24th March

New CalendoniaThe Riviere Bleue Park

Day 8

06.00: 22* 29'S   166*15'E     18.00: 22* 27'S   166*14'E

Rise and shine it's 3am, you've got to be joking!  But sure enough, up we all rose for a 4.15am departure to the Riviere Bleue Park, 50 klms east of Noumea and about one and a half hours drive by coach.

We arrived bleary eyed to the sound of raindrops on the roof of the coach, little did we know that it was to continue for the rest of the day.  Along the way we pulled up to see a New Caledonian Goshawk: most of the group were able to see it but unfortunately I was at the back of the coach and by the time I got out the bird had gone.  After about 30 minutes travelling the head ranger, Jean-Marc Meriot (the man who along with Yves Letocart is looked upon

17th-18th March, Days 1-2, Auckland to Norfolk Island
06.00: 35*57'S  175*12'E  18.00: 35*05'E  174*32'E

We started our journey in Auckland NZ on the MV Enderby which is a Ice strengthened Russian research vessel built in 1982 and leased by Heritage Expeditions. Heritage runs mainly birding tours to such places as the Ross Sea down in Antarctica, Macquarie Island and the islands in between. This trip was for 32 days and we hoped to visit Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Bonin Islands and finally Yokohama, Japan. We boarded the vessel at around 5pm NZ time on the 17th of March and left port  at 11pm that evening and headed into the Harauki Gulf, as we wanted to be at Moakohinau Islands early the next morning to look for Grey Ternlet.

There were 43 fellow travellers on this tour, 13 from Ornitholidays with Tony Pym as their leader, 28 from Wildwings with Dick Filby & Chris Collins as their leaders and also a few single bookings which included myself.  Both Ornitholidays and Wildwings are major birding companies in Great Britain with Heritage providing Nathan Russ as the expedition leader, Robyn Newham, as cruise director and a field guide, Adam Walleyn. The crew were all Russian except the cooks who were from New Zealand and a Doctor, Leo Mertz was also on board.

Early on the first morning 4 Common-diving Petrels were seen before we headed towards Moakohinau Islands and Maori Rock.  As we had to keep a fair distance away from the rocks distant views of Grey Ternlet were obtained,  also there were many Black Petrels and Australasian Gannets around.  We decided as the sea was extremely calm to do a “chum line” and then turn back and see what came in, we were hoping to see New Zealand Storm Petrel but alas this was not to be, however, in the slick were Sooty Shearwater, Bullers Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Black Petrel and a Wilsons Storm- Petrel.  We then headed off to another headland as NZ Storm Petrel had been seen there before.  As we headed towards this site a NZ Storm-Petrel was seen at the stern of the boat way back in our wake but disappeared soon afterwards. At the second chumming site we had an Immature Black-browed Albatross come in and then 2 Storm-Petrels, one believed to be a NZ Storm- Petrel and the other a Wilsons Storm-Petrel. The rest of the day was spent going past the Poor Knights Group which has a restricted no go zone around them as the NZ RAAF do exercises in that area. We also saw White-necked and Black-winged Petrels as well as an adult Campbell’s Albatross on the same day. 
            

19th March, Day 3, Auckland to Norfolk Island
06.00: 33*47'S  173*07'E  18.00: 32*27S  171*31'E

We woke early the next morning to calm waters once again and the first bird I sighted was a Red-tailed Tropicbird followed by my first Grey-faced Petrel and this was the prelude to many more. A very interesting episode happened early that morning when I looked down the side of the ship and noticed a small bird flying alongside and then up onto an open door at the stern of the ship and we realised it was a NZ Fantail. This was very interesting indeed as we were miles from land and I believed it was either on some floating debris or it had come onto the ship somewhere on this voyage and had only now been discovered anyway after a short period of time it took off and was never seen again.

Just before breakfast a Grey Ternlet flew across the stern of the ship and I snapped off a couple of shots, later that morning we saw a Arctic Jaeger (Skua) and also both Black-winged and White-necked Petrels, all of which I photographed.

