In April I embarked on an ambitious trip with a great bunch of avid Victorian Birders. I'm friends with 1 of the group & asked if I could join the 2018 aptly named "Grasswren Tour".
The trip was to travel up the Birdsvlle Track, Boulia, Lark Quarry, Winton, Lawn Hill, Camooweal, Barkly Hwy, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Marla, CooberPedy, Port Augusta, across to Hattah-Kulkyne NP in NW Victoria & back to Melbourne.
The original plan was for me to join the group at Winton & I would finish with them at Hattah-Kulkyne NP. The trip would cover approxmately 7,000 kms in a loop over 2 weeks from Melbourne. I'd already travelled & birded along the Birdsville Track to Boulia in 2017.
It was 11am on Friday that it was discovered that the Birdsvie Track was closed south of Birdsville due to the flooded Diamantina River from the deluge of rain south of Winton to Cloncurry 5 -6 weeks earlier.
Trip planner Phil sent me an urgent message with the words "Sue, you need to leave now".
The trip route was being reversed & I had to drive 2,500 kms before I could meet up with the group just south of Coober Pedy by Sunday evening.
The 4WD was hurriedly packed & I was on my way within 90 minutes.
It was 6.30pm when I arrived at Goondiwindi that Friday evening.
I have counted my dash out of Brisbane as day 1.
My route is in black, clock-wise.
Week 1 Saturday, day 2
The next day was a big days driving south of Goondiwindi, crossing the Qld / NSW border at sunrise.
I arrived at Broken Hill around 6.15pm in the dark. I'd driven 1,200 kms on that Saturday.
There was only incidental birding along the way via Bourke.
Mean while my birder friends had left Melbourne early that morning & birded at Hattah-kulkyne NP in the NW of Victoria by 9.30am locating 10 Mallee Emu-wrens - 1 of my most wanted target birds for the trip.
Week 1, Sunday, day 3.
Sunday morning I crossed the NSW & SA border just after sunrise. I didn't see any of Broken Hill as it was dark on arrival & departure.
I arrived into Port Augusta around 11am & a went directly to the Auto Pro shop to replace the auxiliary battery. It failed on me 2 hrs after stopping at Goondiwindi on Friday evening & it wasn't holding charge for the Waeco fridge for free camping.
I was on my way again 1 hr later & contacted Phil to see where they were.
This is a photo taken of Island Lagoon near the Woomera turnoff. When full it covers 96,000 ha, but it appeared to be completely dry this time.
I met the other 14 members of the group beside the road about 3 pm & about 150 kms south of Coober Pedy.
I had driven approximately 2,500 kms in 2 days. It was a great 2 days driving though with my phone music to keep me company & caffeine keeping me alert.
My birding adventures could finally start for this trip.
For the entire trip we would stop several times a day at target locations along the highway & other random places that looked like good birding spots. On most days we would travel somewhere between 300 - 600 kms. (The photos in this blog is a small sample of the birds I saw)
We stopped at a free camp called Hutchison Memorial, 13 kms south of Coober Pedy. We were there for our next target specie the Thick-billed Grasswren. A few of us were sure we had a sighting of 1 that afternoon seeing a "fat Fairywren" tucked in next to the trunk of a bush, but the bird disappeared.
Later that evening several of the group were walking around the camp spotting for other critters. Many of the group were also keen observers of reptiles & frogs.
Besides a small snake, a Southern Spiney-tailed Gecko caught everyone's attention.
Week 1, Monday, day 4.
This is some of the landscape we were traipsing over & around to locate our bird.
Finally after an hour we located 2 birds on the other side of the highway.
Thick-billed Grasswren. Lifer no* 1 for this trip for me.
I had failed to find a different sub specie to this ssp around Mt Lyndhurst in 2017 .
A quick stop at a big & bold monument on the southern entry to Cooper Pedy.
A few of us birded at the Wastewater Treatment ponds near town.
Orange Chat
Little Grassbirds were also there.
10 very hot looking Chestnut-breasted Whiteface were located mid afternoon along the Stuart Hwy north of Marla.
