Darwin and (06/22/2019 – 07/06/2019) – Birding Report

Participants: Corey Callaghan and Diane Callaghan

Email: [email protected]

Overview: At an Australasian Ornithological Conference in Geelong, November 2017, they announced that the next conference would be in Darwin in 2019. I immediately booked it in the calendar that that is when I would do the typical Darwin birding trip. Diane was on board, and so we decided to do a solid birding trip before the conference in early July.

There are some tricky ‘must-get’ here, and overall we did pretty well. We ended with 198 species for the trip, and got pretty much all the critical birds. Didn’t get any of the specialties (e.g., whistlers, and ), but I was still pleased with how we did. Highlights included all the finches that we saw, and the great spread of waterbirds. Chestnut Rail was also a highlight.

When I went to the conference, I dropped Diane off to go hiking at , but before that we did a 10 day trip, driving out to Timber Creek and then back. Read below for day- by-day highlights, some photos, and various birding locations. Any hyperlinks should take you to the associated location and/or eBird checklists, which would provide precise coordinates and sometimes more detailed location notes.

*Note: I follow the eBird/clements , which differs in names from IOC.

Blue-faced

Day 1 (June 22nd, 2019): Flight from Sydney to Darwin

We had an early flight from Sydney and got into Darwin at about 2:00 PM. After collecting our hire car at the airport we immediately headed off to Fogg Dam, filled with excitement, as this area is often highly regarded as one of the best birding spots in the Top End. We quickly found various that were new, such as Rufous-, Bar-breasted Honeyeater, and Dusky . I was also particularly fond of the ubiquitous Pied Herons and Long-tailed Finches. We birded here till dusk when some Barking Owls started calling. We ended up with 63 species on our first birding outing of the trip – a good start.

We then drove to Mary River Wilderness retreat where we had booked a campsite for the night, and to put us closer to Kakadu for the next day. First we saw a flock of 139 Red-tailed Black- Cockatoo, which was neat! The drive was mostly in the dark with plenty of wallabies along the road.

Day 2 (June 23rd, 2019): Mary River Wilderness Retreat to Merl Campground, Kakadu

We woke up at dawn and just birded around the wilderness retreat, familiarizing myself with some of the common birds at the top end, and sorting Rufous-throated Honeyeater out the differences among the friarbirds. A Red- backed Kingfisher was a nice addition to the trip, and wasn’t seen again. The White-gaped Honeyeaters were abundant, and a Rufous- throated Honeyeater put on a good show. A highlight here was a Banded Honeyeater that Diane spotted at the top of the right above our tent. We ended up with 40 species here on a small walk around the campground area.

We then went to the Bird Billabong in , which was probably one of my favorite walks of the entire trip. We ended up with 58 species as we circum-navigated the billabong. Comb-crested Jacanas were abundant, and both Plumed Whistling-Duck and Wandering Whistling-Duck were being spooked by a Little Eagle and dozens of Whistling Kites. A Black-necked Stork was also seen in the corner of the billabong – an iconic top end bird.

We stopped at Mamukala Billabong once we got into Kakadu and bought our park passes. It was pretty hot by then, so the birding was kind of slow and we managed just over 20 species. But there were a number of butterflies out as we walked out to the bird hide. Despite the slow birding, we saw our first Crimson Finches, and Masked Finches, as well as an Arafura Fantail. After lunch at the picnic tables in the shade, we headed to Jabiru where there were recent reports of Spinifex Pigeons (more on that later). A walk around the area yielded 20 species, but mostly common birds. We checked into our campground – Merl Campground – for the Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon night before heading out to Ubirr to look at the Rock Art and explore a bit. Birding was slow, but Little Woodswallow was a highlight among 29 species. The highlight here was probably the Short-eared Rock Wallaby. We went to the border store and the walk here, but it was very slow, with the only highlight being a Northern Fantail. We ended our evening at the Bardedjilidji Sandstone Walk where we saw 21 species, with the standout being the striking Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon.