As the ship cut thru the calm sea Flying fish jumped out of the water in front of the bow and skimmed across the water in front of us and I managed to take some shots of them as well. It was not long after that that I saw a different Petrel and after looking at the shots later on that evening it was found to be a Kermadec Petrel, then just as lunchtime came around I saw my first Wedge-tailed Shearwater, little did I realise that for the next couple of days this would become the most common Pelagic bird of the trip.

Later on in the afternoon a Gibson’s Wandering Albatross appeared much too everybody’s delight and we kept on seeing Petrels plus another Red-tailed Tropicbird and a Grey Ternlet along with Wedge-tailed Shearwaters that we had seen over the last couple of days till we finished off for the evening. At this point we went down to the bar every evening and a bird list was compiled which I will attach at the end of this journal. 

 

20th March, Day 4, Auckland to Norfolk Island
06.00: 31*05'S  169*49'E  18.00: 29*44'S  168*16'E

This morning we were greeted with overcast skies and a moderate sea and immediately Black-winged Petrel were seen along with Wedge-tailed Shearwater and Grey-faced Petrel.

In amongst frequent showers a rainbow appeared in the early morning light and it was wonderful to see, it was then that I photographed what I believed to be my first Collared Petrel but  later identified as a Black-winged Petrel with a full collar. We then came across a Grey-faced Petrel on the water and I photographed the bird taking off, along with more Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Black-winged Petrel.  Much to everyone’s amazement at 10 past 9 that morning and 220 klms from Norfolk Island a White-faced Heron appeared, as far as we know Norfolk Island was the closest land to the ship at that time.

Twenty minutes later my first Masked Booby turned up and then in quick succession White-necked, Black-winged and Grey-faced Petrel were photographed, it was then that one of the party shouted waders at 3 o’clock that turned out to be 25 Godwits, probably Bar-tailed. (We use the bow of the ship as 12 o’clock and the stern as 6 o’clock so that when someone sees a bird that looks interesting they just shout the time or use handheld radios).  Later in the day another flock was seen and both lots were heading north, probably from Miranda in NZ. 

Around 11am Black Petrels turned up and we saw them for the rest of the day.  Ten minutes later my second light phased Kermadec Petrel turned up and gave excellent views of top and underparts, a couple of minutes later a Collared-Gould’s Petrel type was photographed and was earnestly debated over lunch.  Just before lunch I photographed White Tern, I also photographed a Masked Booby and was extremely lucky because just as I took the photos its body turned over 180 degrees without its’ head turning, it then launched itself down towards its prey in the sea.

In the afternoon I photographed Black, White-necked, Grey-faced, and Black-winged Petrel and at around 3 pm an Intermediate phase Kermadec Petrel; also photographed were Masked Booby, Wedge-tailed Shearwater and White Tern. At the count that night Providence Petrel had been seen as well as Red-tailed Tropicbird and another White-faced Heron.

21st March, Day 5, Auckland to Norfolk Island and to New Caledonia
06.00: 29*04'S  167*54'E  18.00: 27*52'S  167*40'E

We awoke to a strong wind and rough seas as we were just off the town of Kingston, Norfolk Island, ahead of us was the supply ship HMAS Sirius from Australia.  Due to the inclement weather the Sirius had been waiting a couple of days to try and get supplies and fuel off.  As the weather conditions were deteriorating and the swell was running at about 2 metres we were unable to board the Zodiacs to get to shore and as the weather report was not good for the next couple of days we abandoned our day trip onto the island, much to the disappointment of quite a lot of the party.  I really felt sorry for the people who had come from Europe, UK, Ireland and USA for they had been so looking forward to seeing the place.

 We then decided to run down the side of the island and look at some of the coastline and the Norfolk Pines that the island is famous for.  During this time we saw Red-tailed Tropicbird on the water, Black Noddy by the bucket load, White Tern (as many as you like) and along the rocks, colony’s of Masked Booby’s - some members of the group also saw Brown Noddy. 

