Countdown to 600 - Top End Birds

600 is a landmark number for a birdwatcher in Australia. Enough to warrant the creation, quite a while ago now, of the 600 Club. This was apparently the invention of the late John McKean, an eminent Australian ornithologist and birdwatcher, who was supposedly the first to see 600 species of Australian birds.

Well before Karen and I headed for Darwin and Kakadu National Park in the second half of May this year, I knew I was likely to reach the 600 milestone while there. My Australian List was sitting on 594 after seeing Broad-billed Sandpiper and White-rumped Sandpiper in January (see White-rumped Sandpiper Twitch), and I had a target list of some 15 or so birds that I wanted to try for.

Broad-billed and White-rumped Sandpiper - the last two birds I'd added to my Australian List (January 2015). 

My target list included some relatively straightforward species that I just hadn’t picked up on previous trips to Darwin in 2008 and 2010 (for example, Northern Rosella, Silver-backed Butcherbird, and Broad-billed Flycatcher); some of the more elusive birds possible around Darwin (Great-billed Heron, Chestnut Rail, White-breasted Whistler, Buff-sided Robin, Zitting Cisticola etc); some species that have limited distributions in places I hadn’t yet visited (e.g. Chestnut-quilled Rock Pigeon, Black-banded Fruit Dove, Hooded Parrot, White-throated Grasswren, White-lined Honeyeater, Sandstone Shrikethrush, and Gouldian Finch); as well as a few other miscellaneous possibilities (Red-backed and Chestnut-backed Buttonquail, Eastern Grass Owl, Star Finch, Yellow-rumped Mannikin etc.). Other tempting species like White-quilled Rock Pigeon, Purple-crowned Fairywren and Yellow Chat were just beyond our geographical scope and itinerary.

But I thought that with a target of 15 or so, even if I only caught up with half of them I should make the 600. And so it was…

We spent the first weekend in Darwin, catching up with Karen’s family - the underlying reason for the trip to Darwin was Emily’s (Karen’s niece) wedding. I got my first two new species in those first couple of days.

The first was pure chance, within a few hours of arriving on the Friday afternoon. I had just headed out from where we were staying at Karen’s sister’s place in the Palmerston suburb of Gunn, just for a quick look around and re-familiarisation with the local Darwin birds. I was walking along the Bakewell (adjacent suburb) side of Buscall Avenue, mentally counting the Straw-necked Ibis grazing on the sports oval (as one does - there were 19), and noting the interactions of a juvenile Olive-backed Oriole with two adults, when I was drawn by the soft chattering of a pair of Northern Rosellas in some flowering eucalypts. Holy crap! I wasn’t expecting that. And I didn’t have my camera with me. But I had a good 10 minutes watching them from as little as a few metres. Not, perhaps, as attractive as the Crimson and Eastern Rosellas I’m used to having around at home in Canberra, but hey – they made a nice couple – and they were a tick. No. 595.

Northern Rosella Platycercus venustus - bird No. 595.
This one was photographed at Edith Falls as I didn't have my camera with me
when I first saw the birds in Palmerston. 

My second new bird, the next morning, was also in Gunn, down at the local suburban Sanctuary Lakes. These are a connected set of three large ponds in a fantastic public space that turned out to be brilliant for dragonflies too (see previous post - Top End Dragonflies). But it was the Broad-billed Flycatcher flitting from lily to lily that gave me my 596^th bird. I’m pretty certain I had in fact seen this species previously (at both Fogg Dam and at the Arnhem Highway crossing of the Adelaide River, in 2008) but neither of those sightings had been definitive enough to be sure they weren’t female Leaden Flycatchers. On this bird, the pale lores, the just discernible graduation to the tail feathers, and the low profile forehead were enough for me to be convinced it was indeed a Broad-billed. Two days later I saw another bird, at Fogg Dam, which also showed these characteristics. It was in the exact same location, maybe even to the tree, I’d seen the ‘possible’ in 2008…

Broad-billed Flycatcher Myiagra ruficollis at Sanctuary Lakes in Gunn, Palmerston.