Day 3 (June 24th, 2019): Merl Campground to Burdulba Campground, Kakadu NP A Southern Boobook greeted us pre-dawn somewhere near our tent. We then went to the Bardedjilidji Sandstone Walk again at dawn and watched the sun hit the sandstone early in the morning. We were hoping for Sandstone , but no luck. Nevertheless, a very pleasant walk which yielded 29 species. We were booked on for a Cultural Cruise that morning, leaving from Cahills Crossing Boat Ramp (where of course I did a quick eBird list while waiting for the boatmen to arrive). We though the Cultural Cruise (booked through here) was a bit cheesy, but was still an enjoyable ride up the river. Birding was semi-slow, but the highlight was our only Great-billed Heron of the trip. A bird I had previously missed in Cairns, so was relieved to finally see! We still saw 27 species on the boat trip. A quick list at Merl Campground while packing up didn’t yield anything surprising. Another look and drive around Jabiru didn’t yield any Spinifex Pigeons, but a Caspian Tern flying over the lake was the only one for our trip. We checked the wastewater treatment , but few birds were around, aside from a few ducks that were new for the trip. We got to Burdulba Campground about 2:30 and there was some good bird activity in the surrounding the camping area. There were also boatloads of mosquitoes. From here, we drove to Nourlangie Rock and walked around the beaten path here. We ended up hearing and eventually seeing White-lined Honeyeater here without much trouble. Some terrible photos are in the eBird list. We went back to Berdulba to camp, and lit a nice campfire to keep the mosquitoes away as much as possible. A heard-only Australian Owlet-nightjar was new for the trip here.

Great-billed Heron

Day 4 (June 25th, 2019): Berdulba Campground to Pine Creek

We started the morning fairly early at Gubara, headed out to the pocket of rainforest at the end to try for Banded Fruit-Dove and other specialties that are sometimes there. Unfortunately, the birding was fairly slow at the pools, and we didn’t get any of the goodies, but White-lined Honeyeater were frequently heard calling and some seen in the distance along the sandstone. A flock of honeyeaters foraging was nice, where Banded Honeyeater put on a nice show, along with Dusky Myzomela, and various Friarbird species. On the way back to the car we ended up seeing a Sandstone Shrikethrush in the distance along the top of the sandstone cliffs. Flew off quickly and didn’t allow any photos though, with its undulating flight. We had a total of 32 species on the walk to and from the falls.

The 7 km return walk to the Gubara pools took a big chunk of time in the morning, and we certainly enjoyed the air conditioning by the time we got back to the car. We then drove to Gunlom Falls but didn’t get there till the heat of the day at about 1:30 PM. We decided to go swimming, and as soon as I got in, and turned around, a Black-banded Fruit-Dove went flying past! An amazing bird, but unfortunately couldn’t relocate it in the trees. We decided not to walk up to the top of the escarpment mainly because we were under the impression that the grasswren was no longer possible up there. [Shortly after we were there, people re-found the grasswrens up here, so I am kicking myself for that decision!!]. We only had 16 species here, but the dove was undoubtedly worth the trip into the falls.

Hooded

We then headed to Pine Creek for the night, where we decided to just pitch our tent at the Lazy Lizard Campground (which was rather unpleasant for tent-camping). After setting up our tent and resting for a bit, we went for a drive and didn’t even get out of tent before finding Hooded Parrot. We then drove around to various places around Pine Creek for the afternoon/evening (e.g., the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and Lake Copperfield Recreation Dam), but generally found the birding to be pretty slow, and nothing of note was really seen. We were then waiting till dusk at the famed Ghost Bat site, where the best bird of note was Varied Sittella among 14 species. The Ghost Bat (iNaturalist observation here) was found exiting the mine shaft from about here: -13.833, 131.84.

Day 5 (June 26th, 2019): Pine Creek to Victoria River Roadhouse

We were up early to try and get to a recent sighting of Gouldian Finch bright and early. We did arrive at a small spot, along the Stuart Highway right about dawn, and had a very pleasant morning watching the watering hole. A Rufous Night-Heron was showing well when we first arrived. Northern , Cockatiel, and Red-winged Parrot were all seen. Quite a few honeyeater were feeding in the flowering eucs across the other side of the bridge, led mainly by and Yellow-tinted Honeyeater. And after an hour + of watching various Long-tailed, Crimson, and Masked Finches flying to and from the water, at least three Gouldian Finch came in – despite not being too cooperative for photos. We left shortly after a Black-necked Stork flewover and we had a total of 39 species. We added an incidental Spotted Harrier from the car and briefly stopped at Chinaman Creek but saw very few birds. As we continued towards the Victoria River we added some incidental Black-breasted Kite (a lifer for me!). We then stopped at Humbles Creek where saw few birds and then continued down the Buntine Highway stopping at a permanent Dam where there were many finches and a Gray- fronted Honeyeater. We continued on to the Victoria River Roadhouse where we set up camp, and then went to the nearby escarpment walk. After trekking up to the top of the hill in the heat, Diane eventually flushed a White-quilled Rock-Pigeon that I was able to get on to. This was a key highlight among the 10 species seen on this hike, and a bird I wasn’t necessarily expecting to see given the paucity of eBird records. A quick stop at the old river crossing only yielded a few species, and then I added a few honeyeaters at the Victoria River Roadhouse as we cooked dinner at our tent.

