Images from Australia

It is winter here in Ontario but mid summer in Australia. I am planning to return there later this year and I have been going through a few of my photos from past trips.  Here are a few of my favourites.

Willie Wagtails were often seen hunting insects flushed by livestock.

Apostlebirds are found in noisy parties of a dozen or so.

This noisy Sulphur-crested Cockatoo tried stealing our french fries in Royal National Park. Australia has an amazing variety of parrots. 

One of my more memorable moments in birding the interior part of northern Queensland was coming across a large flock of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos as they slowly drifted through the open forest. 

This Southern Cassowary stuck its head through a window in order to steal fruit off the kitchen counter!

 A Tawny Frogmouth in concealment posture. There is a small chick in the nest.
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The bird life is spectacular but the plants, and other wildlife received a lot of attention. 

 The King Spider Orchid releases a scent that attracts male thynnid wasps. The wasps pollinate the flower when they try to mate with the flower's conspicuous lip.

A Jewel Spider (sometimes called Christmas Spider)

Cane Toads were introduced to Australia with disastrous results. They are now very common and spreading in the north-east.

Australia likes to boast about all their venomous critters but this Carpet Python, although an impressive size, was otherwise  harmless.

Driving into the beautiful Capertee Valley we spotted a lump on a post.

When I tried to touch this lump the Bearded Dragon flared its spiny hood and looked ready to bite! I didn't disturb the lizard any further.

This Shingleback Skink also gaped when approached but added to the defence posture by sticking out its blue tongue. This display is just for show as they rarely bite.

Koalas, kangaroos, wombats, gliders, possums, bandicoots and other marsupials are another distinctive feature of Australia. This Agile Wallaby was photographed in Mt. Carbine, Queensland.

Birding in Panama

I spent October 27 to November 4 in Panama with a group organized by Tom Hince. Visit Tom's blog for other images from this trip. Here is the view of capital, Panama City, from Cerro Azul. If you look very closely you can see a flock of migrant raptors over the city. We saw tens of thousands of Turkey Vultures, Broad-winged Hawks and Swainson's Hawks migrating through the canal zone during our visit.

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Broad-billed Motmot photographed at the Rainforest Discovery Center on Pipeline Road.

Most sloths seen on the trip were curled up asleep but this Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth was having a mid-day snack of cecropia leaves.

While birding took precedence we also took advantage of any possibility to see other wildlife such as these Mantled Howler Monkeys. One place we stayed had Geoffrey's Tamarins that visited the bird feeders every day.

This lizard was seen from the top deck of the Canopy Tower. It is called a False Chameleon or Canopy Lizard, Polychrus gutturosus. This arboreal lizard was basking on the highest branches of a tall tree near the tower.

Panama seemed to be a great location to see trogons as we generally saw several every day . This is a White-tailed Trogon, one of the less frequently seen species on the trip.

On our last full day of the trip along Pipeline Road we came across a large group of Amy Ants and their attendant bird flock. Bicolored Antbirds (image above) were most numerous but we also saw Spotted Antbirds, Ocellated Antbirds, Black-throated Antthrushes, Gray-headed Tanagers, several woodcreepers and a White-whiskered Puffbird. A very impressive mix of birds.

Long-tailed Hermit at Rainforest Discovery Center

Saskatchewan & Alberta

A trip to Saskatchewan and Alberta May 25 to June 5 with Tom Hince was a nice break from the strike back in Windsor. Originally we planned to spend most of our time in Saskatchewan but the drought conditions this spring encouraged us to move west into Alberta for most of the trip.

Although this was a birding trip it was hard to ignore all the other wildlife such as Elk, White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer and Pronghorns. This very young Pronghorn was found on May 29 and the little Porcupine was waddling down the Luck Lake dyke at dusk on May 28.

This adult California Gull was easy to approach at the edge of a mall parking lot in Cold Lake Alberta.

American White Pelicans were common on most larger lakes and rivers. They are impressive with their 9-foot wing spans and huge bills. Both male and female birds have a distinctive protruding knob on the upper bill during the breeding season. This one was coming in for a landing at Pakowki Lake at dusk.

Our "Big Day" on June 2 ended with a beautiful sunset at Pakowki Lake, some 1100 km after our midnight start in northeastern Alberta at Cold Lake. The last birds of the day were Burrowing Owl, White-faced Ibis and Black-crowned Night-Heron which gave us 207 species for the day.

Sparrows are ever present along back roads through the prairies. While we may hope for a Grasshopper or Baird's Sparrow to be sitting by the roadside it is usually something more common such as this Vesper Sparrow.

I spent some time down near Wildhorse looking for Mountain Plovers. While none were found we did spot a badger den. I was lucky to have this badger pause long enough for a photo before it slid down its burrow.

Thinking about Saskatchewan

I'm looking forward to my next birding trip where I'll be visiting Saskatchewan again with my friend Tom Hince.   Here are a few images from a trip we took last year to the western portion of the province, from Turtle Lake south to the Cypress Hills and Grasslands National Park. 

 Sunrise near Turtle Lake

American Avocet

Family of Richardson's Ground Squirrels

a Nuttall's Cottontail relaxing in Grasslands National Park

vista from Jone's Peak

 Pronghorns were commonly seen during the trip. 

I've never seen a Pronghorn  jump over a  fence.

Alkali flat south of the Cypress Hills

Marbled Godwit

Northern Harrier with vole nest

Yellow-headed Blackbird

outhouse, south of Cypress Hills

Prairie Rattlesnake