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The Botanic Gardens at Mackay were as unusual as they were stunning. The gardens stretched along the river and the set up was great for walkers, families and bird watchers with a paved walkway all along. You could cross over the river and walk along the other side but the ground was a bit rougher and the birds harder to see. From the paved side there was great views of the water and the birds on it. At the northern end was a boardwalk into the water and swampy area and although it was a bit exposed, again there was great views of the bird life.
I arrived, as I always like to do, early in the morning and headed south. I was immediately rewarded with numerous Intermediate Egrets in the shallows. As I crept up on them, a pair was chasing each other around and displaying. It was a stunning sight and I took a lot of photographs.
Intermediate Egret (ardea intermedia)
A rather noisy resident of the water area was the darter with it's croaky kind of growl. Several people were interested in one very close to the edge of the water. Drying it's wings made a great photo with the reflection. The adjacent turtles queuing up to get on a log was also popular.
Australasian Darter (anhinga novaehollandiae)
Rainbow Bee-eater (merops ornatus)
Another noisy occupant of the gardens was the Blue-faced Honeyeater which is usually seen in groups actively interacting and feeding. They are bullies and will see off any other birds in their way. But goodness they are interesting to look at and to watch.
Blue-faced Honeyeater (entomyzon cyanotis)
eBird lists
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