Darwin-Kakadu 15-23Dec09

From KH

I was at the Top End of Northern Territory (NT) in Australia from 15-23 Dec with my wife. This is a birding trip and we did ok with 127 birds, of which 19 are endemics and 81 are lifers for me. We started off from Darwin, past Fogg Dam into Kakadu, and then back to Darwin.

Our first few days were spent in Darwin City. We reached in the evening on Day 1. Just at the backyard of our hotel were some resident birds, such as these Australasian Figbirds (male left, juvenile right).

The Yellow Oriole (left) has red eyes, a pink bill and an overall olive colour. There is only one species of crow here: the Torresian Crow (right), and it is pretty common.

Other common garden birds are the Magpie Lark (left) and White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike (right).

Our second day was spent visiting the Bicentennial Park, East Point and Nightcliff. The coastal raptors - White-bellied Sea Eagle (left), Osprey (right) and Brahminy Kite - can be found here.

Eastern Reef Egrets come in two morphs - dark (left) and white (right).

Among the best birds at East Point and Nightcliff are the Thick-knees or Stone Curlews. The Beach Thick-knee (left) is a coastal bird, whereas the Bush Thick-knee (right) is an inland bird. They also have different bills - thick and thin respectively. The Bush Thick-knee was spotted by my wife.

The most numerous birds here are the waders. In the photo below, you can find Grey-tailed Tattler, Terek Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Sanderling and Greater Sand Plover.

Other waders are the Great Knots, Whimbrels, Common Sandpipers and Lesser Sand Plovers. The latter is much less common here than the Greater Sand Plover, opposite to the situation in Singapore!

Ruddy Turnstone, Pacific Golden Plovers, Lesser Sand Plover and Greater Sand Plovers	Whimbrel, Red-necked Stints, Pacific Golden Plover and Greater Sand Plover
Great Knots, Red-necked Stints and Pacific Golden Plover	Common Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone and Grey-tailed Tattlers	Pacific Golden Plover and Greater Sand Plovers

The two triller species in the NT are the White-winged Triller (left tackling a caterpillar) and the Varied Triller (right). Shown here are the males.

Willie Wagtail (left) is really a fantail, rather than a wagtail. It is very common, occurring in urban areas as well. Its relative, the Northern Fantail (right), is also common and can be found in parks.

There are a number of crab species that can be found along the coast.

Soldier Crab	Hermit Crab
Crab	Crab

On the third day, we headed for Kakadu National Park. On the way, we stopped by McMinn Lagoon and Fogg Dam. All the birds at McMinn Lagoon can also be seen elsewhere, but I only saw the Grey Butcherbird (left) here. The Pied Butcherbird (right) looks like the former, but has a white collar, black throat and black mantle. I missed out on the Black Butcherbird.

There are two resident species of Woodswallows in the NT - White-breasted (left) and Black-faced (right). They can be seen perching on cables along roadside. I did not have any luck with the migrant woodswallows here.

At Fogg Dam, there were many waterbirds and these can be found at Yellow Water too. These are some of them: Australasian Darter (top left), Little Black Cormorant (top right) and Little Pied Cormorant (bottom).

The Brolga looks like the storks, herons, egrets, ibises and spoonbills, but are not closely related to them. It is a crane and is related to crakes and rails. The Black-necked Stork has been mistakenly called the Jabiru, which is an American bird. The other common waterbirds here are the Pied Heron, Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret, Nankeen Night Heron (aka Rufous Night Heron), the three Ibises (Glossy, Australian White and Straw-necked) and the Royal Spoonbill.

Brolga	Black-necked Stork	Pied Heron

Great Egret	Intermediate Egret
Little Egret	Nankeen Night Heron
Glossy Ibis	Australian White Ibis
Straw-necked Ibis	Royal Spoonbills

Grassland birds, like the Golden-headed Cisticola (left) can be found in the tall grass at Fogg Dam. The other cisticola that can be found here is the Zitting Cisticola, which is the less common of the two! I did not get to see the latter here, but that's alright, because there are many of them in Singapore. The other grassland bird encountered was the Singing Bushlark (right) along Anzac Parade, which is the road linking Fogg Dam and Arnhem Highway.

