Around Darwin March 18-27, 2014 Bob Westerman

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1 Around Darwin March 18-27, 2014 Bob Westerman I have visited Darwin several times during the past ten years for family reasons but there has always been plenty of time to go bird watching. This time, my bird watching friend, Warren Stevens, joined us. I took the photos and Warren did the bird list. Darwin is usually warm but this time we found the days were very hot. It was difficult to stay out in the open after 11:00 am so early starts were essential. Darwin is located well west of its time meridian so Darwin has effective daylight saving all the year around. At 7:00 am when the first rays of sunlight were showing the roads were already crowded with people going to work. Sleeping in, is not a real option in this city. The heat and the clock may be an inconvenience but this is the price you pay if you wish to see the wonderful exotic birds of the Northern Territory. June and July is the most pleasant time to be in Darwin but it is also the quietest time for bird watching. Towards the end of August and early September the weather warms up, the dry is starting to bite and the waterholes are full of birds. Migratory birds are returning from Asia so this is a time of real birdlife. Darwin birdlife changes with the seasons and the birds have been different with each visit. The one constant has been many beautiful birds. Our bird count for the week was 100+, but many birds such as the Rainbow Pitta escaped my camera lens. As I have always hired a car for my trips, I have been restricted to places close to Darwin and locations on or near bitumen roads. 4WD hire vehicles are available but they are expensive. I now have a list of places which fits this bill and it would keep most birdwatchers happy for a week - Darwin CBD foreshore, East Point,, Buffallo Creek, Holmes Jungle, Marlows Lagoon, Howard Springs, Knucky Lagoon, McMinns Lagoon, Berry Springs, Douglas Hot Springs and of course Fogg Dam. These are well known locations. A person with local knowledge and a 4WD is bound to know many more. There was heavy rain during the wet season this year so all the local waterholes were very full and the tracks in the low areas such as parts of Holmes Jungle and Fogg Dam were closed. Green Pygmy Geese and Magpie Geese which I have come to expect to see on each visit to Darwin, were noticeable by their absence. We hardly saw a waterbird flap its wings on any of the lagoons but Fogg Dam lived up to its reputation for surprises and was excellent for migratory waders. One day I will spot the Chestnut Rail at Buffalo Creek but as usual I missed it again.

2 Image prepared from Google Earth

3 Darwin Foreshore The foreshore area which is adjacent to the Darwin CBD is a good place to start a birdwatching holiday. There are a wide variety of habitats here - parklands with fig trees, wharves, beach and estuary flats. It is usual to find a large number of birds here. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Darwin Foreshore Bar-shouldered Dove Darwin Foreshore Mangrove Heron Darwin Foreshore

4 Rainbow Lorikeet (Red Collared) Darwin Foreshore

5 Little Friarbird Darwin Foreshore White-gaped Honeyeater Darwin Foreshore Helmeted Friarbird Darwin Foreshore

6 East Point Reserve East Point Reserve is a few kilometres north of Darwin City. It is public open space with recreational facilities, historic monuments, foreshore areas with easy access, small areas of monsoon rainforest and mangrove wetlands. Great Knots East Point

7 Reef Henon East Point Mangrove Walk

8 Orange-footed Scrub Fowl Buffalo Creek

9 Pheasant Coucal Buffalo Creek

10 Lemon-bellied Flycatcher Marlows Lagoon White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike Buffalo Creek

11 Northern Fig Bird Holmes Jungle

12 Magpie Lark Holmes Jungle

13 Varied Lorikeet Holmes Jungle

14 On the beach between and Buffallo Creek there were many migratory birds. The list included Great Knots, Red Knots, Red-capped Plovers, Leser Sand Plovers, Greater Sand Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Black tailed Godwits, Golden Plovers, Grey Plovers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Common Greenshanks, Crested Terns, Common Terns and Little Terns. Some of these birds were in breeding plumage

15 Common Greenshank Grey-tailed Tattlers Sanderling Greater Sand Plover (in breeding)

16 Red-capped Plover

17 Greater Sand Plovers

18 Lesser Sand Plover

19 Greater Sand Plovers

20 Great Knots and Red Knots

21 Great Knot

22 Bar-tailed Godwits

23 Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwits

24 Crested Terns Caspian Terns

25 Grey Plovers

26 Grey Plovers, Great Knots, Bar-tailed Godwits, Eastern Curlew.

27 Great Knots, Red Knots, Grey Plover, Whimbrel.

28 Darwin Bird List, March Australasian Darter Grey Plover Rainbow Pitta Australasian Figbird Grey Whistler Red Knot Australian Pied Oystercatcher Grey-tailed Tattler Red-capped Plover Australian White Ibis Helmeted Friarbird Red-headed Honeyeater Bar-shouldered Dove Intermediate Egret Red-necked Stint Bar-tailed Godwit Leaden Flycatcher Red-winged Parrot Black Kite Lemon-bellied Flycatcher Restless Flycatcher Black-chinned Honeyeater Lesser Sand Plover Royal Spoonbill Black-necked Stork Little Corella Ruddy Turnstone Blue-faced Honeyeater Little Egret Rufous-throated Honeyeater Blue-winged Kookaburra Little Friarbird Sacred Kingfisher Brown Falcon Little Kingfisher Sanderling Brown Honeyeater Little Pied Cormorant Shining Flycatcher Brush Cuckoo Little Tern Silver-crowned Friarbird Caspian Tern Magpie-lark Spangled Drongo Cattle Egret Mangrove Golden Whistler Striated Heron Comb-crested Jacana Mangrove Grey Fantail Striated Pardalote Common Greenshank Mangrove Robin Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Common Sandpiper Masked Finch Tawny Grassbird Common Tern Masked Lapwing Torresian Crow Crested Pigeon Mistletoebird Varied Lorikeet Crested Tern Northern Fantail Varied Triller Crimson Finch Orange-footed Scrubfowl Wandering Whistling-Duck Double-barred Finch Pacific Golden Plover Whimbrel Dusky Honeyeater Peaceful Dove Whistling Kite Eastern Curlew Pied Butcherbird White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike Eastern Great Egret Pied Cormorant White-bellied Sea-Eagle Eastern Reef Egret Pied Heron White-breasted Woodswallow Emerald Dove Pied Imperial-Pigeon White-browed Babbler Forest Kingfisher Pied Oystercatcher White-gaped Honeyeater Golden-headed Cisticola Plumed Whistling Duck White-throated Honeyeater Great Knot Purple Swamphen Willy Wagtail Greater Sand Plover Radjah Shelduck Yellow Oriole Green-backed Gerygone Rainbow Bee-eater Zitting Cisticola Grey-crowned Babler (Red Breasted) Rainbow Lorikeet Grey Whistler Howard Springs