Lifer no* 2 for me. We also flushed Little Buttonquail.
We crossed the SA & NT border late that afternoon.
We camped at Erldunda camping ground behind the roadhouse that night.
Week 1, Tuesday, day 5. Birding along the Stuart Hwy with random stops along the way.
Mistletoebird somewhere north of Erldunda. Also seen were Chiming Wedgebill, Red-capped Robin, Crested Bellbird & a Brown Falcon.
I watched a male Red-tailed Black-cockatoo displaying with his wife for about 10 mins at another random stop south of Alice Springs.
South of Alice Springs. We stopped at this location for a couple of hours to try & locate the Grey Honeyeater without luck.
Pallid Cuckoo.
We arrived into Alice Springs in time for lunch. Dark clouds are forming :-(
We headed for Olive Pink Botanical Gardens & traipsed around for an hour.
Everywhere you are in Alice Springs you can see parts of the beautiful McDonnell Ranges.
Grey-crowned Babbler in Olive Pink Botanical Gardens.
There were at least 2 Western Bowerbirds flying back & forth between 2 trees 100 m apart. I failed to photograph the bird, but here's his active bower.
By mid afternoon we headed out to Simpsons Gap in the West McDonnell Ranges. After the turnoff into the access road we saw this majestic Black-breasted Buzzard. It's the 1st time I've seen 1 of this specie perched on a tree.
He / she sat there for over 5 minutes with 12 cameras pointed at it, each of us taking dozens of photos.
Simpsons Gap.
There was a puddle of water closer to us than the above photo. Several honeyeaters& a few Painted Finchs were coming down for a drink & splash.
Whilst waiting for our target bird to appear we saw other critters on the ground rocks & slopes.
Long-nosed Dragon has the longest tail I've ever seen on a lizard.
There a few Black footed Wallabies on the slopes of the gorge.
Our target bird appeared about 4.30 pm. It's been 7 yrs since I've seen Dusky Grasswrens. What little beauties they are. A newbie for most of the birders with me though.
On the way out was a male Hooded Robin.
Inland Thornbill amongst the scrub not far from Simpson't Gap.
We also saw Western Bowerbird, Aust Ringneck sspPort Lincoln, several honeyeater species whilst admiring our views of the West Macdonnell ranges.
Ghost Gums (I think) were everywhere were a stark contrast with the red earthy colours of the centre of Australia.
It sprinkled rain on us as we were setting up camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs.
After dinner in the camp kitchen we watched a few more critters.
Unknown moth on my seat.
Matt is a lover of the 8 legged creatures. He found several Tarantulas around the camp ground, including a couple that crawled about through our legs....mine were up on the chair.
Matt located both a male & a female.
Another unknown moth.
Week 1, Wednesday, Day 6 & we had a bird guide for the next 8 hrs to take us around some of his favourite haunts to locate some of our target species.
We drove out of town to locate Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens.
Guide Mark C looked down into the spinifex & noticed a Burton's Legless Lizard eating a skink.
We saw 1 Rufous-crowned Emu-wren make an appearance, but it shot back down into the spinifex 5 seconds later. More birds could be heard on another slope. It was a lifer specie for most of the group, but I had seen this pretty bird 8 mths earlier near Lark Quarry / Winton, Qld.
200 m back along the road we located Banded Whiteface. Lifer no* 3
Taken to another location we saw several honeyeater species incl Grey-fronted Honeyeater.
Also there was a Red-rumped Kingfisher.
Blending into the road surface was a grasshopper.
We next visited Ewaninga Conservation Park.
Along the short walk into the Rock carvings was our next target specie.
Spinifexbird was a lifer no* 4 for me & a lifer for a few other birders in the group.
A 2nd grasshopper for the day.
We were taken into a patch of Mulga wood to try and locate a Grey Honeyeater. We were told to look carefully as the Slaty-backed Thornbill looks similar to the Grey Honeyeater.
We traipsed about for ages with no luck of the honeyeater. We tried another 2 locations to find the Grey Honeyeater with out sighting any.
Slaty-backed Thornbill.
