10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

There has also been another tropical low that came very close to Broome dumping heavy rains and then continued around the coast of Western Australia. This bird species is known to travel large distances around Australia. Wedge-tailed Eagle -bigger than the cattle!? Three Wedge-tailed Eagles.

Geese 259

Geese Eagles Australia Breeding 259

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

This is the only highway around Australia in this part of the country and we don’t need it falling to bits! They were busy feeding around the cattle water trough that the cattle can’t get to unless they want wet hooves! We always travel through the shallowest section to prevent damage to the highway.

Barn Owls 190

Barn Owls Cattle Ducks Reptiles 190

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2019

In Broome we only have Silver Gulls , but in the south of Australia there are also some much larger gulls. Other birds found among the dairy cows in this situation are Common Starling , Australian Raven and Cattle Egrets. Pacific Gulls- Larus pacificus are generally found on the coast. The colours black and white are well represented!

Cows 157

Cows Cattle Australia Birds 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2020

Having observed the Cattle Egret in breeding plumage at the Derby Poo Ponds on June 19th we found ourselves at Windjana Gorge first thing the following morning. Western Australia remains closed to everybody from everywhere. As we all well know there is something very different about 2020.

2020 263

2020 Australia Cattle Groups 263

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2020

Over recent weeks I have been able to share some of my observations along the Great Southern Rail Trail in Victoria, Australia. They are very similar to the Masked Lapwings in the north of Australia, but of course they have ‘black shoulders”! Two Cattle Egrets with four cows! Black-shouldered Lapwings.

Buffalo 163

Buffalo Fish Koalas Cattle 163

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

There are always stray cattle to watch out for, but we prefer to minimize the risk of hitting animals by leaving on road trips until a couple of hours after sunrise. There is a variation in the colour of Galahs around Australia and the ones in the Kimberley are not as pink as some other areas. On Monday we went from Broome to Derby.

Cattle 191

Cattle Stray Australia Birds 191

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2022

Whenever we make a trip to Derby we pull over seven kilometres before we get to town at Myalls Bore and the 120 metre long cattle trough. We have seen the cattle trough enough times to know there is not a lot of bird-life using it, because it is easier for the birds to use the water that overflows from the bore to make a wetland.

Cattle 212

Cattle Species Birds Rights 212

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

It is on your left and you will no doubt either see the birdlife in the area or notice the cattle wandering on the edge of the highway. The cattle tend to wander beside the edge of the highway in areas where the fences have failed and they are also attracted to the water at the borrow pits.

Cattle 216

Cattle Birds Zebras Wildlife 216

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2016

Life’s been pretty hectic since we returned from a trip into the Pilbara area of Western Australia and I have hardly touched on all of our adventures due to other exciting bird news back home. Hundreds of Budgerigars were swooping down to the water and almost blocked our view of the cattle! Budgerigars roosting around the dam.

Cattle 101

Cattle Australia Birds Rights 101

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

This is the photo to mention that the first part of the Latin species name, Eurystomus orientalis , means “wide-mouthed” The Dollarbird eventually flew off, possibly to Australia – maybe it will show up in a future post of fellow blog writer Clare.

Birds 147

Birds Cattle Suffering Turtles 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2018

Masked Lapwings , Straw-necked Ibis , Plumed Whistling-Ducks , Magpie-larks , Cattle Egrets and Australian Pratincoles all gather around and in the drainage channel. All of the nice green vegetation around these drainage channels is very popular with the Cattle Egrets and by November they have some beautiful breeding plumage.

Cattle 114

Cattle Geese Birds Australia 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 28, 2021

It has been a completely different story on the East coast of Australia. The cattle are clever enough to move across the property and get away from the deep water. This highway has remained open, but heading north the highway has been closed for days on end. Playing “chicken” on the edge of the highway.

Chickens 175

Chickens Ducks Cattle Australia 175

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2015

Before we left home to go camping and birding in the northern area of the Kimberley we had a plan that once we got as far north as the Northern Territory we would return to Halls Creek, Western Australia, via the Duncan Road. Cattle truck and dust! They also believed it would not be too deep after a dry Wet Season.

Birds 159

Birds Cattle Australia Transported 159

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2021

Both native animals and cattle from the stations wander aimlessly onto the highway at any time of day, but it is worse between dusk and dawn. With current travel restrictions around Australia and internationally we are grateful we live in an area that is so rich with birds and other wildlife.

Breeding 242

Breeding 2014 Cattle Australia 242

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2023

The cattle moved away from the flooded areas and the area beside the highway is home to many species of birds. This resulted in no large flocks of Oriental Pratincoles in the area during the past few months and less Terns than in other years when there have been more locusts present.

Cattle 147

Cattle Ducks Species Birds 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2020

Cattle have been in the area and so there will be small remaining pools from their hoof prints if rain does not come to the area soon just like last time. Spinifex Pigeons cautiously working their way down to the water. A bush full of Zebra Finch . The water level has been higher for the birds and marked the rocks.

2020 297

2020 Zebras Birds 2016 297

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2021

Attempting a photograph of the cattle beside the highway was pointless, because you only got photographs of locusts! Recently the highway has been covered in locusts and you can’t avoid them. It did not matter which way you looked there were thousands of locusts. The recent swarms of locusts.

