BY 2022 - Soukous (even if there are no birds, you can still enjoy the music)

[Soukous]

I guess if I'm going to lower my standards and post a Feral Pigeon, it may as well be truly feral. 

 

#236 - Feral Pigeon

Ancona, Italy. June 2022

 

[Soukous]

To make up for that horrible looking bird, this next one is a lifer for me. Although I've seen them in previous years I have not paid them a lot of attention as I didn't have a camera with me. 

 

#237 - Scopoli's Shearwater - Calonectris d. diomedea

Argolic Gulf, Greece. July 2022

 

I am pretty sure this is Scopoli's and not Cory's. The bill is not as heavy and a much duller yellow.

 

 

 

[Galana]

5 hours ago, Soukous said:

I guess if I'm going to lower my standards and post a Feral Pigeon,

Et tu Brute?

[Dave Williams]

Excellent images of the Scopoli's, very enviable indeed. Are you on a European tour Martin?  

[Soukous]

2 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

Excellent images of the Scopoli's, very enviable indeed. Are you on a European tour Martin?  

 

Not really. we have a small holiday apartment in the Peloponnese and are making our first visit since 2019.  I drove down via Austria and spent a little time with @michael-ibkthen took the ferry from Ancona to Patras.. I'll spend a couple of days in Italy on the way back home, but apart from that it is just Greece and a lot of maintenance.

[PeterHG]

Beautiful photos of the Scopoli’s! I’ve only ever seen them from a great distance!

[Peter Connan]

Beautiful photography Martin!

[offshorebirder]

Do you have any photos of the probable Scopoli's Shearwaters showing their underwings @Soukous?     That would show the definitive field mark of white extending out into the brownish primary feathers.

 

 

[Soukous]

On 7/28/2022 at 2:22 AM, offshorebirder said:

Do you have any photos of the probable Scopoli's Shearwaters showing their underwings @Soukous?     That would show the definitive field mark of white extending out into the brownish primary feathers.

 

 

 

Sorry Nate, I don't. I did have a couple of crappy in flight shots but I deleted them. 

[Soukous]

After such a prolonged absence from BY, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I've fallen far behind the pace. Perhaps more of a surprise is that @michael-ibkhas not yet hit his target. 

 

Summer 2022 was not a happy time for me. After a super 2 days in Tirol, things started to go downhill. I won't bore you with the details, but for 4 weeks I could not even hold a camera steady and motivation to go in search of birds declined significantly, so my additions are very few.

 

#238 - Eurasian Collared Dove - Streptopelia decaocto

Greece, July 

 

 

 

[Soukous]

I was drawn out of hibernation by nearby sightings of a rare visitor to our area.

 

#239 - Red-necked Phalarope - Phalaropus lobatus

Suffolk, Sept 2022

 

I found it, but it stayed on the far side of the scrape and the only option was a distant shot against the light

 

 

I had better luck with this one in an adjacent pool

 

#240 - Curlew Sandpiper - calidris ferrginea

Suffolk, Sept

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

Good to see you back here Martin, I was wondering if you had fallen off from Earth! Very sorry to hear you had a bad summer. 

[Soukous]

The next trip I had planned was to Australia. Once again a trip that had been postponed twice due to Covid. Not really a biring trip, more of a visit to catch up wth old friends. But of course I had hoped to get in a few days of birding while I was there.

 

What had originally been planned as a road trip from Broome down to Geelong had been revised significantly and was not a few days in WA then a road trip in Victoria, visiting friends and a few national parks.

 

I arrived in Broome a couple of days early so that I would have time for a visit to the Broome Bird Observatory before I was joind by a non-birding friend. BBO is situated on Roebuck Bay, a few kilometers outside Broome and is particularly renowned for shorebirds.

 

# 241 - Black Kite - Milvus migrans

Broome, Sept

 

Very common in and around Broome, this was actually taken at the Water Treatment Plant, which is a bit of a birding hotspot on the right day.

 

 

#242 - Plumed Whistling Duck - Dendrocygna eytoni

Broome Watre Treatment Plant, Sept

 

 

 

#243 - Magpie Lark - Grallina cyanoleuca

Broome Water Treatment Plant, Sept

 

 

#244 - Royal Spoonbill - Platalea regia

Broome Watre Treatment Plant. Sept

 

 

and another one, this time at Barwon Heads, Victoria

 

 

#245 - Crested Pigeon - Ocyphaps lophotes

Broome Water Treatment Plant, Sept

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Soukous

[Soukous]

and on to Broome Bird Observatory.

 

BBO does have some basic accommodation, single rooms are shoebox sized but have the great advantage of being cheap by Broome standards.

Broome is where Aussies from the Eastern states head in winter and it gets very very busy. Consequently it is incredibly expensive. A room in a basic motel is priced at about AUD250 per night. My shoebox at BBO was AUD95 per night.

Bathroom facilities are communal and there is a shared kitchen which is well equipped.

