Down Under Days 18 & 19

The next morning we were up early again as we had to catch the shuttle bus to Alice Springs airport for the three hour flight back to Sydney.

As we were waiting a small flock of Galah's flew past and I just had to get a photo so leaving Barbara with the luggage I nipped around the corner and found them sat on the telephone wires.

Galah's

When we got to the airport we saw some of the other people who had been on the tour also going to Sydney. We arrived back at Kingston Smith airport around 1pm and got a cab back to Coogee Bay where I spent the rest of the day relaxing and updating my growing bird list.
The next day I was left to my own devices again and I had planned another trip to Centennial Park, this time though the weather was perfect.

Centennial Park

I went straight for the palm where I had last seen the Eastern Barn Owl and sure enough there he was.

Eastern Barn Owl

I then wandered over to the swamp to try yet again for Tawny Frogmouth, It remains my main disappointment that I never connected with this bird. I did see the Flying Foxes better this time though including some that were flying around from tree to tree.

I then looked for the Australian Darter that I had seen on my previous visit. I had much better views this time as the male was showing very well at the nest and I also caught a glimpse of the young birds peeking out from under the sitting female.

Australian Darter

I then spent the rest of the morning wandering around the rest of this huge parkland visiting areas I had missed before. I was lucky to sit on a bench when a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets decided to land in the tree above me.

Rainbow Lorikeet

I then came across a flock of around 20-30 Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo's feasting on cones in a stand of pine trees.

Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo

 On my way back to catch the bus home I walked across one of the many sports fields and saw this Nankeen Kestral sitting high on a goal post.

Nankeen Kestral

I now caught the bus back to Randwick and then after a brief stop at the flat headed down to Coogee Bay and another walk along the coastal path. There were much the same birds as I had seen on previous visits but I did get a better photograph of one of the many New Holland Honeyeaters that frequent the area.

New Holland Honeyeater

I was now starting to feel tired so I headed back to the flat for a rest and a meal.