Australia Part 16. Birding N Cape York: Portland Road & Chilli Beach Sep 20 скачать в хорошем качестве

Australia Part 16. Birding N Cape York: Portland Road & Chilli Beach Sep 20

Our first whole day birding Iron Range NP. Dawn was misty, but it cleared up when the sun had been up a while. We started with having a stakeout from our veranda since Greg had told us that Double-eyed Fig-parrots came to a flowering bush in the garden. It turned out to be correct. Also in said bush: Sahul Sunbird and Dusky Myzomela. Honeyeaters around the house was Varied and Yellow-spotted. Noisy Pitta was heard calling in the background, and maybe Yellow-billed Kingfisher too. Not sure about the latter. We spent hours driving Portland Rd down to Cooks Campground and back, seeing Papuan Eclectus and Trumpet Manucode as highest highscores. Even better: I got video! Another nice sighting was a large nesting colony of Metallic Starling in a tree. We had a late lunch at Out of the Blue Café, with Sheree serving delicate dishes. While waiting for said dishes we watched the sea, where distant terns and Frigatebirds stirred our excitement. Photos were shot that actually helped with ID, despite the significant distance. We saw both Great and Lesser Frigatebird. The terns were mostly Greater Crested Terns, but one or two Brown Noddys were also present. We took a short siesta after a short stint at the boatramp after lunch. At 4 PM we took a drive to Chilli Beach, since it was low tide. First thing we saw were a few closeby islets with plenty of Torresian Imperial Pigeons, do they nest over there? The beach itself had a decent amount of Plovers: many individuals of 4 species. Pacific Golden Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Siberian Sand Plover and Red-capped Plover. Also seen: one Common Sandpiper and maybe 10 Red-necked Stints. Back at Portland House we had a late dinner, brought over by Sheree. What a satisfying first day!