Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt)

The Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt) is a small megapode of the family Megapodiidae.

They have quite a large range across Northern Australia and most of Indonesia and New Guinea.  We saw lots of them, mostly in Mary River, Howard Springs and Darwin.

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Active bird calling and foraging.

 

This one is building a nest.

 

Mid-day Birding Fogg Dam, Northern Territory

Hardly the optimal time to visit a Territory birding hotspot such as Fogg Dam which is easily accessible from Darwin but you can’t be everywhere at the crack of dawn!

Excellent access road, good for 2WD cars.

Crimson Finches seen while driving across the top of the dam.

There’s an excellent bird hide with information about what you may see while sitting there.

Lonely cockatoo

Mom & Baby Pelicans

Little Kingfisher watching for food

If we had been here earlier we would have done this walk.  But I am sure we will be back some day!

Picnic area where we had our final sandwiches.  After a week of self-catering, we never wanted to see another sandwich as long as we lived!

Restrooms in the picnic area

I have no doubt that this would have been a better post if we could have spent a morning here!

Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton)

The Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton) is commonly found in moist savannah, and subtropical/tropical (lowland) moist shrubland.  They range in colour, some are more crimson-y than others as you will see in the links below.  These are less crimson-y.

A male?

A female?

They range from far Western Australia-Kimberley across to northern parts of Northern Territory and Gulf Country and on to the east coast of Far North Queensland.  I got a glimpse of them on the Yellow Waters Cruise in Kakadu, saw some in the bush near Windows on the Wetlands and a closer look at Fogg Dam.

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Look how bright these guys are!  My photos are duller but maybe it’s just my lack of skills.

The ones I saw were more like this.

 

 

Rainbow Pitta (Pitta iris)

The Rainbow Pitta (Pitta iris) is a colourful bird with a velvet black head with brown stripes above the eye, dark green upper parts, pale blue shoulders, black underparts and an olive green tail. It feeds on insects, crustaceans and other small animals and builds an untidy, spherical nest. It is a shy forest bird and a real treat to see!

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They are endemic to Australia’s Northern Territory and are easily seen at Howard Springs and sometimes near Fogg Dam.  I spotted the one above barely 3 minutes after entering the park!

rbpitta

LEARN MORE ABOUT RAINBOW PITTAS

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Birdlife

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This is the call to listen for.  They tend to be spread out but close enough to contact each other.

A birding group spots one.

This is pretty cool, I didn’t know you could attract them by tapping on the ground!