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Rainbow Pitta - photo Roger Potts 
Double Barred Finch
Elegant Egrets
Barking Owl - photo Doug Howath 
Crimson Finch - Jeremny Hemphill
Forrest Kingfish - photo Doug Howarth
Jabiru  Jacana - photo Doug Howarth 
Rainbow Bee-eater - photo Doug Howarth
Royal Spoonbill - photo Travis Child Royal Spoonbills and Egret BIRDING IN THE TOPENDThe Australian Bird Atlas lists 230 bird species in the Fogg Dam area. Fogg Dam is in the Adeliade River Wetland which is being considered as an 'Important Bird Area' for Australia. With extensive native bush and backing onto Harrison Dam we enjoy prolific birdlife as well as other wildlife. We belong to an Northern Territory internet birding forum so we can pass on any interesting bird sightings. The highest number of bird species are present in September/October. In October and November many of the dry season migrants are still around and most of the wet season migrants have arrived. (Niven McCrie & James Watson 2006) Some of the birds you may see on our property include: During the Dry Season, Gouldian Finches can usually be found about 45 minutes travel from Eden. A Top End Bird List is available for guests. A butterfly list for Eden is available to guests on request. We have outlined some itinerary suggestions. Niven McCrie & James Watson. “Finding Birds in Darwin, Kakadu and the Top End, Northern Territory Australia.” NT Birding, NT, 2006” provides detailed information to locate birds. Key species identified in the book for our area are: Fogg Dam: Little Bittern, Pacific Baza, Grey Goshawk, White-browed Crake, Baillon’s Crake, Buff-banded Rail, Red-backed Button-quail, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Brush Cuckoo, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Barking Owl, Spotted Nightjar, Large-tailed Nightjar, Emerald Dove, Rose-crowned Fruit Dove, Little Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, Rainbow Pitta, Bar-breasted Honeyeater, Little Shrike-thrush, Broad-billed Flycatcher, Olive-backed Oriole, Tawny Grassbird, Barn Swallow. Anzac Parade: (Eden’s road),Black-breasted Buzzard, Spotted Harrier, Letter-winged Kite, Black Falcon, Oriental Plover, Australian Pratincole, Little Curlew, Oriental Plover, Brush Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Barking Owl, Barn Owl, Masked Owl, Spotted Nightjar, Red-backed Kingfisher, Black-faced Woodswallow, Rufous Songlark, Singing Bushlark, Barn Swallow. Harrison Dam (at the back of Eden) Black-breasted Buzzard, Spotted Harrier, Little Curlew, Long-toed Stint, Brush Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Yellow Chat, Zitting Cisticola. Beatrice Lagoons (within 10 minutes of Eden) Garganey, Plumed Whistling-Duck, Green Pygmy-goose, White-browed Crake, Spotless Crake, Buff-banded Rail, Comb-crested Jacana, little Curlew, Oriental Pratincole, Red-necked Avocet. Adelaide River Bridge (within 10 minutes of Eden) Emu, Great-billed Heron, Letter-winged Kite, Square-tailed Kite, Oriental Cuckoo, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Rainbow Pitta, Green-backed Gerygone, Red-headed Honeyeater, Mangrove Golden Whistler, Broad-billed Flycatcher, Rufous Fantail, Yellow White-eye. USEFUL NORTH AUSTRALIAN BIRDING REFERENCES:Donato D et.al. Finding Birds in Australia's Northern Territory. CSIRO Publishing, Vic 1997. Goodfellow, Denise Lawungkurr with Michael Stott. Birds of Australia's Top End. Second Edition, Scrubfowl Press, NT 2005. Niven McCrie and James Watson. Finding Birds in Darwin, Kakadu and the Top End, Northern Territory Australia. NT Birding, NT, 2006. Lloyd Nielsen's Birding Australia is published annually in two editions: one for Australian and the other for international birders. Bird, frog, butterfly, snake and mammal lists can be found at www.foggdamfriends.org TOP END BIRDING GUIDESDenise Goodfellow: Biologist, Author, Illustrator, Birding and Nature Guide Niven McCrie: Teacher, Author, Illustrator, Birding Guide Other guides locally may be available and we are happy to assist with possible contacts. BIRDING INFORMATION |
