I got one of my two target birds for the day, though they weren't very good looks. I started my day off again at Buffalo Creek just before sunrise where the tide was falling but there were already a fair few people around which I figured was not going to help a Chestnut Rail come out into the open soI gave up and headed off. My orginal plan was to go straight to the Palmerston Sewage Works and spend most of the day in the mangroves there. However, seeing the good tide, Idecided to instead head out to Channel Island, another site for Chestnut Rail and Great-billed Heron.
Crossing the bridge over the Elizabeth River, I stopped and spent a few minutes scanning the banks of the river but couldn't find a sign of either bird. Igot back in the car and was driving across the bridge and realized I would be able to see a different part of the bank from where Iwas. Nobody was coming so Ijust stopped and jumped out and quickly scanned. Directly between me adn the sun, and a long way off, was a Great-billed Heron. It was just an outline but it was quite distinct. There just isn't another heron that size with that shape (wasn't a Jabiru). Woohoo, a new bird! Maybe my luck is turning!
Don't worry, it wasn't. I spent a while looking for the rail quite unsuccessfully before Igave up and returned to the Sewage Works. There I had a pair of Shining Flycatchers that decided to tease me for quite some time. Always perching with at least a couple branches between my lens and themselves soI never even got a single frame off. I did have a Red-headed Honeyeater that proved a bit more cooperative so I was pleased with that. Ihad photographed these beautiful but tiny honeyeaters before on the Gulf of Carpentarira at Karumba but the image was pretty bad so I was glad to have another chnace to photograph this little jewel of a bird.
The rest of the day was spent at the Sewage Works hoping that a Chestnut Rail would show up but that hope was never fulfilled. In a last attempt, I returned to the Elizabeth River and Channel Island but the tide was not low enough to expose much mud. I called it a night and headed to a caravan park for the night. Tomorrow I am having my car worked on and then will be headed to Kakadu National Park for the next week or so. I am really looking forward to experiening this world renowned national park.
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