Mark was quick to stop this Ringed Brown Snake from disappearing into the grass.
We had < 1 minute of sighting before it slithered away.
These are non venomous snakes, but it wasn't happy with us.
An old sheet of corrugated roofing iron was lifted to reveal this Bynoe's Gecko(? correct name)
There were several ponds of water in various stages of treatment that formed a perfect habitat for at least 20 species of birds that we identified.
Along that rocky edge is a Long-toed Stint.
Red-necked Avocets. Other species there included Freckled Duck, Grey Teals, Grebe's x 2 sp, Wood, Marsh & Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Native-hens.
We flushed an Owlet-nightjar from it's roost. These birds are only usually seen during the day when they're flushed or seen in their roosting hole of a tree.
Still along the same road & now late afternoon we called into a bore & dam. Our group sat beside the dam waiting for Bourke's Parrots to come in for a drink.
Galahs making use of the last light. Eventually 8 Bourke's Parrots came in for a last light drink.
Week 1, Thursday, day 7 & we headed north from Alice Springs. We stopped near Borrow Creek for another crack at seeing more Dusky Grasswrens. This is the hill we walked over.
We located 2 Dusky Grasswrens in 1 area from the top down to the other side & 2 other birders of the group located another 2 closer to the road.
Random stop along the Stuart Hwy with 2 Brown Falcons in a tree.
Another random stop was to see what birds were on the expanse of water in the paddock just off the highway. Pink-eared Ducks & Grey Teal were there, but if we had more time there could have been other species.
Lunch time stop was at the Devils Marbles day use area. We had internet service at the picnic shelter.
Desert Hibiscus.
There was a small pond of water behind some of the large boulders. Several species were taking advantage of the water. Painted Finch were also seen there.
Grey-headed Honeyeater.
Grey-headed Honeyeater & a couple of Zebra Finchs.
A Long nosed Dragon was sunning itself on the rocks.
We arrived at Tennant Creek mid afternoon. We collected supplies from the shops & then headed out to the local Wastewater Treatment Plant.
There were several ponds of water with 32 bird species there, including Common & Wood Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Pink-eared Ducks, Swans, Grebe's x 2 sp.
1 of the guys picked up an Australian Pratincole on the bank way down the back.
2 kms north of Tennant Creek we called into another Dusky Grasswren site. The Dusky Grasswrens were quite elusive here.
Grey-fronted Honeyeater.
We turned off towards the Barkly Highway & aarrived at 41 Mile Bore Rest Area & free camp site in the dark. There were no facilities here.
Week 1, Friday & day 8. We birded around our immediate area for an hour before continuing east along the Barkly Hwy. Pacific Swifts were seen over the road & became a lifer specie for a couple of the birders.
We called into Barkly Homestead & Campground. Whilst waiting for some of the guys to buy breakfast, a Peregrine Falcon was seen on 1 of the trees.
Next stop along the highway was at Wongarah Bore Rest Area. 16 bird species were seen including a Little Eagle, Black-breasted Buzzard, Singing & 1 Rufous-throated Honeyeater, Budgies & possibly a hundred Zebra Finches that were coming in for water at the bore dam.
A lone & immature White-browed Woodswallow was there, with a Zebra Finch pinching it's space too.
We crossed the NT / Queensland border at lunch time.
We fuelled up at Camooweal & headed out to Lake Francis on the Georgina River. I've been here before & it was nearly dry apart from a few deeper water holes. Free camping is allowed along the banks for several kms of this Georgina River. The 1 hr we spent in the area we amassed 29 bird species.
70 kms east of Camooweal we headed north along the Riversleigh Rd to Lawn Hill.
We stopped at a few places along the road that seemed popular birding wise.
We spent over an hour at 1 hotspot.
I have been to Boodjamulla NP aka Lawn Hill Gorge & Adels Grove before, so I'd seen most of the species seen.
Species seen inlcuded Rufous-throated, Yellow-tinted & White-gaped Honeyeaters, Great Bowerbirds & a pair of Long-tailed Finchs delighted everyone as well.
