown Honeyeater
White-faced Heron White-throated Honeyeater
Brown Goshawk
Drove to East Baines River Rest Area for an afternoon cuppa. Whilst we were here we handed over our remaining fruit and vegetables to a couple who were heading east from WA. Better than putting them into the quarantine bin.
From the East Baines Rest Area towards the Western Australian border there were some bush fires, which were attracting a lot of Black Kite.
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Victoria Hwy, fires and kites
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Reached the border and the quarantine station, where we got the once over. Only thing we had to leave behind was our bag of firewood. Kept going through the rocky escarpment country to Kununurra and found Kimberlyland Waterfront Holiday Park our home for the next two days. Set up camp and checked out the adjacent Lily Lagoon. Plenty of waterbirds and a Freshwater Crocodile to keep the camera busy. Gets dark here soon after 6.00pm.
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Freshwater Crocodile
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Glossy Ibis
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Comb-crested Jacana
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Ivanhoe Crossing
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Crimson Finch - male |
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Pied Heron
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Kununurra Sewage Ponds -15.7799162 128.7281477 10:35am
Again the heat drove to seek shade and relax until the late afternoon when we checked out Lily Lagoon. Another small crocodile was sunning on the bank. Pied Heron, Glossy Ibis and Australian Reed Warbler obliged for more portraits.
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Australian Reed Warbler
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Then the full moon emerged from behind the horizon so more photos were in order.
Up before 6.00am as it was light just after 5.00am. Had a coffee down by the waterside and took a few more photos of the Australian Pratincole, which was very obliging. Then walked along the edge to the reed area where there were plenty of reed warblers singing, one came out for a few photos. Also here was a few Crimson Finch. Had another walk along the waters edge in the opposite direction and found a White-browed Crake along with three former guests of Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge.
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Australian Pratincole
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Great Northern Hwy.
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Striated Pardalote
Black-faced Woodswallow
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Galah
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Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, Mabel Downs Station -17.44153 127.99718 03:30pm
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Yellow-tinted Honeyeater
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Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, Mabel Downs Station -17.44153 127.99718 06.20am
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Peaceful Dove
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Purnululu National Park--Kurrajong campground -17.3842451 128.3325112 01:40pm
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Echidna Chasm Walk
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Spectacular deep gorge with steep sides and lots of huge chunks of conglomerate dotted around.
Echidna Chasm -17.3229917 128.4118697 04:15pm
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Rufous Whistler - female
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Day 17 Wednesday 29/8/18
Purnululu National Park--Kurrajong campground -17.3842451 128.3325112 05:35am
Peaceful Dove Red-winged Parrot Little FriarbirdBlack Kite Yellow-tinted Honeyeater Rufous Whistler
Whistling Kite Brown Honeyeater Torresian Crow
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
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| Beehive Rocks |
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| Picanniny Lookout Walk |
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White-quilled Rock-Pigeon
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| Picanniny Lookout |
Whilst we were doing this we looked up and had a Black-breasted Buzzard fly over. Eventually made it to the lookout which again was worth the 800m detour. Finished off by deviating off onto the 300m loop track around the domes, another rocky marvel.
Purnululu National Park--Cathedral Gorge - Picaninny lookout walk -17.485303 128.377917 07:00am
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| Black-breasted Buzzard |
Had coffee and a snack back at the car park, which by now was filling up with buses and 4WD’s. Had a look at the southern campsite, which allows generators, only one camp here. Other areas here are designated for tour operators. Back to camp for lunch as the temperature once again hit 37ºC. Headed off to a lookout for sunset. Heard two Tawny Frogmouth during the evening.
Heard Spotted Nightjar calling during the night. Up early, before 6.00am for a walk around the campsite, which took us up onto the escarpment, which was comprised of limestone rocks, eucalyptus, grevilleas, acacias and kurrajongs with a spinifex understory. A few birds were actively foraging in the foliage, not much flowering. Two Little Corella were busy extracting seeds out of an acacia and allowed a close approach for some photos.
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Little Corella
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Purnululu National Park--Kurrajong campground -17.3842451 128.3325112 06:30am
Drove to the ranger station and were greeted by two more T-Van's, one leaving, one arriving. A couple more vehicles passed us along the road out before we hit the worst section of the road with plenty of corrugations, somehow it did not seem so bad as when we drove into the park. Must have been getting used to the corrugations! Made it to the Mable Downs Caravan Park at mid-day and set up. Had lunch and a relaxing afternoon.
