Birding Donkey Camp Weir, Katherine, Northern Territory

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I never would have known about this place had it not been for the book “Top End Birdwatching” by Mike Reed.  The curiously named “Donkey Camp Weir” is not an obvious stop when driving between Katherine town and Nitmiluk NP so I was glad to have the map and recommendation that Northern Rosellas could be seen here.

It’s 9.8 kms from town and this is the sign you will see if headed towards Nitmiluk.  There are no signs in the opposite direction and we went past it before turning back and looking real hard.

Drive down this dirt road past a farm to the end of the road and park.

Then walk through this gate and follow the trail down to the river.  Don’t go to close to the water as there could be crocodiles.

It was dry and hot and we were there at a bad time, around 11am so not expecting to see anything but gave it a try anyways.

Suddenly I heard parrot squawks above.  Much to my delight and surprise, there was a small flock of Varied Lorikeets up in the trees.

They hung around a good half hour so we got to spend some quality time watching them.  Finally they flew off and we walked back to the car park.

I just had to take this shot as I couldn’t get over seeing any parrot species at this time of day…………..and so well!

Blue-winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii)

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The Blue-winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) is slightly smaller than the more familiar Laughing Kookaburra and has a different kind of call (see video section).

I got my best view at Nitmiluk NP but also saw some in Kakadu NP.  They have a huge range across Australia.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BLUE-WINGED KOOKABURRAS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

VIDEOS

First let’s hear the bird’s call.

Now compare to the Laughing Kookaburra.  The former doesn’t have the same sense of humour!

Great HD clip!

And a female, not sure how you tell the females from males.

 

 

Birding Katherine Gorge

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Katherine Gorge is only a half hour drive from town so it’s realistic to stay in town and get up early to drive to the Gorge.  Katherine Gorge is actually part of Nitmiluk National Park and a highlight of the Northern Territory.

We started at the visitor centre and brought our picnic breakfast with us.

First to greet us was a Red-collared Lorikeet.

The visitor’s centre is a great place to hang out.  They have a gift shop, snacks and a small museum.

You can relax and watch an orientation film about the park.

The cafe has a spectacular viewpoint over the gorge and is a great place to look for birds.

Curious Cockatoo

Wallabies

Bowerbird

Blue-faced Honey-eater

Heading back to the car park, we wandered around and found this lovely Blue-winged Kookaburra.

Meanwhile these wallabies were either dancing or fighting, hard to tell which!

Map of hiking trails

This is where you get boat trips through the gorge.  We didn’t do this as our budget was pretty stretched and we already had a boat ride booked at Yellow Waters.

Gotta love traditional rest rooms!

We got here around 7am and stayed until 10:30-ish when it started getting hot.  The ideal would be to spend more time and do a boat ride, but that’s just one more reason to come back!

Lodge Review: Knotts Crossing Resort, Katherine

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When planning this trip, I was really torn between staying out at Katherine Gorge in one of the caravan parks or in town.  The deciding factor came down to price (town is much cheaper) and the fact that the Gorge is only a half hour drive from town.  Even better, Knotts Crossing Resort is out on the main road heading towards the Gorge, plus I stumbled on a special rate that included breakfast.

After checking in, they told me how to find the car park closest to our room.  The grounds are very nice, full of trees and birds of course!

Our room was in this block fairly close to reception and the swimming pool.

The rooms are neatly furnished with a double bed and 2 bunks which is standard for a caravan park.

I found that if I lie on the bed near the open door I can JUST barely connect to the wifi.

A nice little swimming pool, we didn’t have time to use it though.

We were happy with Knotts Crossing Resort as a budget option in Katherine and would stay there again if we went back.  Be on the look out with online booking sites for special deals like the one we got that includes breakfast.  They were happy to pack a breakfast for us to take to Katherine Gorge as a picnic, the 2nd morning we got up early and ate at the buffet which opens around 6am-ish.

Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis)

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The Great Bowerbird’s (Chlamydera nuchalis)  favoured habitat is a broad range of forest and woodland, and the margins of vine forests, monsoon forest, and mangrove swamps.

As with most members of the bowerbird family, breeding considerations dominate the lifecycle: females nest inconspicuously and raise their young alone, while the males spend most of the year building, maintaining, improving, defending, and above all displaying from their bowers. Only a male with a successful bower can attract mates.  Spend some time watching them decorate, they are so much fun to watch!

They are a common and conspicuous resident of northern Australia, from the area around Broome across the Top End to Cape York Peninsula and as far south as Mount Isa.  I got my best views in Katherine near the museum and at the Lazy Lizard Caravan Park but I pretty much saw them everywhere!

LEARN MORE ABOUT GREAT BOWERBIRDS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Experience the Wild

Australian Geographic

VIDEOS

Here’s just a few examples of why the Bowerbirds are so much fun to watch!  They dance, decorate, romance and more!

 

Katherine – The Town & The Museum

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Firstly I need to say that Katherine gets HOT even in September which is supposed to be spring!  Driving around town revealed some nice informational signs.  Katherine’s location, about 320 kms south of Darwin and in the centre of some great birding hotspots make it an ideal place to stop over, refuel both your car and yourself and pick up some groceries as it has a couple small shopping centres.  If you are traveling around the Northern Territory, you are likely to pass through at least a couple times.

We saw some birds just driving around, starting with these Red-tailed Black Cockatoos.

The area near the tourist information centre is supposed to be good for finches but I think we got there at the wrong time.

White-gaped Honey-eater

Willie Wagtail

The best thing to do during the heat of the day is visit the excellent Katherine Museum. 

