Western Australia Round-up

Back home now and gone through the trip photos and tidied up the trip report HERE and all the trip photos HERE. While going through the photos I found a new trip species (and lifer); Banded Lapwing which takes the final trip bird list (not including Singapore) to 215 species.  There were so many highlights, the Black Cockatoos species were my favourites and the other parrot species too, the honeyeaters were interesting to work through and Western Spinebill is an absolute gem, the Pardalotes were top of the wish list and did not disappoint and the Whistlers and Australian Robins were wonderful to meet. Australia is simply epic and I can't wait to start planning a longer trip. 

On the mammal front the trip list was 18 species including Western Grey Kangaroo, Western Brush Wallaby, Tammar Wallaby, Agile Wallaby, Echidna, Honey Possum, Quenda, Woylie, Quokka, Common Brush-tail Possum, Dugong, Indopacific Bottlenose Dolphin, Humpback Whale, Australian Sea Lion and non-native Red Fox and Rabbit. Also had a Bat sp flying around Cheynes Beach while looking for the Honey Possums. Also another lifer found while going through the trip photos of what appears to be the diagnostic blow of Southern Right Whale (image below), taken at Cheynes Beach where they were reported too. 

I did have the travel LED moth trap out a couple of nights but not much and nothing exciting looking, the nights were too cool (in Broome it would have been better but I left the trap behind but had quite a few moths in the camp lights). Also the mid-winter period when we visited was too cool for herps (didn't see a single snake) but did have a few reptiles and amphibians (will post separate on them). 

Overall one of my favourite foreign trips ever, more so because it was a family trip too combined with the uniqueness of Australian birds and mammals. Obviously could have seen a bit more if it was just a focused birding trip - didn't get the SW endemics Western Corella or Western Shrike-tit, so that will be one of the objectives of our return trip. At the moment we are playing with the idea of taking a year out of the matrix in 2029 (after Jacob finishes primary school) home schooling the boys and touring round the whole of Australia.

Australian Ringneck (Twenty-eight)- the SWA mascot 

Carnaby's Black Cockatoos over Arpenteur Nature Reserve with Stirling Range in the distance 

The large V shaped blow is supposed to be diagnostic of Southern Right Whale- another lifer

Honey Possum in the thermal scope at Cheynes Beach- has to be mammal of the trip