The Forest Kingfisher (top) is a beautiful bird. It is much more bluish in colour than the Collared and Sacred Kingfishers. The Collared Kingfisher (bottom left) is more of a coastal bird than the Sacred Kingfisher, which looks like it. I was hoping to see the latter, but the apparently, it is a visitor to the NT and is most common from March to November. The Blue-winged Kookaburra (bottom right) is the largest of the NT kingfishers.

Day 4 was spent at Yellow Water and Nourlangie Rock. I remember the latter as a fly-infested place, while on the other hand, Yellow Water was a fascinating birding place to be at. We got really close to some of the birds, including these Azure Kingfisher (left) and Rainbow Bee-eater (right).

The Dollarbird (left) is a relative of the kingfishers and bee-eaters, but it is usually high up at the tip of a bare branch. Another bird that we got very close to is the Comb-crested Jacana (right). You can see why jacanas are also called lily-trotters. Also at Yellow Water was a Tree Martin zooming pass overhead. We were not so fortunate with a White-browed Robin, which was calling, but refused to show up for me to tick it!

A couple of flycatchers were seen. The Lemon-bellied Flycatcher is more related to the White-browed Robin than the rest of the flycatchers below, which are monarchs. Broad-billed Flycatcher is often confused with the Leaden Flycatcher. The latter is supposed to be more common, but somehow I could only see the former. One of the features distinguishing them is the graduated undertail feathers. Another is the pale lore of the Broad-billed Flycatcher. A male Shining Flycatcher zoomed pass low at Yellow Water, but no photos. Fortunately, the female was more obliging. The male is all glossy black, while the female is more colourful (underparts white, head glossy black and remaining upperparts brown). The Restless Flycatcher does not show such sexual dimorphism and looks like the female Shining Flycatcher with glossy black upperparts instead.

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher	Broad-billed Flycatcher
Shining Flycatcher (female)	Restless Flycatcher

The Australasian Grebe looks like a duck, but it is actually not closely related to ducks or geese. The Magpie Goose is a very common bird of the NT. It can be found in lagoons, rivers, grasslands and parks. At first glance, the Wandering and Plumed Whistling Ducks look alike. However, on closer examination, you'll be able to see the much more pronounced plumes, pink legs and lack of red secondary coverts of the latter. The Radjah Shelduck could be found in Singapore at the Botanic Gardens as ornamental birds, but in Australia, they are natives. The Green Pygmy Goose is another very common waterfowl in the NT.

Australasian Grebe	Magpie Geese
Plumed Whistling Ducks	Wandering Whistling Ducks
Radjah Shelducks	Green Pygmy Geese (left male, right female)

One of the attractions here is the Estuarine Crocodile (aka Saltwater Crocodile). We did not get to see the Freshwater Crocodile.

A pair of Silver-crowned Friarbird (left) was nesting at Nourlangie Rock. Its relative, the Little Friarbird (right), was much more common and occurs in parks as well. The third and last friarbird of the NT is the Helmeted Friarbird, which is more of a mangrove bird. Unfortunately, I did not get to see it...

Day 5 was still in Kakadu National Park. We headed to the northeastern part of the park for the sandstone escarpments at Bardedjilidji and the monsoonal forest at Manngarre. The Sandstone Shrike-thrush (left), as the name suggests, is a sandstone escarpment bird. The Little Shrike-thrush (right) is a monsoonal forest bird and is also known as the Rufous Shrike-thrush (you can see from the photo why this is so). The third and last shrike-thrush of the NT is the Grey Shrike-thrush, which is supposed to be the most common of the three and I missed it!