Broad-billed Flycatcher - Fogg Dam

Early on Monday morning we headed east towards Kakadu. No. 597 followed soon after, being a Silver-backed Butcherbird on roadside power lines on the Arnhem Highway, not far out of Humpty Doo, about 35 km south-east of Darwin. We’d whizzed past initially, but when Karen called it as possibly a butcherbird I did a fairly rapid U-turn and went back to check. Fortunately it was still in place, so as soon as I’d verified everything through binoculars, I snapped off a few record shots of it against a rather bright sky.

 

Silver-backed Butcherbird Cracticus argenteus - near Humpty Doo.

On the morning of our second day in Kakadu National Park, after staying in Jabiru overnight, we did a scenic flight over the escarpment around the East Alligator River before heading down to Nourlangie. 

After a quick look at Anbangbang Billabong we ascended the short track up the rock to Nawurlandja lookout for the spectacular views out over the billabong and across to Nourlangie and the Burrunggui outcrop. It was just past midday and it was hot in the sun. It was hot in the shade! So Karen headed back to the car where she ran the engine and air conditioner, while I continued higher up the escarpment on my quest to find Sandstone Shrikethrush and Chestnut-quilled Rock Pigeon.

It was tough going as the sandstone terrain is regularly dissected by clefts, fissures and small ravines. I neither saw nor heard any indication of the presence of my quarry. But on my way back, after nearly an hour of slogging, in one of the deeper ravines which supported some dense trees, some of which were fruiting, I came across a group of about 10 Banded Fruit Doves. They were very shy and kept their distance, either flying away from me behind the trees, or deftly remaining hidden behind the thickest foliage. I did manage a few photos of one semi-obscured individual that seemed to want to check me out almost as much as I did it. So it was one of those satisfying twitches resulting from an acceptable amount of effort, and not even the twitch you were expecting.

A shy but inquisitive Black-banded Fruit Dove Ptilinopus alligator at Nawurlandja - No. 598.

Next day, Wednesday, at Yellow Water billabong, I kept a keen eye out for any Great-billed Herons. But the guide on the boat said they didn’t usually hang out in the part of the billabong we could access at that time of year. I did at one point see a large heron, in flight, in the distant brightness of the early morning sky. It was probably close to 500 metres away and although the profile looked good I couldn’t be confident that it was a Great-billed, nor completely discount the nagging suspicion of the possibility of it being a silhouetted White-necked Heron. One of those I think it is, I think it is, but can’t in clear conscience claim the tick situations. Another one for another time.

The biggest surprise on the Yellow Water cruise was a lone Dusky Moorhen skulking in the shadows of thick vegetation. Although a common bird for me normally, this one was well outside its normal range, as the species doesn’t usually occur in the Top End.

Early morning at Yellow Water.

Our next key stop was at Gunlom and Waterfall Creek where I was still hoping for Chestnut-quilled Rock Pigeon, Sandstone Shrikethrush and White-lined Honeyeater. I held no hope of seeing White-throated Grasswren. Sadly they have not been recorded in the area where they used to be seen regularly for several years now, thought to be due to loss of suitable habitat through inappropriate fire regimes. As I write, there is a group of birdwatchers who have dedicated a full week to trek into the wilds of the western Arnhemland escarpment with the sole purpose of trying to find White-throated Grasswrens. Such appear to be the requirements to see this scarce and localised species nowadays!

Needless to say, I was again unsuccessful with the pigeon, shrikethrush and honeyeater. But we did see another couple of Black-banded Fruit Doves. We were about half way up the escarpment track, i.e. in dry woodland, when Karen pointed out a couple of pigeons in the bare branches of a dead tree behind us. They were in plain view, completely unconcerned, and nowhere near a fruiting let alone a fig tree. Quite a different and, to be honest, slightly unsatisfying experience (except for Karen) compared to the one I’d had at Nawurlandja a couple of days previously.