Varied Lorikeet were a favourite with the group & a lifer for most.
1 of the 3 wet& shallow creek crossings. This 1 could have been Gregory River (?)
1 last stop before the light was going yielded Spinifex Pigeons, Spotted Harrier &
Rufous Songlark
It was near dark when we arrived into Adels Grove.
My passenger for the trip Stephan & I arrived 45 mins before everyone else & we checked in before the office closed.
Setting up camp for me for this trip has been simple as I have been sleeping in the car (a mattress fits nicely down 1 side from behind the front passenger seat.) All I had to do was wash / shower & heat a defrosted meal that was leftovers from home cooked meals of the previous couple of months.
Soon after arriving I heard Barking Owls calling from the trees above us in "The Grove" camp section.
Week 1, Saturday & day 9 - we birded around Adels Grove until the office opened so the others in the group could pay for their camp sites.
Blue-winged Kookaburra
Double-barred Finch
A Northern Fantail wouldn't sit still longer than a few seconds as it flitted about for insects.
Buff-sided Robins there in Adels Grove are a favourite. Lifer specie most other birders in the group.
This pair were seen down beside Lawn Creek near Boodjamulla NP day use area.
It was about 9am before we started out onto the track to Indarri Falls in the Boodjamulla NP.
I was quite anxious to get out there as it was already about 34*C. Eventually it would rise further to near 38*C by the time we had finished the walk 90 mins later.
The walk up to Indarri Falls is exposed, but the scenery from the lookout was spectacular.
The falls are that piece that divides the Upper & Lower Gorges. On a previous visit in 2014 hubby & I had our own kayak & paddled up the 2 gorges. To get to the upper gorge we had to take the kayak out of the water & re launch it on the other side of the falls.
The white slick is calcium that leaches from the limestone plateau to the west. There area several springs that feed into Lawn Hill Creek. The high sandstone cliffs lining the gorge along with the lush vegetation give the water an emerald appearance.
A dragon was flushed from it's shady spot.
That's the walk down from the top of the gorge. The track goes straight up just past that tree in the middle of the photo. The other way is more gentler & the park rangers recommend to people to take the clockwise route. We did pass some brave people going anti-clockwise & in searing heat.
The National Park runs tours up the gorge for those who can't paddle up or walk up the gorge.
Canoes can be hired to paddle.
Returning along the Pandanas shaded creek I found a couple of Crimson Finchs.
It was quite difficult to get photos of Purple-crowned Fairywrens. I finally saw a female foraging for insects when everyone else had moved away.
There were no fully coloured male birds about. This is a male bird playing around with car accessories in 2014 in the NP camp ground.
Walking around the camp ground at lunch time we saw a group of Grey-crowned Babblers.
The Arafura Fantail was like the Northern in that it didn't stay still longer than nano seconds.
Also in The Grove was a Paperbark Flycatcher.
Mid afternoon we all took a drive back down along Riversleigh Rd. A few stopped at 1 of the creek crossings. We all were doing our own thing this part of the day. Stephan & I underestimated how far it would be to get to the next creek crossing. We turned around at Riversleigh Fossil site. We did get some birding in too, so the drive wasn't wasted.
About 4.30pm a call went out on the UHF radio from Jack W telling us that his group had seen a few Pictorella Mannikins. From both directions of Riversleigh Rd, 4 other cars hot tailed it back to where Jack's car was parked. He met us at the road & took us into the area about 200 m from the road.
They had stopped at a dry creek & walked to find a few small ponds of water. The birds were coming down for a drink in the hot afternoon.
Also coming for a drink were several other birds including Long-tailed Finch, Zebra Finch,
Red-winged Parrots, Singing Honeyeaters, Paperbark Flycatcher & more.
Diamond Dove
I saw at least 6 Rufous-throated Honeyeaters.
Finally 3 Pictorella Mannikins came down for a drink again after the main group departed. A very unexpected lifer specie no* 5 for the trip.
Week 1, Sunday, day 10 had us leave Adels Grove before sunrise. I departed 1st so as not to be on the tail end of cars consuming dust into our snorkel & air filter.
