Five member of COG
Rosemary Ryan, Neville and Lesley Page (new), Horst and myself
joined with Helen from Murwillumbah for Philip and Patricia Mahers
Darwin Kakadu Kununurra Birding Tour of the Top End. We
all flew to Darwin, and started the tour 22 May, during what should have
been the end of the Wet in this Monsoon Rainforest area. But this year
it kept raining occasionally, hence the very high humidity along with
the heat of approx. 32¼ C each day. Because there was more water about
there were still a lot of mosquitoes also. We came prepared with an assortment
of Aerogard, Rid and Bushmans Deet!
The Darwin Botanical Gardens soon revealed the magnificent Rufous Owl,
exactly where it was supposed to be. The mangroves provided us with many
species including the elusive Chestnut Rail, Striated Herons, Mangrove
Robin and Mangrove Northern Grey Fantail. We saw Red-tailed Black Cockatoos
on our first day and every single day thereafter. Other species which
seemed to be everywhere we went (even though we didnt note them
for 1 or 2 of the 16 days) were: Black and Whistling Kites, Masked Lapwings,
Peaceful and Bar-shouldered Doves, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Rainbow
Lorikeets, Rainbow Bee-eaters, Magpie Larks, Willy Wagtails, Black-faced
Cuckoo-shrikes and Torresian Crows.
The normal time for breakfast was 6:30 at the motel or roadhouse and away
we went in a 12-seater Toyota bus. Trishs nourishing and variety
lunches were eagerly devoured after the mornings activity. It was
a good group and we had a lot of fun together and lots of new species
were seen by all of us.
Our early boat trip on Yellow Water, 7-9:20 am, was a definite highlight.
We had one boat and one guide all to ourselves, so we had plenty of room,
information, shade, views from either side, and no mosquitoes! The pink
sunrise was magnificent and the water lilies fabulous. The birds were
not as numerous due to the amount of water still around, but we scored
53 species, including land birds in the vegetation along either side of
the South Alligator River. A Crimson Finch had a nest low in a Pandanus,
and two White-breasted Sea-eagles were building a nest high in a dead
tree. Several species of Kingfishers, Egrets, Herons, Ibis and both Whistle-ducks
were present. Unfortunately the cane toads Bufo marinus have arrived,
plus there were several wild pigs including piglets, one monstrous water
buffalo (they are getting fewer and the pigs greater in numbers), a Mertons
Water Monitor (an aquatic goanna), a tree snake swimming and several Estuarine
Crocodiles Crocodylus porosus which are so much more enormous than
their Freshwater cousins Crocodylus johnstoni.
At Gunlom (Waterfall Creek), still in Kakadu, we scrambled up a steep,
rocky slope up to and beyond the inviting rock pools. We kept going over
boulders and through long grass and were rewarded with long views of three
bouncy little White-throated Grasswrens. What a delight they were to observe
as they investigated, chirruped and scolded never still for a moment.
They were "cheeky, with an air of self-importance" as Slater
states. Indeed! We had time to note the Turkey Bush Calytrix exstipulata
exploding with reddish-pink blooms, a holly-leaved grevillea Grevillea
angulata, and some delicate, small, fringed yellow waterlilies
Nymphoides hyrochoroides.
Sewerage Ponds were always a good venue, and Phil knew just where to find
them! They sported such finds as dozens of Pied Herons in breeding plumage,
many Whiskered and one White-winged Black Tern, a pair of Radjah Shelducks
with a raft of eleven downy ducklings, stately Jabirus, elegant Black-winged
Stilts and busy Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterels.
Eventually, west of Victoria River, we started to see our first Boab trees
Andansonia gregorii. What fascinating shapes and sizes they are!
Cabbage Palms were growing on the cliffs in Gregory National Park
a Livistona sp unidentified as of 1993, found very locally. The
Timber Creek area gave us even more finches. The day before we had spotted
the beautiful red-faced Star Finch plus the Yellow-rumped and Chestnut-breasted
Mannikins in long grass; next it was good views of Masked and Long-tailed
Finches on the roadside together. And yes! At long last! the colourful
red-faced phase of the Gouldian Finch, along with lots of duller immatures.
That was a very special find for all of us.
We spent four nights at Kununurra, WA with a variety of episodes. During
our early am trip on Lake Argyle we were rewarded with views of fat White-quilled
Rock-pigeons, the beautiful echoing song and sight of two Sandstone Shirke-thrushes,
lots of Australian Pratincoles, Northern Nail-tailed Wallabies Onychogalea
unguifera, huge Garden Orb spiders and their extremely strong silvery
webs, and just before we returned the Yellow Chats appeared at
the 11th hour!
Up at 04:15 on 4 June, to the local airport by 05:00, a one-hour flight
in a 10-seater aircraft, landing on a grassy runway, and then ferried
by an open, no doors, 5-seater helicopter to the Mitchell Plateau
in the middle of nowhere! We were after Black Grasswrens. The big boulders
were too daunting for half of us, but those who persisted had a good sighting
of five eventually. But it was so hot! Those of us who were too tired
to continue got to see Mertens Falls from the top and cool our feet and
legs in the water before it plummeted over the edge. Ah, wonderful! You
have to stop and give yourself a small reward now and then when the going
gets tough. I admire those who went on every single outing and followed
Phil over the roughest terrain. It was an exhausting trip, especially
with the heat and humidity, but very rewarding with many new birds, flowers,
trees, rainforest, mammals and reptiles seen, plus waterfalls, gorges,
cliffs, rivers, lakes, ocean beaches and mudflats. In all, a wonderful
experience.
'Top
End' poem by Kay Hahne
'People
on the Top End Tour' poem by Kay Hahne
AOS 2004 Darwin/kakadu NP &
Kununurra trip report
2005 Darwin/kakadu NP & Kununurra
itinerary
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