Cattle 262

Cattle Breeding Family Birds 262

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2020

9 beats visited 9 countries (China, Costa Rica, USA, UK, India, Australia, Jamaica , Serbia and Japan) and submitted 151 checklists when they got back. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia.

2020 156

2020 Sanctuary Australia Sparrows 156

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2019

The engaged and generous beats ( 10 of them) have shared 188 checklists during January and have accounted for 859 species from 8 countries (USA, Australia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, UK, New Zealand and Serbia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia.

2019 113

2019 Australia Jamaica Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Halls Creek is situated inland on the Great Northern Highway, which is the only bitumen road around the north of Australia. It has a small population of approximately 1100 people and is a major hub for the local indigenous people and for the cattle industry. This is exactly where you want to be!

Australia 100

Australia Ducks Cattle Industry 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2013

Other members of the family include the huge Australasian Bittern (a species I have yet to see), the coastal Eastern Reef Egret (hardly difficult since it’s habitat requirements are basically “an island in the Pacific”), and of course the Cattle Egret. They are generally solitary and pretty easy to see in the countryside.

New Zealand 148

New Zealand Indonesia Cattle Guinea 148

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

As we came through the open fields towards the coast there were numerous Cattle Egrets among the cattle and Straw-necked Ibis. Trips Australia cormorants Fairy Wren heron Magpie oystercatchers Raven' Of course you have no opportunity to stop on these windy roads and they appeared oblivious to the traffic that passed them by.

Cattle 160

Cattle Boston Investigation Australia 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2019

Without including the new pin in the map, countries this month featured; USA, Australia, Serbia, Bahrain, India, Kuwait, New Zealand, UK, Ghana and of course, Costa Rica. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. 17 Feb 2019.

2019 113

2019 Ghana Australia Jamaica 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

All the tracks onto the station property were underwater and all of the Brahman Cattle have moved to the highest ground that they can find. In fact it is not just the cattle, but all of the creatures have moved into bushes and trees. Birding Australia Black-winged Stilt Broome' Black-winged Stilt holding their ground!

Barn Owls 162

Barn Owls Seals Birds Cattle 162

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

A local cattle station out of town received 652mm in the same 24 hour period, so we got off lightly! In one hour in the evening, amongst all the thunder and lightning, 88mm of rain fell and by the morning we had received 326mm of rain. So, over a 48 hour period we had received 564mm of rain as compared to 338mm for the whole of 2021.

Parrots 228

Parrots Cattle Breeding Ducks 228

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2018

During October, 7 countries (Costa Rica, Australia, USA, India, Hong Kong, UK, Serbia) were birded by 11 beats who shared 135 checklists and noted 697 species. Western Australia. Western Australia. The beats have now contributed more checklists than birds. This is inevitable even when the beats are so spread out. 27 Oct 2018.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2019

In reverse order, the medals were awarded for “most species seen in a country”, to Australia with 420, USA got the silver, scoring 556 while the runaway winner was Costa Rica with 646 species. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. May I extend my thanks to all the beats. 04 Apr 2018.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2019

9 countries were visited during March by your tireless beats ( 11 of them); India, UK, USA, Serbia, Costa Rica, Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia.

2019 113

2019 Ghana Australia Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2018

They birded 6 countries; USA, UK, Costa Rica, Serbia, Australia, and Mexico. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. 8 beats shared 126 checklists accounting for 704 species. The year and life lists have been pushed to 2214 and 3564 respectively. Alphabetic Taxonomic.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2018

9 beats shared 100 checklists from 8 countries (Costa Rica, USA, UK, Brazil, Serbia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Australia. Western Australia. They are hungry, tired and don’t need to be chased. They noted 598 species as a team, bringing the year total to 2118 and pushing the life list to 3555. 25 Sep 2018.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2019

These are the numbers acheived by 10 (we have a new contributor, Paul, from Mexico) beats during May; We visited 8 countries (Costa Rica, USA, UK, Australia, Serbia, Greece, Kuwait and Mexico) and noted 776 birds from 160 checklists. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia.

2019 113

2019 Australia Ghana Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2017

There are some long empty roads in this part of Australia, but stopping anywhere there is water is rewarding if you are hoping to find birds!

Ducks 100

Ducks Pigs Zebras Feral 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2018

During March, 11 beats shared 122 checklists to accumulate 680 species from 8 countries; USA, Costa Rica, Serbia, India, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Japan. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. The year list has progressed by 127 to reach 1257. san rafael road. 24 Mar 2018.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2018

Tom’s odyssey continued through New Zealand and passes on to Australia. April’s number are below; 11 countries were visited by 9 beats; Australia, USA, UK, India, Serbia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Brazil, New Zealand and Argentina. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2019

April was a busy time for the beats with 10 of them contributing 164 lists to accumulate 744 species from 7 countries; Costa Rica, USA, Australia, Serbia, UK, Brazil and Barbados. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia.

2019 113

2019 Australia Ghana Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2018

Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Camino Laguna de los Patos. 04 Apr 2018. Emu – Dromaius novaehollandiae. 19 Jan 2018. Southern Brown Kiwi – Apteryx australis. Rakiura NP–Ulva Island. 13 Mar 2018. Southern Screamer – Chauna torquata. 03 Apr 2018.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2017

Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Western Australia. Magpie Goose – Anseranas semipalmata. 05 Jan 2017. 01 Jan 2017. 08 Jan 2017.

2017 133

2017 Australia Sanctuary Woodpeckers 133