Western Australia – Part 2 of 4

Stirling Range – the best Bird-Photo spot of our WA trip & Cheynes Beach – truly a fantastic coastal paradise with really good Birding

Getting to Stirling Range Retreat was not easy and although -today- we have a good laugh everytime we remember how the GPS got us lost and in the middle of a sheep farm, it wasn’t funny that day at 10pm in the middle of literally nowhere!… We finally made it to the Caravan Park around midnight and settled down for a full birding and photographing -early- morning.

Sunset View from Bluff Knoll by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

October 14-19 – Stirling Range

Stirling Range it was the best of the best on this trip for Bird-Photography, although lights was harsh and grey all day long, with high temperatures rising during the mid day hours and cold at night. This is where we saw more birds, including the elusive and enigmatic Emu. This was also where we got the blessing of laying eyes by a very first time in one of the fantastic jewels called Fairy-wrens!

Blue-breasted Fairy-wren by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

Behind Tony Sand‘s home (owner of this cool Ranch), there was a birdbath and it resulted in the spot where I spent most of my time, with a great parade all day long with many cool birds… many of then, Honeyeaters

New Holland Honeyeater by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

White-naped Honeyeater by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

Yellow-plumed Honeyeater by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

It was a great spot for parrots (that colorful Australian group of beauties). Some big birds like the Currawong and the Black-faced Cuckoo-shike came for a sip as well…

Purple-crowned Lorikeet by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

Elegant Parrot by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

Currawong by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

We did some exploring around and visited the top of the Bluff Knoll (the highest peak in south Western Australia) and Red Gum Spring with some good results, but most images were obtained at the little water available for the birds at the Stirling Range Retreat, from my portable blind.

October 20-21 – Cheynes Beach

We drove a couple of hours and got to this beautiful piece of heaven with big rock walls and prairies in one side and the amazing multicolor ocean in the other one!… Cheynes Beach proved quickly that it is a beautiful spot, that has great birds allover and that we should had planned more than one night in there!… even before getting to this great destination, birds greeted us in Albany

Crested Pigeon by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

Walking along the beach, I got eyes on many birds, the fourth Fairy-wren of the trip, was at a garden, the Golden Whistler calling from the trees on the back, and a couple of big raptors -including a familiar White-bellied See-Eagle- made a great walk in the hot sand feel easy…

Golden Whistler by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

White-bellied Sea-Eagle by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

Splendid Fairy-wren by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009

A few related links:

http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/the-organisation/western-australia.html

http://www.stirlingrange.com.au/home.html

http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au/sites/sites.htm

Next week: Pemberton and Perth’s Downtown Pier

Happy Bird-Photo Adventures!

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Tagged as: Alex Vargas, bird-photo, Birding, Cheynes Beach, Don Gato, Photography, Stirling Range, Western Australia