If you only get to the Territory once in a lifetime, it HAS to be a priority!!
This is a trip taken by Mike Potter and I from the 6th to the 11th of October, 2008. Our route was Darwin to Pine Creek to Kakadu, back to Darwin with a lot of birding, swimming, walking, and fishing in between. As far as trips go this was perfect in every way. All but a handful of targets seen. Great company, Awesome weather, and HUGE fish.
I just love it when a plan comes together.
Monday 6th Oct. Darwin.Got off the plane and straight to the Darwin Power and Water office for the key to the Darwin Treatment Ponds and we were informed that "there is a rare bird there but I don't know what it's called". (Thanks Dawn, you're a star!). So off to the Ponds to look for the "unknown" rare bird.(had no time to check birding-aus before hand as was in Ulladulla seeing Powerful Owls – Thanks Mike!!) Fortunately there was plenty to look at while pondering what to check for including Oriental Plover, Little Ringed Plover x 3, Little Curlew. Thanks to Mike and Jenny for the heads up on the Little Grebe!! and the scope views!
Tuesday 7th Oct. Darwin - Pine Creek - Gunlom - Cooinda.
4am start to Pine Creek: First up Hooded Parrot at the lookout.
Copperfield Dam: Partridge Pigeon, Masked Finch, Yellow-tinted HE, etc. Also Huge termite mounds near Pine Creek treatment plant.
Off to Gunlom: Swam until 4pm then decided to climb the escarpment for the Sandstone species. Anything that did exists up there had been incinerated by the searing heat radiating off the rocks. Nothing!! Only highlight was Rufous-throated HE. Great spot though. We booked 2 nights into a "backpackers room" at Cooinda for $100/night!!- more like a shoebox!!
Wednesday 8th Oct. Kakadu National Park.
Nourlangi Rock: Emerald Dove, Banded Fruit Dove, Black-tailed Treecreeper, White-lined HE, but no Chestnut-quilled Rock-pigeon or Sandstone Shrike-thrush.
Off to Ubirr: CQ Rock-pigeon!!
Back to Mardugal Camp Ground: Black Bittern and a HUGE Croc - stay away from the banks!!
Thursday 9th Oct. Cooinda – Mary River - Adelaide River – Fogg Dam – Darwin.
Left Cooinda again at 4am to get to Mary River Park by first light. Good thing you can drive fast! Green-backed Gerygone, Arafura Fantail, Little Shrike-thrush.
Adelaide River - dipped on the Mangrove Golden Whistler, but had a great time with the jumping Crocs and Sea-eagles.
Fogg Dam (gotta love this place): Tawny Grassbird, White-browed Crake, Rainbow Pitta, Little Bronze Cuckoo.
Back to Adelaide River for another crack at the Mangrove Golden Whistler. Scared off by croc under the tree's. I SAID STAY AWAY FROM THE BANKS!!
Back to Darwin for a swim at friends pool and Barra, prawns and Coronas at the Wharf for dinner while we watched the Sunset!!.
Friday 10th Oct. Darwin. Early Start to Buffalo Creek: First light and first there!! Walked through the little track to the right to the first beach. Great-billed Heron, Red-headed HE and Chestnut Rail in the first 10 minutes!! Also Yellow White-eye, Grey Whistler, Mangrove Gerygone.
Lea Point: Lesser Sand-plover
East Point: Greater Sand-plover, Lesser Crested Tern, Beach Stone-curlew.
Darwin Botanic Gardens: Barking Owl, Rufous Owl, Brush Cuckoo.
Holmes Jungle: Zitting Cisticola.
We finished up the trip fishing Corroborree Billabong. 5pm til 10.30 by moonlight. Heaps of fish and lots of Crocs. Largest Caught was 76cm by...ME!
