Story and photos by Allen Friis

There is nothing more relaxing than sitting around an outback water hole, quietly watching the birds of the dry interior coming in to drink and bathe.  I had planned a trip to outback Queensland for a week, to observe and photograph some of these interesting birds and hoped the weather would stay fine for my visit.  I have travelled the 1000km trip before, only to arrive a day after good rains, which make it impossible to get in and out of the property.

Some bird species that live in the arid outback fluctuate greatly in population numbers.  During drought conditions their populations are dramatically reduced so that individuals of a species may not be seen for many years.  In good seasons, budgies will be seen in their thousands, at other times they will be entirely absent.

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