We travelled some 80 kms down the Arnhem Highway enjoying the many mango orchards along the way. The reserve was remote, with a good road central road but no one else around and no signal. We were hoping to find billabongs with birds. We visited a few but most were almost dry. One in particular had the biggest collection of kites flying overhead. But we were worried about breaking down and being out of signal so we headed back and suddenly saw a sign for Leaning Tree Lagoon and what a wonderful detour that was - the billabong had a lot of water and many birds. The best was a Black headed stork. This is a photo by Stephen Murray e Bird S41853282 Macaulay Library ML 81651251who produced a good one. Mine by comparison was poor but you can just see it in the distance. The colours of its head are amazing.
In the billabong plovers, black winged stilts, radjah shelducks, glossy ibis, brown goshawk and whistling kites as well as a lovely lot of red tailed black cockatoos, the blue winged kookaburra, peaceful doves, corellas and sulphur crested cockatoos, masked lapwings, spoon bills, pied herons and some egrets. Lots of wallabies and kangaroos feeding around the edges of the Billabong.
The red tailed Black Cockatoos flying overhead.
The brown goshawk.
We wondered what it would be like to return to the Top End in the wet season and perhaps we will. For the moment though this has been a really wonderful discovery of a remote and beautiful part of this amazing continent.
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