Other Wee Jasper regulars

Yellow-faced honeyeater was the season's prominent small honeyeater (noisy friarbird representing the larger group) ...

Also enjoyed views of spotted pardalote, treecreepers in their classic poses and rufous whistler. As well as the aforementioned gang-gangs and YTBs there were other parrot companions in king parrot, sulfur crested cockatoo and crimson rosella (not pictured). 

Spotted pardalote

Brown tree-creeper

White-throated tree-crepper

Rufous whistler

Australian King-parrot

Sulfur crested cockatoo

The ubiquitous Superb fairy-wren (female)

This Australian raven was feasting on something
curled up in a leaf.

Willie wagtail

Our lame, constant companion

Practically all birding time was within walking distance of Swinging Bridge Reserve. A drive downstream to Burrinjuck Dam expanded the list (red-rumped parrot, white-bellied sea eagle, white plumed honeyeater, brown tree-creeper, white-faced heron, Australian hobby to name a few).

Surprisingly dipped on nankeen kestrel and white-winged chough (others in the family group saw both!)

The list after 6 days went something like this:

1. Australian Wood Duck
2. Pacific Black Duck
3. Australasian Grebe
4. Australasian Darter
5. White-faced Heron
6. White-bellied Sea-Eagle
7. Wedge-tailed Eagle
8. Australian Hobby
9. Masked Lapwing
10. Crested Pigeon
11. Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
12. Gang-gang Cockatoo
13. Galah
14. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
15. Crimson Rosella
16. Eastern Rosella
17. Red-rumped Parrot
18. Australian King-Parrot
19. Laughing Kookaburra
20. Sacred Kingfisher
21. Rainbow Bee-eater
22. Satin Bowerbird
23. White-throated Treecreeper
24. Brown Treecreeper
25. Superb Fairy-wren
26. Eastern Spinebill
27. Yellow-faced Honeyeater
28. White-plumed Honeyeater
29. New Holland Honeyeater
30. Spotted Pardalote
31. White-browed Scrubwren
32. Yellow-rumped Thornbill
33. Dusky Woodswallow
34. Grey Butcherbird
35. Australian Magpie
36. Pied Currawong
37. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
38. Rufous Whistler
39. Grey Shrike-thrush
40. Willie Wagtail
41. Grey Fantail
42. Magpie-lark
43. Australian Raven
44. Eastern Yellow Robin
45. Welcome Swallow
46. Common Blackbird
47. Common Starling
48. Mistletoebird
49. European Goldfinch
50. House Sparrow
51. Red-browed Finch

Wee Jasper Gang-gangs

I missed out on one of those amazing "Don't mind me I'm feasting on this bush" gang-gang experiences when you feel as though reaching out & touching would be tolerated. However the local Wee Jasper gang-gangs still obliged for a few pictures:

My son loves this silhouette!

Female gang-gang

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo drinks from the Goodradigbee

That's a river.

We are again at Wee Jasper, NSW, and the call and flight of this iconic bird can be witnessed many times a day. Mostly they are seen in flight or noisily eating in the tree tops....

"Weeeel-yarr!"

This bloke however was a little thirsty and came down for a drink....

Unfortunately the bird was obscured by the steep bank when he was drinking. So far I continue to be disappointed at my results when photographing this iconic bird (I want to get that tail fanned)!

Satin bowerbirds at bower

Another Wee Jasper gem was the bower being attended by the local Satin bowerbirds:

The bower featuring a prized clothes peg

A "green bird" inspects the bower.

At  top right the male is sure that the clothes peg
will win him the prize .....

well .... surely you can't resist this plastic bottle cap?

Maybe if I rustle my feathers while holding
a beer bottle top ....

"Stuff it, I'm going to try yellow"

Lake Burrinjuck Sea-eagles

Enjoyed a fly-by of this pair of white-bellied sea-eagles on the Goodradigbee River arm of  the Burrinjuck Dam near Wee Jasper on 15th January:

Lake Burrinjuck, NSW (Goodradigbee arm)

One bird had been noticed perching earlier in the day.

Rainbow Bee-eaters at hollow

These fellows were attending to their nest in an off shoot of a wombat hole at Wee jasper in the southern highlands of NSW. Being from Melbourne this is not a species I see so I was keen to see them on this summer trip (even there they are only summer migrants).

Well they were present in the region wherever there was a river bank really but this pair were my constant companions living just across the river from the cabin.

Goodradigbee River, Swinging Bridge Reserve
The bee-eater hollow is in the sunlit grassed area
(barely visible, it is some 30m away unfortunately)

Posing in front of one of the region's many
old farm sheds

The preferred perch
The piks aren't great due to the distance (great)
and size (small) of the bird

This series reminds me of the amazing
rapid increase in altitude some birds manage

With friend

Another favoured perch