Black-banded Fruit Doves at Gunlom

From Gunlom, our tight schedule took us across to Pine Creek, where our mission was to see Hooded Parrots in the main streets of the town. Apparently they come in fairly reliably in the late afternoon to a range of known watering points. As it turned out, the first ones came in a little earlier than expected and come 3:30 pm we saw a pair fly into the shady foliage of a eucalypt where they settled for a short while before dropping down to a spitting impact sprinkler. 

And so it was that, from the shade and comfort of a picnic table outside the local petrol station and general store, as the Darwin to Katherine bus came and went, we watched bird number 599 while slurping our rapidly melting homemade ice creams. A bit of a gimme, yet surprisingly satisfying. And it left us time to move on to the local sewage works, as well as a brief stop in at Edith Falls Road, before making the final leg down to Katherine for the night.

Male Hooded Parrot Psephotellus dissimilis at Pine Creek.

And a female Hooded Parrot playing in the sprinkler at Pine Creek.

Before first light next morning (Friday) we were on our way back to Edith Falls Road where our target was Gouldian Finch. When we’d stopped in there briefly in the late afternoon of the previous day, we’d stationed ourselves near a small pool beside a culvert about 3 km in from the highway. It seemed, to me at least, like a good spot, though it wasn’t the one normally described in the bird-finding guides. And we had seen a couple of Peaceful Doves and a quintet of Chestnut-breasted Mannikins come down to drink just before sunset, so I thought we at least had a chance.

As the sun lifted into the eastern sky we alternated between sitting patiently near the water and wandering quietly along the roadside. We saw lots of different birds, including Double-barred Finches and Long-tailed Finches, but no Gouldian Finches. After an hour or so, and with activity decreasing, we decided to move on to Edith Falls (a really lovely spot), but agreed to stop again briefly on our way back out in the middle of the day.

On this third stop, we’d only been there a few minutes, and I really wasn’t holding much hope of seeing them, when a movement in the branches of a eucalypt about 50 metres away on the other side of the road caught my eye. On swinging up the binoculars for confirmation, I do believe I let out a suppressed expletive before beckoning to Karen to get over here quickly! I had my Gouldian Finch. And it was bird number 600! You couldn’t ask for more.

Gouldian Finch Erythrura gouldiae - a very special bird for my 600th. Edith Falls Road, NT.

The bird flew down to a small paperbark sapling and was soon joined by another. They fidgeted about in the sapling for a good five minutes or so, reassuring themselves of their safety, before darting down to a flattened patch in the tall grass which (as I later determined) contained a tiny puddle of water. We didn’t see them fly off again but it was an exquisite moment – exhilaration, relief, joy, satisfaction, contentment, companionship all rolled into a bundle of emotion that the poor photographs I got as proof of the reality can’t hope to recall. Wow!

Gouldian Finch dropping down to a puddle to drink.

On a bit of a high, we headed back to Katherine. We were booked on a sunset and dinner cruise on Katherine Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park, which would be a very fitting and celebratory end to the day.

The Gorge is gorgeous. Spectacular. Absolutely stunning. I was vaguely conscious that I should still be keeping an eye out for rock pigeons, which I did, but the cliffs, their form and colour, the play of light on them and their reflections, were captivating. So it was with some surprise, and delight, that as we approached the rocky shoals that separate the first and second gorges (as they are called from a navigable perspective) I saw the cryptic grey form of a Great-billed Heron amongst boulders under some trees. This was completely unexpected, and all the better for it. Later, and further up the gorge we came across another one. The light was fading rapidly in the depths of the gorge, so shutter speeds were getting slower and pictures more blurred. Even the best photos are far from sharp, but some of the effects are interesting and add to the ethereal quality of the experience.

Finally - a Great-billed Heron Ardea sumatrana. Katherine Gorge, NT.

