Black Kite

Black Kite, Milvus migrans.

Raptors, also known as birds of prey, are birds which use their feet to attack and kill their prey. It’s a diverse group, taking in owls, eagles, falcons, hawks, harriers, and kites. The bird in the picture this week is another one which will be familiar to any Territorians who turn their eyes to the skies.

The Black Kite is an adept scavenger as well as killing its own prey like small mammals and reptiles. There are often great flocks of these birds circling over the tip and they are common around highways where they make short work of any roadkill.

Their other favoured tactic is to surf along burning fire fronts. Here, they can take advantage of the thermal updrafts and disturbance of the fire to send insects shooting upwards into their waiting talons. Their diverse and adaptable skills have made them one of the most successful raptor species in the world and today they can be found throughout Australia and right up through most of Asia.

Sightings this week: 

-          Bush Stone-curlew spotted on the Plenty Highway by eagle-eyed ambos on a late night dash to Harts Range

-          Wood Sandpiper and Black-tailed Godwits appear to be the last of our migratory waders left and will soon be gone to their breeding grounds in Siberia

-          Australian Pratincole, four birds put in a brief appearance at the sewage ponds

-          Australian Bustard, Black-chinned Honeyeaters, and Chiming Wedgebills were the birding highlights of some work I did this week out along the Barkly Highway around Frewena

-          Eastern Barn Owls continue to be the most commonly reported night bird along the roads at night

Happy Birding!

Galah

Galah, Eolophus roseicapillus.

This week I decided to spend some time with the most underrated bird in Australia, the humble Galah. As is so often the case, speaking with tourists is a great way to get a fresh perspective on the familiar things we may take for granted. Without exception, visitors to Alice Springs always comment about our Galahs.

            For Aussies, their erratic flight and raucous, loutish ways have made their name synonymous with affable oafishness.   But if you take a second to appreciate the pastel grey and pink colour scheme, their contentedness in living cheek-by-jowl with humans, and their knockabout camaraderie, it’s hard not to love the Galah.

            It’s been a big week for birdos in Alice with two rare ducks showing up in one week, and some fantastic migratory birds showing up on their way north for the winter.

The wader count at the sewage ponds was a great success and a big thank you to Barb Gilfedder for organising the whole affair, and all the volunteers who came and helped out.

Sightings this week: 

-          Freckled Duck, one of the rarest ducks in the country has paid our sewage ponds a visit giving a few locals their first ever view of this enigmatic bird

-          Blue-billed Duck, astonishingly, the very next day we had one of these show up at the poo ponds. Not quite as rare as Freckled Duck but much less frequently reported here in Alice

-          Pectoral Sandpiper, just in time for the Field Nat’s wader count, president Barb Gilfedder spotted this uncommon migrant fattening up for the flight north at the sewage ponds

-          Peach-faced Lovebird, this introduced pest was found hiding out in corkwoods at Maynard Park on Head Street

Happy Birding!

Masked Lapwing

Masked Lapwing, Vanellus miles.

When I was kid, this bird was called a Spur-winged Plover. Indeed it does have a bony “spur” protruding from near the carpal joint on its wing – that part of the limb which is analogous to our wrist. These days though, it has been renamed and is referred to as a Masked Lapwing.

They are fiercely territorial and will dive-bomb anyone or anything that encroaches near their eggs or young. Anyone who has inadvertently stepped into one of these birds’ territories will know what I mean – the battle cries are instantaneous, “EK – EK – EK!”

            They couple this strong territorial instinct with the most ridiculous nesting arrangements. In fact, they don’t really make a nest. Their eggs are a well camouflaged speckled texture and they just lay them straight onto the ground. When they hatch, the fluffy chicks are a black and grey dappled colour and blend beautifully with the surface, making them easy to tread on by accident.

            This Masked Lapwing was at the sewage ponds but they can usually be found in flocks on and around Blatherskite Park, Traeger Oval, or anywhere else you can find a nice open area of grass with some water nearby.

Sightings this week: 

-          Black Falcon has been seen hunting around Ilparpa Swamp this week

-          Pied Honeyeater seen in a few spots around the back of Ellery Creek Big Hole

-          2 Southern Boobook owls seem to be courting around Cliffside Court and Dixon Road

-          30 Little Corellas at the Convention Centre

-          20 Red-tailed Black Cockatoos at the end of Heffernan Road

Thanks for all your feedback folks and please keep sending your bird sightings for the bulletin each week - comebirdwatching@gmail.com

Happy Birding!

Crested Pigeon (with funky white colouring)



Hypomelanistic Crested Pigeon, Ocyphaps lophotes.



The camera doesn’t lie folks – this is not the bog standard Crested Pigeon that you are used to seeing around town. This bird has a genetic condition known as hypomelanism which results in a very low level of the pigment melanin, responsible for dark colours. This is the reason for the “washed-out” look of its plumage.

            This is not an albino – that is a different condition altogether which results in no pigmentation at all. If you look closely you will see this bird still has the normal colouring on its feet and in its eye, and the markings on its wings are still present albeit a little pastel compared to the usual colouring of this species.

            This bloke was lurking around Heffernan Road, but I’m told there is a similar looking Crested Pigeon to be found around the stock feed mills in Elder Street.

