Palmerston

Today's walk took us to the Palmerston area, Elizabeth River, Channel Island and Marlow Lagoon Reserve. We took the track from the boat ramp parking area at Elizabeth River and were passed by a first response team and a police vehicle - they didn't advise us of axe murderers or chemical spills, so we continued along. The mangroves seemed to be full of red-headed honeyeaters, hard to photograph as they buzzed around, but great to see. When we reached the electricity pylons at the river's edge, two more were perched on the barbed wire.

Channel Island was an interesting spot. Large numbers of terns fished and perched on buoys far out in the water. The lemon-bellied flycatcher sang in the car-park. Red-winged parrots flew overhead. It was a very high tide so there were no shore birds, but it would be worth a re-visit at low tide.

Marlow Lagoon was a wonderful choice for a picnic spot. A very pretty park filled with birds. Lots of bee-eaters, a good number of egrets, geese, ducks, ibis, lapwings ... and honeyeaters, trillers, magpie larks and kingfishers. A grey goshawk circled above. We sat on a bench by the water and watched the bee-eaters buzzing the water while we ate our sandwiches. It was cool, for Darwin, and a beautiful restful spot.

Bird List:

Forest Kingfisher Todiramphus macleayii (pictured above)
Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata
Green Pygmy-Goose Nettapus pulchellus
Darter Anhinga melanogaster
Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius
Great Egret Ardea alba
Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia
Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis
Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
Grey Goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae
Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus
Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica
Crested Tern Sterna bergii
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita
Red-winged Parrot Aprosmictus erythropterus
Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus
White-gaped Honeyeater Lichenostomus unicolor
Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta
Red-headed Honeyeater Myzomela erythrocephala
Lemon-bellied Flycatcher Microeca flavigaster
Magpie Lark Grallina cyanoleuca
Varied Triller Lalage leucomela
Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina novaehollandiae
Torresian Crow Corvus orru