The next morning I awoke and ate early, then made my final preparations for
the drive east. I had decided to return via Wanaaring and Bourke. For the last
couple of days I had been wondering if I might be better off choosing a
different route, since the road to Bourke (425km away) was entirely unsealed. I
was assured at Tibooburra that the road was in good condition, so I decided it
would be O.K.
Part of my pre-trip preparation each morning was to re-inflate my spare tyre.
On the notorious road south from Noccundra a few days before, I had managed to
get a slow puncture in one of my tyres. I changed this over to my spare, but I
was unable to find anyone who could fix the puncture for me in Tibooburra. The
one place that did tyre repairs was still waiting for parts to arrive for a
broken air compressor! So each day I would inflate the spare, and by the end of
each day the air pressure was almost non-existant. With this in mind I set off
for Bourke, hoping I would not need to use the spare.
During the first 100km of road I actually found the surface to be quite
reasonable, so I was happily birding away. In this stretch of road I saw more
Pied Honeyeaters, Chestnut-crowned Babblers, White-backed Swallows, Black-faced
Woodswallows, Mulga Parrots, Crimson and Orange Chats. Then the inevitable
happened. At almost half way between Wanaaring and Tibooburra I got a puncture
on one of the many cattle grids! Suddenly this route didn’t seem quite as
appealing as before. I changed my tyre for the spare and slowly lowered the car
on the jack, noting with concern how low the tyre looked already with the weight
of the car on it!
From here on my focus was on making it to Wanaaring, since at this distance
there was really no advantage in returning to Tibooburra. I decided I was going
to continue on as long as the car was still making forward progress, even if I
was driving on the wheel rim! Shortly after I started off again, I passed an
oncoming vehicle, which I waved to a stop. I was hoping that at least one car
along the road might have an air compressor to at least buy me enough time to
get to Wanaaring. Unfortunately this car did not, and I didn’t pass another
vehicle until just before I got there.
I decided that, with a slowly leaking tyre, time was too precious to stop for
any birds along the way. Despite this, I still managed to do a little
"blirding". One sighting that very nearly made me stop for a better look,
despite my circumstances, was a small flock of olive-green parrots with yellow
vent/rump and dark blue flight feathers and tail. I thought there was a real
chance that these might have been Blue-winged Parrots! Unfortunately I will
never know for sure.
In the end I made it to Wanaaring, and I was surprised to find there was
still some air left in the tyre! Luckily I was able to find someone to repair
both tyres, so the rest of the journey was infinitely more relaxing! Between
Wanaaring and Bourke I was once again on babbler patrol, hoping I might have
another chance of picking up the elusive Hall’s Babbler. However I didn’t manage
to pick up any species of babblers along the way. Once in Bourke, I visited the
National Parks and Wildlife Service office for information about Gundabooka
National Park, which is about 50km south of town. Here they produced records
showing both Hall’s Babbler and White-browed Treecreeper had been seen in the
vicinity of the Belah Quarters at the western end of the park. I decided to take
the Governess’ Cottage for one night and try one last time for these two species
the following morning before heading further south.
The cottage was basic but comfortable, and I would recommend it to anyone
wishing to visit the park. Nearby is a water bore, similar to Eulo, so I spent
what was left of the evening sitting quietly, waiting for any birds that came to
drink. Unfortunately none did, although the birdlife around the bore was a
little interesting than Eulo. The next morning I returned to the bore, where
this time there were parrots drinking at various points. During the morning, I
recorded lots of Red-winged Parrots, Mulga Parrots, Blue-bonnets, Mallee
Ringnecks, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, Yellow-throated Miners, Crested Bellbirds,
Spotted Bowerbirds, Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos, Rufous Whistlers and
White-plumed Honeyeaters. An interesting additional species that I didn’t record
elsewhere was White-fronted Honeyeaters.
Once the sun was well up, I decided to return to the cottage for breakfast
before heading off. I took a detour around the bore and into the mulga, still
hoping to pick up at least one of my target species. Finally, shortly before
returning to the cottage, I noticed two treecreepers in a nearby tree. I
carefully checked for features that would distinguish these birds from Brown
Treecreepers. Sure enough, I saw the distinctly streaked cheek patches and
undersides, and the clear eyebrow, which also seemed to end more abruptly than
that of the Browns. As if to make things a little easier for me, the bird I was
watching launched into song, which I memorised and checked when I returned home
from my trip to finally confirm I had seen my first White-browed
Treecreepers.
Back at the cottage, I noticed a party of babblers near the door, causing me
to disregard the toaster (let it burn!) and grab my binoculars while running
outside. Once again they turned out to be Chestnut-crowned Babblers, and these
were the last babblers I saw during my trip. I finished breakfast and left for
Bourke to return the keys. The drive back through Gundabooka National Park to
the highway was a slow final search for babblers which, I’m afraid, proved
unsuccessful. Back in Bourke I found some consolation in the awesome spectacle
of a huge flock of at least 100 Red-tailed Black Cockatoos! Apparently
these birds fly about town destroying ornamental garden trees.
By now it was shortly after lunchtime, and I had made the decision to push on
to Brisbane, stopping if I got too tired to continue. I had originally planned
to stop at Torrington State Recreation Area, but the lure of my own comfortable
bed and a chance to rest before the next working week swayed me to leave this
for another time. My route took me through Brewarrina, Walgett, Moree,
Goondiwindi, Warwick and finally home to Brisbane. Not wanting to waste any
time, I settled instead for some serious "blirding". Between Bourke and Moree I
managed without too much trouble to identify several interesting birds. I got
quite good views of a Square-tailed Kite, picking the distinctive pale
face, long wings with the white bullseye and the neatly square-cut pale tail
with the dark sub-terminal band. Other interesting raptors were one juvenile
Swamp Harrier as it flew across the road in front of me, and two adult
Spotted Harriers close to the roadside. I also saw Whistling Kites, Blue
Bonnets, White-winged Choughs and Apostlebirds along the way. By the time I
reached Goondiwindi it was dark, thus ending my birding for this particular
trip.
The whole trip was a fantastic experience for me and, because I had never
been to this part of Australia before and seldom been birding inland, I managed
to add 28 new birds to my lifers list! Add to this the surreal landscapes and
the utter solitude of the desert and it’s easy to appreciate why I’m already
planning where to go for my next adventure!
I’d like to thank everyone who helped me prepare for this trip with lots of
generous advice and enthusiasm!
Happy birding!
Carl Corden
Brisbane, Queensland