It was a good move as just a few kms down Riversleigh Rd a Spotted Nightjar flew across the road.
We stopped at a couple of places along the road when there seemed to be more bird activity.
60 Budgerigar & 30 Cockatiels were flying about at 1 location.
I also had to stop when the bitumen started again so I could get the air compressor out to put air back into the car tyres. I let the air out 2 days earlier when the gravel road started travelling up to Lawn Hill. This is a safety measure to try to eliminate chances of cutting a tyre or getting a tyre puncture from sharp stones.
We arrived mid morning at McNamara Road, about 70 kms west of Mt Isa.
Grasswren birders flock to this road to look for the Carpentarian Grasswren.
McNamara Rd is now a bitumen road. 4 yrs earlier this road was a dusty gravel road for mining trucks. Back then we had to switch our UHF radio on in the event mine trucks wanted to give us direction.
We pulled up at an area near the most recent Carpentarian sighting & walked westwards. We traipsed about for around 90 mins. the group had split into 2 & we each located a bird. Once we'd seen our bird ever so briefly we joined the other group who had another along a shrub covered gully.
I didn't get any photos this time. It was a lifer for most of the group. Also seen were 2 Black-tailed Treecreepers in the 36* C heat.
Feeling very lucky we departed for Lake Moondarra. We spent 2.5 hours driving around several parts of the lake. The lake is looking quite spectacular with the flooding rain in early March. 4 yrs earlier the water level was down to about 34%. Other birds seen not photographed here included Wood Sandpiper, Glossy Ibis, Masked & White-browed Woodswallows, Spinifexbird at the back near the 4WD track, several Rufous-throated Honeyeaters & I heard a Black-chinned Honeyeaters distinctive call.
The scenery wasn't bad either.
A single Great -crested Grebe
There were about 18 Indian Peafowl around the picnic ground. These are an eBird tick able bird :-O
We drove for a couple of kms along a rough & rutted out track.
Matt picked out a Freshwater Crocodile.
When leaving we spotted an Aust Bustard.
A Little Woodswallow was on the power lines.
Week 2, Monday & day 11 had us up really early & at Pamela Street Kalkadoon Grasswren site just after sunrise. Mt Isa is waking up to a new day.
Catching some early morning sun was a rock wallaby
The most popular site for our target bird is somewhere along these rocky slopes between the 2 water tanks in Pamela Street.
We didn't hear a squeak until we got to near the bottom where the tracks appear to cross over (just right of centre) A lot of care was needed trekking down the rudimentary track down this slope as feet were shifting under loose stones.
We spent up to an hour locating the Kalkadoon Grasswren & we came up trumps with 2 birds. 1 of the birds hopped about across the rocks for a good 10 mins giving us wonderful sightings.
4 Grasswren species seen in the week since Coober Pedy. The group also saw Striated Grasswren at Hattah-kulkyne NP. So we were on a roll with 100% sightings with the attempts.
We stopped at Corella Dam.
I believe this is a huge Merten's Water Dragon was sunning itself. It is way bigger than expected 1 m length from Mr Google.
Corella Dam from a lookout.
There is spacious free camping with no facilities around parts of the lake. The bird species here included a couple dozen Great Crested Grebe's, a Black-necked Stork - aka Jabiru,
Not far from Cloncurry we called into Chinaman Creek Dam. Again the dam was very full from the rain 6 weeks earlier.
In the trees next to the dam was a pair of Aust Ringneck Parrots - ssp cloncurry.
A Paperbark Flycatcher was also there.
Next stop was at Cloncurry Wastewater Treatment Ponds. Included in the list from there were Pink-eared Ducks, Plumed Whistling Ducks, Grey Teal, a single Sharp-tailed Sandpiper & Diamond Dove.
1 lone Spinifex Pigeon was there too.
We stopped beside the road a couple of times as we noticed Aust Pratincoles flying past or in the paddocks. When we stepped out of our cars to view this bird the flies were horrendous. We'd been putting up with them for the past week, but this was by far the worst I'd endured. Taking photos was a massive challenge.
