Whale Shark and the most remote twitch

Private plane

Bill's certainly going out in style and he had a private plane waiting for us back in Broome to fly all the way down the coast to Exmouth.

 Personal pilots

As we crossed the Pilbara we flew over the tiny town of Onslow and it's salt works. And it's Blue Rock Thrush! Only the 4th Australian record which just happened to turn up a couple of weeks before we were due in the area.

Onslow

Upon landing in Exmouth I jumped in the hire car and gunned it out of town to travel the 400km to Onslow before sunset. Highway Patrol had other ideas though and promptly pulled me over. Well this trip was all about new life experiences after all! Anyway, the nice cop let me off with a warning and a few hours later we arrived in Onslow with 45 minutes before sunset. The boat ramp was located and next to it the break-wall that the bird likes to hang out on. About 10 minutes later the magnificent Blue Rock Thrush #498 hopped into view. With the light fading I fired off a couple of shots before jumping in the car and getting back to Exmouth. The return trip was a little more sedate not least because the Red Kangaroos were out.

Blue Rock Thrush

Next morning we were out on a boat off Ningaloo reef looking to swim with the Whale Sharks. A plane flying overhead spots the animals and directs the boat ahead of them at which point the punters leap into the ocean allowing the boat to then retreat so the sharks will hopefully just calmly swim past. It is absolutely jumping with whales up there at this time of year which apparently spooks the few remaining Whale Sharks and so the whole day had passed without managing to get one near the surface. We were actually heading back in when the plane spotted something and so once again we jumped into the water. This time our Whale Shark did swim past although quite deep down and so we did see one in the end. I then lifted my head out of the water just in time to see a Wilson's Storm-Petrel #499 flying overhead. Snorkel tick!

Whale Shark in the gloom

There's a turtle down there too along with who knows what!

After we got back on the boat the Whale Shark came right up to the surface so we got a pretty decent view in the end although it would have been nice to actually swim with one. I did get quite close to a couple of turtles and a Manta Ray though.

Manta Ray with a sucker fish hanging on

Next day we were back on the private plane and down to Perth to catch the flight home. Unforgettable experience. What a trip!

 

Broome and the Dampier Peninsula

Rainbow Bee-eater

We were only back in Sydney a couple of weeks when our good mate Bill received some devastating news. We've always talked about heading up to his uncle's place on the Dampier Peninsula and with things being sadly now or never, it was a great big now!

 Tropical Broome

So off we went to Broome before jumping in a 4x4 and heading a couple of hours north on unmarked and unsealed 'roads' to Bill's uncle Dave's place at Mercedes Cove. It is a truly idyllic spot with whales and turtles frolicking off the beach and somewhere you can just sit still with a beer and soak in the country.

Mercedes Cove

The birds aren't too bad either and without even trying I had 8 new ticks on the list. This is probably the worst time of year to be birding round Broome but the mangroves around the town hold a number of specialities and I was able to pick up a few of them including the Yellow White-eye #492, the wonderful Broad-billed Flycatcher #494, and the spectacular Mangrove Golden Whistler #495.

 Bluebone or Blackspot Tuskfish

The bush birds up at Dave's place were mostly dry country species that I've come across before but the Dampier Peninsula is known for finches and so I was very pleased to add Long-tailed Finch #496 to the list and just as excited to find the understated Rufous-throated Honeyeater #497 one morning outside our cabin.

Above ...

... and below (Bengal Sergeants)

Lined Rabbitfish

Margined Coralfish

  

The fishing's not too bad either and although we didn't manage to get out in a boat, Emily caught us a feed of Bluebone off the rocks. We also got into the water ourselves for a bit of a snorkel before the main event later in the week...

 Anemonefish

Inshore Surgeonfish

Smooth Flutemouth

 

Home

Glen Coe

Well I've no excuse for the neglect of my blog this time as plenty has been happening so hopefully we can set things right and get it up to date.

Maria in North Queensferry

Back at the end of May we headed back to Scotland for a couple of weeks. My in-laws came along as well and we were all treated to perfect weather and soaring temperatures which gave a glorious, albeit completely false, impression of the country.

Birthday dinner

My brother and nephews popped over from Groningen for a few days and so we were able to watch some of the group stage of the World Cup together and at a reasonable time of day which made a nice change. The boys tipped France before a ball was kicked so well played. The hours of FIFA on the PlayStation clearly paying off. My Auntie and Uncle, Linda and Tony, also made the trip up from down south and so my and David Timperley's birthday dinner in South Queensferry was a thoroughly pleasant occasion.

Back to North Uist ...

... at it's best

After a bit of time at home we headed up to North Uist with my folks before the in-laws kicked on to Ireland and Emily and I had to sadly return to the nightmare that is Sydney.

Enjoying Berneray with Emily

Uist was sensational as ever but even more so with the wall-to-wall sunshine. The fishing is still good and the birds were great. I don't know why but I didn't pull my camera out for the whole time and so I'm afraid that I can't share pictures of the many Short-eared Owls, Hen Harriers, Cuckoos, and other goodies that were swarming around the croft. Nor the Otter or the male Ruff in breeding plumage, or the Glaucous and Iceland Gulls that were all found at the RSPB reserve at Balranald.

Improvised Oystercatcher's nest

Emily was snapping away with her phone though and so thankfully I've been able to show you something.

Red Deer at dusk