Australasian Swamphens breeding close to Broome – 10,000 Birds

This yr, with the distinctive rain and flooding throughout a lot of the land there was a fantastic alternative for a lot of chicken species to maneuver to the world and breed. It’s not simply the Magpie Geese and Pied Herons that arrived and selected to breed, but in addition the Australasian Swamphens. Over current weeks and months we’ve gone from observing just a few Australasian Swamphens nipping backwards and forwards throughout the Nice Northern Freeway to the south of Broome to watching just a few hundred of them.

Juvenile Australasian Swamphen just a few weeks in the past

It didn’t take lengthy and in every single place you regarded there have been Australasian Swamphens feeding beside the freeway. They’ve poor camouflage as you possibly can see! The youthful birds wouldn’t have the very pink invoice of the adults, however they’re nearly equally blue.

Australasian Swamphens feeding beside the freeway

The Australasian Swamphens seem to make use of their ft quite a bit once they feed. Because the land dries out they’ll transfer away from the world. There are another reedbeds near Broome and Derby that they may transfer to, however they might effectively transfer additional afield. It’s most definitely that these Australasian Swamphens will journey to the north.