There is also a campsite and some of the people staying there were not birders at all but contract workers who liked the fact it was so much cheaper than accommodation in Broome itself.

 

Once at BBO, almost everywhere is accessible on foot, although there are guided tours each day.

 

I stopped on my way in to try and get in a few photos before the heat reached its peak. Broome was experiencing temperatures of 39 degrees Celcius and after about 9am the light was very harsh indeed.

 

#246 - Singing Honeyeater - Lichenostomus virescens

BBO, Sept

 

 

I was surprised to learn that there are 56 varieties of Honeyeater in Austalia.

 

# 247 - Littel Friarbird - Philemon citreogularis

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

# 248 - Rufous-throated Honeyeater - Conopopphila rufogularis

BBO, Sep

 

 

 

Yes, I'm sorry. I should have gathered all the Honeyeaters together, but I'm posting the birds in the order I took them.

 

#249 - Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike - Coracina novaehollandiae

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

#250 - Silver Gull - Larus novaehollandiae

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

[Soukous]

# 251 - Brown Honeyeater - Lichmera indistincta

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

#252 - Double-barred Finch - Taeniopygia bichenovii

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

# 253 - Long-tailed Finch - Poephila acuticauda

BBO, Sept

 

Unfortunately, these pretty birds only showed themselves in the middle of the day when the light was very harsh

 

 

#254 - Collared Sparrowhawk - Accipiter cirrhocephalus

BBO, Sept

 

I spotted this in a tree behind the kitchen - which also doubles up as a bird hide. It sat there for a while then swooped down and grabbed a small bird for lunch. The consensus was that it was a Zebra Finch. A shame as I never saw a live one.

 

 

 

Enough from the camp, time to head down to the beach

 

#255 - Pacific Golden Plover - Pluvialis fulva

BBO, Sept

 

I originally had this down as a Pacific Golden Plover then changed my mind, and now, after good input from @offshorebirderI have changed it back to Pacific Golden Plover

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Soukous

[TonyQ]

Sorry to hear about your difficult summer @Soukous

Good to see you photographing birds again, and you got some stunning birds from Australia 

[Soukous]

# 256 - Rainbow Bee-eater - Merops ornatus

BBO, Sept

 

I saw the same pair in the same tree on both days.

 

 

 

 

# 257 - Brahminy Kite - Haliastur indus

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

# 258 - Whistling Kite - Haliastur sphenurus

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

# 259 - Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

#260 - Common Sandpiper - Actitis hypoleucos

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Galana]

I knew there must be a good reason for your continued absence. Welcome back. Hope  all OK now.

[Soukous]

22 minutes ago, Galana said:

I knew there must be a good reason for your continued absence. Welcome back. Hope  all OK now.

 

improving by the day

[Soukous]

30 minutes ago, TonyQ said:

Sorry to hear about your difficult summer @Soukous

Good to see you photographing birds again, and you got some stunning birds from Australia 

 

thanks Tony

[Soukous]

# 261 - Eastern Reef Egret - Egretta sacra

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

 

# 262 - Rufous Whistler - Pachycephela rufiventris

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

# 263 - Pied Oystercatcher - Haematopus longirostris

BBO, Sept

 

 

# 264 - Red-capped Plover - Charadrius ruficapillus

BBO, sept

 

 

 

 

# 265 - Caspian Tern - Sterna caspia

BBO, Sept

 

The largest of the Terns, and they are big.

 

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

5 hours ago, Soukous said:

Unfortunately, these pretty birds only showed themselves in the middle of the day when the light was very harsh

 yet harsh sunny light beats rainy cloudy light !

 

Welcome back, and I hope you will get back to 100%. Based on your presented photos, you are at 99,9% already. 

[Soukous]

# 266 Whiskered Tern -  Chlidonias hybridus

BBO, Sept

 

 

# 267 - Lesser Crested Tern - Sterna bengalensis

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

# 268 - Crested Tern - Sterna bergii

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

# 269 - Australian Pelican - Pelecanus conspicillatus

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

# 270 - Grey-crowned Babbler - Pomatostomus temporalis

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

[Dave Williams]

That was a surprise, sorry you have had a tough time by the sounds of it Martin but you must be on the mend now by the sounds of it, I wrongly assumed you were still wandering in Europe and you suddenly pop up on the other side of the world!

Some excellent birds and photos and a sudden burst in numbers too. Excellent.

[Soukous]

# 271 - Bar-shouldered Dove - Geopelia humeralis

BBO, Sept

 

 

# 272 - Yellow White-eye - Zosterops luteus

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

# 273 - Paperbark Flycatcher - Myiagra inquieta nana

BBO, Sept

 

a sub-species of the Restless Flycatcher - Myiagra inquieta - which is found across northern Australia

 

 

# 274 - White-bellied Sea Eagle - Haliaeetus leucogaster

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

 

# 275 - Greater Sand Plover - Charadrius leschenaultii

BBO, Sept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by Soukous