From there we set our course north towards New Caledonia which we hoped to reach in 2 days time.  We were only about 10 klms off Norfolk Island when I was able to get excellent shots of Grey Ternlet, Black Noddy, Black-winged and White-necked Petrel we also saw more White Terns.

For the rest of the day as we headed north I photographed hundreds of Wedge-tailed Shearwater and a  Black-winged Petrel taking off from the sea, another light phase Kermadec Petrel, more White-necked Petrels and again later in the day a Collared-Gould’s type Petrel.  Again the evening count brought up Providence Petrel but alas I did not see them.

Highlight of the day was a pod of Gingko Tooth Beaked-Whales breaching which I unfortunately I did not see but some good photos were taken by some of the group.

 

22nd March, Day 6, Norfolk Island to New Caledonia
06.00: 25*59'S  167*09'E  18.00: 24*04'S  166*39'E

 

Well we awoke to a rocking and rolling morning and it was raining fairly hard so after breakfast I went up onto the bridge and took some shots of the mast and a few of the group just to let them know back at home that the life of a “Birdo” is not all peaches and cream.

After cleaning up my cabin and starting on this report I went back up to the bridge with my 300 F/2-8 Lens hoping to photograph in the poor light and what happens, a Providence Petrel turns up.  I took a couple of shots before he disappears but oh for the 500 lens which is back in the cabin!  Also before lunch an immature Great Frigatebird came along as well as another Collared Gould’s Petrel type and a Wedge-tailed Shearwater.

 After lunch the weather cleared enough for us to be allowed onto the bow of the ship which to some was very amusing, watching me hang over the bow trying to photograph small, and very fast Cookilaria type Petrels.  I was also told that a sweep was running on which day either myself, the camera, or both would end up over the side.  I was able to get good shots of a Gould’s then White-necked and Kermadec Petrel as well as Wedge-tailed Shearwater for the rest of the afternoon and again Gingko Tooth Beaked-Whales were seen.

 

23rd March, Day 7, Norfolk Island to New Caledonia
06.00: 22*29'S  166*15'E  18.00: 22*29'S  166*15'E

When I looked out of my cabin porthole this morning the weather looked quite good and I could see the shoreline of New Caledonia and also Gould’s Petrel and Wedge-tailed Shearwater so I immediately grabbed my camera and headed outside.  For the next couple of hours as the ship circled waiting for the pilot boat to come out from Noumea we saw hundreds of Wedge-tailed Shearwater and at least a hundred Gould’s Petrel. As we entered the entrance from the sea thru the reef that circles the Island we saw Bridled Tern, Sooty Tern and Wedge-tailed Shearwater, and once inside the reef a flock of Godwits were seen heading north.  Most of the group took a few touristy shots as we finally berthed at around 11-30.  Nathan and the staff had been trying to organise for the group to visit Mt Kougi in the afternoon, as on the previous evening, down in the lecture room, Chris Collins had given us a talk and power point show on the endemic birds of New Caledonia.

Unfortunately this was not to be case as the land agent could get 3 small buses to take us there but alas no bus drivers, so around 2pm the main group set off to walk to the botanical gardens. This turned out to have unfortunate consequences for it was a fairly steep trip from the ship and about 5 klms to the gardens in humid conditions.  The walk started off ok with Golden Plover being seen at the end of the wharf, 2 of them were in breeding plumage. We then went thru the security gate, which was a bit of a laugh as the chap just waved us thru and did not check any ID or passports.

Glossy Swiftlet were then sighted over the top of some local buildings, and then in a flowering umbrella plant we saw Rainbow Lorikeet and the endemic Dark Brown Honeyeater. After a couple of hours and numerous stops along the way and as we were in sight of the gardens when one of the party slipped on some gravel and badly lacerated his face, a very unfortunate accident indeed. There was some confusion on how to get him back to the ship but eventually he was taken back to the wharf and into the good hands of the ship’s doctor.

We then found out from a small group that had caught a taxi up to the gardens that it was closed, this just added to the bloody disastrous excursion. After trying to take photos of White-rumped Swiftlet on the ridge we then headed back down to the ship and after we arrived we found out that another small group had hired a driver and gone to Mt Kougi and seen quite a few of the endemic birds, oh what a day!

