BACK COVER FRONT COVER northern territory bird notes INSIDEFRONT COVER Gouldian Finch Blue-Winged Kookaburra Spinifex Pigeon the This Northern Territory Bird Notes Book northern belongs to: territory Banded Fruit Dove Azure Kingfisher boasts almost half of all bird species found in Australia and is home to two distinct and contrasting regions, the Top End and the Red Centre. This means that the range of species is impressively diverse. Rainbow Pitta Tawny Frogmouth White-bellied Sea-Eagle This checklist, supplied by the President of Savannah Guides, details all species currently recorded in the NT. 3 Comb-crested Jacana Galahs Australasian Darter northern tropics southern deserts The ‘Top End’ is home to vast wetlands, coastal floodplains, Better known as the ‘Red Centre’ or ‘Central Australia’, this monsoonal rainforest, savannah woodland, impressive part of the Northern Territory rarely sees rain and has a very waterfalls and soaring escarpments. Kakadu National Park, to even climate. The winter months see warm days and cool the east of Darwin, is Australia’s largest at around 20,000 sq km, nights, and summer brings higher temperatures. There is a and is home to more than 280 species. The wider Top End surprising amount of water to be found in this region, largely boasts almost 400 species in total, five of which are endemic. due to the worlds’ largest and deepest underground fresh There are many potential highlights for Finch, Red Goshawk, water aquifer, the Great Artesian Basin, being here. The species Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon, Banded Fruit-Dove, Hooded found in the Red Centre are very different from those in the Parrot, White-lined Honeyeater and White-throated Grasswren. Top End and can sometimes be harder to locate. It is well The Top End has two seasons. The weather is drier and cooler worth the effort as some of Australia’s most exciting birds can between May and September, when massive congregations be found, including Orange Chat, Dusky Grasswren, Spinifex of birds can be seen around receding water sources. The Pigeon, Bourke’s Parrot, Western Bowerbird and Painted Firetail. tropical summer months bring some amazing lightning shows and following the rains in December-February, the rivers, top birding spots floodplains and billabongs teem with life. • Palm Valley: this ancient botanical garden located in the Finke Gorge National Park is home to Rainbow Bee-Eater and Port Lincoln Parrot, among top birding spots many other species. • Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve: an outstanding area of forest, wetland • Whistle Duck Waterhole: part of a greater network of waterholes, Whistle and floodplain habitats just an hour from Darwin. Highlights include Rainbow Duck is a serene spot for birdwatching. Pitta, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove and large concentrations of waterbirds. • Kings Canyon: surrounded by the soaring red walls of the canyon, scan the • Mary River National Park: cruise the river and search the banks for birds skies for Wedge-tailed Eagle. such as Azure Kingfisher and Australasian Darter. • Ilpapa Ponds: a great spot for local waterbirds. • Mamukala Wetlands: located in Kakadu National Park, Mamukala Wetlands • Boggy Hole: part of the oldest river in the world, Boggy Hole provides a and Bird Hide offers the spectacle of thousands of Magpie Geese and other permanent water source for bird life. Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Masked waterbirds congregating to feed. Woodswallow and Brown Honeyeater can be found here. • Pine Creek: this small town on the junction of the Stuart and Kakadu • Newhaven Sanctuary: with 262,000 hectares of protected land in the Great Highways is a reliable place to find the beautiful and endemic Hooded Parrot. Sandy Desert, this site is home to more than 160 species of birds, including • Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge): visit Nitmiluk National Park or 10 threatened species. cruise the Katherine River. Chestnut-backed Buttonquail is a rare resident here. • Timber Creek: located between Katherine and the Kimberley, Timber Creek We hope this checklist will inspire you to visit Australia’s Northern affords rich grassy plains and escarpments ideal for searching for Grey fronted Honeyeater. Territory to see some of its amazing bird life for yourself. 