These are four of the five pigeons that I saw. The most common is the Bar-shouldered Dove. It is the equivalence of the Spotted Dove in Singapore. The Peaceful Dove is also a common resident and is closely related to the Zebra Dove in Singapore. In fact, they (together with the Barred Dove of eastern Indonesia) were considered conspecific just some years back. The Torresian Imperial Pigeon used to be considered the same species as the Pied Imperial Pigeon in Singapore. It is a common visitor to the NT. The uncommon pigeons are the Partridge Pigeon of dry habitats and the Rose-crowned Fruit Dove of forested habitats.

Partridge Pigeon	Torresian Imperial Pigeon
Bar-shouldered Dove	Peaceful Dove

Sometimes along Arnhem Highway, these two brown raptors can be seen - Brown Goshawk and Brown Falcon. My wife was lucky to spot a Wedge-tailed Eagle cruising across the highway, but by the time I stopped the car and got ready to shoot, it had flown far away. The most common raptor along the highway and, in fact, in the NT, is the Whistling Kite. Its relative, the Black Kite, is also common and can be distinguished by the forked tail, black eye band and wing shape.

Brown Goshawk	Brown Falcon
Whistling Kite	Black Kite
Wedge-tailed Eagle

Frilled Lizards can sometimes be found basking along Arnhem Highway. At other times, they hide behind poles.

On Day 6, we headed back towards Darwin City via the Arnhem Highway, stopping by Mamukala, Gungarre, Mary River and Anzac Parade. At Anzac Parade, several Black-shouldered Kites (left) and a single Spotted Harrier (right) were observed hovering above the grass field. There must be lots of food running around in the field. The Black-shouldered Kite is closely related to the Black-winged Kite in Singapore, but they are now considered different species.

At Gungarre forest, we flushed a Collared Sparrowhawk and an Oriental Cuckoo (left). It was tough getting a shot of the cuckoo as it was blocked by branches. The other cuckoo encountered in this trip is the Brush Cuckoo (aka Rusty-breasted Cuckoo). However, it was only heard and not seen. The other vocal cuckoo was the Eastern Koel, which some authorities consider to be a separate species, but some treat it as conspecific with the Asian Koel found in Singapore. Although heard several times, I only saw one male outside our hotel. The last member of the cuckoo family seen in this trip was the Pheasant Coucal. It really behaves like a pheasant, walking on the ground. The tail is also very long like a pheasant. Alas, I did not manage to get any shot of it... At Mary River, a Black Bittern (right) was spotted by the river.

At Mamukala, a Rufous Whistler (left) showed up. The other common whistler is the Grey Whistler (right). Somehow a spider was hanging on to its tail.

Also at Mamukala, a single Marsh Sandpiper (left) was the only of its species encountered throughout the whole trip. There were a few Pied Stilts (right) far far away.

On Day 7, we visited the Knuckey Lagoon, Palmerston Sewage Works, Channel Island, Charles Darwin National Park and Gonzales Road. At Knuckey Lagoon, two Swinhoe Snipes were flushed. The ID was based on status rather than features. There are only two other snipe species here and both are vagrants - Latham Snipe (only 1 record at Jabiru in 1985) and Pintail Snipe (only 1 record at Leanyer in 1985).

When we talk about (Old World) babblers in South-east Asia, we usually think of little brown jobs which hide in the forest usually less than a few metres from the ground. Here in Darwin, the Grey-crowned Babbler (left) is nothing like that. It is a common bird of parkland and roadside, and it is the only babbler here (though not closely related to the Old World babblers). Similarly, the Mistletoebird (right), is the only flowerpecker in the NT. However, in this case, the mistletoebird is a flowerpecker and looks and behaves like one.

Channel Island and Charles Darwin National Park were pretty quiet. Fortunately, Gonzales Road was much better. At the end of Gonzales Road is a boat ramp into Frances Bay. My wife spotted a Great-billed Heron (left) here. The place is also very close to the Darwin Harbour, where the Striated Heron (right) can be found.

At Palmerston Sewage Works, there were a family of Masked Lapwings (aka Spur-winged Lapwing). The flight shot below shows why it has the alternative name. The parents were actually diving at me!

White-winged Terns were flying around the sewage ponds.

