Today was my last chance to see the White-throated Grasswren but I decided last night that if the weather was the same, I wouldn't bother climbing up the escarpment. Sure enough, the weather was overcast and windy so I did a bit of birding around the creek and monsoon forest and then packed up and moved on. My first stop was at a national park outside of Pine Creek. Despite all the time I have spent in the Kimberley and Top End, I still haven't seen a Silver-backed Butcherbird. There are two races of the Grey Butcherbird that are likeyl going to be split into a new species, the Silver-backed Butcherbird, in the near future and I had hoped to see one. I had read that there was a resident pair at the campground just outside Pine Creek.
Off I went and sure enough, just after arriving I found both birds in the woods just outside the campground. Again, the weather wasn't suitable for photographing so I simply got a good look at the birds and once I was satisfied, moved on. I spent the next couple hours driving around Pine Creek looking for a Hooded Parrot. The weather still wasn't cooperating and the strong winds didn't make things any easier. Eventually, I gave up and decided to stake out a drinking spot just outside Katherine for the parrots.
I arrived at Chinamen Creek and immediately my hopes fell. The creek was still flowing and was so high that even if the parrots did come in to drink, they would have a lot of trouble getting to the water due to the steep banks. Once again, I was foiled by too much water. Nothing came in tonight but hopefully something will show up in the morning.
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