I find it quite ironic that for the first 9 months of my trip, I was traveling in areas that were experiencing an awful drought and now Iam struggling to find birds because there is too much water. Once again, the Hooded Parrots did not come in to drink like I had hoped but I blame this on the amount of water in the area due to the heavy Wet as well as the recent rain. While Iwould love to see these birds and am disappointed that Ididn't, I can't complain too much because my luck the rest of the year has been oustanding.
Moving on, I stopped in at Mataranka for a couple hours. Red Goshawks have nested on private property here for the last few years and I had heard they were once again working on their nest this year. Shortly after arrivng, the owner pointed me in the right direction to the nest. I was disappointed to see that the birds weren't there at the moment but I was prepared for a bit of a wait. It took about an hour but one of the adults flew into a nearby tree where it perched for a while. These are one of the more beautiful raptors that I have seen with a rich reddish brown tinge to their feathers and a lighter grayish head. The light wasn't any good so I didn't get any photos but Iwas quite pleased to get to see Australia's rarest raptor.
After seeing the bird and enjoying the prolonged views, I got back in the car and got back on the road once again. My next major destinatino was Alice Springs but I will be taking the long way via the Barkly Tableland with the hopes of finding a Flock Bronzewing. Tonight I didn't get as far as I had hoped but I made it far enough that Ishould have a good chance at the pigeons tomorrow.
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