Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Gluepot - Part 3

On the final morning, I was up again as the sun was rising. The clouds made for a stunning sunrise. I was heading back to the same area of Mallee for another try at the Red-lored Whistler. As I crossed the burnt area, I could hear the Whistler calling from just inside the pristine habitat. I slowly stalked the bird, but it always kept a bush or two ahead of me. Then another joined in. One calling left and the other from the right. I had great views of both birds, but only mediocre results with the camera. After packing up my tent, I slowly headed out of the reserve, stopping where I saw or heard birds. At one spot I stopped as a Chestnut Quail-thrush crossed in front of me, only to then hear a Pied Honeyeater calling. There were two feeding high up in a gum tree. This highly cropped shot is the best I could get of this irruptive species. My last stop was at another of the hides. Yesterday I waited here for 20 minutes and saw nothing. Today was just as different. There were a few birds in the trees, and one by one they came forward for water. First, a couple of Southern Whitefaces, and a few Weebills - our smallest thornbill. Then, a flash of blue, a male Splendid Fairywren with a female in close company. Then there was a lull, and just as I was going to leave, a Red-capped Robin stopped in the top of the tree. Soon followed by a group of Inland Thornbills foraging for insects. A great end to a great trip.

11 comments:

  1. What a fabulous finale to your bird tripette Tony. That dawn sky is stunning (good SWF material) (-: Bet you were chuffed to get a photo of the Quail-Thrush, even if you weren't as close as you would've liked and that Red-capped Robin just shouldn't be allowed! (-:

    ReplyDelete
  2. Stunning dawn! You got in some great birding with the photographs to prove it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Jen. Yes, it was a great few days birding. I have some others lined up for SWF - stay tuned!!

    Thanks again Wilma. I am very happy to share my photos with you Guys.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Tony Just caught up with your last few posts and you have some beautiful images, I like the large variety of bird species you have down there and of course all the reptiles and larger animals also the variety of locations make for never a dull moment. Great Stuff

    ReplyDelete
  5. Enjoyed your trip to the Gluepot with some new and interesting sightings for me to drool over.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the Sky shot,fantastic.
    John.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Monty, thanks. so glad you enjoyed the posts.

    Thanks Frank - you had some pretty good birds in the UK this winter too.

    Thanks John, yes, a pretty special morning.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Not only do you have a great variety of birds, but they seem cooperative. : )

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Steve, Only up to a point!! Then you overstep the mark and they are gone!!

    ReplyDelete