Mid-June 2020 we decided that we needed to get away from Melbourne for a few days, going somewhere a bit warmer and with more sunshine. This was the time we were supposed to be heading up the Canadian west coast heading for Alaska! CoVid-19 had different ideas…

So off we went at very short notice up to Broken Hill in the western desert country of NSW. The weather didn’t let us down….bright (but short) sunny days made walking through some of the local National Parks a pleasure, even though the country was super dry. January’s rainfall didn’t really reach the far western part of the state.

Most of the birds below were seen at Mutawintji National Park about 150km from Broken Hill, accessed via a terrible road of corrugations and blinding western sun coming back to Broken Hill in the late afternoon. Others were seen at Silverton, Menindee, and coming home along the Murray River near Redcliffs.

Budgerigars

Zebra Finch

Yellow-faced Miner

Yellow Rosella

White-winged Triller (fm)

White-winged Fairy Wren (fm)

White-browed Babblers

Whistling Kite

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Variegated Fairy-wren

ariegated Fairy-wren (fm)

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Southern Whiteface

Singing Honeyeater

Regent Parrot

Australian Pelican

Mulga Parrot

Mutawintji Gorge

Nankeen Falcon

Mulga Parrot (fm)

Major Mitchell Cockatoos

Darter

Cockatiel

Buff-rumped Thornbill

Brown Falcon

Black-faced Woodswallows

Australian Ringneck

Apostlebird