This year we visited family in Perth for Christmas. I managed to do a little birding while I was there, and added two "lifers" (bird species seen for the first time). It was very warm there, with every day over 30C (86F) and a couple of days over 40C (104F), so birding wasn't easy. I had made contact with a couple of local birders through a birdwatching e-mail list so I had some local spots to try.
One of the most common birds around Perth's northern suburbs is the local variant of the Australian Ringneck, "Twenty-eight Parrot". These were seen in the garden everyday
The local park was also "birdy" with many common species. They are also used to people so gave good opportunities to get close. Australian White Ibis and Pacific Black Duck were plentiful, and tucked in amongst them was a Female Musk Duck.
Further along the lake edge were some Little Black Cormorants, Maned duck, lots of Little Corellas and Straw-necked Ibis.
One of my target species was Western Wattlebird, but every Wattlebird I got my binoculars on to was a Red Wattlebird.
I had a day trip out with a local birder, but it was very hot and tough going. At one little waterhole we did find a couple of endemic Baudin's Cockatoos, along with some Red-tailed Black Cockatoos.
One spot I wanted to try was Victoria Dam. It held two of my target species, as well as two other endemic species. There were a few gum trees in blossom, and both Singing and Brown Honeyeaters took full advantage. The local Golden Whistler was in good voice letting everyone know he was there.
Splendid Fairywren is by far the most common of the fairywrens here, I even saw them in a reserve only metres from dense housing. At Victoria Dam I was almost tripping over them! While photographing them, I saw a small movement out of the corner of my eye, and got a nice surprise! A Western Rosella, my first lifer of the trip.
Other common birds here were Yellow-rumped Thornbill and Laughing Dove. While checking through the fairywrens and thornbills I almost missed lifer number two, Red-eared Firetail.
all in all a great trip, and a lovely finish to 2015.
A short post from the last week or two. Birding has been pretty quiet, but we did manage a quick visit to Broken Hill. Amongst the birds we saw were Apostlebirds, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike and an Emu dad with his kids
We also stopped off at the Royal Flying Doctor Service base and enjoyed a visit to the hanger.
More recently I went to Moorundie Wildlife Park with the local bird group. We saw plenty of birds, but only a few came close enough for a photo. We chased around following this Southern Scrub-robin, and eventually everyone saw it well. On the way back to the car I spotted this Splendid Fairywren.
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.