Another Great-billed Heron - Katherine Gorge, NT.

A vaguely fossilised take on a Great-billed Heron against the cliffs of Katherine Gorge in late afternoon.

Another surreal blurred image of a Great-billed Heron in fading light 

So that was it for my new birds. Back in Darwin for our final weekend (and Emily's wedding) I failed to pick up Chestnut Rail and White-breasted Whistler, and I never caught up with Buff-sided Robin. And I have to confess to being a little disappointed about missing the trio of sandstone specialists. But I reached my 600 and went one beyond – and I’m very happy with that.

595      Northern Rosella                        Palmerston                   -12.49204, 130.99532

596      Broad-billed Flycatcher              Palmerston                   -12.48948, 130.99638

597      Silver-backed Butcherbird          Humpty Doo                 -12.575, 131.114

598      Black-banded Fruit Dove           Nawurlandja                 -12.8594, 132.7941

599      Hooded Parrot                           Pine Creek                   -13.82220, 131.83472

600      Gouldian Finch                          Edith Falls Road           -14.19057, 132.07523

601      Great-billed Heron                    Katherine Gorge            -14.31135, 132.44863

As the Australian bird list has grown over the years, through the combined effects of more birdwatchers, greater mobility of birdwatchers (especially to Australia’s offshore territories and dependencies), increases in recording and acceptance of vagrants particularly through digital photography, and the reassignment of species through taxonomic revision (i.e. a current trend in ‘splitting’), there is now need for a 700 Club and even an 800 Club!

Tony Palliser maintains a list of birders who have seen 600 or more birds at his Australian Birders Totals page at http://www.tonypalliser.com/totals.html  (or at least a list of those who are interested enough to provide him with their names and details – I know plenty of birders above the 600 mark not on the list!). And when you join any of these Clubs, you are entitled to a special badge to acknowledge the effort it takes to get there (see Andrew Isles’ web page at http://andrewisles.com/birding-badges/  for further details on the badges available).

The 600 Club badge.

So while it’s good to finally reach the 600 milestone – and I now sit at the very bottom of Tony’s list, and will soon contact Andrew for my badge – given that it has taken me the better part of 25 years to get to 600, I think it could be quite a while yet before I achieve 700…

Top End Dragonflies

In the second half of May, Karen and I took off for Darwin. The minimum overnight temperatures in Canberra in the days preceding our departure had bottomed out at -6 C and we were very much looking forward to the tropical heat of Darwin: low to mid 30s during the day and overnight dropping to as cold as 20 C!

The underlying reason for the Trip was Karen’s niece’s wedding (thanks Emily!), but we were going to take advantage of the opportunity and finally get to Kakadu National Park. And Katherine Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park.

Wedding on a Darwin sand bar.

Part of the Nourlangie (Burrunggui) Rock outcrop, Kakadu National Park.

Sunset cruise on Katherine Gorge, Nitmiluk National Park.

There are lots of stories that could be told, but this post will focus only on the dragonflies I saw on the trip. One of the things about the tropics is that dragonflies are around even in the months of the southern winter. The last dragonflies I saw in Canberra for the season were a few Tau Emeralds, back on 18 April, along Sullivan’s Creek where it ‘flows’ through the Australian National University on its way to Lake Burley Griffin. And that was about a month after most species had disappeared from the local rivers, wetlands and ponds around mid-March.

The northern parts of Australia are very much dominated, in terms of dragonfly fauna, by the very large and cosmopolitan family Libellulidae. And damselflies, the common and obvious ones at least, are predominantly represented by the Coenagrionidae. On this trip I encountered a total of 19 species of dragonflies and damselflies. Of these, four were Coenagrionid damselflies (two of which were new for me), there was the Australian Tiger from the family Gomphidae (or Lindeniidae by some taxonomies), and 14 were Libellulids of various kinds (including six new). So eight new species for the trip which I didn't think was too bad. 

