Happy New Year!

Wishing you new discoveries and a renewed zest for life in 2011!
What a beautiful world we have to cherish and protect!

113) X-mas Down Under

Classic Aussie Chrissy decos! Note the champion Jills (girl kangaroos) with the Joeys? Here's the link to the story about how Santa's reindeer must be girls (female caribou are called cows)! Also, the colour-coordinated tire house decos are pretty darned resourceful!

112). Hangin' with the twitchers

A bit of a different birding experience at OReilly's in summer!

Our friends of old (as opposed to old friends) from Colorado came to OZ to tour some old and some new haunts. They stopped up in SE QLD to spend some time spotting particular species found only (or largely) in the remnant temperate rainforest (Lamington) just up the hill from us....

Little did we know... they were... twitchers




I mean serious birders. Glenn had a run-in with a hornets nest back in CO. Combined with a long flight and allergic reactions, his knee had a HUGE anti-inflammatory reaction leading to crutches.

It rained. And it Rained. And it rained. Record rains. Leeches in hordes. Constricted breathing. More rain.

But, that is but a wisp of irritation, a fleeting vision of discomfort, but the buzzing of a gnat, to a twitcher. No drama. Crutch on down the mud patch passing as a trail, leeches dripping from the trees - there are birds to be found!







Oreilly's is a bit different in summer. They feed birds here and they are .. well rather used to people. So birds we were really excited to get a glimpse of all winter just sat there.

Or worse, arrived en mass at the sound of a crisp packet being opened.














The problem was getting binoculars to focus at this distance











Not chill, not rain, not limping would slow this bunch.










Satin bower birds in every tree near the picnic area.



















There were some brilliant moments - this guy was taking a bath - by flapping in dense area of leaves over and over and then preening. It took me a few minutes watching him to figure out exactly what he was *doing* thrashing about in the wettest leaf clumps!












Red browed finches in abundance













A clear morning and the nice wall tents in Bina Burra . Birding at sunrise off the porch!






























Much fungi in the forest












One of the ubiquitous bush turkeys


















One of the birds we were really excited to see...once... during the winter - Regent Bower bird.

In summer, they are here in flocks - waiting for a handout.

It was a little distressing watching people at the lodge feeding them Doritos and cheese puffs on their balconies.

It was just a bit odd seeing them so ..tame

But still quiet beautiful







It is breeding season in Lamington. We ran into a guided bird tour (from Canada) looking for a few birds we had already seen. Glenn ran into the same guide (different group) in Tasmania 2 weeks later - ah the life...

One twilight search for the noisy pitta (which we could hear but I could not see, Nancy lent me her "see-in-the-dark" binocs. I gave her mine (which had been hers for 10 years prior) - and the very first thing she said was "these totally suck!" How quickly the young get spoiled by good glass....




Female bower bird



















The rosellas were almost pests - raiding the picnic tables, landing on your head , swiping lunch from your hand. Great for photos but not good for the birds.








A gentlemen bower bird enticing a lady into his bower. Fascinating to watch him dance, strut and display all with the same bit of litter in his beak.














Back at home, a scaly breasted lorikeet came to visit.











We had the distinctively calling marbled frogmouth in the back yard

















Big waves, bad surf, beaches getting seriously eroded.












Its been a wild rain year. Broke the AU 111 rainfall record and six major rivers across AU are now in flood.

It's the dry season....

As to birds? Well Carolyn said it was NOT a birding trip. So Glenn ID's only 228 species including 71 endemics found nowhere else in the world. And 100 life birds.....

Makes me wonder what a birding trip would be like....

111) Litchfield

Nancy enjoying the predator -free waters in Litchfield Nat'l Park

We said our farewells to the Koolpin Gorge Lakes, even while wishing we had more time. From here we head out of Kakadu Nat'l Park, swing south to some birding areas and then back north to Litchfield Nat'l Park








We couldn't get over the cute little rainbow pittas! When we first got here, we would always look up in the forest canopy trying to find the birds. Now we know these guys bop around on the forest floor, with their iridescent blue shoulder patch glowing in the shade of the understory.












Just a random beautiful orchid we found next to a moist seep.


















Bedded sandstone conglomerate. Some of the conglomerates here were massive - major flood events in the distant past.









Any Guesses?





Would you believe opalescent feathers of a straw-necked ibis?





And farther away, the whole bird.















A red-winged parrot, staying high in the trees, far away from the photog.

















Rainbow bee-eaters were common, colorful, relatively insensitive to proximity...



















..and easy to take photos of!
















Litchfield is known for waterfalls, swim-able pools and creeks. We had hoped to drive a 4wd road on the west side with multiple river crossings but were running short on time. Instead we went to more accessible areas and hiked through some impressive terrain.















It was difficult to stay out of the water since it was so hot and the cool, emerald green pools were so alluring. Especially since there weren't crocodiles in Litchfield (as far as we knew!).









Magnetic termite mounds--aligned north-south to minimize exposure to the sun for built-in temperature control. Those bugs are no dummies!









A big ol' cathedral termite mound. We didn't realize there were so many different kinds of termites. They are quite industrious, I'd say! This was reportedly a few hundred years in the making - and grass eaters to boot!





























While having dinner, or breakfast or second breakfast, on occasion Nancy would hear the dreaded "ummm, Nancy, don't move..."

these guys are fast!









A camp of Flying foxes (fruit bats). There's several species of these bats here. We like to hear their squawky-chattery conversations with each other.
