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White-winged Triller - female
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Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, Mabel Downs Station -17.44153 127.99718 08-30-2018 01:10pm
Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, Mabel Downs Station -17.44153 127.99718 08-30-2018 05:05pm
Up for a bird walk around the park, found some very obliging Black-tailed Treecreeper to photograph along with some Red-backed Fairy-wren female/immature.
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Black-tailed Treecreeper
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Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, Mabel Downs Station -17.44153 127.99718 06:30am
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Magpie-lark - male
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Spring Creek Rest Area -17.4332874 127.987654 10:20am
Continued on to Halls Creek, where we refuelled and had lunch sitting on a big stone in a grassy area beside the highway.
Halls Creek -18.2251 127.6665 12:20pm
Little Corella Torresian Crow
Magpie-lark
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Rainbow Bee-eater
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Mary Pool -18.7258 126.8713 03:05pm
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White-faced Heron
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| Rufous-throated Honeyeater |
Mary Pool -18.7258 126.8713 06:00am
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| Crested Pigeon |
A few old relics were rusting away in the adjacent paddock.
Packed up and set off along the highway towards Fitzroy Crossing, stopping at Ngumban Cliffs Rest Area for a break. Great lookout here, which is best seen at sunset.
Ngumpan Cliff Rest Area -18.748287 126.108755 09:45am
Interesting rock formations along the road looked like something out of a western cowboy movie in Arizona. Also plenty of Boab Trees.
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| Boab Tree |
Made it to the unrecognisable Fitzroy Crossing town. Nothing like our last visit in 1977! Information Centre was closed so we drove around town and headed off towards Derby. Had to give way to slightly larger vehicles than ours along the way!
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| Machinery on the move |
Straight uninspiring road, stopped at Ellendale Rest Area for a late lunch at 12.55. Had a group of Crested Pigeon sharing our sandwiches.
Ellendale Rest Area, Great Northern Hwy -17.96027 124.83694 12:55pm
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| Plumed Whistling-Duck |
Great Northern Hwy -17.93167 124.78417 (restricted area) 02:05pm
Also saw the crocodile that we had been warned about.
Great Northern Hwy at -17.93167, 124.78417 (restricted area) 06:15am
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| Pied Butcherbird |
The vegetation was mainly grassy plains and low shrubs with Boab trees either side of the road. Some grevillea and acacia species became more common as we approached the junction with the Derby - Broome Highway. Stopped at the junction for smoko then turned right to drive the 42km to Derby.
Great Northern Hwy at Derby Hwy -17.6334806 123.7389962 09:55am
Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park -17.3068489 123.6277878 02:00pm
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| Pheasant Coucal |
Then drove down to the jetty where we had a Nankeen Kestrel, 4 Collared Kingfisher, Eastern Reef Egret, Grey-tailed Tattler and Eastern Curlew.
Derby Jetty -17.2941 123.6094 03:25pm
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| Nankeen Kestrel |
Then back through town to find the Derby Water Treatment Works (15 Wodehouse St, Derby WA 6728) and adjacent wetlands. The treatment works was full of Plumed Whistling Duck and the adjacent wetland had over 120 Red-kneed Dotterel, the most we have ever seen in one place. Spent about an hour here watching the birds, including a Peregrine Falcon trying to catch Purple Swamphen.
Derby Wastewater Treatment Plant and Artificial Wetland -17.3356961 123.6468586 03:55pm
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| Australian White Ibis |
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| Derby Wastewater Treatment Plant Artificial Wetland |
Derby Wastewater Treatment Plant and Artificial Wetland -17.3356961 123.6468586 04:15pm
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| Australian Reed Warbler |
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| Red-kneed Dotterel |
Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park -17.3068489 123.6277878 06:15am
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| Tawny Frogmouth |
Eventually left at 9.00am for the 20km mark south of Derby, where we turned off to visit a small lagoon and meet up with a couple of friends Found a spot to park the van before having lunch overlooking the lagoon.
Munkyarra Wetland -17.4348176 123.7222981 11:55am
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| Black-breasted Buzzard |
Spent the afternoon talking and sitting around keeping an eye open for the birds. The temperature soared up to over 38ºC. Had a few good birds make an appearance including Australian Hobby, Brown Goshawk, Black-breasted Buzzard and Collared Sparrowhawk.
Munkyarra Wetland -17.4348176 123.7222981 04:55pm
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| Australian Hobby |
Had two Southern Boobook calling in the evening.