I also had 2 Flock Bronzewings fly past & then across the Hwy in front of me not far south of where we saw the Aust Pratincoles.
We finally arrived at Bough Shed camp ground in the Bladendsurgh NP, just 20 kms south of Winton. Owlet-nightjar & a Barn Owl were calling during the evening.
Week 2, Tuesday & day 12 we headed down Winton-jundah Rd for approx 110 kms on a very good gravel road to the Lark Quarry Rd. The rest of the crew were behind me & flushed 2 Grey Falcons from beside the road. I believe I saw them from the side of my eyes with a group of Nankeen Kestrels.
There were no Gray Falcons on the telecommunication tower at Lark Quarry Rd turn-off.
We headed up the road a couple of kms & turned off along a little track towards some spinifex.
We had a GPS co-ordinate to search for 2 species I saw 8 months earlier.
We found our spot & found 2 Rufous Emu-wrens. I had the briefest of views & time for a photo.
Our next target took another few minutes more.
Rusty Grasswren wasn't happy to see 13 birders looking at it, so he took off like the road runner.
Rusty Grasswren from 2017 trip.
We then drove across Lark Quarry road to the Airport track & birded for about 90 minutes around there.
We parted company at Lark Quarry & my passenger for the trip for the past 10 days since Coober Pedy was again riding with another car of the group. The Birdsville Track was again open south of Birdsville & they travelled via Boulia, stopping at Bedourie, Cuttaburra Crossing & Birdsville for more life species. The Group located Grey Grasswrens approximately 91 kms south of Birdsville & Saw Thick-billed & Eyrean Grasswrens around Mungarannie. At Hattah-kulkyne they saw their 9th Grasswren for the trip with Striated Grasswren.
I stopped a couple of times during the drive back to Winton. I birded the edge of a Mulga woodland & I saw male & female Red-capped Robins, Halls Babblers, & Chestnut-rumped Thornbills.
Also along that section of road I watched at least 60 Diamond Doves fly across the road in a short 10 minute stop.
Female Red-capped Robin.
I returned to Winton & found a tyre repairer. He plugged the hole for me whilst I birded at the Winton Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Black Falcon overhead.
28 Black-fronted Dotterels were taking cover in the shade of the weedy bushes near the water. I've not seen this many in the same area before.
This just 1 photo of 3, but there was at least 200 Black Kites cruising the airspace over Winton & more still on the ground in shade.
A Rufous Songlark
Week 2 Wednesday, day 13
Early the next morning I went down to the Longreach Wastewater Treatment Ponds.
Diamond Dove
I headed SE along the Landsborough Hwy.
Just north of Tambo a flock of 24 Brolga were enjoying a a mini wetland in the roadside paddock.
I was seeing a lot of mulga wood habitats beside the road. I stopped at 1 site north of Augathella to see what might be there. Also there were Aust Ringneck Parrot, 4 sp of Honeyeaters & Crested Bellbird.
Inland Thornbill
Yellow Thornbill.
Week 2, Thursday, day 14 & mid morning I arrive to the Jondayan area. Doctor Creek Reserve on the Warrego Hwy has always been popular to see Painted Honeyeaters. But not today despite a couple of returning visits. I also check out some back roads looking for the Ground Cuckooshrikes that had been reported in the area a few weeks earlier. I didn't find them either.
At least this Cockatiel enjoyed my company.
I arrived home by 4pm. The odometer had shown that I travelled 7,500 kms.
I saw this sign at the caravan park in Mount Isa & thought it fitting for the end of this tour.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself doing this strip & the fast pace didn't faze me. All together, I saw over 200 bird species, 5 of them were "lifers" (new specie for me).
Many of the group amassed 30 - 50 lifers & collectively saw over 271 species for their 15 days. They drove approximately 7,500 to 8,500 kms depending on what part of Victoria they lived & a couple made a detour on their way home. I believe the group saw 8 Grasswren species. I was with them to see 5 of them.
The black line was my journey travelling clockwise. The blue line is the direction the Victorian group travelled after leaving Winton in the north.