A startling bright-red dragonfly













Our last campsite in the NT - all the creature comforts (except a fan - bad move that).













The aboriginal calendar - six seasons a year.


















Part of the life is meeting deadlines - even on vacation. I had a conference paper revision due during our time in Kakadu so I worked every night, sitting in the heat in the truck in camp on the laptop after dark. Nancy finally had enough and we stopped at a butterfly garden/teahouse (with Internet) and told me to just get it done so I would quit fretting...













Nancy toured the butterfly garden while Dirk submitted his paper at the internet cafe.










And drank a milkshake to beat the heat. Except milkshakes here are -- milkshakes. We didn't realize it was abnormal (i.e. American) to expect ice cream in a milkshake. I guess we didn't think they'd be so literal here!














We went searching for one last bird before leaving Darwin. I was peering up into the trees in looming darkness of a city park, and people were looking at me like I was an idiot. Of course they're always the last place you look (!), but we finally heard him--a barking owl! He sounded *just* like a dog. I found him in the gloom with my super binos, and then he swooped away...our trip to NT was over, and we were treated to a tropical glowing pink sunset.

110.) Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge)

Upper pools at Jarrangbarnmi

We headed south from Yellow Water, moving into higher and dryer country. These little Crimson Finches starting appearing in small flocks















Female rufous whistler
















Leaden flycatcher
















One of our target species was at Gunlom, a series of pools below and above a significant escarpment. We got up early because we wanted the best chance to see the birds, but looked forward to swimming in the refreshing pools after it got hot







This sign at nearby Maguk gorge spells it out - they try to make sure any saltwater crocs that enter the area during flood season are trapped and removed, but crocs that want to walk a long way can show up at either Gunlom and Maguk. We just hope they haven't entered the pools at the top of the escarpment!











We decided that since we saw a party of large Brits had all returned safely, any predators present were either sated or terrified.

Some days you just have to take chances....















But more importantly, the upper area was known habitat for an endemic White-throated Grasswren.

Hmmm - where are they? Find the spinifex near the creek.....







On stakeout... waiting, waiting... to no avail.

We heard later that although the birds had been sighted frequently last year (in this area), a fire had run through the upper habitat and no birds have been seen in 2010. We hoped they moved up-creek....












But it was hot.

Not hospitable terrain for Cane toads. Which is just fine--the fewer cane toads the better, poisonous beasts that they are.









Bush Curlew pretending to be a branch. If I don't move, he can't see me!












Mom and baby curlew, hiding in the bush. They were in a conspicuous place, but well-camoflauged.


































Pheasant Coucal. These birds make an eerie call that really creates a bush-ambiance that is unmistakeably Australian.

(see http://leesbird.com/2010/03/09/ians-bird-of-the-week-pheasant-coucal/ - navigate down the page to "Lee's addition - Sound of the Pheasant Coucal". This sound travels for kms - very eerie!)















It was breeding season for the Great Bowerbird. This male (left) was putting on a fine song-and-dance for the female (right). Twig in mouth, he danced, bobbed and wove around the post in a display guaranteed to get the girl.

She, of course, left--maybe she went to the bower-bedroom to get into the mood...





And then he broke out the real display - the elegant (and rather garish) plumage on the back of his head. Hey baby, here I come!















It was fun to see these bowers (and bowerbirds) were in abundance. Note that the Great Bowerbird picks different colors than our local Satin Bowerbird. Out here he picks white pebbles, glass, snail shells, aluminum foil....









Brown Honeyeater














The park undertakes a patchwork fire regime to burn off small areas at a time thus minimizing the chances of a catastrophic burn of the huge stands of sawgrass that grow every year.

Unfortunately for us, many of the "sure" areas for sighting specific birds had been recently burned. They will recover and hopefully the birds will return, but in no one was home when we went through.



The Whistling kites hang about the front edge of the fire scoping for lunch. The park rangers report seeing kites picking up burning sticks , flying forward of the fire and dropping them in the grass, bird tool use? arsonists? - hmmmm.....












A different take on road conditions. It's not whether the pass is clear of snow, but instead, are the rivers cross-able?

















OK, come now - who really needs to know the water is 4 meters above the bridge? Would you seriously try and cross if it was, say, only 2 meters deep?









Low water for us. Not even above the bottom of the door frame! But still, you don't want to bog down and have to get out and wade in the croc-inhabited waters out here....














A trip highlight was a visit to Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge). The park restricts the number of visitors, and we had to plan ahead to acquire a permit. It was wonderfully quiet with loads of charming birds, great camping and cool pools. (Although there was a note about a 4.5 m croc they pulled out of the lower area in May - well after people had been coming in here to swim!)










A few km up-creek from the campground is a spectacular series of lakes, pools, and creek sections that go for miles. One chap we talked to has hiked this area (years ago) clear out to Jim-Jim falls - about 60 km. And he agreed this bush country is dramatic.



























It was a fantastic backcountry tour along the river. We even were lucky enough to see two boxing Black Wallaroos! The range of these roos is quite restricted (only a small area of Arnhem land, where we were), and little is known of their social behaviour (http://www.rootourism.com/fsheet17.htm). We saw the roos across the creek in a sacred area where we were not allowed to go. They looked as though they could maneuver their opponent over the escarpment, so we were happier when they hopped off before one of them was pitched over the edge.













White-throated honeyeater












One of Nancy's favorites - the Grey-Crowned Babbler. They travel in small family groups, scruffling around in the leaf litter and babbling to each other. Great fun to watch.