Hi All,
Just returned from almost two weeks at the University of New South Wales
arid zone research station at Fowlers Gap (110km north of Broken Hill, far
western NSW). The research station also caters for tourists who can stay in
self-contained cottages and wander around the many trails through the
property looking for birds. If interested visit the website at
http://bioscience.babs.unsw.edu.au/fgap/fgap.htm.
No new birds but I got to catch up with many that I haven't seen for about
six years when I was last in the outback. These included Chirruping
Wedgebills, Cinnamon Quail-Thrush, White-Winged Fairy-Wren and Rufous
Fieldwren. I had fantastic views of the fieldwrens, watching several birds
repeatedly singing from conspicuous perches above saltbushes/bluebushes,
foraging on the ground and best of all when three birds were engaged in a
curious interaction involving fast chases betwen and around bushes, and a
wing-lowering hunched over display - they were very similar to Shy Hylacola
in overall jizz (including hiding behind a bush peering through it at me)!.
Another highlight was a male White-Winged Fairy-Wren carrying a white
petal(?) around in his bill - you wouldn't think it would make much of a
difference but it did (well, at least to me, I thought he was more
attractive!).
Other good birds included a lone Elegant Parrot, many pairs of Mulga
Parrots, Chestnut-Crowned Babblers, Singing Honeyeater, Spiny-Cheeked
Honeyeater and Inland Dotterel (although I missed that one! next time).
Mammals included the four species of large macropod that are present on the
station: Red, Eastern & Western Grey Kangaroos and Euro, Short-Beaked
Echidna, Stripe-Faced Dunnart and the ferals (Red Fox, European Rabbit,
Goat).
Full list follows:
Emu
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Hoary-Headed Grebe
Australasian Grebe
Grey Teal
Australasian Shoveler
Pacific Black Duck
Hardhead
Black Swan
Eurasian Coot
White-Faced Heron
Red-Necked Stint
Black-Fronted Dotterel
Wedge-Tailed Eagle
Black Kite
Whistling Kite
Nankeen Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Peaceful Dove
Crested Pigeon
Galah
Little Corella
Mallee Ringneck
Mulga Parrot
Elegant Parrot
Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo
Variegated Fairy-Wren
White-Winged Fairy-Wren
Yellow-Rumped Thornbill
Chestnut-Rumped Thornbill
Southern Whiteface
Rufous Fieldwren
Striated Pardalote
Weebill
Yellow-Throated Miner
Spiny-Cheeked Honeyeater
Singing Honeyeater
White-Plumed Honeyeater
Cinnamon Quail-Thrush
Chirruping Wedgebill
Chestnut-Crowned Babbler
Rufous Whistler
Grey Shrike-Thrush
Australian Magpie-lark
Restless Flycatcher
Grey Fantail
Willie Wagtail
Black-Faced Cuckoo-Shrike
Grey Butcherbird
Australian Magpie
Apostlebird
Welcome Swallow
Tree Martin
Australian Pipit
House Sparrow
Zebra Finch
Mistletoebird
58 SPECIES
Short-Beaked Echidna
Stripe-Faced Dunnart
Red Kangaroo
Western Grey Kangaroo
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
Euro (Common Wallaroo)
Red Fox
European Rabbit
Goat
Shingleback Lizard
Cheers, Dean
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