Day 6 (June 27th, 2019): Victoria River Roadhouse to Jasper Gorge Campground, Buchanan Highway

Diane slept in a bit, and I headed towards Purple-crowned Fairywren the bridge at dawn to look for the ever- present Purple-crowned Fairywrens that frequent this area. Sure enough, without too much effort, they cooperated, providing decent photo opportunities despite the poor light. I continued to bird around the bridge and racked up 40 species total here – a testament to the value of continuing water in the region. Eventually Diane joined me after breakfast and we had a real highlight, which was the Yellow-rumped Munia right under the bridge – only 30 meters from where we camped overnight.

By the time we left the roadhouse it was incredibly hot, and birding was relatively slow. We headed down the Buchanan Highway. A random roadside stop, because of a Black-faced Woodswallow along the road, turned out to be productive as we had Varied Lorikeet in some flowering trees, and a Black-tailed Treecreeper nearby, and even a Gouldian Finch came in for a visit. Gouldian Finches ended up being surprisingly common at random stops in woodland, a lot of which weren’t eBirded. We stopped a few more times as we headed down the gravel highway (e.g., at the Slatey Creek crossing), but we didn’t turn much up, and activity was pretty quiet given the heat. We eventually arrived at our campground, which was really just a rest area along the Buchanan Highway. It technically said no camping, but it said it was fine on WikiCamps, so we went for it. We were the only ones there besides a creepy van that appeared unoccupied. A lazy afternoon in the hammock netted 20 species, including Black-chinned Honeyeater and Diamond Dove. After a rest, we drove around a bit looking for activity but didn’t see much beside some Brolga near an old more official campground. Diane did climb up to the top of the gorge and flushed another ‘large chunky pigeon’, which was most likely another White-quilled Rock-Pigeon. We ended up having one of the best camping nights here, and probably one of the best views of the night sky in since we’ve been here. Highly recommend a drive down the Buchanan Highway at night!

Day 7 (June 28th, 2019): Jasper Gorge Campground to Timber Creek

Today was probably the best day of the entire trip – and it was my birthday coincidentally! It started off slowly with some birding around the campsite, where we had 20 species in the morning, but mostly just the usual stuff. It then picked up when we stopped at Skull Creek, as I thought it looked good for Red-browed (I still needed that bird). Sure enough, almost immediately after getting out of the car, I happened to hear a Red-browed Pardalote calling from the creek bed. Varied Lorikeets flew overhead, and then as I glanced down the road, I noticed a large flock of finches in the recently burnt woodland. There were more than 30 Gouldian Finch, and also Masked, Long-tailed, Double-barred, and even Zebra Finches present as well – all getting water out of the creek. We also had Budgerigar flying around the burnt woodland, which was another lifer! The 30 species in this area really was some pleasant birding.

We then drove straight to Timber Creek (after looking around for Spinifex Pigeon along the Buchanan Highway to no avail). After checking in at the caravan park and pitching our tent, I immediately had Buff-sided Robin along the creek – in what was a nice area of greenery. Yellow-tinted Honeyeater, Rufous Whistler, and White-gaped Honeyeaters came into the sprinklers, among others. We then went to the old airstrip as it was a go-to spot for Star Finch, according to the book. And sure enough, despite very few birds (7 species), we had Star Finch along the tall grasses on the edge of the airport. We then went out to Policeman’s Point, where there were still few birds in the middle of the day, but Yellow-rumped Munia was a Barking Owl highlight here. We added Crimson Finch back at the caravan park, when we relaxed in the pool and stocked up on beers before heading out to Policeman’s Point at dusk. The time of day made a massive difference, as this time we had 37 species, including Australian Bustard, Striated Heron, and Pictorella Munia. We ended up with pretty much all the finches one could expect in a day in the region – really a highlight of the trip. To cap off the day, there was a Barking Owl with prey which hung around the creek for a while after dark.