Just to put this into context a bit – although I’ve taken photos of dragonflies that caught my attention in the past, including the stunning Cape York ones described in an earlier post (see Cape Dragonflies), it’s only been in the past 12 months or so that I’ve really looked for dragonflies in a more systematic and concerted way. 

The Slender Skimmer Orthetrum sabina was one of the more common of my new species.

The species I’d already seen, either on a previous trip to Darwin in 2008 for Karen’s other niece’s wedding (Thanks Mel!), in tropical Queensland, or just elsewhere in Australia, were:

Eastern Billabongfly

Common Bluetail   

Australian Tiger

Blue Skimmer

Palemouth

Scarlet Percher

Wandering Percher

Painted Grasshawk

Red Arrow

Graphic Flutterer

Common Glider

And the eight new species from this trip are:

Blue Riverdamsel

Colourful Bluetail

Red Baron

Speckled Skimmer

Rosy Skimmer

Slender Skimmer

Chalky Percher

Pygmy Percher

On this trip, the first opportunity I had to look for dragonflies was at the Sanctuary Lakes in Gunn, a suburb of Palmerston 20 km south-east of Darwin. These lakes were just down the road from where we were staying with Karen’s sister, Jen, and her husband Steve, so I ended up going there three times over our first weekend. The first visit, on the Friday afternoon not long after we had arrived (no point wasting time!) I was essentially bird watching, and sadly without camera, but did notice several Common Bluetails and Eastern Billabongflies, both species familiar to me and common in Canberra. But over the next two visits (with camera) I also picked up Blue Riverdamsels and Colourful Bluetails (both new as indicated above), a Blue Skimmer and Wandering Percher (again common in Canberra) as well as a Red Arrow which I’d only seen once previously (in Gladstone, Queensland), and several Slender Skimmers and a Pygmy Percher (both new).

So almost half of all the dragonfly species I saw on this trip, I first saw at these local suburban lagoons.

A pair of Common Bluetails Ischnura heterosticta 
in the 'wheel' position, i.e. mating.

A pair of Eastern Billabongflies Austroagrion watsoni mating.

A Blue Riverdamsel Pseudagrion microcephalum, the first of my new species.

A male Colourful Bluetail Ischnura pruinescens - new species number 2!

Blue Skimmer Orthetrum caledonicum on a water lily bud.

Wandering Percher Diplacodes bipunctata,
also on a water lily bud; obviously very convenient perches.

A male Red Arrow Rhodothemis lieftincki, brilliant in the bright sunlight.

Despite being very common in the right places, this was my first Slender Skimmer Orthetrum sabina.

Another Slender Skimmer Orthetrum sabina.

And my first Pygmy Percher Nannodiplax rubra,

Before leaving Darwin and heading across to Kakadu, we made a quick visit to Buffalo Creek, at the northern limit of peri-urban Darwin. The purpose of this visit was to try (yet again) to see a fairly large but very elusive bird, a Chestnut Rail Eulabeornis castaneoventris, for which Buffalo Creek has long been a supposedly likely spot. But the tides and the activity of boat and fishing people were against us and I dipped for the fifth time. But I did see the first of several Painted Grasshawks in some roadside vegetation on the way back. Lighting and the angle of the sun can make a difference, but I have the impression that the Top End versions of this species I’ve seen have in general been less intensely coloured than those I've seen in Cape York. I don’t know how valid this assessment might be, or whether it's just artefactual of my limited experience with the species.

Painted Grasshawk Neurothemis stigmatizans.

Our first stop on the drive across to Kakadu was at Fogg Dam, a beautiful wetland spot, well-known to birdwatchers. And it impressed as much as it had on our first visit there in June  2008. On that earlier trip I had photographed a dragonfly that turned out to be a Red Swampdragon. It remains the only individual of this species I’ve seen.

Red Swampdragon Agrionoptera insignis, at Fogg Dam, about 60 km east of Darwin (June 2008).

