Visited: late dry season
Recommendation: At this time of year, the water has dried up to a small area in the centre of the wetland (see above photo). The concentration of birdlife was incredible with several species of heron and egret, darter, stork and cranes visible. Best of all, the birds were uncharacteristically tolerant and allowed me to walk towards them to get in photography range.
Anbangbang Billabong lies in the shadow of Burrunggui (Nourlangie Rock) within Kakadu National Park and is a good place to view a wide range of wildlife. Large numbers of waterfowl and wading birds inhabit the billabong and many wallabies can be found grazing around the water's edge. There is a walking trail around the circumference of Anbangbang Billabong with many picnic areas.
Lemon-bellied Flyrobin (Microeca flavigaster)
I visited the billabong once early in the morning and another time in the mid-afternoon. It is very exposed with the only shade being a slither of trees surrounding the picnic areas and walkway that you access from the car park. The other side has more bush but actually in the paddock, there was nothing. The water was very low, the grass churned up by the buffalo and particularly in the afternoon, the sun was brutal. While I could get reasonably near to the birds, it was hard going and I couldn't stay out there very long.
Retreating to the picnic tables I was joined by several Lemon-bellied Flyrobin who were busy feeding and singing. It was a pleasant, cooler environment.
As for the birds out on the water, the photos below speak for themselves and I have added a full list of the birds I recorded on the 2 occasions I visited.
Darter (Anhinga melanogaster)
Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Green Pygmy-goose (Nettapus pulchellus)
Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata)
Pacific Heron (Ardea pacifica)
Plumed Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni)
Pied Heron (Ardea picata)
Radjah Shelduck (Tadorna radjah)
Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia)
Full list of birds seen here.
Torresian Crow
Shining Flycatcher
Paperbark Flycatcher
Green Oriole
White-bellied Cuckooshrike
Forest Kingfisher
Blue-winged Kookaburra
Whistling Kite
Little Pied Cormorant
Australasian Darter
Black-necked Stork
Green Pygmy-Goose
Wandering Whistling-Duck
Lemon-bellied Flyrobin
Magpie-lark
Willie-wagtail
Little Corella
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo
Rainbow Bee-eater
Plumed Egret
Great White Egret
Pacific Heron
Pied Heron
Little Egret
Royal Spoonbill
Straw-necked Ibis
Australian Ibis
Little Black Cormorant
Masked Lapwing
Bar-shouldered Dove
Peaceful Dove
Pacific Black Duck
Radjah Shelduck
Plumed Whistling-Duck
Magpie Goose