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| Victoria River |
Following our week in Darwin (see last three posts) we
drove south-west along the Victoria Highway for an overnight stay at the
Victoria River Roadhouse camping area.
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| Along Victoria Highway |
This is a pleasant enough place with a bar and good burgers.
More importantly, it is located amid some splendid scenery, with sandstone
cliffs glowing in the late afternoon sun lining the Victoria River. Barking
Owls again serenaded us during the night.
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| Purple-crowned Fairy-wren |
Early the next morning, I checked out dense cane grass in
the vicinity of the boat ramp, just west of the camping ground, and located
several parties of Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, managing a snap of sorts of a male
in dim light.
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| Victoria River |
We continued west through some fine-looking countryside,
with steep sandstone ridges rising above
the sprawling savannah plains. Birds along the way included Masked Finch, Black-tailed Treecreeper and
plenty of Diamond Doves. At the Western Australian border, we were forced by
border control to part with our supply of fruit and vegetables; WA apparently
is trying to remain fruit fly-free.
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| Lake Kununurra |
We arrived at Kununurra for a three-night stay at the
Lakeside Tourist Park. Our camp
overlooked the lovely Lily Pond Lagoon, park of Lake Kununurra. A smattering of Freshwater Crocodiles
of various size could be seen from our camp.
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| Freshwater Crocodile |
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| Yellow-tinted Honeyeater |
Honeyeaters
about the camping ground included Yellow-tinted, Rufous-throated and
White-gaped. Again, a pair of Barking Owls was in attendance
The door to the amenities block was adorned with a sign
warning the door to be shut to keep cane toads - recent arrivals in the town -
out of the showers. The Western Australians will eventually get used to these
pests (and I expect it will not be long
before the crocodiles are all gone).
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| Star Finch |
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| Star Finch |
Our first morning saw us out on the Ivenhoe Road, just west
of town. There was plenty of dense grass by the roadside and in the vicinity of irrigation
ditches, where Star Finch proved to be common.
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| Crimson Finch |
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| Long-tailed Finch |
Long-tailed, Crimson and Double-banded Finches were also about.
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| Black-faced Woodswallow |
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| Brown Falcon |
Other more common species included White-winged Triller, Brown Falcon and
Black-faced Woodswallow.
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| Australian Bustard |
A pair of Bustards was
feeding in an irrigated field, while Red-backed Kingfishers perched on overhead
wires.
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| Buff-sided Robin |
Near the Discovery Tourist Park on the shore of Lake
Kununurra, I called up a nice Buff-sided Robin in a small patch of dense
monsoon scrub.
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