Day 8 (June 29th, 2019): Timber Creek to Douglas Springs

Today was a travel day, as we began making our way back east towards Darwin. But not until we searched unsuccessfully for Spinifex Pigeon again. Alas, a dip! We did have a few birds though in the morning while searching. We had our second Black-tailed Treecreeper of the trip here as well (a bird that proved somewhat difficult to catch up with), among 17 species. Then as a proper send off, before hitting the road, we saw a massive flock at the corner of Bullita Rd and the highway, of Gouldian Finches. Really special watching these birds up close coming into puddles to feed. We even saw the red-faced individuals! Our drive to our destination as pretty uneventful, aside from adding some incidental Apostlebirds in Katherine. We camped at the Douglas Hot Springs Camping area, and enjoyed the hotsprings at dusk. Day 9 (June 30th, 2019): Douglas Springs to Robin Falls

This morning I woke up and waded around White-throated Honeyeater the hot springs trying for photos of birds. The honeyeaters were plentiful, with lots of Bar- breasted Honeyeater, White-gaped Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, and Dusky Myzomela. Ended up having 33 species here in a relaxing morning. A Square-tailed Kite was a nice incidental bird on our way to Butterfly Gorge Nature park, which was a fantastic place for a swim. We had 25 species here, including our first White-bellied Sea-Eagle of the trip. We stayed at Robin Falls that night – a really nice off-the-beaten path free campground that was relaxing next to the river. We even had an Azure Rainbow -eater Kingfisher hanging out over our fireplace near the river. Ended up with 34 species here, including our only Pacific Emerald Dove of the trip, but most of the birds were pretty common. Some good butterflies were found along the road though.

Day 10 (July 1st, 2019): Robin Falls to Batchelor Today was the last full day of the trip before I dropped Diane off to go Red-collared Lorikeet hiking in Litchfield National Park. We started off by leisurely birding around Robin Falls first thing in the morning, totaling 36 species. A quick stop at Anniversary Creek didn’t produce anything of interest. We then got a cabin at a caravan park in Batchelor for the last night before I dropped Diane off the following morning. A walk around town produced 30 species where we added Silver-backed Butcherbird, and then later that evening we photographed some Red-Collared Lorikeets as they were fed at a feeding station at the caravan park. Day 11 (July 2nd, 2019): Batchelor to Darwin Diane and I parted ways today, and I dropped her off at Litchfield National Park where she would start hiking from. A Little Bronze-Cuckoo was a welcomed sighting as I dropped her off. I then drove to Darwin where I checked into my accommodation for the conference right on campus. After looking at eBird, it looked like there was recent Chestnut Rail sightings right near campus, so I drove there, and actually saw the Chestnut Rail! No photos, but was still relieved to get this tricky one out of the way. Had few species in the middle of the day, but Chestnut Rail and Red-headed Myzomela were both lifers. I then checked out the East Point mangrove boardwalk but didn’t pick up anything of note except for more Red-headed and my first Australian Yellow White-eye. The Monsoon walk failed to produce the elusive Rainbow Pitta. I did have 19 species at the far end of East Point, which included a few new shorebirds for the trip list. I ended the day at the Botanic Gardens where I picked up the most well-seen in the world among 20 species. Days 12-14 (July 3rd - July 6th, 2019): Darwin area I was attending the Australasian Ornithological Conference these few days, but still managed to get out birding in the mornings. The first morning I went back to the Monsoon Forest Walk. Right away, I heard and then saw a Large-tailed Nightjar up from the side of the road where I was parked. Then after walking around I finally connected with Rainbow Pitta and managed some poor photos in the dark light. I ended up with 21 species in a pleasant morning walk. A quick check of the mangrove boardwalk didn’t produce too much as it was mostly flooded and couldn’t get out too far. The next morning (July 4th) I headed out to Buffalo Creek and got there just before dawn. I ended up with 50 species, and plenty of shorebirds to add to my trip list. The next day (July 5th) I drove back out to Batchelor to pick Diane up, and then we stayed near Darwin for our final night. One last morning of birding at Charles Darwin National Park (because we had to visit here) failed to produce any of the mangrove specialties. But we packed up and headed back to Darwin, stopping at the botanic gardens first, before heading to the airport to catch our flight back to Sydney.

