WESTERN AUSTRALIA PART 3 – Cheynes Beach to Perth: Honey Possum , Red-eared Firetail, Rock Parrot & three mega-skulkers

After checking out Corakerup Reserve we headed west to Cheynes Beach for a 3-night stay in a chalet in the caravan park. The site is the best known hotspot for three notoriously skulky south-west WA endemics – Western Whipbird, Western Bristlebird and Noisy Scrubbird. We were fortunate to see the whipbird at Corakerup because we failed to see or hear it at all at Cheynes Beach, unlike my last visit there. The coastal scenery was outstanding as usual and the wildflowers put on probably the best display of the trip.

Cheynes Beach wildflowers

Cheynes Beach

The second of the skulkers, Western Bristlebird, is generally the easiest to see. We saw a pair well in Arpenteur Nature Reserve and heard it in three other spots.

Western Bristlebird

Western Bristlebird

We heard Noisy Scrubbird at four sites – two each in Arpenteur and the adjoining Waychinnicup National Park. The usual way to see this bird is to watch the seaside tracks that cut through its territories in the hope one will cross fleetingly. We did this in the late afternoon and saw three crossing within an hour or so, though none offered a photographic opportunity. (I saw my first Noisy Scrubbird the same way in 1979 at Two Peoples Bay, but had to wait two days for one to cross the track!)

Scrubbird vigil

The formidable King's Skink was another regular track-crosser.

Star of the trip was a Honey Possum spotted late one cool morning by Lorna feeding on eucalypt blossums about 1km from the caravan park. I'd long wanted to see this species and just the previous night had wandered about for a couple of hours, checking out numerous flowering banksia flowers without success. The possum fed quietly for about five minutes before quietly disappearing into the foliage. There was no sign of the Western Pygmy Possum that I saw so well in the caravan park during my last visit.

Honey Possum

The caravan park is an excellent place to stay, with easy walking access to all the targets.

 Around our cabin we had a pair of Red-eared Firetail in residence with fully fledged young. This species can be tricky so it was good to nail it.

Red-eared Firetail

Red-eared Firetail

Around the cabin were other good birds including Western Spinetail, White-breasted Robin and Red-winged Fairy-wren.

Western Spinebill

White-breasted Robin

Red-winged Fairy-wren female

Red-winged Fairy-wren male

Brush Bronzewing and Common Bronzewing were equally numerous in the area.

Brush Bronzewing

We found the distinctive western race of Southern Emu-wren several times in the heath.

Southern Emu-wren

After leaving Cheynes Beach we headed north, returning to Stirling Ranges National Park but this time the southern entrance. Here we finally connected with Western (Rufous) Fieldwren which we'd missed in several spots where I'd seen it previously; the bird is evidently in decline.

Western (Rufous) Fieldwren

We had an immature Swamp Harrier close to the road.

Swamp Harrier

We headed south to Albany's Middleton Beach and then west to Conspicuous Cliff, looking for Rock Parrot unsuccessfully in both places. We had beach-washed Flesh-footed Shearwaters on Middleton Beach and had seen a few off Cheynes Beach earlier. Our next destination for an overnight stay was Nornalup. We had pretty well cleaned up the south-west targets so this was a scenic visit to take in the magnificent karri/tingle forests and countless kangaroo paw and other wildflowers in full bloom.

Wildflowers near Nornalup

We decided to take the back roads north to Rocky Gully where we easily found the pastinator race of Western Corella - a potential split - just west of the town along Franklin Road.

Western Corella pastinator

Then it was on to Augusta for another overnight stay. Cape Leeuwin is flanked by the Southern Ocean to the east and the Indian Ocean to the west. The lighthouse grounds are a hotspot for Rock Parrot, the only south-west WA target we still needed. We failed in the late afternoon but sunset over the Indian Ocean was something to see.

Sunset Cape Leeuwin

Early the next morning we had Red-capped Parrot on the way to the lighthouse.

Red-capped Parrot

Then inside and outside the lighthouse grounds we found a total of 15 Rock Parrots, some of which were extremely confiding. They were busily feeding on grass seeds and many had full crops. The birds are nesting on small islands offshore currently but fly to the mainland to feed. Our parrots presumably would be returning soon to feed nestlings.

Rock Parrot

Rock Parrot 

We headed north to Bunbury and Douro Point, where a Eurasian Curlew had turned up a week earlier. The curlew has been visiting this spot for the past three summers. The track in is closed to traffic so we walked to the end of the point. It was low tide so we scanned the mudflats, finding a Eurasian Curlew with a Whimbrel in the scope distantly but the curlew flew and couldn't be relocated.

We continued on to Fremantle for the final two nights of the trip. We checked out the North Mole Lighthouse at the Swan River's entrance and saw a few Fairy Terns in breeding plumage feeding; they nest nearby in a small colony that evidently is thriving. Around Perth we visited Lakes Claremont and Herdsman, seeing plenty of ducks including several Freckled at Herdsman. We tried unsuccessfully for Australian Spotted Crake at the Baigup Wetland but Dodge and Lorna scored it the next morning after dropping me off at the airport for the flight home. Once again, thanks to Dan Mantle, Plaxy Barratt and Frank O'Connor for assistance with some sites.

Fairy Tern