TO BE CONTINUED

This is the trip report for the second half of our trip from Darwin to Broome. 

Darwin 18th-20th Sept

 Jim and I departed Cairns on the 18th of Sept and flew to Darwin where on arrival we were met by Geoff Corry a great friend of mine and a licensed Northern Territory Guide.  As we had a bit of time to spare before dinner we had a look around town and managed to see Black Kite, Whistling Kite, Rainbow Bee-eater, Red-browed Finch and Torresian Crow.  Next morning we headed for Fogg Dam and were rewarded with Green Pygmy goose, Magpie goose, Australasian Darter, Jacana, Great Egret, Torresian Crow, Golden-headed Cisticola, Rainbow Bee-eater, Crimson Finch, Restless Flycatcher, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, Masked Finch and Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, we also heard Rainbow Pitta but did not sight them.  From there we went back to Harrison Dam which provided us some really good flight shots of Radjah Shelduck, Masked Lapwing, Black-winged Stilt, Little-black Cormorant,  Magpie goose and Green Pygmy goose, and we also saw Australian Pratincole, Hoary-headed Grebe ,Red Kneed Dotterel and Black-necked Stork and about 200 Whistling Kites that were there feeding on the innards from Magpie Goose, they are permitted to be hunted at that facility.  We then went back to Geoff’s house to pick up his boat and then headed onto Darwin Harbour as I was anxious to photograph Collared Kingfisher.  I was not to be disappointed as we managed to photograph Common Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Greater Sand Plover, Whimbrel, Brahminy Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle and had a really close encounter with a Black-necked Stork flying past only metres from our boat.  At last on the incoming tide we found our Collared Kingfisher along with Azure Kingfisher and Striated Heron before heading back to the boat ramp and a well earned beer to end the day.  

Katherine 20th-21st Sept

Saturday the 20th of Sept we headed towards Katherine but stopped just before Manton Dam and we were blessed to see Rainbow Pitta, Common Koel, Red-winged Parrot, Arafura Fantail, Olive-backed Oriole, Little Cuckoo-shrike and Spangled Drongo and it was here where I had an encounter with a Western Brown Snake that I nearly stood on. We then headed to Pine Creek, and along the way saw Crimson Finch, Pheasant Coucal, Collared Sparrowhawk and hundreds of Red-tailed Black Cockatoo’s. 

Next it was then onto Edith Falls which is about 40kms from Katherine and it was nice to take a break and sit down in front of a sprinkler that was watering the lawn. Whilst we were sitting there in came Northern Rosella, Bar-shouldered Dove, White-throated Honeyeater, Silver-crowned Friarbird, Brown Honeyeater, Red-collared Lorikeet, Rufous Whistler, White-winged Triller and an immature Pied Butcherbird. The highlight of the day was when Jim came rushing back from the falls where he had been swimming only to have a Brown Tree Snake swim across his path, he nearly created a world record for the 100 metre sprint.  Next morning we headed south for about 40kms to a swamp. In the early morning light, which is so important to photographers, we photographed Wee-bill, Red-collared Lorikeet, Red-winged Parrot, Wandering Whistling Duck, Little Friarbird, White-winged Triller, Pied Heron, White-faced Heron, White-headed Heron, Great and Immediate Egret, Silver-crowned Friarbird, Magpie Lark, Glossy Ibis, Rufous Whistler, Great Bowerbird, Little Pied Cormorant, Australasian Darter, Blue-winged Kookaburra, Masked Lapwing, Golden-headed Cisticola and Red-backed Fairywren.  The highlight of the morning was a Water Buffalo running out of the bush in front of me, snorting and scaring the living daylights out of me. After all the excitement we then went back to Katherine and headed west towards Timber Creek. 

