More Kimberleyland treats

This is the last post containing photos taken from within the Kimberleyland caravan park. As you may have gathered I thoroughly enjoyed being able to walk a few metres from where you were eating or sleeping or having a drink and taking photos of birds I had hardly ever seen before!

White-breasted woodswallow (above and below)

Sacred kingfisher

Whistling kite

Black kite

Black kite

Great bowerbird checking out what's cool. These air conditioning units are atop a houseboat moored lakeside.

Bird on!

Blackie Lake disappointment

A pair of Sacred kingfisher have been hanging around the lake over summer. A fellow birder (thanks Trevor) had shown me where they had nested in previous years and they seemed to be hanging around the exact same nesting hollow.

Sacred kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus)
Blackburn Lake Sanctuary, 2 Feb 2012

When wandering around the lake yesterday I passed said nesting hollow and heard the sound of young birds. With much anticipation I found myself a "perch" at a respectable distance and waited. I must confess to being disappointed when this fellow stuck his head out!

Rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)

I never saw the kingfishers actually enter any nesting hollow but I have just read that some astute observers reported nesting and young birds at the lake in November.

That makes me feel better!

A few other locals follow. I don't see Black-faced cuckoo-shrike frequently at the lake so I enjoyed seeing this bird yesterday.

Black-faced cuckoo-shrike 

Always obliging
Little pied cormorant 

Duck Yoga 

These guys have been hanging around a bit lately
lowering the tone of the neighbourhood.
Australian white ibis

Wha...what happened? What's that?
Maybe 20th wedding anniversaries
do weird things to a bloke

P.S. - I enjoyed creating my new blog background which is a photoshopped variation of a shot taken at one of my favourite spots, Deen Maar in Southwestern Victoria. The original can be seen in one of last year's Deen Maar posts.

Cracking pardalote views

Enjoyed cracking views of this female (or immature) Spotted pardalote at Blackburn Lake yesterday. Also recently arrived in town are a few Sacred kingfisher and Musk lorikeets. Amongst the regulars there are also a few cooperative Chestnut teal and some less cooperative Mistletoebird (hence no pictures).

Personally, Sacred kingfisher and Mistletoebird were not birds I'd seen at Blackie Lake until a few weeks ago. It is a pleasure to see them regularly at the moment (I gather it is hoped that the kingfishers may nest).



                                        Spotted pardalote                                          



                                    Sacred kingfisher                                    

When backlit by sunshine the colouring changes
(it happens to be a different bird, same day)

                                                       Musk lorikeet                                                      

                                                            Chestnut teal                                                         

                                                     The carp are huge!