Australian
Ornithological Services Pty Ltd
Trip
report
Darwin
- Kakadu N.P. - Pine Creek - Katherine - Kununurra back to Katherine and Darwin
14th
July-28th July 1999
Participants:
Josie Pyle (Aust), Ida Giriunas (USA), William Bruni (USA), Alan Cowan (AUST)
LoRaine Brown (USA), Phyllis Wilburn (USA), Ray Partridge (USA), Alison Partridge
(USA), Margareta Bergman (AUST), Adrian O'Neill (AUST), Ann Sutherland (AUST)
Tour
leaders: Philip Maher/Patricia Maher
Species
seen:
-
Emu: One bird seen between Cooinda and Waterfall Creek ( Kakadu N.P).
The leader's first sighting of this species in Kakadu N.P.
-
Orange-footed Scrubfowl: Seen most days around Darwin, maximum of 12 seen
in a day; appear to be almost domesticated in the Darwin area in recent years
-
Brown Quail: Few coveys seen in flight around Darwin, Victoria River and
Parry's Lagoon near Wyndham
-
Magpie Goose: Moderate numbers around Darwin, Fogg Darwin and Kakadu N.P.,
no large concentrations in these areas due to the good wet season and large
expanses of water still present on the floodplains. Hundreds of birds present
on Lake Argyle, some with young; also at Parry's Lagoon
-
Plumed Whistling-Duck: Several hundred seen at both Yellow Waters and
Lake Argyle, hundreds at Parry's Lagoon
-
Wandering Whistling-Duck: Few around Darwin, good numbers around Fogg
Dam and several wetlands in Kakadu (100s @ Mamukala), lesser numbers at Lake
Argyle and Parry's Lagoon
- Radjah
Shelduck: Few around Darwin, reasonable numbers in Kakadu including a
pair with about 16 young of varying sizes on the billabong walk behind Cooinda.
Good numbers on Lake Argyle
-
Green Pygmy-goose: About 200 on Knuckey's Lagoon, very pretty in flight;
reasonable numbers in Kakadu (Mamukala and Yellow Waters); also at Lake Argyle
- Pacific
Black Duck: Few around Darwin and Kakadu, higher numbers at Lake Argyle,
few at Parry's Lagoon
- Grey Teal: Few around
Darwin, higher numbers at Lake Argyle and hundreds at Parry's Lagoon floodplain
- Pink-eared
Duck: About 15 on Lake Argyle and around 100 on Parry's Lagoon floodplain
-
Hardhead: Few around Darwin; none seen in Kakadu this year; moderate numbers
at Lake Argyle; four at Parry's Lagoon
- Australasian
Grebe: Few at Knuckey's Lagoon, good numbers at Lake Argyle
- Darter:
A few seen on most days of the tour on various wetlands, highest numbers
seen around Fogg Dam and Lake Argyle
-
Little Pied Cormorant: A few seen on most days of the tour, highest numbers
on Lake Argyle where there were a few small breeding colonies in melaleuca
trees
- Pied Cormorant: Around
50 birds seen on Lake Argyle - the only sighting for the tour
-
Little Black Cormorant: Few seen on various wetlands, 100s around Fogg
Dam and good numbers on Lake Argyle
-
Great Cormorant: Seemingly scarce, our only record being a flock of about
20 flying over west of Katherine
- Australian
Pelican: Few around Darwin and Fogg Dam and Parry's Lagoon, largest number
(about 40) seen on Lake Argyle
-
White-faced Heron: One or two birds seen on most days of the tour
-
Little Egret: Low numbers around Darwin and Kakadu. Large numbers present
at Fogg Dam, none seen around Kununurra or Wyndham
- Eastern
Reef Egret: Low numbers seen around Darwin, both white and grey phases
seen at Nightcliff
-
White-necked Heron: One or two seen on most days of the tour, often on
small pools of water along roadsides
- Pied
Heron: Hundreds of adults and immatures at Fogg Dam, lesser numbers around
Darwin, Kakadu wetlands and Lake Argyle
- Great
Egret: Hundreds at Fogg Dam, lesser numbers around Darwin, Kakadu wetlands,
Lake Argyle and Parry's Lagoon. Few elsewhere on roadside pools
- Intermediate