Day 8 was spent covering Nightcliff, Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Lee Point and Darwin Harbour. At Darwin Harbour, there were Silver Gulls and Crested Terns. At Lee Point, there were Caspian Terns and Little Terns.

Silver Gull (immature)	Crested Tern
Caspian Tern	Little Terns

Casuarina Coastal Reserve had a sandy beach, which is good for waders that prefer this habitat, like the Eastern Curlew (aka Far Eastern Curlew), Grey Plover and Sanderling. We paid another visit to Nightcliff and was rewarded with the Bar-tailed Godwits that I missed previously.

Bar-tailed Godwits and Great Knots	Eastern Curlew
Grey Plover and Sanderling	Sanderlings and Greater Sand Plover

Casuarina Coastal Reserve also has a forest and while I was busy shooting honeyeaters in a tree, the corner of my eyes caught a glimpse of something in the undergrowth. There it was, the much-sought-after bird of this trip - the endemic Rainbow Pitta (left)! Sorry for the poor shot. It would be much easier during the mating season. Another endemic is the Red-backed Fairy-wren (right). We only managed to see the female, the male would be much more pretty.

Day 9 was the last day we had here. We visited places close by, like East Point and Darwin Botanic Gardens. We went to the Botanic Gardens to look for owls, but none were seen... Nevertheless, the Orange-footed Scrub-fowl (left) was common here. There was also a pair of Spangled Drongos (right) there. This is the only species of drongo in the NT and so there is no problem of broken rackets or migrant drongos.

These are the six parrots that I saw. The Little Corella and Galah are very common, occurring in large flocks. The Sulphur-crested and Red-tailed Black Cockatoo do not occur in such large flocks, but are common as well. The Red-collared Lorikeet is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet. The Red-winged Parrot is a green parrot with red wing patch and red bill.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo	Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Galah	Little Corella
Red-collared Lorikeet	Red-winged Parrot

The Double-barred and Crimson Finches are common finches of the NT, which can even be found in the backyard. The Long-tailed and Masked Finches are moderately common. Finally, the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin (aka Chestnut-breasted Munia), which are also moderately common, is related to finches.

Double-barred Finch	Chestnut-breasted Mannikin
Crimson Finch	Masked Finch
Long-tailed Finch

The most diverse group of birds here is the honeyeaters.

White-gaped Honeyeater	Bar-breasted Honeyeater
Rufous-banded Honeyeater	Dusky Honeyeater
Red-headed Honeyeater	Brown Honeyeater
White-throated Honeyeater

Can you see 7 species of birds in this photo at the lake beside Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn? They are Green Pygmy Goose, Comb-crested Jacana, Masked Lapwing, Australian White Ibis, Darter, Little Black Cormorant and Little Pied Cormorant.

Besides the Estuarine Crocodiles and Frilled Lizards, we also saw the mammals and reptiles below.

Agile Wallaby	Black Flying Fox
Northern Snake-necked Turtle	Yellow-spotted Monitor
Northern Water Dragons

Other animals include frogs, fish (e.g. spadefish, archerfish), crabs, spiders (e.g. golden web, St Andrew's cross) and insects (e.g. grasshoppers, cicadas, Green Tree Ants, termites, butterflies, beetles).

Sevenspot Archerfish (Toxotes chatareus). Longfin Spadefish (Platax teira)