Saturday the 11th. Home to Adelaide.5 days
1250 kms
161 species
40 ticks for Steve
60 ticks for Mike
4 Barramundi! Plus a few that got away..
Birds Seen:
Orange-footed Scrubfowl 08
Magpie Goose
Plumed Whistling-Duck 08
Wandering Whistling-Duck
Radjah Shelduck 08
Green Pygmy-goose 08
Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
Hardhead
Little Grebe 08 OZ
Australasian Grebe
Darter
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Little Egret
Eastern Reef Egret
White-necked Heron
Great-billed Heron 08 OZ Life
Pied Heron 08
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Cattle Egret
Nankeen Night Heron
Black Bittern 08 OZ Life
Glossy Ibis 08
Australian White Ibis
Straw-necked Ibis
Royal Spoonbill
Black-necked Stork 08
Black-breasted Buzzard 08 OZ Life
Black Kite
Whistling Kite
Brahminy Kite 08
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Brown Goshawk 08
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Brown Falcon
Brolga 08
White-browed Crake 08 OZ Life
Chestnut Rail 08 OZ LifePurple Swamphen
Eurasian Coot
Black-tailed Godwit
Little Curlew 08 OZ Life Whimbrel
Eastern Curlew
Common Greenshank
Wood Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper 08
Grey-tailed Tattler 08
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Comb-crested Jacana
Bush Stone-curlew
Beach Stone-curlew 08 OZ Life
Black-winged Stilt
Pacific Golden Plover
Grey Plover
Little Ringed Plover 08 OZLesser Sand Plover 08
Greater Sand Plover 08 OZ Life
Oriental Plover 08 OZ LifeBlack-fronted Dotterel
Red-kneed Dotterel
Masked Lapwing
Australian Pratincole 08
Silver Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Lesser Crested Tern 08 OZ LifeCommon Tern 08
Whiskered Tern
Emerald Dove 08 OZCommon Bronzewing
Crested Pigeon
Partridge Pigeon 08 OZ Life
Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon 08 OZ Life
Diamond Dove 08
Peaceful Dove
Bar-shouldered Dove
Banded Fruit-Dove 08 OZ Life
Pied Imperial-Pigeon 08
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo 08
Galah
Little Corella
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Cockatiel 08
Rainbow Lorikeet
Varied Lorikeet 08 OZ LifeRed-winged Parrot 08
Northern Rosella 08 OZ Life
Hooded Parrot 08 OZ Life
Brush Cuckoo 08 OZ Life
Little Bronze-Cuckoo 08 OZ Life
Pheasant Coucal 08
Rufous Owl 08 OZ Life
Barking Owl 08 OZ LifeTawny Frogmouth 08
Azure Kingfisher 08
Blue-winged Kookaburra 08
Forest Kingfisher
Rainbow Bee-eater
Dollarbird
Rainbow Pitta 08 OZ Life
Black-tailed Treecreeper 08 OZ Life
Mangrove Gerygone 08 OZ Life
Green-backed Gerygone 08 OZ Life
Helmeted Friarbird 08
Silver-crowned Friarbird 08
Little Friarbird 08
Blue-faced Honeyeater
White-lined Honeyeater 08 OZ Life
White-gaped Honeyeater 08
Yellow-tinted Honeyeater 08 OZ Life
White-throated Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
Bar-breasted Honeyeater 08
Rufous-banded Honeyeater 08
Rufous-throated Honeyeater 08 OZ Life
Dusky Honeyeater 08
Red-headed Honeyeater 08 OZ LifeLemon-bellied Flycatcher 08
Grey-crowned Babbler 08 OZ Life
Grey Whistler 08
Rufous Whistler
Little Shrike-thrush 08 OZ LifeGrey Shrike-thrush
Broad-billed Flycatcher 08
Shining Flycatcher 08
Restless Flycatcher
Magpie-lark
Arafura Fantail 08 OZ LifeNorthern Fantail 08
Willie Wagtail
Spangled Drongo
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike 08
White-winged Triller
Varied Triller 08
Yellow Oriole 08
Olive-backed Oriole 08
Australasian Figbird
White-breasted Woodswallow
Black-faced Woodswallow
Little Woodswallow 08 OZ LifePied Butcherbird
Torresian Crow
Great Bowerbird 08
Double-barred Finch 08
Long-tailed Finch 08
Masked Finch 08 OZ LifeCrimson Finch 08
Mistletoebird
Tree Martin
Fairy Martin
Australian Reed-Warbler
Tawny Grassbird 08 OZ Life
Rufous Songlark 08 OZ Life
Zitting Cisticola 08 OZ
Yellow White-eye 08 OZ Life
Total: 161
New 08: 84
New Oz: 40
Life: 36
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