Arnhem Land excerpts

In August 2017, I had the pleasure of returning to the Northern Territory’s Arnhem Land for a buffalo stalk, which culminated in the successful hunt of a buffalo cow with an impressive 176cm horn spread (see Australian Hunter 63 magazine). What follows are a few other interesting outings from that same trip.

Pity the poor bustard

There were two bustards on the road and as we approached, they casually shifted themselves away from the track into the skinny cover of some sparse grass that the dry-season fires had somehow spared. We pulled up and I photographed the closest bird, making the most of a rare opportunity. The birds are never seen in the southern part of Australia where I live but remain fairly common in parts of the Territory.

We drove through the same area the next day and there was a pile of feathers on the edge of the track. Something or someone had obviously had a kill and it looked like one of my bustards from the previous day