Bird Watching

w w w . s a v a n n a h w a y . c o m . a u 7 Bird Watching in the Gulf Savannah 6 Bird List Habitats and Habits This bird list is arranged in taxonomic order, similar to your field guide. It does not include all rare and vagrant birds sighted along the Queensland section of the Savannah Way. Emu Australian Brush-turkey Orange-footed Scrubfowl Brown Quail Magpie Goose Plumed Whistling-Duck Wandering Whistling-Duck Black Swan Radjah Shelduck Australian Wood Duck Pink-eared Duck Cotton Pygmy-goose Green Pygmy-goose Grey Teal Pacific Black Duck Hardhead Australasian Grebe Rock Dove Emerald Dove Common Bronzewing Flock Bronzewing Crested Pigeon Spinifex Pigeon Squatter Pigeon Diamond Dove Peaceful Dove Bar-shouldered Dove Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove Pied Imperial-Pigeon Tawny Frogmouth White-throated Nightjar Spotted Nightjar Large-tailed Nightjar Australian Owlet-Nightjar White-throated Needletail Fork-tailed Swift Lesser Frigatebird Great Frigatebird Australasian Gannet Masked Booby Brown Booby Australasian Darter Little Pied Cormorant Great Cormorant Little Black Cormorant Pied Cormorant Australian Pelican Black-necked Stork Australian Little Bittern Black Bittern White-necked Heron Eastern Great Egret Intermediate Egret Great-billed Heron Cattle Egret Striated Heron Pied Heron White-faced Heron Little Egret Eastern Reef Egret Nankeen Night-Heron Glossy Ibis Australian White Ibis Straw-necked Ibis Royal Spoonbill Yellow-billed Spoonbill Eastern Osprey Black-shouldered Kite Black-breasted Buzzard Pacific Baza White-bellied Sea-Eagle Whistling Kite Brahminy Kite Black Kite Brown Goshawk Collared Sparrowhawk Grey Goshawk Spotted Harrier Swamp Harrier Red Goshawk Wedge-tailed Eagle Little Eagle Nankeen Kestrel Brown Falcon Australian Hobby Grey Falcon Black Falcon Peregrine Falcon Sarus Crane Brolga Purple Swamphen Buff-banded Rail Spotted Crake White-browed Crake Pale-vented Bush-hen Black-tailed Native-hen Dusky Moorhen Eurasian Coot Australian Bustard Most birds like to drink in the morning or evening so dawn and dusk are great times to set up by a billabong or creek . Finches, doves and other seed eaters must drink regularly so are best found at water. No fewer than 13 species plus 10 subspecies of seedeaters are restricted to Australia’s savannahs. Many wetlands dry out annually which drives seasonal change for the birds and other wildlife. When full, they are extremely productive. The dropping water levels grant access to another suite of birds which can feed in the mud and shallow water. Many seeds and animals are eaten but some will survive to repopulate the wetland next year. The eggs of some species are so small they can be blown in the wind. Crabs, yabbies and frogs burrow in the soft mud where some encase themselves in a protective layer until the wet. The rich organic layer formed from the deaths of last year fuels the population explosion of this one. When approaching a wetland, stop before you break the tree line as there may well be birds close to you which if alarmed can scare off others farther out. Give these birds time to move off before stepping out slowly from cover. When bird watching in forests it is often easiest to view the canopy from outside the forest or along roads but don’t forget to check out the ground layer for secretive species like stone-curlew and quail. Mangroves provide a wealth of birding opportunities but take care as crocodiles also live here. A boat trip to the mangroves is a wonderful way to view some special birds. At some locations there are sand dunes behind the mangroves which allow close approach. Emus can reach 70kmh and cruise at 45kmh and cover great distances looking for food and rain. Males incubate the dark green eggs for 56 days uninterrupted and raise the young for around 18 months. Brown Quail Little Egret Emu Brolgas at Gulf Savannah Waterhole Egrets and other heron species use four main hunting techniques – standing and waiting; slow stalk, active pursuit and hovering and plunging. The Little Egret will shade water with its wing to reduce glare and show its yellow sole to attract small fish into the shade. Black-necked Stork