4 5 emu to grebes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae Malleefowl Leipoa ocellata Orange-footed Scrubfowl Megapodius reinwardt Red Browed Finch Forest Kingfisher Stubble Quail Coturnix pectoralis Brown Quail Coturnix ypsilophora King Quail Excalfactoria chinensis field checklist Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata You can use this field checklist to keep 10 different lists. Plumed Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna eytoni Wandering Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna arcuata Enter the list name and date in the boxes below, and tick off Freckled Duck Stictonetta naevosa the species in the correspondingly numbered columns; add Black Swan Cygnus atratus additional species on page 21. Radjah Shelduck Tadorna radjah Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides list no. trip locality date / Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata 1 Pink-eared Duck Malacorhynchus membranaceus Green Pygmy-goose Nettapus pulchellus 2 Garganey Anas querquedula Australasian Shoveler Anas rhynchotis 3 Grey Teal Anas gracilis 4 Chestnut Teal Anas castanea Northern Pintail Anas acuta 5 Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa 6 Hardhead Aythya australis Blue-billed Duck Oxyura australis 7 Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda Australasian Grebe Tachybaptus novaehollandiae 8 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 9 Hoary-headed Grebe Poliocephalus poliocephalus Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus 10 totals 6 7 pigeons to frigatebirds frigatebirds to spoonbills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rock Dove Columba livia Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi Barbary Dove Streptopelia roseogrisea Red-footed Booby Sula sula Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis Brown Booby Sula leucogaster Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica Australasian Darter Anhinga novaehollandiae Common Bronzewing Phaps chalcoptera Little Pied Cormorant Microcarbo melanoleucos Flock Bronzewing Phaps histrionica Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris Spinifex Pigeon Geophaps plumifera Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius Partridge Pigeon Geophaps smithii Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus White-quilled Rock-Pigeon Petrophassa albipennis Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon Petrophassa rufipennis Australian Little Bittern Ixobrychus dubius Diamond Dove Geopelia cuneata Black Bittern Ixobrychus flavicollis Peaceful Dove Geopelia striata White-necked Heron Ardea pacifica Bar-shouldered Dove Geopelia humeralis Eastern Great Egret Ardea modesta Banded Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus cinctus Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus regina Great-billed Heron Ardea sumatrana Elegant Imperial-Pigeon Ducula concinna Cattle Egret Ardea ibis Pied Imperial-Pigeon Ducula bicolor Striated Heron Butorides striata Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides Javan Pond Heron Ardeola speciosa Spotted Nightjar Eurostopodus argus Pied Heron Egretta picata Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae Australian Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles cristatus Little Egret Egretta garzetta White-throated Needletail Hirundapus caudacutus Eastern Reef Egret Egretta sacra Fork-tailed Swift Apus pacificus Nankeen Night-Heron Nycticorax caledonicus House Swift Apus affinis Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Wilson’s Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia Great Frigatebird Fregata minor Yellow-billed Spoonbill Platalea flavipes totals totals 8 9 osprey to rails rails to plovers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Eastern Osprey Pandion cristatus Lewin’s Rail Lewinia pectoralis Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris Buff-banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis Letter-winged Kite Elanus scriptus Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla Square-tailed Kite Lophoictinia isura Australian Spotted Crake Porzana fluminea Black-breasted Buzzard Hamirostra melanosternon Spotless Crake Porzana tabuensis Oriental Honey-buzzard Pernis ptilorynchus White-browed Crake Amaurornis cinerea Pacific Baza Aviceda subcristata Pale-vented Bush-hen Amaurornis moluccana White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster Black-tailed Native-hen Tribonyx ventralis Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus Eurasian Coot Fulica atra Black Kite Milvus migrans Australian Bustard Ardeotis australis Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus Bush Stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius Collared Sparrowhawk Accipiter cirrocephalus Beach Stone-curlew Esacus magnirostris Grey Goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae Australian Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris Spotted Harrier Circus assimilis Sooty Oystercatcher Haematopus fuliginosus Swamp Harrier Circus approximans Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Red Goshawk Erythrotriorchis radiatus Red-necked Avocet Recurvirostra novaehollandiae Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax Banded Stilt Cladorhynchus leucocephalus Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola Brown Falcon Falco berigora Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula Australian Hobby Falco longipennis