Egret: Hundreds at Fogg Dam and good numbers at Knuckey's Lagoon, Yellow
Waters and Lake Argyle; few elsewhere
- Cattle
Egret: Low numbers around Darwin and Fogg Dam; about 200 feeding around
station horses at Lake Argyle
- Striated
Heron: About three at Nightcliff mangroves and two on the boat trip on
Yellow Waters including one intriguing individual who was using a dead dragonfly
as bait to lure fish to the surface
- Nankeen
Night Heron: One at Howard Springs; about 30 seen on the Yellow Waters
boat trip; two at Bonrook Station; one at Dingo Creek
- Black Bittern: One
immature seen on Yellow Waters boat trip
-
Little Bittern: One bird seen in poor light, at dusk, at Lake Kununurra;
one or two others called in response to tape
- Glossy
Ibis: Surprisingly, none seen around Fogg Dam or Kakadu; about 20 seen
at Lake Argyle and about 100 at Parry's Lagoon
- Australian
White Ibis: Low numbers around Darwin and Kakadu; few around Kununurra
-
Straw-necked Ibis: Moderately common around Darwin and Kakadu; some large
flocks around Parry's Lagoon
-
Royal Spoonbill: Hundreds in a large flock at Fogg Dam; about 50 at Yellow
Waters; sporadic sightings elsewhere
- Jabiru:
Few around Fogg Dam, Kakadu and along roadside pools at scattered locations;
about eight at Lake Argyle
- Osprey:
Single birds seen on a few occasions around Darwin and two at Lake Argyle
-
Black-shouldered Kite: Few seen around Fogg Dam and at Kununurra
-
Letter-winged Kite: One bird seen near Fogg Dam, thanks to a local tip-off
- Black-breasted Buzzard:
Eight sightings in all- one between Pine Creek and Katherine; one Victoria
River; one road kill (RK), beautifully marked, pale, immature bird about 50
km west of Timber Creek; one Cheese Tin Creek, north of Kununurra; one Parry's
Lagoon floodplain; one adult 25 km east of the Western Australian border;
adult pair Snake Creek, 97 km east of WA border.
-
Black Kite: Common and widespread-hundreds seen on some days. Seen on
every day of the tour
-
Whistling Kite: Although not as numerous as Black Kite, this species was
also seen on each day of the tour
- Brahminy
Kite: A few seen, only in the vicinity of Darwin
- White-bellied
Sea-eagle: A few seen around Darwin, Kakadu wetlands (nesting at Yellow
Waters) and Lake Argyle. One seen carrying a snake over the mangroves at Charles
Darwin N.P.
- Spotted Harrier: Only
two of this spectacular raptor seen between the WA border and Timber Creek,
when an adult bird appeared to pass a snake to a juvenile or immature bird
- Swamp
Harrier: Few on wetlands around Darwin, Fogg Dam and Lake Argyle
- Brown
Goshawk: A few certain sightings around Darwin and Kakadu, greatly outnumbered
by sparrowhawks, particularly in the drier country. A nice adult seen perched
during the Yellow Waters boat trip
- Grey
Goshawk: Two of the white phase seen in Kakadu, one interacting with a
Red Goshawk near Cooinda, the other seen briefly along the South Alligator
River near Waterfall Creek
- Collared
Sparrowhawk: Moderately common, about 14 sightings from Kakadu to Kununurra
and back to Darwin, identification uncertain in a few cases
- Red
Goshawk: One sighting of what was probably an adult male along the billabong
behind Cooinda. Some interaction occurring with a Grey Goshawk as the two
species circled above us three times. The Grey Goshawk was later seen further
along the Billabong but the Red Goshawk was not seen again despite much skyward
gazing. A pair of Grey Goshawks is resident at this locality and has been
seen here on many occasions over the last ten years. This was our first sighting
of Red Goshawk at this locality.
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