I often pick a bird I want to see and talior a holiday to give me the best chance of sighting that particular bird. At the moment the number one bird on my list is the white winged fairy wren in the black form found on Dirkhartog island. I'm hoping to spend a few weeks in shark bay around August/October this year and find my way over to the island.
Its very expensive to get to the island but I'm willing to do anything to sight this bird so hopefully this year will be the year I find them.
Another bird I'm very keen to sight is the noisy scrub bird, my son and I did some scouting down South and think we have found a good place to see them but we were there at the wrong time so a bit more planning is required.
What is your bird and how do you go about trying to find them?.
The bird I most wanted to see was the white fronted chat and for a long time they eluded me, then last year I was in the middle a swamp photogaphing black-winged stilts and found myself surrounded by them,now I see them all the time!
Many years ago I bred finches and small parrots,now days get a buzz seeing the birds I used to keep in th wild where they belong,the two I would most like to see are the scarlet-chested parrot and the gouldian finch.
Painted Honeyeater is one that stands out for me and I went looking in a hotspot for them last year. They were seen there 2 days before I was there and I found no sign of them. I even went looking at a site that they like to visit in summer a few weeks ago just to do some planning and gain a knowledge of the area for when I go back in summer.
Cheers, Owen.
I'd love to see a night parrot, mainly to know that the species still exists. The same applies to the orange-bellied parrot. But then the same principle could be applied to the Dodo, I suppose.
Incidentally, the quote "The extinction of the dodo within 80 years of its discovery called attention to human involvement in the extinction of plants and animals, which previously had not been recognized" from Wikipedia suggests that humans have known about the effect of their actions on plants & animals since the 17th century when the Dodo became extinct. So there's no excuse for the wanton vandalism of our natural environment by humans.
I would like to find the "Lyrebird " on the property behind us, I can hear it, I know it's there, but I haven't found it yet.
M-L
I would love to see a Regent Honeyeater, Blue-faced Parrot Finch,all the Gouldian Finches and a Bird of Paradise. Actually where do you stop as a Paradise Kingfisher would be great to see.
Regards
Shane
I am a relatively young birder, but not so in years, so my list is very large but:
Baudin's and Carnaby's Black-Cockatoos - I plan a trip to WA later this year
Sarus Crane - I saw these in Normanton, Burketown area in 1986 before I was taking pics
Peter
A trip to New Guinea were all the bird calls would be different .
Nightowl
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
The birds of paradise in New Guinea would be something to see, Nightowl.
Some nice birds there, I get the baudin and carnaby cockatoos in the tree in my yard and they tear the tree to pieces but I dont mind.
Peter when you come to WA I can point you in the right direction to see these birds.
Darin are you planning to visit New Guinea, I have looked at doing a trip there but have to many other things to do first.
Shane I like to have one bird as my top bird even though it could take years to find but in the process I will bump into plenty of other birds. It took five years and three trips to the Kimberlies to get the Gouldian finch but it was something I will treasure for the rest of my life.
Night parrot, wouldent that be something.
I expect to see a photo of the Lyrebird very soon Araminta.
Hi Headsie Yes one day, Most of my holidays are plan around nature. Australia and abroad.
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
I'm off to Europe next month and will be visiting Ireland, most holidays are all birding but this time I didnt plan any birding but my wife and friends knew how much I wanted to see a puffin and set aside two days just for me to find one.
Headsie my Brother lived in New Guinea for nearly ten years (and saw Birds of Paradise in the wild) and in the Soloman Islands for about 7 years, which I was into birding then. I have a cousin who has invited me to stay with them in Feb 2013 in Nicaragua and to visit Belize and Costa Rica, hope I can get my act together by then, as I hate flying.
Regards
Shane
I hope you get there Shane, it would be a great experience.
The best ,way to see Puffin is by boat and all the other sea birds. To look up at a ciff face full of action . Price less. Headsie
Clif2. May i say ,Get your act together Central America is very cheap onces you get there.
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
In Australia I would love to see AND successfully photograph all diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey as well as all the frogmouths and nightjars. I basically do a lot of reading, talking with my contacts in ornithology circles and do even more HOPING to be able to carry out this dream.
Overseas, puffins would be my number one as well as raptors in my Hungarian homeland. While they're not birds, grizzlies, tigers, lions, cheetas, leopards, pumas are also on my list to photograph within my lifetime.
Woko while I was up the Sunshine Coast on holidays in the last few weeks I was searching for data on my phone about Ground Parrots that i was trying to find while up there and I came across an article on a website about a survey that was conducted in 2005 I believe and they had a reliable sighting of a Night Parrot up in the Pilbarra region. This survey was a fairly thorough one sponsored by Fortescue Metals which had a mine in the area and they had about 5 or 6 attempts with motion sensor cameras and sweeping searches done by people walking through likely areas. Apparently they also had someone hear a call from this region as well. They also had other sightings from non-qualified people before this survey but they couldn't be verified. So all may not be lost for the Night Parrot. I am sorry I don't have the link to the site, but a google search may find it again. I hope this puts a smile on your face.
Regards
Shane
Very encouraging information indeed, Shane. I checked the Fortescue Mining Group consultant's report that In April 2005 "convincing sightings" were made by 2 biologists of 3 night parrots (not a bad ratio, given the conservation status of the night parrot!) in the Pilbara. The report also says there was an "unconfirmed report" of a night parrot sighting in a nearby area in 2004. A management plan has been developed to protect the night parrot from mine development.
I was also interested to find from other sources that the night parrot is closely related to the swamp parrot. While the 2 species are similar in appearance I find this close relationship almost astounding since the night parrot is a bird of the arid regions of Australia while the swamp parrot inhabits, would you believe, swamps as well as heath & damp grasslands in south eastern coastal regions & Tasmania. There's also a subspecies on the south coast of WA. The evolution of these 2 species would be fascinating (if you're into that sort of thing).