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| Rainbow Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
On the morning of Nadia's sister's wedding I decided to have an early start and head back down to the Botanic Gardens once again. On my way there I stopped off briefly nearby where I spotted a single Eastern Great Egret, a couple of Wood Sandpiper, numerous White-breasted Woodswallow and a pair of Spangled Drongo around the golf club lake.
Following a fruitless search for a roosting Rufous Owl near the Wesleyan Church I decided to complete a circuit of the gardens and try and cover as many of the patchwork of habitats as possible before the temperature increased. There were large numbers of Rainbow Bee-eaters in evidence taking advantage of the early emerging insects around The Fountain. It was then on through the open Africa section where I was amazed to find a trio of Bush Stone-curlew resting on the sandy soil near Gilruth Avenue. Unlike our Eurasian Stone-curlew they were far from shy and and tolerated me taking a few photographs before I left them to rest in the shade.
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| Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
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| Bush Stone-curlews (Burhinus grallarius) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
Also in this area I found an Australian Pipit feeding along the ground and a number of Yellow Orioles and Australasian Figbirds. There was also a Lemon-bellied Flycatcher taking advantage of the insects these larger birds were disturbing from the bush. There were also good numbers of White-gaped Honeyeater in evidence.
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| Yellow Oriole (Oriolus flavocinctus flavocinctus) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
Around the Heritage Lawn area there were a few Masked Lapwing and Orange-footed Scrubfowl as well as numerous Black Kites (or Fork-tailed Kites as the race affinis is sometimes called in Australia). There were also small mobile groups of Double-barred Finch flying around, their high-pitched nasal calls giving away their presence as they went about their business.
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| Black Kite (Milvus migrans affinis) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
Following a pretty quiet stroll around the Rainforest Loop where the only species of note were several calling Bar-shouldered Dove, I made my way back towards The Fountain area. The same immature Striated Heron was present again long with a pair of Forest Kingfisher, a Pied Imperial-Pigeon and a couple of White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike.
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| Immature Striated Heron (Butorides striata) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
Back over near the Wesleyan Church I heard several Australasian Figbirds and White-gaped Honeyeaters making a din as they mobbed something high up in one of the tallest trees on site. Perhaps it was a species of tree snake or maybe it was one of the resident Rufous Owls. Whatever it was, I failed to catch a glimpse of the offender. Directly below the same tree a number of diminutive Peaceful Dove and larger Bar-shouldered Dove seemed to be attracted to the noise but all of them remained safely on the ground, keeping their distance.
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| Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
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| Pied Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula bicolor) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
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| Peaceful Dove (Geopelia striata) George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
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| George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT. Photo by Adam Archer |
After a quick breakfast and with plenty of time before I had to slip into my suit, I decided to head down to The Waterfront. It was not long before I was watching a few more new species for the trip. An Australasian Darter showed well in the harbour and a number of Eastern Reef Heron were in evidence. Around Stokes Hill Wharf there was a small mixed flock of Silver Gull and Gull-billed Tern scavenging around the fishing boats and several Little Black Cormorant were present.
With the temperature now in the mid-thirties it was time to head back to the comfort of the air conditioned apartment and get myself ready for the wedding. During mid-afternoon we made our way over to Darwin's fantastic Catholic Cathedral where the happy couple tied the knot. It was then onto the suburb of Nightcliff to celebrate the marriage at the reception dinner. It had been a fantastic day all round and I even managed to add Tree Martin to the trip list as the photographs were taken along the foreshore at dusk.
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| Siobhan the stunning bride and the Nadia the most gorgeous bridesmaid ever, just before the wedding. Photo by Naeem Shaikh |
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| Wedding reception sunset at Nightcliff, Darwin. Photo by Adam Archer |
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