Up for an early morning walk along the lagoon and adjacent woodland, found some Red-Backed Fairy wren and photographed the females only.
Munkyarra Wetland -17.4348176 123.7222981 06:20am
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| Red-backed Fairywren - female |
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Nillbubbaca Rest Area (Great Northern Hwy) -17.64036 123.17041 10:35am
Broome Holiday and Caravan Park -17.97163 122.23416 01:50pm
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| Eastern Reef Egret |
The afternoon was spent exploring Broome ending up at Cable Beach. Had a coffee in one of the restaurants along the front as we watched the sun slowly sinking. In the evening a Barking Owl started to call, we found it in a tree not far from our campsite.
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| Barking Owl |
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| Osprey |
Had a bit of a lie in until 6.30am. Up for a leisurely cuppa overlooking the ocean. Mid-morning we took our coffee up to the barbecue area along the cliffs overlooking Roebuck Bay. Here we had an Osprey flying in with a fish and landing on a TV aerial on one of the permanent caravans.
Town Beach (Broome) -17.9715274 122.2365475 10:20am
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| Viewing Platform |
Broome South Wastewater Treatment Plant -17.9746307 122.2218919 03:25pm
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| Pied Stilt |
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| Masked Lapwing |
Broome Holiday and Caravan Park -17.97163 122.23416 6.30am
Did an early morning survey before breakfast then took the car to Broome Toyota for its 10,000Km service. The courtesy bus dropped us off at the Town Beach Cafe (it would appear this is now being redeveloped-2026) next to our campsite, where we had a coffee and a muffin. The afternoon was spent picking up the car and visiting the Broome South Wastewater Treatment Plant again. Much the same birds as yesterday, a Grey-tailed Tattler and Singing Honeyeater were new.
Broome South Wastewater Treatment Plant -17.9746307 122.2218919 04:05pm
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| Grey Teal - upperwing |
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| Grey Teal - underwing |
Broome Holiday and Caravan Park -17.97163 122.23416 07:00am
Did another early morning survey at the caravan park before having a very nice breakfast at the Town Beach Cafe. Drove into town and met up with other birders at Streeters Jetty It was hot and the old wharf was not very long but it did go into the mangroves. Here we had a lifer for us both, two Dusky Gerygone, also had White-breasted Whistler, Red-headed Honeyeater, Yellow White-eye, Brown Honeyeater, Bar-shouldered Dove and Rainbow Bee-eater.
Streeters Jetty (Broome) -17.95433 122.24536 10:45am
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Yellow White-eye |
After lunch checked out the Town Beach.
Town Beach (Broome) -17.9715274 122.2365475 02:45pm
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| Silver Gull |
Then off late afternoon to check out the new wharf area. Here we got onto a pair of Osprey and a few Brown Booby along with both Whistling and Black Kite.
Entrance Point and Port (Broome) -18.0076761 122.2091782 04:20pm
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| Little Friarbird |
Dinner was at the very good Som Thai Restaurant (15 Napier Terrace) with a few friends.
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| Som Thai Restaurant |
Back at camp we heard the Barking Owl calling again, went to investigate and found it sitting on top of a tree beside our camp.
Broome Holiday and Caravan Park -17.97163 122.23416 06:35am
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| Rainbow Lorikeet (Red-collared) |
Early start, leaving by 7.00am to go to Streeters Jetty. It was pretty quiet here but we did see Mangrove Grey Fantail.
Streeters Jetty (Broome) -17.95433 122.24536 07:10am
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| Red-headed Honeyeater |
Then on to the Mangrove Hotel to register for the conference. Had a variety of talks during the day, mainly based around Shorebirds, their habitats, feeding and conservation. Several Indigenous rangers talked about their roles in looking after the area, both from conservation and cultural view points. One of the talks was about tracking down the Night Parrot in Western Australia.
Had a light lunch, wraps, sandwiches. hot chips and salad at the Mangrove Hotel.
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| Lunch venue at the Mangrove Hotel |
After lunch the talks continued with some humour, Chris Hassel talked about the poo pits in Broome and how they were more productive than the Western Treatment Works in Melbourne! (That's now changed-2026) The reasoning was based on the size difference between the two treatment works and the number of species seen, very humorous talk. Other talks were about seagrass and feeding strategies of various species of shorebirds. Finished up the afternoon by going back to Streeters Jetty but it was very quiet.
