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
My first Rockwarbler
I was delighted when this little bird jumped out and cheeped at me. I was having a picnic lunch at Pierces Pass, on my way home from a long trip into western New South Wales. The bird hopped busily around the rock ledges that surrounded my picnic table, then hopped onto the table for a closer look at me.
When I identified the bird as a Rockwarbler, I was even more delighted. They’re found only in a small area of Australia. A nice find!
Common name: Rockwarbler
Scientific name: Origma solitaria
Approximate length: 13-14 cm
Date spotted: 23 July 2026 (winter)
Location: Pierces Pass Picnic Area, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia: 33°34’13.2″S 150°20’17.0″E
White-plumed Honeyeater in Nyngan
This White-plumed Honeyeater looked at me curiously while I figured out what type of bird it was! The name “white-plumed” describes the strip of white between the bird’s head and shoulders:
White-plumed Honeyeaters were reclassified in 2011, moving from Lichenostomus penicillatus to Ptilotula penicillata. The reason was that these birds, along with a few other types of honeyeaters, shared a different ancestor from others in the Lichenostomus group.
Common name: White-plumed Honeyeater
Scientific name: Ptilotula penicillata, formerly Lichenostomus penicillatus
Approximate length: 15-17 cm
Date spotted: 22 July 2026 (winter)
Location: Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park, New South Wales, Australia: 31°33’33.1″S 147°10’51.7″E
My first Restless Flycatcher
I rather like the background that this bird chose for its portrait! This is my first sighting of a Restless Flycatcher, and only my second of any type of Flycatcher. (The first was a Leaden Flycatcher that I saw at Manly North Head, much closer to home than this sighting.)
I watched this bird for a while. It was quite shy, moving often, and managing always to keep a fair distance away from me. I guess that’s why it’s called “restless”. It’s a neat-looking bird, with a blue-black head and back, brownish tips to the wings, and a white breast and belly:
Common name: Restless Flycatcher
Scientific name: Myiagra inquieta
Approximate length: 16-21 cm
Date spotted: 22 July 2026 (winter)
Location: Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park, New South Wales, Australia: 31°33’33.1″S 147°10’51.7″E
Red-rumped Parrots, male and female
Red-rumped Parrots are pretty little birds. Their colours are a shimmering mix of blue, green, and yellow. So, why the name “red-rumped”? If you manage to see the male bird at the right angle, you’ll spot a patch of red between his wings, above his tail.
We don’t see Red-rumped Parrots in my area, on Australia’s east coast just north of Sydney. I saw these birds while on a recent trip westwards. Both sightings were on the Barrier Highway, a 1000-kilometre road that leads west from Nyngan to Broken Hill and beyond.
The first two were feeding on the grass at a rest stop between Wilcannia and Cobar. Here’s the female, followed by the male:
The second pair were at Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park, located in the town of Nyngan at the eastern end of the Barrier Highway.
Common name: Red-rumped Parrot
Scientific name: Psephotus haematonotus
Approximate length: 26-28 cm
Date spotted: 22 July 2026 (winter)
Location: Barrier Highway and Nyngan, New South Wales, Australia: 31°33’33.1″S 147°10’51.7″E
