Bird Billabong

Bird Billabong, in the Mary River district and about an hour and a half from Darwin, justly lives up to it's name. A four kilometre drive off Arnhem Highway, leads to a 4.5 km easy walk that takes you right around the billabong. The first part of the walk takes you through a mix of savannah woodland, creeks and floodplain.  

A great variety of birds is seen here including Northern Fantail, Lemon-bellied Flyrobin, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Black-tailed Treecreeper, Masked, Long-tailed, Crimson and Gouldian Finches, Brown, Rufous-banded, White-throated and Bar-breasted Honeyeaters, Varied and Red-collared Lorikeets, Northern Rosella and Red-winged Parrot.

 

There is a sheltered viewing platform which is great for setting up the spotting scope and identifying all the different bird species inhabiting the billabong. Little, Intermediate, Eastern Great and Cattle Egrets as well as Royal Spoonbill, Black-necked Stork, Radjah Shelduck, Glossy, Straw-necked and White Ibis, Brolga, Black-fronted Dotterel and other shorebirds and Johnson's Crocodiles are often here too. There is a Whistling Kites nest just next to the boardwalk that leads to the viewing platform and White-bellied Sea-eagles often fly over. 

 

 

 

 

 

Species seen here recently

Birds ( 125 )

Magpie Goose

Anseranas semipalmata

Plumed Whistling-Duck

Dendrocygna eytoni

Wandering Whistling-Duck

Dendrocygna arcuata

Radjah Shelduck

Tadorna radjah

Australian Wood Duck

Chenonetta jubata

Pink-eared Duck

Malacorhynchus membranaceus

Green Pygmy-goose

Nettapus pulchellus

Grey Teal

Anas gracilis

Pacific Black Duck

Anas superciliosa

Hardhead

Aythya australis

Australasian Grebe

Tachybaptus novaehollandiae

Hoary-headed Grebe

Poliocephalus poliocephalus

Diamond Dove

Geopelia cuneata

Peaceful Dove

Geopelia striata

Bar-shouldered Dove

Geopelia humeralis

Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove

Ptilinopus regina

Pied Imperial-Pigeon

Ducula bicolor

Australasian Darter

Anhinga novaehollandiae

Little Pied Cormorant

Microcarbo melanoleucos

Little Black Cormorant

Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

Australian Pelican

Pelecanus conspicillatus

Black-necked Stork

Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus

White-necked Heron

Ardea pacifica

Eastern Great Egret

Ardea modesta

Intermediate Egret

Ardea intermedia

Great-billed Heron

Ardea sumatrana

Cattle Egret Ardea ibis

Pied Heron Egretta picata

Little Egret Egretta garzetta

Nankeen Night-Heron

Nycticorax caledonicus

Glossy Ibis

Plegadis falcinellus

Australian White Ibis

Threskiornis molucca

Straw-necked Ibis

Threskiornis spinicollis

Royal Spoonbill

Platalea regia

Yellow-billed Spoonbill

Platalea flavipes

Square-tailed Kite

Lophoictinia isura

White-bellied Sea-Eagle

Haliaeetus leucogaster

Whistling Kite

Haliastur sphenurus

Black Kite

Milvus migrans

Brown Goshawk

Accipiter fasciatus

Collared Sparrowhawk

Accipiter cirrocephalus

Grey Goshawk

Accipiter novaehollandiae

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Aquila audax

Brown Falcon

Falco berigora

Australian Hobby

Falco longipennis

Eurasian Coot

Fulica atra

Bush Stone-curlew

Burhinus grallarius

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Black-fronted Dotterel

Elseyornis melanops

Red-kneed Dotterel

Erythrogonys cinctus

Masked Lapwing

Vanellus miles

Comb-crested Jacana

Irediparra gallinacea

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis

Broad-billed Sandpiper

Limicola falcinellus

Red-backed Button-quail

Turnix maculosus

Australian Pratincole

Stiltia isabella

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias hybrida

Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo

Calyptorhynchus banksii

Galah

Eolophus roseicapillus

Little Corella

Cacatua sanguinea

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Cacatua galerita

Red-collared Lorikeet

Trichoglossus rubritorquis

Varied Lorikeet

Psitteuteles versicolor

Red-winged Parrot

Aprosmictus erythropterus

Northern Rosella

Platycercus venustus

Pheasant Coucal

Centropus phasianinus

Eastern Koel

Eudynamys orientalis

Brush Cuckoo

Cacomantis variolosus

Barking Owl

Ninox connivens

Azure Kingfisher

Ceyx azureus

Blue-winged Kookaburra

Dacelo leachii

Forest Kingfisher

Todiramphus macleayii

Sacred Kingfisher

Todiramphus sanctus

Rainbow Bee-eater

Merops ornatus

Dollarbird

Eurystomus orientalis

Black-tailed Treecreeper

Climacteris melanura

Great Bowerbird

Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis

Red-backed Fairy-wren

Malurus melanocephalus

Weebill

Smicrornis brevirostris

Striated Pardalote

Pardalotus striatus

White-gaped Honeyeater

Lichenostomus unicolor

Bar-breasted Honeyeater

Ramsayornis fasciatus

Rufous-banded Honeyeater

Conopophila albogularis

Rufous-throated Honeyeater

Conopophila rufogularis

Dusky Honeyeater

Myzomela obscura

Banded Honeyeater

Cissomela pectoralis

Brown Honeyeater

Lichmera indistincta

White-throated Honeyeater

Melithreptus albogularis

Silver-crowned Friarbird

Philemon argenticeps

Little Friarbird

Philemon citreogularis

Grey-crowned Babbler

Pomatostomus temporalis

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

Coracina novaehollandiae

White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike

Coracina papuensis

Cicadabird

Coracina tenuirostris 

White-winged Triller

Lalage sueurii

Varied Triller

Lalage leucomela

Rufous Whistler

Pachycephala rufiventris

Little Shrike-thrush

Colluricincla megarhyncha

Australasian Figbird

Sphecotheres vieilloti

Green Oriole

Oriolus flavocinctus

Olive-backed Oriole

Oriolus sagittatus

White-breasted Woodswallow

Artamus leucorynchus

Little Woodswallow

Artamus minor

Spangled Drongo

Dicrurus bracteatus

Northern Fantail

Rhipidura rufiventris

Willie Wagtail

Rhipidura leucophrys

Torresian Crow

Corvus orru

Broad-billed Flycatcher

Myiagra ruficollis

Leaden Flycatcher

Myiagra rubecula

Shining Flycatcher

Myiagra alecto

Paperbark Flycatcher

Myiagra nana

Magpie-lark

Grallina cyanoleuca

Lemon-bellied Flyrobin

Microeca flavigaster

Tree Martin

Petrochelidon nigricans

Mistletoebird

Dicaeum hirundinaceum

Double-barred Finch

Taeniopygia bichenovii

Long-tailed Finch

Poephila acuticauda

Masked Finch

Poephila personata

Gouldian Finch

Erythrura gouldiae

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin

Lonchura castaneothorax

Mammals ( 4 )

Agile Wallaby

Macropus agilus

Antilopine Wallaroo

Macropus antilopinus

Euro

Macropus robustus

Pig

Sus scofa

Reptiles ( 1 )
Johnstone's Crocodile

Crocodylus johnstoni