I would have bought one of these except I didn’t want to pay for checked luggage on the way home.  What I did buy was the excellent “Top End Birdwatching” by Mike Reed, I just wish I had found it sooner!  The gift shop also has Aboriginal art, didgeridoos, historical books, tea towels and more!

They have a film about the great flood in Katherine, best seen after you’ve driven around town a bit to see the comparison between normal and flooded.

The exhibits include information about the settlers, Aboriginals, railway, mining and more!

I love this wedding dress and couldn’t believe how tiny it is!

Wallabies on the front lawn.

The next building has displays on the Overland Telegraph Line.

Another building has a very old airplane and some exhibits on the Flying Doctors.

The museum will keep you entertained for a couple hours and closes at 4pm…..which is a good time to catch the Bowerbird on the front lawn! 

Apostlebird (Struthidea cinerea)

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The Apostlebird (Struthidea cinerea), also known as the grey jumper, lazy jack or cwa bird  often travel in groups of about 12; for this reason they were named after the Biblical apostles, the twelve chief followers of Jesus Christ.

They have a large range in Australia but I have only seen them at Humbles Creek in the Northern Territory and Mosquito Creek Road in Queensland.  They do seem quite numerous in their range.

LEARN MORE ABOUT APOSTLEBIRDS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

Australian Bush Birds

Australian Geographic

VIDEOS

A tight knit Apostlebird community is a beautiful thing!

 

Maybe a Judas bird in the midst?

 

Birding Humbles Creek/Buntine Highway, Northern Territory

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We didn’t get there at the optimal time as we spent the early morning birding around the Victoria River Roadhouse, but it was still worth a try.  Humbles Creek is about 15 km from the main road going south on the Buntine Highway.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos showed well.

Road can sometimes be flooded in the wet season.

It was getting hot and these Galahs were taking a break.

A Crested Pigeon was hiding.

Apostlebirds watching us watch them.

Bad photo, can’t make this one out.

We left around 11am and drove back to Katherine after spending the night at Victoria River.  I was hoping for finches and mannikins but we should have gotten there earlier.  This would be on my list of places to go back to the next time we are in the Territory.

Singapore Krisflyer Program Changes 23 March

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I’ve seen tons of posts on this subject in my rss feed.  Some people hate it because the miles required for most awards is going up.  Others love it because fuel/carrier surcharges are going away.  Here’s the details straight from the horse’s mouth.

  • Revisions to Saver Award levels in the Singapore Airlines and SilkAir Award Chart have been made to ensure that flight rewards remain sustainable yet competitive. We last made adjustments to award levels in various zones in 2012.

 

  • The 15% discount for redemption and redemption upgrade bookings made through singaporeair.com and the SingaporeAir app will be discontinued, and the same redemption fare will be applied across all channels.

 

  • Fuel and insurance surcharges from all redemption award tickets on Singapore Airlines and SilkAir operated flights will be removed.

 

> View the Revised Award Chart, effective from 23 March 2017

> View the Current Award Chart

 

Importantly, with this change, while there will be an increase in the number of miles required to redeem for flights in certain zones, you can also expect to enjoy savings in the amount of cash you would need to pay for your redemption ticket due to the removal of fuel and insurance surcharges. Here is a snippet of the old and new charts with emphasis on Zone 9 which includes Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne.  Old chart on top, new chart below.  A further 15% will be taken off the old chart if you book online.

This is further illustrated in the examples below.  I am using my own examples geared towards eco-tourists and birders ex-Australia.

EXAMPLE 1 SYDNEY TO JOHANNESBURG

The current prices reflect the 15% online discount and the carrier surcharge.  Below, you see highlighted in yellow how much surcharge is going away.  But the new mileage costs will be 47k economy, 60k premium economy, 78 business & 112k first.

Since most people prefer to redeem business class awards, the comparison is between 61,625 miles + $488 AUD vs 78,000 miles + $90 AUD in gov’t taxes which you always have to pay.  The economy example is 36,125 miles + $452 AUD vs 47,000 + $90 AUD gov’t taxes.

 

EXAMPLE 2 – BRISBANE TO KOTA KINABALU (SQ + SILKAIR)

This is a route I would actually be willing to do in SQ’s economy cabin which is one of the best in the world.  So I would be looking at 21,250 miles + $286 AUD old rates vs 28,000 miles + $88 AUD for gov’t taxes.

Are you a winner or loser with these new charts?  It all depends on what is easier for you to acquire, cash or miles.  If you get miles fairly painlessly with credit card spending and online mall portals then you will probably prefer the new charts.  If you have more cash to spare and don’t like bothering with the credit card game, you won’t be happy with these new changes.  As for me, I have grown away from SQ as a primary program mostly because of the fuel surcharges so this is encouraging to get me back on board.

Now if only Qantas would get rid of their surcharges!

Birding Victoria River Crossing – Bridge Area

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The bridge area I am referring to is the old bridge on the Katherine side of the Victoria River Roadhouse.  It’s the dirt road that is blocked on the end and you can see the new bridge above.  You cross this new bridge when driving from Katherine to Victoria River.

You have an excellent vantage point from here well above any crocodile infested area so just keep scanning the banks of the river and the bushes for birds.

White-faced Heron

This was the best I could do for the Purple-crowned Fairy-wren.  There was a male and  some females I could see with binoculars but they were too far and too small to get the focus on them.

We also walked around the back of the campground but couldn’t find any more Fairy-wrens, I was hoping for a closer view.