Timber Creek 21st-22nd Sept

Geoff had bought a great little bird book in Katherine called Birdwatching Kakadu, Katherine, Kununurra, by Mike Read. This book gives directions to some great birding spots, and at one of the spots we photographed Hooded Parrot, Masked Finch, Apostlebird, Brown Goshawk, Northern Fantail, and Red-backed Fairy-wren.  It was then onto Timber Creek where we camped the night beside the Victoria River.  Here we saw Rainbow Bee-eater, White-naped Honeyeater, Masked Finch, Double-barred Finch, Grey Shrike-thrush, Red-backed Fairy-wren, White-breasted Woodswallow, Rufous Whistler and some amazing close-ups of Whistling Kite and Pied Butcherbird which came down feeding on our food scraps.  The next morning about 50kms the other side of Timber Creek which was again from our book, we came across literally hundreds of Finches and Mannikins in long speargrass. At this point we saw Zebra and Star Finches and Double-barred and Pictorella Mannikins also Horsefields Bushlark which we found later hanging out with other Finches, I will keep this location in the memory bank.  Just before the N.T-W.A border we dropped in at a creek and found Dollarbird, Restless Flycatcher and Little Pied Cormorant, we then headed to Kununurra for a well earned rest and a feed. 

Kununurra - Wyndham 22nd- 24th Sept

Later that afternoon Jim and I walked over to Lake Kununurra and we photographed Crimson Finch, Golden-headed Cisticola, Purple Swamphen, Yellow-tinted and Rufous-throated  Honeyeater, also seen were White-browed Crake and White-bellied Sea-Eagle. 

Next morning we rose at 4am to go to Wyndham with our guide Jim Gardner (the rock doctor) who does some local guiding and has a wonderful collection of rocks and gems.  We arrived in the town at around 5-30am and went to the local drinking hole to photograph Gouldian Finches as there had been quite a few seen coming in over the previous weeks but alas not that morning. Our only sightings were of Crested Pigeon, Restless Flycatcher and Yellow-tinted Honeyeater. 

We then drove west across the mudflats to an old pumping station that Jim had a tip on that there were a couple of people from Macquarie University whom were doing research on Gouldians and Longtail Finches.  James (I cannot remember his surname or his female assistant and I do apologise to them if they see this report) was of a theory that the Longtails may be driving the Gouldians away from the best nesting trees and hence there decline in some areas.  We had just arrived when another chap turned up and he was also taking photographs in the area. The researchers had set up a mist net in a dry creek bed, which they had been putting water into over a period of time and quite a few birds were coming in to drink.  Immediately I was uncomfortable as I felt that we were intruding and after a couple of shots I moved away from where the birds were coming in to drink.  I did this as a couple of observers were obviously counting the different species coming in and I thought that the other photographers had got too close and it was making the birds even more flighty.

An unusual incident happened at the same time, an Australian Hobby decided to pick up a free meal when a couple of finches got caught in the mist net and just as he tried to grab one he hit the net and ended up on the ground.  He gave himself a good shake then flew up into a nearby tree and I promptly photographed him.  At the above mentioned site we saw Star, Gouldian, Zebra, Double-barred and Longtailed Finches and for me the highlight was a Yellow-rumped Mannikin and White-fronted Honeyeater. 

We then headed along the river and saw Red-headed Honeyeaters and Mangrove Gerygone and a lovely dark morph Brown Falcon which topped off a great mornings birding.  From there we went to Parry’s Lagoon and when we arrived a bloke was sitting in the hide and was very excited as he had just seen a Black-necked Stork being taken by a large Saltwater Crocodile.  We took a couple of shots of the Croc with the unfortunate Black-necked Stork in its jaws.  Here I photographed Brown Goshawk and a White-bellied Sea-Eagle who was constantly harassing the local ducks and birdlife.  A Bar-breasted Honeyeater was in a tree next to the hide and we were able to get good shots of it.   Also of interest was a Wood Sandpiper that had a short distorted beak, this had me very excited as at the time as I did not know what it was, (I was able to work out later at home with the help of friends what species it was) we then headed back to Kununurra and called it a day.

