Galahs have pink or dark eyes
What a setting for this gorgeous Galah! She looks dozy and very floofy, framed by the blue blue Outback sky:
Male and female Galahs are very similar. The easiest way to tell a female from a male is that the females have pink eyes, like the one in my photo, whereas the males have dark eyes. (You can see the difference in this post, which has both male and female birds.)
Common name: Galah
Scientific name: Cacatua roseicapilla
Approximate length: 35-38 cm
Date spotted: 11 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
My first Rufous Songlark
The Merlin app identifies this bird as a Rufous Songlark. I’ve done quite a bit of research and can’t find a better match. The bird was perched on the bare branches of a tree at Bendleby Ranges near Belton, South Australia:
I didn’t get a photo of the bird’s back, so we can’t see whether it has the reddish patch above its tail that gives it its name. According to my bird book, they’re found across the Australian continent. They migrate southwards for the summer and return to the north in the autumn.
Common name: Rufous Songlark
Scientific name: Concloramphus mathewsi
Length: 16-19 cm
Date spotted: 11 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
My first Black Kite
I’ve seen a few types of kite over the years (I was surprised when I looked at the “kite” category on this blog), but this is the first Black Kite in my list. The bird circled our camp site at Bendleby Ranges, South Australia, a few times before flying off into the setting sun.
Common name: Black Kite
Scientific name: Milvus migrans
Length: 50-55 cm
Date spotted: 13 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
Chestnut-crowned Babblers gathering nest material
This is only the second time I’ve seen a Chestnut-crowned Babbler. These birds were in a dry creek bed at Bendleby Ranges, South Australia. They were very busy gathering material for their nests, babbling away to each other at the same time:
Here’s one of the birds that stayed still long enough for me to snap a photo. It’s beak is open in mid-babble:
Common name: Chestnut-crowned Babbler
Scientific name: Pomatostomus ruficeps
Approximate length: 21-23 cm
Date spotted: 11 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
Nankeen Kestrel at Bendleby Ranges
With any luck, one day I’ll get a good photo of a Nankeen Kestrel! This is only the third one I’ve seen, though they’re quite common across mainland Australia. They’re lovely looking birds, and beautiful in flight too. This one was perched on a far-away bush:
A kestrel is a type of falcon, along with Hobbies and birds like Peregrine Falcons which have the word “falcon” in their name. Kestrels tend to be smaller than other falcons, and catch their prey on the ground by swooping down onto it. As far as I can tell, Nankeen Kestrels are the only type of kestrel in Australia.
Where does the name “Nankeen” come from? In Australia, we have Nankeen Herons as well as Nankeen Kestrels. Evidently the tawny colouring of these birds reminded the Australian settlers of the Chinese cotton cloth called Nankeen.
Common name: Nankeen Kestrel
Scientific name: Falco cenchroides
Length: 30-35 cm; wing span: 60-80 cm
Date spotted: 13 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
Chestnut-rumped and Yellow-rumped Thornbills
While at Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges recently, I logged my first Chestnut-rumped Thornbill. I also logged a Yellow-rumped Thornbill for only the second time.
First, the Chestnut-rumped Thornbill. I love the clear, inquisitive eyes of these little birds:
This shot shows the chestnut-coloured patch above its tail that gives the bird its name:
Common name: Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
Scientific name: Acanthiza uropygialis
Length: 9-10 cm
Date spotted: 11 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
The next bird is a Yellow-rumped Thornbill. It’s easily identifiable by the yellow patch above its tail and the black streak through its eye:
Common name: Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Scientific name: Acanthiza chrysorrhoa
Length: 11-12 cm
Date spotted: 12 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
Call of the Singing Honeyeater
I spotted this Singing Honeyeater at Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges area of South Australia. It’s only my second sighting of a Singing Honeyeater, and the first time I managed to record its call. I believe that these birds make a variety of sounds, of which I’ve captured only one.
Singing Honeyeaters are found across most of Australia, except the eastern and northern coastal regions. This means that I don’t see them very often, as I live on the east coast.
Here’s a photo of the bird:
Apologies for the poor quality of the photo. If you’d like to see a better one, check out my first sighting of a Singing Honeyeater.
Common name: Singing Honeyeater
Scientific name: Lichenostomus virescens
Approximate length: 18-22 cm
Date spotted: 10 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
Yellow Crimson Rosella at Wagga Wagga
At first, when the Merlin Bird app identified this bird as a Crimson Rosella, I thought, “Pfff! That’s not a Crimson Rosella!” But a bit of research revealed that there’s a yellow morph of the so-called Crimson Rosella and this bird is it:
In my usual birdwatching area, on the east coast of Australia near Sydney, the Crimson Rosellas are really crimson. Their feathers are mostly deep red, with a blue shoulder patch, a blue and white tail, and a black back with crimson scalloping. The yellow morph is mostly yellow, with a blue shoulder patch and tail, and a red band above the beak. The back is black with yellow scalloping.
Here’s the same bird, about to launch into flight:
Common name: Crimson Rosella (Yellow)
Scientific name: Platycercus elegans
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 5 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia: 35°09’14.5″S 147°28’44.4″E
My first Pipit
This bird kept its distance from me. As it walked, it’s tail bobbed up and down. It took me a while to identify it, but after consulting my bird book and scrutinising my photos and video, I’m fairly certain that it’s an Australian (Richard’s) Pipit. It was in a river bed at Bendleby Ranges, South Australia.
Common name: Australian (Richard’s) Pipit
Scientific name: Anthus novaeseelandiae
Approximate length: 16-18 cm
Date spotted: 11 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Bendleby Ranges in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: 32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E
Sculpted feathers of the Great Cormorant
A Great Cormorant sat on a rock at a Manly Dam picnic area. Out of one turquoise eye, it watched me as I approached. I took care to stick to the furthest edge of the picnic area, so that the bird wasn’t alarmed. The feathers of its wings look sculpted, so beautifully arranged are they in their muted colours.
Common name: Great Cormorant
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax carbo
Approximate length: 85 cm; wing span 1.5 m
Date spotted: 2 September 2026 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’34.5″S 151°14’50.5″E