Along the causeway that divides the lagoon in half, I saw a few more Slender Skimmers (now old mates!), a few Graphic Flutterers, and my first Chalky Percher. There were also hundreds of Common Bluetails, mostly paired up in an apparent mating frenzy .

A female Chalky Percher Diplacodes trivialis on the causeway at Fogg Dam. New species number 5.

One of many such branches festooned with mating Common Bluetails Ischnura heterosticta.

I found it particularly interesting that there were such large assemblages of mating Common Bluetails. In Canberra, where they are also very common around lakes and dams, I've rarely seen them paired up. Lots of patrolling males, and lots of laying females, but very few seen in tandem or in the wheel formation (see comment in previous post Damsels - down at the local.)

Another interesting difference was that the male Common Bluetails I saw in the Top End all tended to have the humeral stripe very much reduced relative to those I’m used to in Canberra. Also, some of the females of the mating pairs were as blue as the males. I’ve not seen this in Canberra, where all the females I’ve seen so far have been of the more typical dull brownish colour with at best an orange or greenish tinge to the thorax. Apparently this colour form variation in females is not especially uncommon in some Coenagrionids, including Ischnura. It's been hypothesized that, although this might appear to be disadvantageous if it reduced the likelihood of mating, it might also be advantageous if the male-coloured females were subject to less harassment during egg laying in high population density situations (page 52 of Dragonflies of the World by Jill Silsby, 2001).

The female of this mating pair of Common Bluetails Ischnura heterosticta is of the male or blue colour form.

Reduced humeral stripe of Common Bluetail - mating male in Darwin

Normal humeral stripe of Common Bluetail - mating male in Canberra

We left Fogg Dam and headed east towards Kakadu, stopping briefly at the Mary River Billabong. It was hot, and getting close to lunch time, so we didn’t stay long, but I did pick up some more Eastern Billabongflies, Colourful Bluetails, a Wandering Percher and my first Australian Tiger for the trip.

Australian Tiger Ictinogomphus australis.

Single individuals of Australian Tiger, Red Arrow and Pygmy Percher were also present at Flying Fox Creek (within Kakadu, now at  a small creek crossing where we stopped to have a quick picnic lunch). 

Another Australian Tiger at Flying Fox Creek...

... and getting accustomed to seeing Pygmy Perchers.

Our first real stop in Kakadu was at Mamukala Wetlands. Here I saw several Graphic Flutterers, a Wandering Percher, and the first Common Glider for the trip.

Graphic Flutterer Rhyothemis graphiptera.

Graphic Flutterer Rhyothemis graphiptera.

We finally made it to Jabiru, where we’d be staying overnight, and just before sundown we had a quick look around the lake there. The only dragonflies I saw were Graphic Flutterers and a couple of Scarlet Perchers, but they were interesting for their evening behaviour. The Graphic Flutterers were swarming in clouds of up to 20 or so, and both they and the perchers were alighting on the highest tips of various palm or pandanus fronds. I speculated on whether the flutterers were swarming as a pre-roost behaviour, or whether they might have been following swarms of small midges or other potential food insects, but I really don't know. 

Late afternoon Graphic Flutterer

Part of an evening swarm of Graphic Flutterers

A pre-roosting Graphic Flutterer

And a parked percher amidst the pandanus.

The next day, after an exhilarating short flight over the western Arnhemland escarpment and East Aligator River, we headed down to Nourlangie. At the nearby Anbangbang Billabong we again encountered a few Graphic Flutterers and a Pygmy Percher. Higher up, a lone Common Glider posed beautifully on the top of a twig on a bush on the rocky escarpment of the Nawurlandja lookout. At Nourlangie itself near the rock art galleries, well away from any obvious water, were a male and female Painted Grasshawk.

Common Glider Tramea loewii at the Nawurlandja lookout.

Another take on the Common Glider Tramea loewii at the Nawurlandja lookout.