Next morning we went into Hidden Valley Nat Park and we got some beautiful shots of Red-winged Parrot eating some local native fruit from a tree that I was not familiar with; we then walked along the path and up towards the top of the sandstone valley.  We called in a Sandstone Shrike-thrush then watched as some Black Kites flew below us in the valley, such a beautiful site to see in the early morning light. Later that morning after refuelling the car and ourselves we headed off to the famous Gibb River Rd towards Mt Elizabeth Station as that was our goal for the day.

Mt Elizabeth Station 24th-26th Sept

Along the way we saw Whistling and Black Kites and then we dropped into Ellenbrae Homestead.  As we drove in we crossed a small creek that had pools of water in it, so off I went and photographed Crimson, Double-barred and Longtail Finches and Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters all coming in to drink.  We then arrived at the homestead proper, which is owned by a lovely German couple; there were heaps of birds around on the feeders and there were drinking bowls left out for them, it was lovely to see.

As we came back towards Gibb River Rd we spotted a couple of Wedgetailed Eagles and surprisingly we were able to get reasonably close to them and got some great shots.  Along the Rd I spotted a bird of prey that I had never seen before and snapped off a couple of shots.  It was a fair distance away so I ran off into the scrub to try and find it but alas, no luck.  Later I discovered by blowing up the photo that it was a Spotted Harrier, my first one.  Just on dusk we arrived at Mt Elizabeth Station and downed a couple of Crownies and enjoyed a good old fashioned meal.

Next morning before breakfast we walked along a small creek which was at the rear of the homestead and this was my first encounter with Varied Lorikeet, also seen were a pair of Dollarbirds flying up and down in the sky, they seemed to be chasing other birds away.  After breakfast we went out on a track that eventually takes you to the Drysdale River, we saw Longtailed Finches and a Black-tailed Treecreeper which I started to call in but they were very shy so I walked up the track to see if I could get a better photograph.  While this was going on a Grey Goshawk came and landed on the stump where the speaker was, looking for a free meal.

Alas, I only saw it as it flew between the trees and I could not get a shot of it which was very disappointing.  Later that day Geoff and I headed back along the track towards the Drysdale as we had heard that Black Grasswrens could been seen but again luck was not on our side as my speaker battery gave out and that was the end of that.  We did manage to see a large group of Brown Quail which flew up in front of us but they were too quick for us to photograph.  Pied Butcherbird, Black Bittern, Common Bronzewing, Crimson Finch, Long-tailed Finch were also seen along the track.

As I was walking along a creek bed I came across some Water Monitors (not sure what species they were) and a Wild Bull which made me very nervous and later on Geoff and I saw three feral Donkeys on the track leading back to the homestead.

Next day we went out early and we were rewarded with Gouldian Finch, Striated Pardalote, Black Bittern, Black-tailed Treecreeper and Horsefields Bushlark before heading back to the homestead to have a shower and head off to Mornington Wilderness Camp.  As I had been there the previous year I was looking forward to seeing old friends again. 

Mornington Wilderness Camp 26th Sept – 2nd Oct

Australian Wildlife

It was just after lunch when we arrived at Mornington, an old cattle station ( 320,668 ha or 792,050 acres ) that has been destocked except for the occasional rogue group.  We settled in to our home for the next 5 days, a safari tent that is nearly situated over a freshwater creek and where you can sit out on the balcony and observe Double Barred and Crimson Finches nesting in the pandannus as well as Great Bowerbird, Little Corellas ,Yellow-tinted, and Bar-breasted Honeyeaters Leaden ( paperbark ) Flycatcher’s ,Buff-sided Robin and the very important Purple-crowned Fairywren.

It was extremely pleasant to come back each morning from our birding and to have a refreshing swim in the creek and look up at the bird’s, Ah heaven for a birdo! 

