Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Around Oz Part 14: Mirima and Lilypond Lagoon, Kununurra

Sandstone Shrike-thrush

After pottering around Lake Kununurra (see last post) we visited Mirima National Park, an area of  delightful sandstone gorges on the outskirts of town.

Mirima National Park
Chesnut-breasted Mannikin juvenile
I spent a good deal of time checking out the mannikins around Lake Kununurra. I believe I found just one pair of Yellow-rumped Mannikins among many hundreds of Chesnut-breasted Mannikins, mostly juvenile, like the bird above.

Yellow-rumped Mannikin
Nice birds around Lily Pond Lagoon, the offshoot of Lake Kununurra where we camped, included White-browed Crake, and more Green Pygmy Geese.

White-browed Crake

Green Pygmy-Goose

Before leaving Kununurra, I again checked out the irrigation channels along Ivanhoe Road in the early morning, seeing plenty of Star and Crimson Finches, and quite a few Red-backed Kingfishers on the overhead wires.


Star Finch

Crimson Finch
Red-backed Kingfisher
After leaving Kununurra, we headed for Wyndham, the northern-most metropolis in Western Australia.

Savannah between Kununurra & Wyndham
We called in to the Grotto, a nicely carved waterhole in the otherwise rugged sandstone terrain. Some nice savannah on the drive between Kununurra and Wyndham.

The Grotto



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