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| Western Grasswren |
Heading
further south through the Northern Territory, we left behind the
savannah woodlands of the Top End for more arid environs, camping at
the Tennant Creek Caravan Park overnight. In the afternoon I checked
out the nearby Mary Ann Drive and Dam - a hotspot for Dusky
Grasswren. I had heard they can be difficult here but within an hour
I heard several birds and saw 3, including one grasswren that was
quite co-operative.
 |
| Dusky Grasswren |
Little Crow was common but not
much was seen further south other than some Black Honeyeaters before
we hit Alice Springs for a 2-night stay in the Alice Springs Tourist
Park.
 |
| Little Crow |
This town was my home for 8 months in the late-1970s. During
that time I discovered Grey Honeyeater at Kunoth Bore, north of Alice
Springs. That has since been a key go-to site for this rare and
strange species. |
| MacDonald Range near Alice Springs |
 |
| Dusky Grasswren habitat near Tennant Creek |
I
was keen to connect with the bird again. They are now known from
sites much closer to town. I first visited the Alice Springs Tourist
Park and eventually spotted a single Grey Honeyeater among the
thornbills. The next day saw me at the nearby John Flynn Memorial
Park. Here I found a pair of the honeyeaters that were shy but
reasonably co-operative. Their behaviour indicated they were almost
certainly nesting.
 |
| Grey Honeyeater |
We
headed south of Alice Springs to camp at Stuart’s Well Roadhouse. I
visited the nearby Cannonball Run Monument and found another photo
target – Banded Whiteface. A pair of the birds kept their distance
but showed well enough. |
| Banded Whiteface |
The
next overnight camp was at Desert Oaks. Red-capped Robin and Splendid
Fairywren were among the few birds seen.
 |
| Desert Oaks |
 |
| Red-capped Robin |
 |
| Splendid Fairywren |
The
following night was at Kulgara behind the pub, then it was on to
Tody’s Bush Camp, north of Marla. Another Banded Whiteface was
spotted. Chiming Wedgebill was another photo target and they obliged
here. The species proved to be common throughout southern NT and
northern SA, its call resounding seemingly at every stop.
 |
| Chiming Wedgebill |
We
had a couple of nights at Coober Pedy, a shabby but interesting spot
with its labyrinth of underground homes and attractions of various
kinds. Around the William Hutchinson Monument south of town I had
Pied Honeyeater and White-fronted Honeyeater, but here and elsewhere
I failed to find another target: Thick-billed Grasswren. We then
camped at the Bon Bon Rest Area. I’d seen and photographed
Chestnut-breastedWhiteface before but hoped to reconnect it with it
here or elsewhere, but none were seen. We had another overnighter at
Woomera. A few Red Kangaroos were about but were nowhere near as common as expected.
 |
| Red Kangaroo |
 |
| Coober Pedy's underground |
 |
| Plains south of Coober Pedy |
 |
| Habitat near Marla |
Then
it was on to the town or Iron Knob. I hoped to find another target
grasswren here – Western – but that had to wait. I did have fine
views of Slender-billed Thornbill, Redthroat and Rufous Fieldwren.
 |
| Redthroat |
 |
| Rufous Fieldwren |
 |
| Slender-billed Thornbill |
We
moved on to Streaky Bay - a favoured destination from our trip around
Australia in 2014 - for a few days. Then it was off to the bottom of
Eyre Peninsula for 2 nights at Taylor’s Landing Camp in Lincoln
National Park. I’d hoped to photograph White-bellied Whipbird here.
Several birds around the camp were vocal and I saw them on 4
occasions – including one located with my thermal imager – but no
photograph of this notoriously shy species.
 |
| Taylor's Landing |
 |
| Streaky Bay |
More
obliging were the many Spotted Scrubwrens around the camp, Southern
Scrub-Robin and Western Yellow Robin.
 |
| Southern Scrub-Robin |
 |
| Spotted Scrubwren |
 |
| Western Yellow Robin |
We
headed north to Whyalla for a couple of nights and I checked out the
extensive bluebush flats on the western fringe of the city, where
Western Grasswren had been reported. I soon had a pair of the birds
that appeared to be seriously curious about this human interloper,
approaching closely. This was my 13th and last photo tick
for the trip, while I missed 4 targets. I photographed 4 of 5 grasswren targets.
 |
| Western Grasswren |
We
had a night in the interesting town of Burra and then camped
overnight on the Murray River near Renmark, our final evening in
South Australia. |
| Wildflowers were abundant throughout the arid centre |
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