Over the next few days on Mornington we saw around 100 species including Black Bittern, Crimson, Double-barred, Longtailed and surprising to me only a handful of Gouldian Finches.  As I understand Gouldian Finches are nomadic and apparently this was just one of those years when only the odd one or two turned up.  We also saw Varied Lorrikeet, heaps of Brown Quail and several families of Grey-crowned Babbler’s, Brown Goshawk, Collared Sparrowhawk.  The highlight for me was Spinifexbird but unfortunately for me I had shorts on and I was still picking out pieces from my leg for about a month after the sighting.  The photo’s I took are slightly out of focus as I did not realise until I returned to Melbourne that the teleconverter plate was loose, which damn it, I will just have to go back and suffer another trip to paradise!

It is strange that after you have been to a place for a considerable amount of time (one week) you think that you are just going to see the same species, I have found this not always to be the case.  As I mentioned previously this year there were very few Gouldians, also last time I was at Mornington we very rarely saw any Pictorella Mannikins but this year everywhere we went we seemed to bump into a flock of them.

At the airstrip were Oriental Plover and Red-backed Fairywren and along the way to Sir John Gorge and the headwaters of the mighty Fitzroy river there were Spinifex Pidgeons more Quail and a Red-backed Kingfisher.  When we arrived at Sir John Gorge Jim decided that the walk in to the gorge would take too much out of him, so Geoff and myself headed off.  It was not far to the river and when we arrived we immediately saw Fairy Martins feeding over the river and found their nests underneath a overhanging rock.  We decided to sit there for a while and we had Diamond Doves and White-quilled Rock- Pigeon turn up and over the other side was a Collared Sparrowhawk. 

One Morning with the help of Richard Fawkner, who is a development officer for Australian Wildlife Conservancy, owner of Mornington we set off to a small dam about 60 klms away near Lake Gladstone.  This lake is on an adjoining property that AWC have just purchased and the property is in the process of being destocked.  We arrived at about 5am and quickly set up position to photograph the birds as they came down to drink. The birdlife was just fantastic, as I can remember these are a few of the species that came in Zebra, Crimson, Long-tailed and Double-barred Finches. Chestnut-breasted and Pictorella Mannikin, Horsefield’s Bushlark, Brown Quail, Little Friarbird, Galah, Peaceful and Diamond Dove and Black-faced Woodswallow.  We then moved on to Lake Gladstone which is looked after by AWC.  I have seen photos of the Lake before they put a cattle fence around it and the devastation was unbelievable, but now it is an oasis for wildlife.  It was here we saw Plumed Whistling Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Brolgas, Brown Goshawk,Golden-headed Cisticola, all three Egrets and Glossy and Strawnecked Ibis but no Crakes.

On the 29th we celebrated my Birthday and it is one that I will never forget.  First we were invited over to the research centre by Sarah Legge where we were given a talk on the importance of controlled fire management in the Kimberley’s.  We were told that if it is done properly and at the right time our threatened Wildlife can get back from numbers that are extremely depleted and in some cases critically low to the numbers that were here before man put his footprint on this land.  I could not help but be impressed with what Sarah and the rest of the research staff are not only doing at Mornington but how they were also encouraging other landowners in the area so that they too can benefit from the controlled burning program initiated by Sarah and others.  After the talk my mate Rich and some of the staff thrust a beer into our hands and pushed us into a waiting troop carrier and Rich took off at lunatic speed to a destination on Mornington that has to be seen to be believed. 

After I got out and kissed the ground we walked up onto the top of a small tabletop rise and a banquet table had been set up for us with a bar and our own Chef to cook our meal.  Aperitifs were served along with a glass of wine as a small group of friends and I looked spellbound at the purple coloured rock walls of the Kimberley escarpment.  As the night closed in and we sat there eating magnificent Threadfin(King) Salmon with oil lit lamps on each corner of our Banquet table the milky way lit up the sky above us and you just felt so humble and in awe of the surroundings.  I would like to thank Richard Faulkner and Stephanie Toy for giving me the most unforgettable birthday that I could have (Having my wife Maryanne there would have been the Icing on the cake) and to the staff at Mornington thank you.

On the last morning I got Geoff to drop me off at a creek crossing and I walked up about 100 metres to a place where I had noticed quite a few birds coming into a waterhole, I put a camo blanket over myself and waited.  Before too long in came Zebra Finches and Pictorella Mannikins, I would have only been 4 metres from them; then came Brown Quail, Pheasant Coucal and a Grey-fronted Honeyeater, with that it was time to get back to Camp and alas back on our way to Broome.

