"An Unwelcome Christmas Greeting"

Ozzie Memories 6 - Final Odds n Ends (Summer 2008)

Blue-faced Honeyeater Entomyzon cyanotis

Australian Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis

Yellow Thornbill Acanthiza nana

Great Bowerbird Chlamydera nuchalis

Grey Shrikethrush Colluricincla harmonica

Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca

Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis

Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus

Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis

Zebra Finch Taeniopygia guttata

Double-barred Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii

  The summer birding doldrums are always a good time to poke around in musty old folders of bird pics. These lamentably poor images were bravely taken with a small point and shoot camera, as my big lens languished in Sydney for most of my 'Strayan ramblings. Most of these sightings were from the top end, and a few from the Whitsundays...I think. It's depressing how quickly memories fade - which gets to the point of this blog. It's my scrapbook/bird diary, tasked with preserving some jottings before they are consigned to the oblivion of mental senescence.

The Origin of Bird Species

  As illustrated by Charles Comino, globe-trotting artist and friend of the family, in the early 1960s.

Ozzie Memories 5 - Corvids/Butcherbirds

Australian Raven Corvus coronoides

juvenile Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis

Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis at Daly Waters

Torresian Crow Corvus orru

Pied Currawong Strepera graculina

  In 2008 I visited Australia for about six months. That now seems like another lifetime ago. Perhaps it was. The experience of seeing Kookaburas and Emus in the wild still ranks highly among my top birding moments. Then there was the riot of parrots. But one of my favourite Australian birds was the low-key Pied Butcherbird. Intelligent, patient, and calmly confident - the kind of bird you wish you had as a friend. I need to get back to the land of endless languid exhortations. She'll be roight! Nah worries! Fair dinkum! You're o'roight mate!

Ozzie memories 4 - Odds n Ends 2: 'Water birds' and an Emu (Summer 2008)

Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii

Red-capped Plover Charadrius ruficapillus

Australian White Ibis Threskiornis moluccus

female Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa

male Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa

Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae

Jabiru (Black-necked Stork) Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus

Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa

Pied Heron Ardea picata

Purple Swamphen Porphyrio Porphyrio

White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae 

  It was quite satisfying and a bit unnerving coming face-to-face with an Emu.

Ozzie memories 3 - Odds n Ends: Parrots and Raptors (Summer 2008)

Australian King Parrot Alisterus scapularis

Australian Ringneck Barnardius zonarius

Gang-gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita

Black Kite Milvus migrans

Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillarus

White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster (purloining meat earmarked for crocs)

White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster

  After the amazing day in Hawkesbury, I had camera issues with 'The Beast', so my next few months of Ozzie travelling saw me desperately trying to snap off shots with a small digital camera, with varying degrees of success! Thankfully it seemed like a lot of Australian birds are pretty confiding. The raptor action took place up in Kakadu, and the parrots were from all over.

  April 22: Me. Gageo Island. One month. Awesome.

Ozzie memories 2 - May 24th, 2008 - Epic!

Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillarus

Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis

Galah Eolophus roseicapilla

Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa

Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae

Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea

Purple Swamphen Porphyrio Porphyrio

Rockwarbler (Origma) Origma solitaria

female Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus

White-eared Honeyeater Lichenostomus leucotis

White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaea

  Of course summer is winter in Australia, just to keep visitors on their toes. Here are some pics from what was probably my most epic day of birding to date. On a sunny Friday in May I met up with an amazing birder, Keith Brandwood. Originally from England, Keith has been living in the Hawkesbury District northwest of Sydney for the better part of four decades, and he took a whole day to show me every nook and cranny of his patch, which he knows well.
  We ended up seeing 99 bird species that day, 2/3 of which were lifers for me. Whoa. Apparently we were pretty lucky to have spotted the Rockwarbler, which is high on the wishlist of even local birders. When I saw and heard my first Kookaburra, everything seemed right with the world.
  It was epic. EPIC! Thanks again, Keith.

Ozzie memories - Summer 2008

Australian White Ibis Threskiornis moluccus

male Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata

female Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata

male Chestnut Teal Anas castanea

female Chestnut Teal Anas castanea

Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles

Australian Magpie Cracticus tibicen

Australian Magpie Cracticus tibicen

Silver Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae

Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes

Common Myna Acridotheres tristis

Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala

  Slow bird week, I've been busy. I'll have to get out there soon though, spring is knocking. The Red-winged Blackbirds are back, along with the gulls. Funny, in Korea, winter is when the gulls come back in force.
  So here are a few pics from my memorable trip to Australia in May-August of 2008. It was glorious! The first installment is stuff from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney. Strewth!