Varied

Species List

Magpie Goose Red-capped Plover Gray Goshawk Rufous-throated Honeyeater Plumed Whistling-Duck Comb-crested Jacana Brown Goshawk Dusky Myzomela Wandering Whistling-Duck Ruddy Turnstone Collared Sparrowhawk Red-headed Myzomela Radjah Shelduck Great Knot Black Kite Banded Honeyeater Green Pygmy-Goose Curlew Sandpiper Whistling Kite Brown Honeyeater Pacific Black Duck Red-necked Stint Brahminy Kite Blue-faced Honeyeater Gray Teal Terek Sandpiper White-bellied Sea-Eagle White-throated Honeyeater Pink-eared Duck Gray-tailed Tattler Rufous Owl Black-chinned Honeyeater Hardhead Common Greenshank Barking Owl Little Friarbird Orange-footed Scrubfowl Silver Gull (Silver) Southern Boobook Helmeted Friarbird Brown Quail Little Tern Azure Kingfisher Silver-crowned Friarbird Australasian Grebe Caspian Tern Blue-winged Kookaburra Red-browed Pardalote Hoary-headed Grebe Whiskered Tern Red-backed Kingfisher Striated Pardalote Pacific Emerald Dove Great Crested Tern Forest Kingfisher Weebill Crested Pigeon Lesser Crested Tern Sacred Kingfisher Green-backed Gerygone Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon Black-necked Stork Rainbow Bee-eater White-throated Gerygone White-quilled Rock-Pigeon Australasian Darter Australian Kestrel Large-billed Gerygone Diamond Dove Little Pied Cormorant Australian Hobby Mangrove Gerygone Peaceful Dove Little Black Cormorant Brown Falcon Gray-crowned Babbler Bar-shouldered Dove Australian Pelican Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Black-faced Black-banded Fruit-Dove Pacific Heron Galah White-bellied Cuckooshrike Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove Great-billed Heron Little Corella White-winged Triller Torresian Imperial-Pigeon Great Egret Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Australian Bustard Intermediate Egret Cockatiel Varied Sittella Pheasant Coucal White-faced Heron Red-winged Parrot Sandstone Shrikethrush Channel-billed Cuckoo Little Egret Northern Rosella Gray Shrikethrush Little Bronze-Cuckoo Pacific Reef-Heron Hooded Parrot Little Shrikethrush Tawny Frogmouth Pied Heron Budgerigar Gray Whistler Large-tailed Nightjar Cattle Egret Varied Lorikeet Rufous Whistler Australian Owlet-nightjar Striated Heron Red-collared Lorikeet Olive-backed Oriole Chestnut Rail Rufous Night-Heron Rainbow Pitta Green Oriole Eurasian Coot Glossy Ibis Great Bowerbird Brolga Australian Ibis Black-tailed Treecreeper White-breasted Woodswallow Bush Thick-knee Straw-necked Ibis Purple-crowned Fairywren Black-faced Woodswallow Beach Thick-knee Royal Spoonbill Red-backed Fairywren Little Woodswallow Pied Stilt Black-shouldered Kite White-lined Honeyeater Silver-backed Butcherbird Pied Oystercatcher Black-breasted Kite White-gaped Honeyeater Pied Butcherbird Sooty Oystercatcher Square-tailed Kite Yellow-throated Miner Black Butcherbird Black-bellied Plover Pacific Baza Northern Fantail Pacific Golden-Plover Little Eagle Yellow-tinted Honeyeater Willie-wagtail Masked Lapwing Wedge-tailed Eagle Gray-fronted Honeyeater Arafura Fantail Lesser Sand-Plover Swamp Harrier Bar-breasted Honeyeater Spangled Greater Sand-Plover Spotted Harrier Rufous-banded Honeyeater Magpie-lark Leaden Flycatcher Broad-billed Flycatcher Paperbark Flycatcher Shining Flycatcher Apostlebird Torresian Crow Jacky-winter Lemon-bellied Flycatcher Mangrove Robin Buff-sided Robin Golden-headed Cisticola Australian Reed Warbler Tawny Grassbird Fairy Martin Tree Martin Australian Yellow White-eye Mistletoebird Crimson Finch Star Finch Zebra Finch Double-barred Finch Masked Finch Long-tailed Finch Gouldian Finch Yellow-rumped Munia Pictorella Munia