Note: I nearly forgot in your package $240 per person per night all meals are provided (they are superb )when you stay in the Safari tents and if you don’t like driving they can arrange for a flight in from either Broome or Kununurra and drive you around the property for your stay, so as they say, what are you waiting for, do yourself a once in a lifetime deal and go there. And if you haven’t worked it out by now I am a major donor and supporter of AWC.

Mornington Wilderness Camp

Broome 2nd – 5th Oct

Back onto the Gibb River Road and it took us about six hrs to reach Broome and for Jim, the luxury of air-conditioning. That evening I went and hired a car as the next morning we had to head to Broome Bird Observatory which is run by Birds Australia.  There we met up with John King who is in charge of the place at this point in time and I was anxious to visit Roebuck Plains and the Yellow Chats that live there.  John is a great bloke and I instantly warmed to his passion about the plains, as most of you know it is the premier place to go to for waders that come down through Asia and one of their first stops is the famous Roebuck Bay. 

Broome Bird Observatory

After a quick cuppa we headed out to the place where John had seen them the previous day but alas they were not there and I was starting to get nervous.  However, John is a very determined chap and at last he found them, I was really excited as the last time I was there I got a shot that was so far away I needed a plane ticket to see the birds.  John and I just slowly kept walking towards them until they would take off, we would repeat this process till they finally got used to us and I managed to get reasonable shots even though I still had problems with the teleconverter. 

Jim And I then left John and headed to some of the beaches and photographed several waders using my 800F/5.6 Image stabilising lens for the first time.  I was sure that I would get some great shots but was so disappointed for when I got home many of the shots were slightly out of focus and I am still trying to sought out a rather expensive lens. The waders that we came upon where Terrick Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper , Grey-tailed Tattler, Red-capped Plover, Lesser Sand Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Eastern Curlew, and Red-necked Stint.

That evening we went to Cable Beach and caught up with Geoff and Sarah Corry and their children whom had flown from Darwin to Broome and were going to go back along the Gibb River road to Kunnunara and then onto to Darwin.  I cannot thank Geoff enough for what he did, nothing was too much trouble and his patience was tested quite a few times during our trip, I am much indebted to him and to Sarah. 

Barra Base

Early the next morning we went past the observatory to a little creek and here we called up Dusky Gerygone, Broad-billed Flycatcher, White-breasted Whilstler and Mangrove Fantail.  It was after that that I pulled a muscle in my back whilst I was trying to get up a cliff and had my lens too far out in front of me.

We arrived back in Melbourne on the 5th of October and all in all it was a fantastic trip and I had photographed 90 new species. So to summarise the trip, we left Melbourne on the 3rd of Sept and arrived home again on the 5th of Oct, we photographed over 200 species and saw in rough order Atherton Tablelands Artemis Station home of the Golden-shouldered Parrot and Lotus Bird Lodge (do not go there if you want to lose weight) both near Musgrave, then on to Portland Roads and the unbelievable Iron Range which is a must for any serious Birdo. Then back to Cairns and flew across to Darwin and then on to Katherine, Timber Creek, Kununurra, Wydham, The Kimberley’s and finally Broome , Now that’s what I call a bird trip!

Acknowledgements: I would also like to thank the following people Dave (Lumpy) Milson, Geoff Corry, John Barkla, Sue Sheppard at Artemis Station, Sue and Gary at Lotusbird Lodge, Allan Rossiter the owner at Portland Roads Beach Shack, Lindsey and Keith Fisher at Kingfisher Park, Jon & Peta Nott at Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat, Tracey & Chook at Mareeba Wetlands, Richard Faulkner, Stephanie Toy and all the staff at Mornington Wilderness Lodge, Jon King and Staff at Broome Bird Observatory, The Staff at Mt Elizabeth Station and Jim Gardner in Kunnunurra, What a trip!