Australian trip. Part 3. Into the jaws.

I spent a fair bit of time exploring the Port Douglas area around the forested bits and the mangroves. Ignoring a beware of crocodiels signs I turned a corner to find this monster. Discretion beat valour.

 Port Douglas marina

 Blue-winged Kookaburra

 Cattle Egret.

Brush Turkey - these were ridiculously tame around the Mossman Gorge car park and were rooting through people belongings for food as the yswam in the Mossman river.

 Male Figbirds in the hotel grounds.

Laughing Kookaburra's.
We heard these most days from the hotel balcony and one morning four turned up and created a right din as they 'laughed' and generally flew around being nosiy as only Kookaburra's can.

 Masked Lapwing. Common everywhere.

 Orange-footed Scrubhen in hotel grounds.

 Imperial Pied Pigeon.

 Tawny Frogmouth roosting in tree near hotel.

 Yellow-belllied Sunbirds - common around hotel grounds.

 Pied Butcher Bird

 Rainbow Beeater.

 Wonga Pigeon

Spangled Drongo.

An amzing place and an area I want to visit again. 150 speices of brids recorded in our short 5 day non-birding trip. Including at least 100 that were new to me.

Australian trip. Part 2. Rainforest specials.

From Albury we flew to Cairns and hired a car for the short drive north along the Captain Cook highway to our base at Port Douglas. From here, as well as the diving trip, we explored the Daintree forest and Mossman areas. Some stunning birds were logged including at least three Noisty Pitta's in the Daintree visitors centre and nearby Jindalba board walk. Not all the birds were photographable because of the dense nature of the forest. Some, like this stunning male Satin Bower Bird just gave themselves up!

 Male Satin Bower Bird .

 Spotted Catbird.

 Green Oriole

 Wompo Fruit Dove.

 White-headed Pigeon

Spectacled Monarch.

 View over rainforest canopy from top of Daintree viewing platform 76 feet up! Double-eyed Fig Parrots seen from her.

Amazing buttress roots of forest tree.

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater.

Australian trip. Part 1.

A selection of photo's from my recent Australian trip taking in Melbounre, Hobart, Albury and Port Douglas!

Firstly a selection of birds photographed around my daughter & son-in-laws house in Albury.

 Blue-faced Honeyeaters.

 Eastern Rosella

 Gallah - a group of these were digging up the front garden!

 Red-rumped Parrots!

Stunning.

Nearby we found a  White-throated Treecreeper and this pretty large Orb Spider.

Big fall on Hilbre

Fresh from my Antipodean travels and jet lagged to boot it was always going to be on the cards that I'd be awake bright and early Bank Holiday Monday for my first trip to the obs this May. Despite a last minute hitch I managed to rearrange a few things and picked up Steve around 07.15 for the bumpy ride across to Hilbre before the high tide.

Despite a very brisk easterly ( force 4 -5 at times ) and a clear night it was clear that there had been a major fall of birds with at least 150 Willow Warblers present along with a handful of  Sedge Warbler, Whitethroats, Redstart & Grasshopper Warbler!

At the end of the session we'd caught an amazing 81 birds! Star bird for me was this carcking 2nd calender year male Redstart.

Visually the Island was stunning - blue skies, white topped waves and clouds of pink Sea thrift and blue Bluebells.

Down under down under

I've just got back from a memorable trip to Australia- part business and part holdiay. Lots of bird photo's to follow but highlight for me was fulfilling a long cherished ambition to dive the Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas. Totally mind blowingly awesome.