Birding Central Australia #36

Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

These wonderful blue-eyed birds might come as a surprise to some birdwatchers. Cormorants are primarily fish-eaters so they might seem slightly out of place here in the desert.

This is the Little Black Cormorant, and anyone who has been out to visit the waterholes and rivers in the ranges this year will realise there is no shortage of fish for these blokes. These birds can usually be found in spots along the Finke - all the way from Ormiston Gorge through Glen Helen, Finke Gorge and beyond. More recently they’ve even been spotted splashing around in puddles in the Todd River bed in town.

Cormorants don’t have as much oil in their feathers as other waterbirds. This reduces their buoyancy and allows them to dive underwater for their prey. This means that their feathers don’t repel water like a duck’s, necessitating the ritual of standing on posts and tree stumps at the water’s edge drying their wings before flying again – just as I found these two doing at the sewage ponds here in Alice.

Sightings this week: 

Brown Quail – A frequent sighting by firies as they flushed from the long grass during burning off at Simpson’s Gap and along the Todd River

Banded Lapwings – Currently a regular visitor to the poo ponds hiding among the Masked Lapwings

Peach-faced Lovebird – Another small flock of this dreaded feral was seen out on Lyndavale Drive during the week

Diamond Doves – Possibly our sexiest little native dove has been in flocks of up to 80 birds along the roadside out on Colonel Rose Drive

Crested Bellbird – lots of this shy species being seen as juveniles start to grow up and disperse from the family territory.

Birding Central Australia #35

White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae

A bumper list of interesting sightings this week is due to the efforts of many local birders and the sudden influx of a number of birding tourists from interstate. With the swamp areas south of the sewage ponds once again flooded, there have been a number of reports of “lurking” species among the reed beds.

Spotless Crake is a bird which is yet to make it onto my Centralian list but several folks have found this species lately around the bushy areas of the poo ponds. I still haven’t been able to track this species down, but I did find hordes of their, usually shy, cousins the Australian Crake. These birds have been dancing around in the open with the Buff-banded Rails in the afternoons.

The Spotless Crake was proving so difficult to find that I almost didn’t notice the White-faced Heron in the picture. These birds are common enough around watery areas near Alice, but it’s always good to get a close look.

Sightings this week: 

Orange Chats – Are now a regular sighting at the poo ponds and a few other areas to the south of town.

Flock Bronzewing – Still being seen in flocks of up to 150 birds around Burt Plain at sunset.

Buff-banded Rail, Australian Crake, Spotless Crake – All these species are being seen in the early morning and late afternoon by patient observers at the sewage ponds.

Square-tailed Kite – An unconfirmed report of this species at the sewage ponds should have local birdos on their toes and checking all raptors carefully.

Grey Falcon – Fleeting reports of this species are still coming from the river end of Heath Rd

Australian Bustard – Has been reported at Kunoth Bore just a short drive up the Tanami Rd.

Birding Central Australia #34

Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides

Sharp-eyed aerial hunter

To all those Centralians with lots of rodents around your homes, this week’s bird should be right up your alley. The Nankeen Kestrel, frozen in mid-air for 1/400th of a second, is a specialist mouse hunter. It is no surprise that they have been doing very well this year.

This bird is unmistakeable when it is seen hovering like this over an open field. The broad, black band across the bottom of the tail distinguishes it from any other bird of prey around Alice. In a stiff breeze, the kestrel can remain almost motionless as those powerful eyes scour the ground for any tiny movement that could be a mouse scurrying under a bush.

These birds are common around Alice at the moment and can be seen along the Todd Riverbed, the poo ponds, and out along Colonel Rose Drive. They’re often sitting in the exposed upper branches of trees in the morning, soaking up the warmth of the rising sun and surveying their territory for good hunting spots.

Sightings this week: 

Grey Falcon – More sightings of a mega-rarity, this time two birds out on the Mereenie Loop just west of the Areyonga turn off.

Flock Bronzewing – These birds are being seen in flocks of up to 150 birds around Burt Plain at sunset.

Pictorella Mannikin – This stunning little finch was reported in small flocks along the Tablelands Highway by ecologists Angela Stewart and Holger Woyt.

Buff-banded Rail – A report of this species from Meg Mooney on eastside confirms the continued presence of this charismatic lurker.

Birding Central Australia #33

Australian Bustard Ardeotis australis, on Colonel Rose Drive sent in by guest photographer Matt Lefeuvre

Out-of-town heavyweight drops in

The boom season here in the centre has delivered another unusual feathered visitor. The Australian Bustard (Ardeotis australis) has been hunted out in most areas around human settlement. Fortunately, they are still found in scattered populations around Central Australia but rarely close to town.

Local marine biologist (yes, they exist in Alice Springs!) Matt Le Feuvre was heading down Colonel Rose Drive last week when he found this bloke standing beside the airport side of the road. This is a spectacular discovery. These birds are famously cryptic and adept at freezing in long grass and becoming almost invisible. Luckily, Matt was paying attention and managed to snap this photo before he flew off – a great effort.

For those of you hanging out for an answer to our mystery corvid picture last week – I’ll put you out of your misery. I had a truckload of emails, and I am aware of at least a couple of wagers hinging on the identity of the bird - a juvenile Little Crow, Corvus bennetti. The sharp-eyed birdos out there pointed to the smaller size of the upper mandible and the proportionately longer tarsus (lower leg).

Well done one and all, and thanks for your participation! If you got the correct answer you have well and truly earned the right to crow about it… sorry, I couldn’t resist. Happy birding ‘til next week.

Sightings this week: 

Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo – Plenty of these about at the moment, particularly south of the ranges.

Scarlet-chested Parrot – Some of these beautiful desert nomads have been reported out near King’s Canyon.

Little Eagle – Drew Pendavingh had a few close encounters with this species along the Lasseter Highway this week.