Marrakia Road re-visited... Gouldian Finches

Today I picked up Bas the local birder I have been out with on a  couple of occasions and we headed off to the Marrakia Road. This 50km dirt track is one of the best dry area birding routes close to Darwin, it corsses a couple of rivers (see post 3rd July) and is bordered by open flood plain and woody areas.
It has a superb reputation for some species with restricted ranges in the Top End and an outside chance of one very rare Australian endemic! All I can say as I am sitting at home 14 hours later with a beer on the go that its reputation is well earned.
We arrived at about 0730 and finally left at 1700 absolutely knackered but having had an unforgetable day. There were a couple of species that we did not get - one of which is a Marrakia speciality but due to what looked like a very severe burn event the habitat was not suitable, the perfect excuse for another visit!
The highlights are too many to mention (and would bore most people rigid) but we saw over 70 species on the road and I got some rather poor pictures...
Little Woodswallow

These lovely little birds are restricted in the Top End and are a real treat to see - they were one of three species that we saw today (White-breasted; Masked and Little).
One of our target species was Buff-sided Robin that occurs in bamboo thickets along the Mary River and is a scarce resident to this part of Australia. They are very vocal but were quite shy but with a bit of patience we did get some good views and some poor pictures..

Then on our way back we rechecked a small water hole

my attention was caught by a small, short tailed and small billed rather dull looking finch that was facing me. Our initial suspicions were confirmed when a stunning brightly coloured bird landed next to it

it was a group of four Gouldian Finches. These beautiful finches have been decimated by a combination of the cage bird trade and habitat destruction and are still a major rarity and an undoubted highlight of any birding trip to Australia. We found four - the superb dark headed male and three juvs. To say I was chuffed would be an understatement and after spending about 45 mins at the water hole hoping they would return we movd on.
About ten kilometres later we stopped at a patch of burnt wood when a black tailed tree creeper flew across the road..

whilst looking at the treecreepers I noticed a group of finches and wandered off to have a look, it was a mixed flock with masked and long tailed finches and amazingly another 30 Gouldian Finches in all plumages, some red headed and dark headed males. It was absolutely amazing and was a sight that I will never forget, I took some very poor record shots..

It was a days birding that I will never forget