Streeters Jetty (Broome) -17.95433 122.24536 05:25pm
Had a light dinner in town at the Aviators Hotel with a friend to celebrate her birthday. Barking Owl was still calling in the evening back at the Broome Holiday and Caravan Park.
Just before dawn a Tawny Frogmouth was calling in a tree beside our campsite. Did a quick survey before hitching up the Tvan and heading to the Mangrove Hotel for the last day of the congress.
Broome Holiday and Caravan Park -17.97163 122.23416 06:55am
Had some good talks before the congress dinner at 1.00pm. Then drove out to the Broome Bird Observatory (BB0) in the afternoon.
Found our site where we set up before going over to the recently renovated cookshed (shadehouse) to meet other people and watch the birds coming in to drink, mainly Brown Honeyeater. Took a walk to the hide and found a few birds coming in, including Grey-crowned Babbler and Great Bowerbird. 6.30 we had bird call with a recorded 83 species for the day.
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| Grey-crowned Babbler |
Got organised for the mornings activities. We were divided up into two groups, we were in the B group. Started off with a walk down to the beach to look at dinosaur tracks but were distracted by the birds on the beach. Lots of waders and terns.
Broome Bird Observatory Beach -17.97744 122.34551 07:50am
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| Australian Pied Oystercatcher |
Walked along the beach to the viewing platform overlooking the beach.
Broome Bird Observatory--Viewing Platform -17.9773928 122.3445399 08:30am
Back to the BBO where we had a look at the new interpretive building, which is a work in progress. Had a break before going off in the vehicles to check out a high tide roost just offshore at Tattler Rocks. Here we had hundreds of birds in mixed flocks with the best being a Common Redshank. Tern species were also present. Spent about and hour and a half here watching roosting birds and flocks arriving.
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Watchers
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Tattler Rocks (Roebuck Bay) -17.9750696 122.31918 10:25am
Crested Tern
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| Tattler Rocks |
Broome Bird Observatory -17.9752021 122.344662 12:10pm
We headed out onto the Roebuck Plains to Kidney Bean Clay Pans (private property, but can be visited on an organised tour). Saw Yellow Chat, one of the target species, along the way. Then at the clay ponds we had good birds like Oriental Plover, Avocet and Marsh Sandpiper. At the plains Duck Pond, which was dry we had Long-toed Stint, lots of Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Red-necked Stint.
Kidney Bean Claypan (restricted access) -17.9771 122.42084 03:15pm
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| Off to see the Yellow Chat |
Back to the BBO for a shower and a cuppa before bird call at 6.30. Then dinner and a relax.
Slow start to the morning with a survey around the observatory grounds first up.
Broome Bird Observatory -17.9752021 122.344662 06:30am
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| White-winged Triller |
The mornings activities were not due to start until 8.00am, so had a lazy breakfast and a stroll down to the beach to look for a reported Beach Stone-Curlew, which we did not find. Set off at 8.00am for One Tree car park overlooking the beach, mangroves and Roebuck Bay. The high tide was 9.9m at 11.30, so we had time to watch the shorebirds being pushed towards us in ever growing flocks. Highlight here was a couple of Asian Dowitcher and the big flocks of birds flying by.
One Tree (Roebuck Bay) -17.98549 122.36501 08:30am
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| Asian Dowitcher |
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| Caspian Tern |
As the tide came in we moved further along the coast to cliffs overlooking a beach roost site with thousands of birds to look at. A Brahminy Kite kept putting the birds up and it was a spectacular sight watching them wheel around.
Wader Beach (Roebuck Bay) -17.977432 122.3333229 10:15am
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| Mixed flock, mainly Great Knot with Red Knot, Lesser and Greater Sandplover, Curlew Sandplover, Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwit |
Eventually we left the cliffs and returned to the BBO, where it was lunch time. Had lunch and spent the break behind the new interpretive building doing eBird surveys as this was the only shady spot that had adequate phone reception for us to use the internet. 3.00pm we headed out to the mangroves at Little Crab Creek. It was quite muddy and slippery underfoot at the area had been inundated by the morning high tide. Good birds here were Mangrove Grey Fantail, Dusky Gerygone and Beach Stone-Curlew.
Caspian Tern Brahminy Kite Mangrove Grey Fantail
White-necked Heron Brown Honeyeater Yellow White-eye
White-faced Heron Little Friarbird
Little Egret Dusky Gerygone
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| Brahminy Kite |
Back to the BBO again to get cleaned up, have a cuppa, bird call, dinner, shower and a relaxing evening.
Part 2 Broome - Julatten can be found Here