 Yep - budgies, red-tailed cockatoos, cockatiels and, well, flies! What great birding on the way to and out at Winton. Thanks to all the great rain (and not great for many people) the outback is brimming with birds. Here are some of the the fancy flocks we saw... Red-tailed black cockatoos We've been really hoping to see these wonderful birds on our trip, and the day we left Townsville was the day. Not far out, just at Deadman's Gully, they came screeching through the skies - probably about thirty. We stopped at Dingo Park Road and crept back up the roadside to get a better view, and a few shots. They sat in the trees and jostled among themselves for about twenty minutes, then they were on their way - and so were we - happy for having seen them. On we went for our stopover in Hughenden - where it was all happening. On our walk about town, we discovered camp drafting was in process at the showgrounds, so we sat in the afternoon sun and watched to skills of the horsemen and women. Skills we will never have, but there was much to admire. Then, after dinner at the pub (meal was fantastic), the opening concert for the annual Hughenden Country Music Festival. We discovered the likes of Karen Thornton and Luke Geiger - real talent, right there! Brolgas Next morning, back on the road for the easy two hour drive to Winton. Just near Corfield, a paddock of brolgas going about their feeding. The ample grasses all along this drive were very attractive - to them and us.  And so to Winton: what a great town with a great info centre, and plenty of activity on the dinosaur trail. We stayed mostly on the bird trail - the two are very similar. We drove out to Lark Quarry on our first afternoon - it was a long drive, mostly sealed, but there was plenty of activity. The drive started well when just out of town we saw a black kite with a fish in its beak, still dripping as it had scooped it from a pond near the road before it flew over to perch on a light post to enjoy its catch of the day. Along the road were flocks of swallows dipping and weaving across the road. We stopped for lunch in the outdoors, and soon discovered the flocking flies - well, just after they discovered us! So here's a hint: invest in a headnet - they really do work, and it's great to be able to open your mouth confident you will not get an unwelcome snack. We stopped several times along the way for roadside birding, with very pleasing results. Here are some of the birds we saw, including the white-winged fairy wren, another lifer. Raptors Yes they really were in flocks at times, especially around the road kill. We were desperately hoping for a wedge-tailed eagle (none so far), but we settled for many kites, and others. The Info Centre has two excellent handouts - one on birding, and another on the Route of the River Gum - a self-guided drive through the nearby Bladensburg National Park. We decided to do the drive the next day - it was not only informative, the birds were out in flocks! Cockatiels Soon after we turned off for Bladensburg, we inadvertently flushed feeding cockatiels (and a few pink and grey galahs). There were hundreds of cockatiels flying, landing, feeding, and then doing it all again. Budgerigars We were thrilled to find a few the day before - but today there were hundreds, going off like green firecrackers as they flocked around us. They would rise to fly and it was like a choreographed performance as they took off together and flew figure eights vertically and horizontally, sometimes disappearing as they all turned then reappearing like magic when they wheeled back again. Zebra finches and apostlebirds also abounded in the brush and trees, as did diamond doves and assorted pigeons. We'll be flocking back to Winton at the next opportunity! 
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