Some exciting sightings this week: 

-          Ground Cuckoo-shrikes are plentiful at the moment out along the Plenty Highway.

-          A Sacred Kingfisher was overseeing proceedings at the Tangentyerre Nursery Open Day on Saturday.

-          Cinnamon Quail-thrush and Banded Whiteface have been reported down south of Erldunda.

-          Bourke’s Parrots have also been reported on the Plenty Highway this week and in sizeable flocks down near Stuart’s Well.

-          2 Wedge-tailed Eagles were seen soaking up the morning sun right in the middle of Albrecht Oval by Jesse Carpenter on Sunday.

To see high resolution photographs of all the featured birds, and lots more, you can visit the Birds Central website at www.comebirdwatching.blogspot.com

Happy Birding!

Brown Quail

Brown Quail, Coturnix ypsilophora.

It’s been an exciting week of birding in The Centre. The bird surveys have almost wrapped up out at Newhaven and the Field Nats have been out on the weekend enjoying the wet conditions. The final plans have been locked into place for Red Centre Bird Week out at the Alice Springs Desert Park, and you can expect some official dates for that event soon.

            The bird in the frame this week is the Brown Quail. Usually not too common around The Centre, this bird lurks around in grassy areas and in wet years it can become much more abundant and spread out across the arid zone. This round-looking bird was snapped on the road into Simpson’s Gap.

Sightings this week: 

-          A Black-chinned Honeyeater of the gorgeous laetior race was identified by local birdo Uwe Path out at Emily Gap on the weekend

-           Southern Boobooks are very active at the moment with several birds calling around northside and allowing great views from Dixon Road

-          Crimson Chats are still being seen in reasonable flocks along Colonel Rose Drive

Now is a great time to start conducting bird surveys around your home or property. Land for Wildlife is starting a database of regular monthly bird surveys on private land around Central Australia. We’d love as many contributors to this project as possible. Whether you are in town or out on a bush block you can join Land for Wildlife in its mission to preserve wildlife corridors through town and monitor the state of our birds. To find out more visit the website at http://www.lowecol.com.au/lfw/lfw.htm or email lfw@lowecol.com.au and we’ll pop round and get you started.

Happy Birding!

Whiskered Tern

Whiskered Tern, Chlidonias hybridus.

The picture this week is one of our more common species of inland tern, the Whiskered Tern. These birds are very common over many inland bodies of water and are also known as Marsh Terns.

            This bird is in breeding plumage but often when we see them here they will be in non-breeding plumage without the dark belly, or the bright red bill.

            That dagger-like bill is used for plucking insects out of the air or from the surface of the water. These birds can often be seen working in teams, patrolling in lines up and down a body of water and skimming insects from the surface.

            If you’re ever out looking for this bird it is worth keeping an eye out for the related White-winged Black Tern. This is a smaller, paler bird but it is superficially similar. The difference is in the head markings, where the White-winged Black Tern more closely resembles an ‘Elvis Presley’ hairdo with pronounced sideburns.

Sightings this week: 

-          A Rainbow Lorikeet has been reported in Arunga Street. No doubt this is a lonely aviary escapee – let’s hope he doesn’t have any mates.

-          Grey Fantails of the stunning albicauda race have been reported at Kunoth Bore and Jessie Gap.

-          Orange Chats are making something of a comeback with reports from Tilmouth Well and the Lasseter Highway near Curtin Springs.

-          Another pest, Peach-faced Lovebirds, a Namibian native, are now being seen very regularly in a number of different areas of town.

If you spot any feral bird species around town you can ring the feral hotline – 1800 084 881

We’ve got to keep control of the ferals as this wet weather continues as conditions are ripe for any introduced species to take advantage and establish a breeding population.

Happy birdwatching ‘til next week!

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Wedge-tailed Eagle, Aquila audax.

In latin Aquila audax means “bold eagle”.  The bird in this picture certainly fits that description having let me approach within a few metres before flying off very casually.

It’s been a week of ups and downs for Centralian birdos. The “Disneyland” of Alice Springs birding destinations, the sewage ponds, has been temporarily closed following an increase in feral dogs.

            This brief inconvenience has had an upside. I went birdwatching in a few spots that I haven’t been for a while and turned up some corkers. After a trip out to the Rufous-crowned Emu-wren site (where that species has bred well lately) I got a look at a rare Flock Bronzewing as it flew over the car.

            Around the back of the claypans were plenty of Mulga Parrots and a trio of Bourke’s Parrots. Also, the swamps at Ilparpa have just been flooded by Power & Water. As this starts to dry off over the coming weeks we may have some more luck with the lurking Crakes and Rails that have been seen in the area over summer.

            It looks like the sewage ponds might be re-opened in time for a wader count by April.  When this finally goes ahead, the organisers will need expert birdos to do the counting and scribes to write up the lists. Send me an email if you think you’d like to help out.

Sightings this week: 

-          Buff-banded Rails with some very small hatchlings have been seen in the Todd riverbed lately

-          3 Gull-billed Terns seen over the sewage ponds

-          Flock Bronzewing on the Santa Teresa Road

-          Black Honeyeater at the claypans

-          Bourke’s Parrots behind Ilparpa Claypans

-          Australian Bustard seen on the road to Kata Tjuta from Yulara