Late to the party ... Sharon's first attempt

[xelas]

Ahh, those colourful Doves from Down Under!

 

@shazdwn, your reminder applies not only to local birds but also to those taken abroad. Chasing quantity over quality is the fast track to (photographer) hell .

[Galana]

4 hours ago, xelas said:

Chasing quantity over quality is the fast track to (photographer) hell .

Those must be your footprints I see on the track ahead!

[TonyQ]

That Fruit Dove is amazing, and beautifully photographed

[shazdwn]

Today's therapy against the craziness of the planet (i.e. birdwatching in the bush) was a short visit, but netted me this (as well a few more EBCs that may see the light of day if I don't get better by the end of the year).  This birds rarely comes close or stays still for more than a moment so I was pretty happy to get these images.

 

70) Red-winged Parrot - Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 16/03/20

[Peter Connan]

Beautiful exposure and colours on this last shot!

[shazdwn]

Time for a few more of my favourites - shorebirds

 

71) Red-capped Plover - Lee Point, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 20/03/20

[shazdwn]

I had to investigate long and hard to come to a decision on the identity of the next two species which are very similar and, according to my bird book, often found together.  I'm pretty confident now that I do have both species - but feel free to tell me if you think I am wrong.  A research challenge for those stuck indoors with not much to do 

 

72) Greater Sand Plover - Lee Point, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 20/03/20

[shazdwn]

73) Lesser Sand Plover - Lee Point, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 20/03/20

[shazdwn]

74) Sanderling (non-breeding plumage) - Lee Point, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 20/03/20

[shazdwn]

75) Ruddy Turnstone - Lee Point, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 20/03/20

[shazdwn]

76) Great Knot (with a few Red Knots mixed in) - Lee Point, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 20/03/20

[shazdwn]

Now back to the bush

 

77) Spangled Drongo - Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 21/03/20

[Kitsafari]

brilliant shots. 

 

 

[shazdwn]

Thanks @Kitsafari and @Peter Connan

[shazdwn]

78) White-gaped Honeyeater - Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 21/03/20

 

I have found that these birds tend to come to our local creek to have a bath in the late afternoon - I have not yet been quick enough to photograph one bathing but did get one drying off

[shazdwn]

79) Bar-breasted Honeyeater - Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - 21/03/20.  This is a much less common species and these are my first photos of this bird

[PeterHG]

Lovely additions and great shots! It must be hard to tell Lesser and Greater Sandplover apart (though the name implies a size difference). The bill of the latter looks shorter, but they are very much alike.

[xelas]

Terrific photos, @shazdwn, specially those of plovers. You must have been very low to get eye-to-eye perspective.

[elefromoz]

@shazdwn, another great collection of Waders, enjoy them while you can, they'll be heading off soon I guess

[Galana]

Thank you for sharing even more of what Darwin has to offer.

It's a very close call on those Sand Plovers but I would say you got them right. (Well, let's say there is nothing to indicate otherwise )

[shazdwn]

15 hours ago, PeterHG said:

Lovely additions and great shots! It must be hard to tell Lesser and Greater Sandplover apart (though the name implies a size difference). The bill of the latter looks shorter, but they are very much alike.

@PeterHG Yes telling them apart is crazy - the lesser is 19-20 cm the greater 20-23 cm so a difference but hard to spot from a distance, although in the second lesser sand plover shot you can see one of the birds in the background is slightly taller than the others.  According to my book the key difference is indeed the bill.

 

15 hours ago, xelas said:

Terrific photos, @shazdwn, specially those of plovers. You must have been very low to get eye-to-eye perspective.

@xelas Thanks. I do like to get down low but in this case I had the advantage of shooting up a slight incline - these birds move so fast they would be gone before I got myself into position otherwise.

 

13 hours ago, elefromoz said:

@shazdwn, another great collection of Waders, enjoy them while you can, they'll be heading off soon I guess

@elefromoz yes I understand they will only be around for a couple more weeks.  At least there are no travel restrictions for the birds - makes the saying "free as a bird" even more accurate in current times. 

 

13 hours ago, Galana said:

Thank you for sharing even more of what Darwin has to offer.

It's a very close call on those Sand Plovers but I would say you got them right. (Well, let's say there is nothing to indicate otherwise )

@Galana thanks - yeah let's go with I got is right 

Edited March 22, 2020 by shazdwn

[Dave Williams]

The Sand Plovers look fabulous in breeding plumage. I find trying to tell them apart impossible unless they are stood next to each other and even then it's not easy. The legs on the shot of the Greater SP do look longer than those on the Lesser though. I'd be happy with that being enough of a difference to call them separately.

[shazdwn]

80) Little Corella - Arnhem Highway, Northern Territory, Australia - 26/03/20

[shazdwn]

81) Whistling Kite - Arnhem Highway, Northern Territory, Australia - 26/03/20

[shazdwn]

82) Black-necked Stork - Arnhem Highway, Northern Territory, Australia - 26/03/20

 

Well, at least that is what we are meant to call them now.  They were previously known as a Jabiru which is still my preferred name, despite the fact there is another species in South America called a Jabiru.  But really, does that neck look black to you?  This one has a long-necked turtle in its bill - not sure how it thinks it is going to swallow that!