Australia 2009 

Here are a few photos from my  trip to Australia 2009 and a complete bird list. My favourite find was 2 Tawny Frogmouth in the Karijini National park in Western Australia. Amazing birds.

 

A close encounter with 2 Cassowary was an undoubted highlight. They were feeding just off the track and this photo taken with a standard pocket camera shows how close to these amazing birds I was.  

 

Creeping close enough to hear this Osprey ripping through the fish (perch I think) was great. Awesome birds and a priveledge to watch the bird at such close quarters.

A list of birds seen in Australia:

  1. Southern Cassowary
  2. Emu
  3. Australian Brush Turkey
  4. Orange Footed Scrubfowl
  5. Magpie Goose
  6. Black Swan
  7. Pacific Black Duck
  8. Australian Wood Duck
  9. Grey Teal
  10. Australian Shelduck
  11. Hardhead
  12. Australasian Grebe
  13. Wilsons Storm Petrel
  14. Australian Pelican
  15. Brown Booby
  16. Darter
  17. Little Black Cormorant
  18. Little Pied Cormorant
  19. Eastern Reef Egret
  20. Little Egret
  21. White Faced Heron
  22. Cattle Egret
  23. Great White Egret
  24. Intermediate Egret
  25. Striated Heron
  26. Black Necked Stork
  27. Australian White Ibis
  28. Straw Necked Ibis
  29. Royal Spoonbill
  30. Black Shouldered Kite
  31. Brahminy Kite
  32. Whistling Kite
  33. White Bellied Sea Eagle
  34. Wedge Tailed Eagle
  35. Osprey
  36. Brown Falcon
  37. Nankeen Kestrel
  38. Dusky Moorhen
  39. Eurasian Coot
  40. Australian Bustard
  41. Whimbrel
  42. Terek Sandpiper
  43. Bar Tailed Godwit
  44. Eastern Curlew
  45. Common Greenshank
  46. Marsh Sandpiper
  47. Grey Tailed Tatler
  48. Great Knot
  49. Red Necked Stint
  50. Bush Stone Curlew
  51. Pied Oystercatcher
  52. Red Capped Plover
  53. Lesser Stand Plover
  54. Greater Sand Plover
  55. Sooty Oystercatcher
  56. Pacific Gull
  57. Silver Gull
  58. Laughing Gull
  59. Crested Tern
  60. Caspian Tern
  61. Gull Billed Tern
  62. Little Tern
  63. Common Noddy
  64. Pied Imperail Pigeon
  65. Wampoo Fruit Dove
  66. Peacefull Dove
  67. Laughing Turtle Dove
  68. Spotted Turtle Dove
  69. Spinefex Pigeon
  70. Crested Pigeon
  71. Common Bronzewing
  72. Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
  73. Cockatiel
  74. Little Corella
  75. Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
  76. Galah,
  77. Rainbow Lorikeet
  78. Double Eyed Fig Parrot
  79. Australian Ring Neck
  80. Red Capped Parrot
  81. Budgerigar
  82. Channel Billed Cuckoo
  83. Southern Boobook
  84. Tawny Frogmouth
  85. Azure Kingfisher
  86. Little Kingfisher
  87. Sacred Kingfisher
  88. Collared Kingfisher
  89. Forest Kingfisher
  90. Laughing Kookaburra
  91. Red-backed Fairy Wren
  92. Lovely Fairy Wren
  93. Rufous Crowned Emu Wren
  94. Red -browed Pardalote
  95. Weebill, Red Wattlebird
  96. Helmeted Friarbird
  97. Bluefaced Honeyeater
  98. Yellow Throated Miner
  99. Yellow Spotted Honeyeater
  100. Varied Honeyeater
  101. Singing Honeyeater
  102. Yellow Honeyeater
  103. Brown Honeyeater
  104. Rufous Banded Honeyeater
  105. New Holland Honeyeater
  106. White Cheeked Honeyeater
  107. Dusky Honeyeater
  108. Mistletoe Bird
  109. Yellow Bellied Sunbird
  110. Hooded Robin
  111. Jacky Winter
  112. Rufous Whistler
  113. Grey Shrike-thrush
  114. Spectacled Monarch
  115. Spangled Drongo
  116. Magpie Lark
  117. Willie Wagtail
  118. Broad billed/ Leaden flycatcher
  119. Grey Fantail
  120. Varied Triller
  121. White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike
  122. Figbird
  123. Blackfaced Woodswallow
  124. Black Butcherbird
  125. Grey Butcherbird
  126. Pied Butcherbird
  127. Australian Magpie
  128. Grey Currawong
  129. Torresian Crow
  130. Australian Raven
  131. Metallic Starling
  132. Common Myna
  133. Welcome Swallow
  134. Tree Martin,
  135. Silvereye
  136. House Sparrow
  137. Australian Pipit
  138. Nutmeg Mannikin
  139. Beach Stone Curlew
  140. White Rumped Swiftlet
  141. Grey Goshawk
  142. Mangrove Robin
  143. Satin Flycather

 

Laughing Kookaburra

Fig Parrot

Little Corella

A total of 144 species seen. I didn't spend a huge amount of time birding. Most birds seen in the Cairns area along the Esplanade and around the botanical gardens. Also many species seen around Perth and along the west coast. Some real cracking birds seen and I had Cairns third ever Laughing Gull!

Not many photos taken, or decent ones anyway. The camera was about 8 inches from the Tawny Frogmouth's who were totally unnerved.

Whilst away I spent a lot of time beneath the waves and here a few sightings highlights:

Whale Shark - Ningaloo reef - WA. 3 individuals seen. Largest was 9 meters. Simply awesome.

Queensland Grouper - On the Yongala wreck- called VW as he is the size of the car. 

Shovel Nosed Ray - Amazing looking animal also on the Yongala wreck dive.

Grey Whaler Shark - Lots seen on night dives on the Great Barrier reef. Great Sharks, a size up from the reefys

White and Black Tip Reef Shark - Black Tips seen in WA, lots of White Tips seen on GBR. Amazing anaimals and always a thrill to see and get close to.

Giant Trevally - Powerful predators, hunting off the torch on night dives.

Barracuda - Adults seen on the GBR. They allow close approach and swam through a school of juveniles in WA on the Ningaloo reef.

Lionfish - A few seen, Spectacular looking fish.

Boxfish- A few seen on the GBR. Strange little fish.

Scorpion Fish - 1 seen, very camouflaged. The reason you don't touch anything when diving.

Puffer Fish - Many seen including a large shoal on the Ningaloo.

Clown Fish - Different species seen including the true Nemo.

Bull Ray - 2 massive individuals on one Yongala dive. A few on the GBR.

Cowtail Ray - 1 seen on the GBR

Manta Ray - Snorkelling with them, rolling in the their feeding action. Amazing.

Moray Eel - Love these. Saw many and one fully out of its crevice on a night dive.

Dugong - One seen in shallows on the way to the Yongala dive.

Green Turtle - Many seen. Stunningly beautiful. The meaning of graceful. Spending time near to one feeding on a sponge is special.

Hawksbill Turtle - A few seen. Special animals.

Olive and Banded Sea Snakes - Seen and handled whilst diving the Yongala Wreck.

Countless other species of fish.

When in Fiji 2008, Sharks seen on the 2 specialist shark dives included:

Bull Sharks - 5 seen on the Bequa lagoon dive. No cage just an awful lot of sharks. Magic.

Lemon Sharks 

Nurse Sharks- Stroked one of these beautys.

Silver Tip reef Shark

 

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