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Savannah Birds

　（Crimson Finch） © Koji TAGI　

　Since the colonial era, Australian people called northern parts of Australia "TOP END". Darwin is the centre of the top end Australia. During the wet season from January to March, the rainfall is over 1000 mm while there is often no rain in the dry season.

The famous Kakadu National Park is located about 200km southeast of Darwin. The national park has various types of habitats, such as savannah grassland, reddish escarpment and streams. In the dry season, the national park is mostly yellowish brown. A large scale bush fire can be seen occasionally. On the other hand, in the wet season, the grassland becomes green carpet and large scale wetlands occur in the grassland. The wetland is like a paradise for waterbirds, such as Comb-crested Jacana, Magpie Goose and Radjah Shelduck.

　If you would like to see savannah birds, you should travel during early dry season while most of birds are affected by location of water. Even you spend lots of time to look for Long-tailed Finch or Gouldian Finch during the wet season, you do not have to do so in the dry season. You just need to find a small pool or shallow stream where birds come to drink the water

Clockwise from top right Diamond Dove, Masked Finch, Rufous-throated Honeyeater,
Long-tailed Finch (left two individuals) and Gouldian Finch (right one) © Koji TAGI

Above 4 photos were all taken at a drinking pool or a shallow river. They normally visit their drinking spot in the morning for drinking water and bathing. If you find a good drinking spot, you can see more than 20 species of birds during two hours in the morning. It is like a paradise for a birdwatcher!

There is another reason why I recommend to visit top end during dry season. In the wet season, your time for birdwatching should be limited because of regular heavy shower in the afternoon. The humidity is over 90% while the temperature is over 35ºC during the day time in the wet season. On the other hand, it is around 30ºC in the day time with very dry climate in the dry season. Unless you have any particular purpose, dry season is more comfortable for you to travel the top end Australia.

　From the escarpment, small streams flow down to the grassland. Along the stream, monsoon forests patchily distribute. The monsoon forest is refuge for the tropical birds. Varied Lorikeet, many honeyeaters, such as White-gaped and Bar-breasted, and flycatchers are often seen in the forest.

　At the riverside, pandanus thicket is often found. The thicket is a good habitat for Purple-crowned Fairy-wren (photo right). The fairy-wren is not found far away from pandanus. It may be using the thorny thicket for protecting themselves. Although Crimson Finch is found wider vegetation than the fairy-wren, it also loves the thicket.

Dry season is also probably the best season to visit remote and isolated Cape York. Cape York is one of the least developed parts of Australia which also holds wide variety of birds. In the dry forest, you are sometimes able to see a beautiful Golden-shouldered Parrot (photo left). Similar to the relative Hooded Parrot, which is found in Northern Territory, Golden-shouldered Parrot nests in the termite ground. Because of habitat destrution by human activities, such as cattle farming, the population had decreased. Illegal smuggling accelerated decrease of the population. In the underground market in the U.S, a pair of the parrot was once traded US$ 70,000! We might need to considerthat  pet industry sometimes threatens original population of wildlife.

　Under the blue sky in the savannah, sitting down the riverside to wait for birds coming is very relaxing and enjoying.

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