Wild Bird Wednesday 427 - Black-necked Stork

 The Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) is Australia's only stork.  This species is sometimes called the Jabiru - which is actually the name of a stork species from South America.

This bird was wandering along on the side of Yellow Waters in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. This individual is a female - you can tell by the gold / yellow iris of the eye. This bird has a wing span approaching 2 meters, and its beak can reach 300mm.  With a mass of about 4kg, it's a big bird.

Stay well and don't forget to link up to WBW.  SM

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Wild Bird Wednesday 426 - Australasian Darter

These pictures are of a male Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) taken in its classic drying / thermoregulation posture.

This bird was making the most of the evening sunshine on Yellow Waters, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory.

The dark front of this bird identifies it as a male bird.  You can see from the close-up of the head why they are sometimes called Snake-Birds when they swim through the water with only their neck and head exposed.

I always find birds like this - cormorants and shags etc - to be convincingly reptilian.

Stay well and don't forget to link up to WBW.  SM

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Wild Bird Wednesday 425 - Pied Heron

The Pied Heron (Ardea picata formerly Egretta picata) is a small tropical heron that occurs in the more northern parts of Australia. It can be seen in large groups when roosting, but these birds were doing the classic heron thing of hunting on the edge of the water.

These birds were seen at Yellow Waters, a wonderful wetland area of Kakadu National Park.

Stay well and don't forget to link up to WBW.  SM

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Wild Bird Wednesday 424 - Honeyeaters

There are a large number of honeyeater species in Australia - some common and widespread, other restricted to just a small area.

When I was in Darwin a life-time ago I spent some time near some flowering shrubs, which were busy with honeyeaters of a number of species.  They proved pretty hard to photograph as they were fast moving and generally pretty busy!

These are some of the better shots I managed for the birds.  I rather wished that I had had my tripod with me - but as usual the bit of kit you need is the bit you left in the car!

Singing Honeyeater

Singing Honeyeater

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

White-Plumed Honeyeater

We have been given a 'road map' out of of current lockdown situation - so with luck we can navigate this and I can get out birding again!

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style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stay well and don't forget to link up to WBW.  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 423 - Australian Magpie

I have posted picture of this species on a number of occasions, but at present (in lock down) they really are the bird I see most often.

I have been trying to get some pictures of a local bird that has a damaged beak, but we are not allowed to carry cameras when going for exercise at present - and a 600mm f4 is a bit hard to conceal!

So, these are some pictures of Australian magpie (Cracticus tibicen) that I took a while ago.  It's a bit of a treat really to have such splendid birds just hanging around on our streets!

The conditions with Covid 19 seem to be slowly getting better here - thankfully.  I will once more make a huge effort to resume normal service this week.  Stay well and spread the word for WBW if you can.  Cheers SM.

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