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The Black-fronted Dotterel is a small distinctive shorebird that is usually found near fresh water and is often heard before it is seen. It is present both in Broome itself and also surrounding ephemeral lakes and appears to breed throughout the year if the conditions are right. We often come across their nests by accident [...]

Over the last few weeks we have seen Roebuck Bay slowly empty as the shorebirds head north to breed. There are still several thousand shorebirds here throughout the year, but not the huge numbers we have had for the last 7 months. Not all shorebirds migrate, so we will see some of our resident shorebirds [...]

Are you or do you know someone who is currently anywhere between the north of Australia and the Bohai Sea in China? Have you seen any Red Knot? Even if you are somewhere on the coast in China…have you seen any Red Knot? We know they are some of the last shorebirds to leave Roebuck [...]

On Wednesday this week we had a very close encounter with a Wedge-tailed Eagle on the edge of the road. The Blue-tongued Lizard that was also having the same experience was definitely not as excited and was trying its hardest to protect itself. It all looked rather hopeless as it tried to make itself look [...]

Purple Swamphens are large gallinules and despite their name they are not actually “purple”, but it’s amazing what you can get away with when naming birds! They are a magnificent blue with a red frontal shield and stout bill. We have discovered that they are more likely to show their “love” for each other in [...]

It doesn’t seem like 12 years since the Olympics were in Sydney, but time has slipped by and the area that was used for the Olympics in 2000 is still there and still being utilised. You can still stay in a hotel there and you can use the facilities. Aside from that-you can go birding! [...]

On our recent trip to Sydney we explored several areas that were easily reached by public transport & we discovered that there are some great walk trails that start near train stations. There are two good day walks that start at either Berowra or Mt Kuring-gai train stations and they can be done in either [...]

Whilst we were planning our trip to Sydney we were hoping to fit some hiking and birding into our schedule and found a great website that would help us decide on some walks. We searched for walks that started and ended near public transport, as we were going to get a ticket-MyMulti 3-that would let [...]

We have just returned from a three-week trip to Sydney, which was primarily to help out where needed with a house move and to ensure that both houses were occupied until settlement. My sister and family were not moving far, so commuting between houses was not hard and our two nephews have settled into their [...]

Oriental Plovers Charadrius veredus are a species of shorebird that we see in varying numbers around Broome and they may be on the beach, feeding on insects across the plains or at the ephemeral lakes. During February there have been astonishingly high numbers some years and this has been as a result of insect activity. [...]

We were very keen to attract as many birds as possible to our garden when we first moved to Broome permanently and water is the obvious first attraction. It’s is quite incredible how fast birds sense fresh water in your garden and you soon have a variety of visitors. Some will come in for a [...]

One of the most common ducks that you see in Broome are the Plumed Whistling-Ducks and they are exactly that! They have beautiful plumes and in flight they really do whistle. We often have them fly over our house and it’s an unmistakeable call. They are on the Golf Course or in the ponds at [...]

For at least 12 years now there has been a lake in Broome. It was hidden for several years and we could easily access it from just through our back fence, but as new roads were built it became more visible. It is not there all year, as it fills up from the rain water [...]

There are certain families that I habitually fail to encounter when opportunities arise. I’ve had pretty lousy luck when it comes pittas and broadbills, and I also am really bad when it comes to the various night birds such as owls, nightjars and related species. It isn’t that I never see them, just that I [...]

We had some really good rains and it filled up some local ephemeral lake systems a few weeks ago. After a week where the temperature hovered around 40c with no rain the tracks in became passable and we had to go and explore! Everything comes alive after rains and you discover all sorts of wonderful things. The [...]

The city of Cairns is a gateway for a lot of the top end of Queensland, both for those seeking the delights to be found in the Great barrier Reef and those looking to explore the patchwork of forest and savana that is tropical Australia. But for those seeking wildlife there is plenty to see [...]

Hutton’s Shearwaters are a bit of a mystery bird in the north of Western Australia, as you very rarely see them. It is believed that birds under two years of age wander the Australian coastline, but the information varies considerably between different field guides. Some old field guides just had it all around the coast [...]

One of the nicest things about staying with my grandparents in Sydney is the proximity of their house to part of the Sydney Harbour National Park. This park, which protects scattered headlands, bays and islands of natural bush, is located around the entrance to Sydney Harbour. Dobroyd Head, the section in Balgowlah near where my [...]

This week we were very lucky to have the third record of a Great Frigatebird for Broome. We had seen one of the other two recorded birds during a cyclonic event a few years ago. This was a very odd record, as we didn’t get the strong winds associated with Cyclone Iggy, as it was [...]

More than a few groups of birds around the world have been given names with wren in it, almost as if the sight of a very small and active bird automatically associates with the small Winter Wren of England where most of the namers originated. There are antwrens of South America, wren-babblers of South East [...]