188) The Abattoir Swamp - how charming

Northern Fantail

From our base at Kingfisher Park, we went out to visit the charmingly-named Abattoir Swamp. Although the crakes we were hoping for stayed well out-of-sight and sound, we did find a Northern Fantail, not to be mistaken with a Grey Fantail.

A number of Yellow Honeyeaters were flitting about....



















The elegant Emerald Doves were strutting about at Kingfisher Park
















A Little Shrike-thrush--Birding by photo trumps all in identifying LBBs!

We also travelled over to Mareeba Wetlands where Nancy and Claire saw some waterbirds (although not so many, and at a great distance - thus no pictures). The wetlands there are quite controversial as they are an artificial lake and didn't follow some of the best practices for conservation ecology. They originally had a breeding/release program for Gouldian Finches (here is one in the aviary) but that didn't go so well - the local hawks thought of them as 'brightly-colored snacks" and they disappeared quickly.

We still want to see these marvels in the wild..... back to WA or the NT for that...  Although Nancy recently staked out the famous NT Excavation Pits (no photos) in an unsuccessful bid to miraculously spot them where they haven't been spotted in ages...

We  also took a scenic route out to find the Squatter-pigeon. According to our best info they "practically hop on the picnic tables" out at a rather dodgy looking campground/picnic area where we saw none and quickly left rather than paying the fees to simply park the car. We did find a small bevy scurrying across a recent grass burn.

A splendid pair of Ospreys checking out their nest