We’re at present within the Moist Season in Broome and we have now had loads of rain already this 12 months and there may be extra to return. I can’t emphasise sufficient how necessary it’s to test the Primary Roads Journey Map earlier than you contemplate travelling round Western Australia in the intervening time. Many roads are closed and lots of gained’t be reopened within the foreseeable future. Freight is having to take a detour of over 4,500kms to get to the Northern Kimberley from Perth by way of South Australia and the Northern Territory. There may be additionally a threat that the highways within the Northern Territory will likely be closed at brief discover attributable to their Moist Season, so there may be quite a lot of uncertainty when travelling right now of 12 months, however much more so this 12 months.
On account of this we aren’t venturing far by highway to go bird-watching! We’ve got been out on the Nice Northern Freeway, which is open with warning, and the bird-life that we solely encounter in very moist years is right here already. This clearly means we have now much more rain to return over the approaching weeks and months. The sky can go from blue to black very quickly and there are sometimes billowing clouds (see above!) that seem out of nowhere at brief discover after which dump no finish of torrential rain.
Driving in between the white posts!
Black-winged Stilt between the white posts!
Whiskered Terns loafing on the freeway in between the white posts!
The Nice Northern Freeway runs by Roebuck Plains station and even the bulls are resting on the freeway. A lot of our native animals are searching for a spot that’s larger than the water stage. Sand Goannas can swim and transfer across the flooded panorama and now is an efficient time to identify Frill-necked lizards both on the freeway or up bushes. There are additionally tadpoles in all places that there’s water-soon to develop into noisy frogs!
Bull
Sand Goanna
Frill-necked Lizard
Tadpoles
Strolling round our native patch we regularly hear the Pheasant Coucals calling on the prime of the bushes after which crashing across the vegetation. Pheasant Coucals clearly missed the teachings on flying effectively!
Pheasant Coucal
The White-bellied Sea-Eagles have bred close by and will be noticed hovering throughout the sky and the Australian White Ibis do prefer to look down on all of us on the moist floor from the streetlights. They clearly have been on the bottom, as a result of they aren’t precisely white right now of 12 months!
Juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Australian White Ibis
It’s all the time fascinating to exit simply after a storm and see how the native birdlife is fairing. The Mistletoebirds are nonetheless round and the tree that they nested in is now lined in leaves after all the rain.
Feminine Mistletoebird drying off
The 2 households of Tawny Frogmouths are nonetheless round and one grownup from the pair at Cygnet Park have realised the tree in the midst of the roundabout gives the very best safety in moist climate.
Tawny Frogmouth
The household of Tawny Frogmouths closest to dwelling are all the time good to watch after a rain occasion! One of many youthful birds simply doesn’t seem in a position to maintain a tree-like pose for lengthy and has to show and look as you go by!
Tawny Frogmouths
So, for now we aren’t going removed from dwelling, however there are worse locations to be caught, so by no means thoughts!