Strzelecki Track 2000 continued ...
Day
seven
Returning to the Bulloo Overflow the following morning we made our way down
towards the lake and it was not long before we could hear the Grey Grasswrens
making their excited chattering calls. We could see them moving ahead of us
in the sparse clumps of lignum around the edge of the lake. We decided to stay
put and send Dave out Dave being the youngest to push the birds
back towards us. Quite a few flitted back and eventually all of them settled
in a large lignum bush out in the lake. We had excellent views in the scope
with up to eight birds visible in the one field of view, which wasnt surprising
given that we counted 40 birds leaving that lignum bush. It is gratifying that
their numbers can build up quickly after a flood. Prior to 1998, Grey Grasswren
numbers were dwindling yearly and the species was increasingly difficult to
locate.
Other birds of note at the Overflow
included a male Redthroat carrying food to a nest; good numbers of Pink-ear
Duck, Grey Teal, Hardhead, Gull-billed Tern, a few Black-tailed Native-hens
and Orange Chat and my first record at this locality of Pallid Cuckoo, and roughly
190 Plumed Whistle-ducks. On the way back to Tibooburra we saw about 20 Wedge-tailed
Eagles feeding on dead kangaroos the best numbers I have seen there since
the rabbit calicivirus went through a few years ago. A great excursion celebrated
with a few beers in the Family Hotel that night.
Day eight
Heading west the next morning to Camerons Corner, about 60 kilometres
out, we started encountering the first of many Pied Honeyeaters. There was an
incredible array of birds in flowering Eremophila maculata around the
edge of a canegrass swamp. As well as male Pied Honeyeaters doing display flights,
there were Crimson Chats and White-browed and Masked Woodswallows flocking to
the Eremophila nectar. Quite a few Black Honeyeaters were present and good numbers
of Budgerigars and Rufous and Brown Songlarks. All up, quite a spectacle.
We flushed six Stubble Quails
from the cane-grass swamp, my first record for NW NSW. Sturt National
Park gave us our first pair of Black-breasted Buzzards near their nest, more
Pied Honeyeaters, and our first Owlet Nightjar. A Corner Store ice-cream and
we were on our way west across the Strzelecki Desert. We had not gone far before
we encountered a group of Banded Whiteface. A swamp a little further on produced
the only Red-kneed Dotterel for the tour. It is difficult to overstate how fantastic
this area looked. The dunes were covered in wildflowers and water lay between
the dunes. Pied Honeyeaters were singing everywhere when we pulled up; it was
so good we decided to camp near a likely looking sand dune. Thunderstorms to
the west made us glad wed stopped. We only had a few spots of rain but
enough to bring up Neobatratus centralis a cute burrowing frog.
Day nine
I thought we were hearing Eyrean Grasswrens calling on the dune just behind
our camp the next morning but we walked about a kilometre before we saw a solitary
male.We encountered two more solitary males the females were probably
on nests. Crimson Chats were nesting, and everywhere Pied Honeyeaters were doing
their display thing. A sudden shower sent us scurrying back to camp. We could
hear those calls again coming from behind the camp and this time found a pair
of Eyreans feeding young within 40 metres of camp.
The drive to Strzelecki Creek
produced a few more Spotted Harriers, dozen of Crimson Chats and Pied Honeyeaters
and hundreds of Masked and White-browed Woodswallows and Budgerigars. Near the
creek we saw our first Black Falcons and had a pair of Ground Cuckoo-shrikes
on a nest beside the road. A pretty good day, all up.
Day ten
We spent part of the following day along the Strzelecki Creek searching for
raptors for which the area is renown. While there are still quite a few raptors,
the numbers dont compare to what was there prior to the introduction of
the rabbit calicivirus. Black Kite and Wedge-tailed Eagle numbers have plummeted.
Raptors recorded: a pair of Black-breasted Buzzard, a few Spotted Harriers,
Little Eagles, Australian Hobbies and Black Falcons, and we flushed Boobook
and Barn Owls. No Letter-winged Kites or Grey Falcons were seen in this area.
It was an excellent season along the creek although the creek had not flowed
because the Cooper Creek had not reached a high enough level.
While not wishing to be repetitive,
there were hundreds of Budgerigars nesting in the coolibahs (Eucalypyus microtheca)
along the creek and all the usual desert nomads were in good numbers: Masked
and White-browed Woodswallows, Crimson and Orange Chats, White-winged Trillers
and Diamond Doves. Red-backed Kingfishers were quite plentiful and we saw around
eight more Ground Cuckoo-shrikes. Red-browed Pardalotes were located fairly
easily around our camp. Travelling south, down the Strzelecki Track, we got
a few Spotted Crakes at a roadside bore and admired a cluster of Fairy Marten
nests under a recently constructed information shelter.
A group of Australian Pratincole
caught our attention while we were crossing the gibber plain, as did a few Inland
Dotterel and Gibber Chat late in the day.
Day eleven
Near Lyndhurst the next morning, the dreaded Chestnut-breasted Whiteface was
top of the agenda. Fortunately it proved painless with half a dozen birds, including
a pair feeding a recently fledged juvenile, ticked off before long, as were
the other local specialities: Rufous Fieldwren and Cinnamon Quail-thrush, the
latter included a family group of two adults and two juveniles. However, our
roll came to an abrupt halt when we started to look in earnest for Thick-billed
Grasswrens. We scoured hills and plain and it was not until we had all but thrown
in the towel that a pair finally surrendered not far from our vehicles.
Later we were to learn that Lyndhurst recorded only one inch of rain for all
1999! Of all the inland species, grasswrens seem to drop to the most perilously
low numbers in droughts; conversely they seem to build their numbers up quickly
in a good season. The pair we saw was feeding young.
Day twelve
In sharp contrast to the well-moistened inland, the Flinders Ranges and to the
south were the driest I have ever seen them; however, we managed to locate all
we were after around the gorges. Elegant Parrots were entering nest holes in
the ancient redgums and Redthroats were performing some delightful mimicking.
Of course wherever Redthroats are, Black-eared Cuckoos are usually the support
act we saw a nice adult male. Pairs of Sparrowhawks and Black Falcons
were tending their respective nests. Grey-fronted Honeyeaters were also encountered
in the patches of mallee in the Flinders Ranges.
One of the English lads got a Grey Falcon when he returned to the vehicle to grab his camera. I thought it was the Irish that had a monopoly on luck!
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