Kakadu National Park
October 2006
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
A
long drive on a dusty road has taken us from Anbangbang Billabong, with
its dramatic backdrop of Nourlangie Rock, to Gunlom Falls. Everywhere
there is evidence of brush fires, some intentionally set by the local
aboriginal people, others accidental. Only where the road crosses
creeks (mostly dry now) is there lush vegetation. Our campground too is
surrounded by burned terrain, concentrating the birdlife so we see many
species and I look around for likely photo subjects.
Next
morning at dawn there’s an intense flurry of bird activity. Kookaburras
blare their raucous calls; lorikeets and cockatoos hurtle in screaming
flocks overhead. In the Gunlom campground many Helmeted Friarbirds fly
to and fro, chasing each other giving chortling calls, frustrating my
attempts to photograph them. By the time the sun has been up a
half-hour, the territorial action slows and many species of birds,
including the friarbirds, switch to feeding in a flowering tree. Soon I
am shooting away, capturing these strange birds—honeyeaters' relatives,
fuzzy headed with knobbed bills—as they cling to reach the nectar in
the yellow pompom-like flowers.
Helmeted Friarbird