Little Bronze-cuckoo (© Magi Nams)
There are many days when I record birds in conjunction with other activities, much like eating a side dish of chips along with a hamburger. On other days, like today, I set out to spot and record as many bird species as possible during one specified excursion. Today’s excursion consisted of cycling to and from the Ross River Bush Gardens and checking out the Gardens and the small, adjacent island now accessible with a dicey bit of scrambling over branches placed across a swamp. The total time involved was just over two hours, during which I tallied a rewarding 45 species. Next time, I’m shooting for 50.
Today’s birds: magpie-larks, mynas, masked lapwings, laughing kookaburra, crested pigeon, Australian white ibises, rainbow lorikeets, white-gaped honeyeater, brown honeyeaters, white-breasted cuckoo-shrikes, green figbirds, peaceful doves, welcome swallows, anhinga, Pacific black duck, wandering whistling ducks, Torresian crows, sacred kingfisher, forest kingfisher, little bronze-cuckoo, black-faced cuckoo-shrike, white-throated honeyeater, rainbow bee-eaters, grey fantail, tawny frogmouths, nutmeg mannikins, yellow honeyeaters, white-winged triller, blue-faced honeyeater, white-bellied sea eagle, mistletoebird, whistling kite, little black cormorant, intermediate egret, great egret, black kite, leaden flycatcher, spangle drongo, sulphur-crested cockatoo, Australian magpies, great bowerbirds, galahs, house sparrows, white-breasted woodswallows, straw-necked ibis.
Wandering Whistling Ducks over Ross River (© Magi Nams)
