It's been very wet in the Mount Isa region this year. But, at time of writing (mid-February 2026), this was nothing like what was received further east of us. They had some serious flooding. In Mount Isa we had 425 mm rain from the start of December 2025 to 10 February 2026: and, it looked like there would be more to come [Editor’s note: this proved to be very true – see below]. Lake Moondarra’s water level rose to the extent that it covered all the mud flats

As the Blue-winged Parrot is basically a southern species, I thought “I'm not going to get them any closer to here”. So, after not much deliberation, I set off on a solo trip (which was just on 3,000 km return), to see what I could find.

We have had a very good start for the up and coming wet-season, with more than last year’s rain total so far. Let’s hope it continues. The count of visiting migratory birds appears to be down on other years. I hope there are a few late arrivals.