Frog. Butterfly


Cicada. Grasshopper


Green Tree Ant. Beetle


Golden Web Spider. St Andrew's Cross Spider

Bird list (E = Endemic)
1 Orange-footed Scrubfowl >10
2 Magpie Goose >1000
3 Plumed Whistling-Duck (E) >20
4 Wandering Whistling-Duck >40
5 Radjah Shelduck >10
6 Green Pygmy-goose >200
7 Australasian Grebe 2
8 Partridge Pigeon (E) 5
9 Peaceful Dove >100
10 Bar-shouldered Dove >100
11 Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove 3
12 Pied Imperial-Pigeon >10
13 Australasian Darter >20
14 Little Pied Cormorant >10
15 Little Black Cormorant >30
16 Black-necked Stork >10
17 Black Bittern 1
18 Eastern Great Egret >100
19 Intermediate Egret >100
20 Great-billed Heron 1
21 Striated Heron >5
22 Pied Heron >10
23 Little Egret >5
24 Eastern Reef Egret >20
25 Nankeen Night-Heron >5
26 Glossy Ibis >5
27 Australian White Ibis >20
28 Straw-necked Ibis >20
29 Royal Spoonbill >5
30 Eastern Osprey 1
31 Black-shouldered Kite (E) 5
32 White-bellied Sea-Eagle >5
33 Whistling Kite >100
34 Brahminy Kite >5
35 Black Kite >10
36 Brown Goshawk 5
37 Collared Sparrowhawk 1
38 Spotted Harrier 1
39 Wedge-tailed Eagle 1
40 Brown Falcon 2
41 Brolga >10
42 Bush Stone-curlew 1
43 Beach Stone-curlew 5
44 Pied Stilt 3
45 Pacific Golden Plover >10
46 Grey Plover >10
47 Lesser Sand Plover >10
48 Greater Sand Plover >30
49 Masked Lapwing >100
50 Comb-crested Jacana >20
51 Swinhoe's Snipe 2
52 Bar-tailed Godwit 8
53 Whimbrel 2
54 Eastern Curlew 3
55 Terek Sandpiper >10
56 Common Sandpiper 5
57 Grey-tailed Tattler >10
58 Marsh Sandpiper 1
59 Ruddy Turnstone >5
60 Great Knot >20
61 Sanderling >10
62 Red-necked Stint >10
63 Little Tern >20
64 Caspian Tern 2
65 White-winged Black Tern 2
66 Crested Tern >20
67 Silver Gull >30
68 Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo (E) >10
69 Galah >50
70 Little Corella >100
71 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo >5
72 Red-collared Lorikeet (E) >100
73 Red-winged Parrot (E) >20
74 Pheasant Coucal 4
75 Eastern Koel 1
76 Brush Cuckoo h
77 Oriental Cuckoo 1
78 Azure Kingfisher >5
79 Blue-winged Kookaburra >5
80 Forest Kingfisher >20
81 Collared Kingfisher 2
82 Rainbow Bee-eater >20
83 Dollarbird 2
84 Rainbow Pitta (E) 1
85 Red-backed Fairy-wren (E) 1
86 White-gaped Honeyeater (E) >10
87 Bar-breasted Honeyeater (E) 4
88 Rufous-banded Honeyeater >10
89 Dusky Honeyeater 1
90 Red-headed Honeyeater >5
91 Brown Honeyeater >10
92 White-throated Honeyeater >10
93 Silver-crowned Friarbird (E) 3
94 Little Friarbird >20
95 Grey-crowned Babbler 5
96 White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike >20
97 White-winged Triller >5
98 Varied Triller >5
99 Grey Whistler 1
100 Rufous Whistler 1
101 Little Shrike-thrush 1
102 Sandstone Shrike-thrush (E) 1
103 Australasian Figbird >10
104 Yellow Oriole >2
105 White-breasted Woodswallow >3
106 Black-faced Woodswallow >2
107 Grey Butcherbird (E) 1
108 Pied Butcherbird (E) 1
109 Spangled Drongo 4
110 Northern Fantail >5
111 Willie Wagtail >10
112 Torresian Crow >10
113 Broad-billed Flycatcher 1
114 Shining Flycatcher >2
115 Restless Flycatcher (E) >2
116 Magpie-lark >20
117 Lemon-bellied Flycatcher >15
118 White-browed Robin (E) h
119 Singing Bushlark 2
120 Golden-headed Cisticola 2
121 Tree Martin 1
122 Mistletoebird 2
123 Double-barred Finch (E) >20
124 Long-tailed Finch (E) >15
125 Masked Finch (E) >2
126 Crimson Finch >30
127 Chestnut-breasted Mannikin >5