The wildlife

Emu

I had high hopes of adding a few birds to the list and was able to get some pretty detailed tips from a couple of birders who I met down at Leeton on my recent failed Shoveler twitch. In the event things didn't quite go according to plan.

Australian Bustard

After dipping on Barbary Doves in Adelaide I missed all of the Nullarbor specialties such as the Nullarbor Quail-thrush and Naretha Bluebonnet although there was a report of these parrots in exactly the same spot a week later!

Tawny Frogmouth

Brown Goshawk 

I wasn't too down-hearted at this stage though as the Eyre Bird Observatory was next on the list but on arrival we discovered that a bushfire had ripped through there relatively recently and so all the Mallefowl had moved on. There were no other mallee specialties either.

Major Mitchell's Cockatoo

New Holland Honeyeaters 

I had to wait until we reached Esperance to get the list moving with Western Wattlebird #503 and then Western Spinebill #504 at Cape Le Grand. About 60km east of Albany is the legendary Cheyne's Beach which holds the triumvirate of rare Western Australian skulkers. I was lucky enough to find Western Bristlebird on my last visit to WA but a dawn raid on Cheyne's Beach this time around completed the set with Noisy Scrubbird #506 and Black-throated Whipbird #507 added to the list. Regent Parrot #505 and Purple-crowned Lorikeet #508 completed the scoring.
  

Singing Honeyeater

Apart from the omnipresent Shingleback skinks, the wildlife wasn't too thick on the ground although there was still plenty to get excited about.

 Shingleback

At that time of year, the Head of the Bight is one of the best places to see Southern Right Whales as mothers and their calves come up from southern polar waters and congregate close to shore.

Southern Right Whales

We also managed to save a couple of reptiles from certain death over the course of the trip. The first was a poor Shingleback that had got it's head caught in a fence which required a painstaking two-man operation to feed the individual scales on it's head and neck back through the wire without garroting it.

Oblong Turtle

Masters' Snake

The second was an Oblong Turtle that foolishly decided to cross a busy highway. It thanked Dad by sticking a claw into his hand! Being winter there wasn't much in the way of larger reptiles but we didn't draw a complete blank with regards to the snakes as a small Masters' Snake was spotted at the bird observatory.

Red Kangaroo

Koala

It's always nice to see the iconic Red Kangaroo and we also came across Koalas in Adelaide, a single Dingo and plenty of Emus. Maybe not so nice were the feral populations of camels, goats, brumbies, and a cat!