Female Painted Grasshawk Neurothemis stigmatizans at Nourlangi.

From there we moved on to the Gagudju Lodge at Cooinda, near the adjacent famous Yellow Water billabong and floodplains. We did the obligatory early morning cruise at Yellow Water, where my focus was on the birdlife. I was desperate to see a Great-billed Heron which are sometimes seen here (I’d not yet managed to see them around Darwin). The only dragonflies I noticed were a few Blue Riverdamsels, including one that had decided the pronounced eyebrow ridge of an Estuarine Crocodile was a far superior perching spot to any of the nearby emergent branches! (This was also the first Estuarine Crocodile, or 'salty', I'd ever seen).

A Blue Riverdamsel gets familiar with a Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile.

After a fantastic buffet breakfast back at the Lodge, Karen and I decided to have a fairly relaxed day, so I spent a bit of time later in the morning just wandering about the grounds. There is a small jetty type affair on the Jim Jim creek just near our accommodation which provided access to some woodland and its birds as well as the creek. Here, in between ticking off birds, I photographed another Australian Tiger, but also a couple of other dragonflies that, after returning to the air-conditioned comfort of our room, I determined from the field guide to be Speckled Skimmers. 

But I couldn’t understand why the only photo in the field guide was of a dried museum specimen. It wasn’t until I got home to Canberra and started looking into things that I discovered how unlikely it might have been to have seen this species. It seems (based on the Atlas of Living Australia) that there are only half a dozen or so (museum) records of this species from Australia and that they were not known to occur in Australia until 1968 when John Watson collected a specimen from eastern Arnhemland. (The species was first described by Lieftinck in 1933 based on a New Guinea specimen). And, as far as I can determine, there are no previous photographs of a living individual anywhere. So I’m really chuffed to have seen these dragonflies and to have got the photos.

Speckled Skimmer Orthetrum balteatum - possibly the first ever published photo of a live individual in the wild?

Speckled Slimmer Orthetrum balteatum - Cooinda, Kakadu National Park.

To this point, all the dragonflies and damselflies I’d come across were associated with lagoons or riverine pools. At Gunlom, in the south west of Kakadu, we were up in the escarpment country with smaller faster-flowing creeks, but even here all the dragonflies I saw were still associated with slower-moving sections of water. I finally came across my first Rosy Skimmer, a female Red Arrow (which looks quite different to the bright red male), and another bright red species which I’m pretty sure is a Red Baron (also new). 

A Rosy Skimmer Orthetrum migratum - one I'd been wanting to see and now my 7th new species for the trip.

A female Red Arrow Rhodothemis lieftincki (compare to male in photo above).

I think I'm fairly sure this might be a Red Baron, Urothemis aliena.
Whatever, it was my 8th and final new species for this trip.

From here on I didn't see so many dragonflies. At Pine Creek I was focused on seeing Hooded Parrots, and at Katherine Gorge it was sunset anyway - stunning for the scenery but not so good for odonates. At Edith Falls we did see more Scarlet and Pygmy Perchers and Eastern Billabongflies. And in Darwin, we were of course finally concentrating on the wedding which was on the final day of our northern sojourn. 

But I did see a Palemouth at the picnic area at the outlet creek from Manton Dam on our way back to Darwin (I'd only seen a couple of these previously, in Gladstone in Jan 2014), and I was surprised to see a Chalky Percher right out on the intertidal rocks at Nightcliff in Darwin - so I'll just finish up with a couple of photos of them as this post has gone on for longer than I expected anyway.

A male Palemouth Brachydiplax denticauda.

Chalky Percher (immature male?) on tidal rocks at Nightcliff, Darwin.

It was an excellent trip. Not just for the dragonflies either - my next post will be on the new birds I saw...

But seriously, it was a fantastic trip - we finally got to Kakadu and Katherine Gorge, the weather was perfect, and there was lots of catching up with family, including weddings and new generations, which doesn't happen frequently enough. Good reason to return...