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Belated 4 day Alice Springs report

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Subject: Belated 4 day Alice Springs report
From: "Steve Potter" <>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2010 17:43:14 +1030
Hi Birders,

I did a brief, but successful 4 day mission to Alice early November this
year prior to a 2 week sojourn in Indonesia.

Flew Qantas to Alice from Adelaide. Arrived 11am. Grabbed Hire car. After
checking into the MacDonald Range Holiday Park, I went straight to Alice
Plaza for the sewerage treatment plant key from NT Power and water office. 

Next -Olive Pink Botanic Garden for Western Bowerbird! Brilliant and bower
not bad either.

Headed over t the Treatment works and picked a few nice WW Black Terns as
well as the usual suspects in such places.

Next headed out to Kunnoth Bore. Spent most of the time scoping the place
and checking accesses to the bore. Not easy as there is now carpets of 3-4
foot high plants everywhere!! Then spent an hour walking up and down the
Tanami road looking for Grey Honeyeaters with no success.

 

Next day up early to head out to Ormiston Gorge. Did the Pound walk which
was awesome. Did see the sign about swimming at the beginning but took
little notice!! Saw Dusky Grasswrens, Painted Finch and Spinifex birds all
very clearly! Also many pairs of Spinifex Pigeon on the track. They all
displayed the same disregard for my presence allowing me to get within 3
feet of them and then pointed their bums at me?? Unusual.... Saw a Nice fat
well cared for Dingo as well. 

When I had done almost the complete loop in 4 hours, I came to the part
where you "MAY" have to swim. Here I was faced with a 80-100 meter swim
across a lagoon bordered by unscaleable rock walls on each side. With
scratched, sore legs and not much drinking water left, the option to turn
around was devastating, especially as there was less than 500 meters of the
track to go!!. I decided to swim with my bag held above my head. With
camera, Binoculars and car Keys all wrapped in plastic I set off only to
find my bag was sinking me. Eventually a well timed chance meeting with a
European Tourist saved me by us both swimming with it together.

Still a very cool time!

Early next am saw me on Santa Teresa Road. Despite the Spinifex being over
head high??? (I had seen it waist high in Gluepot only 2 weeks earlier and
had no success in finding Striated Grasswrens) I had great views of
Rufous-crowned Emuwren,  more Spinifexbirds and the first of the Red-backed
Kingfishers. Parrots started to number up as well with Cockatiel, Budgie,
Mulgas, ringnecks and many others all gathering around.

The rest of the day was spent at the Treatment plant and Emily / Jessi gap
area. Then another evening out at Kunnoth Bore. This time I saw Slaty-backed
Thornbills, and got brilliant views of Bourke's Parrot on the Tanami Road.
On walking back to the car close to Dusk I was "buzzed" with a flyby of a
lone Flock Bronzewing?? Brilliant.

Last day and I did a pre-dawn start with Chris Watson out north of Alice.
After spilling Coffee all trough his brand new Robson's Birds of South-east
Asia... (Hope the other book arrives soon) we set off and one of the first
birds seen at dawn was a GREY FALCON. Good start I thought!! He was doing
back flips! In seeing this I realise that I had actually seen 2 the day
before at Jessi gap but was not able to clearly id them. 

We finished with Breaky at the bakery and I spent the rest of the morning
packing and headed back to the airport for a noon flight - business class.
Nice!

Home by 3.30.

In Closing I did not see a Princess parrot and I had a most excellent time
seeing the region in GLORIOUS colour and splendour. A once in a lifetime
event.

Cheers

 

Steve Potter

Adelaide

 

Trip List

 

Australasian Grebe 

Hoary-headed Grebe 

Little Black Cormorant 

Little Egret 

White-necked Heron 

Straw-necked Ibis

Yellow-billed Spoonbill 

Plumed Whistling-Duck 

Black Swan 

Australian Wood Duck 

Pacific Black Duck 

Grey Teal 

Pink-eared Duck 

Hardhead 

Black-shouldered Kite 

Black Kite 

Whistling Kite 

Spotted Harrier 

Swamp Harrier 

Collared Sparrowhawk 

Wedge-tailed Eagle 

Brown Falcon 

Grey Falcon 10  L

Nankeen Kestrel 

Purple Swamphen 

Black-tailed Native-hen 

Eurasian Coot 

Little Button-quail10  L

Black-tailed Godwit 10

Wood Sandpiper 

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 

Black-winged Stilt 

Red-capped Plover 

Black-fronted Dotterel 

Red-kneed Dotterel 

Masked Lapwing 

Gull-billed Tern 

Whiskered Tern 

White-winged Black Tern 10

Spotted Turtle-Dove 

Flock Bronzewing 10 L

Crested Pigeon 

Spinifex Pigeon 10

Diamond Dove 

Peaceful Dove 

Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo 

Galah 

Cockatiel 

Australian Ringneck 

Mulga Parrot 

Budgerigar 

Bourke's Parrot 10 L

Pallid Cuckoo 

Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo 

Red-backed Kingfisher 10

Sacred Kingfisher 

Tree Martin 

Fairy Martin 

Splendid Fairy-wren 

Variegated Fairy-wren 

White-winged Fairy-wren 

Rufous-crowned Emu-wren 10 L

Dusky Grasswren 10 L

Red-browed Pardalote 10

Western Gerygone 10

Slaty-backed Thornbill 10 L

Southern Whiteface 

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater 

Yellow-throated Miner 

Singing Honeyeater 

Grey-headed Honeyeater 10 L

White-plumed Honeyeater 

Brown Honeyeater 

Black Honeyeater 10

Crimson Chat 

Red-capped Robin 

Hooded Robin 

Grey-crowned Babbler 

White-browed Babbler 

Crested Bellbird 

Rufous Whistler 

Grey Shrike-thrush 

Magpie-Lark 

Willie Wagtail 

Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike 

White-winged Triller 

Masked Woodswallow 

Black-faced Woodswallow 

Little Woodswallow 10

Pied Butcherbird 

Australian Magpie 

Little Crow 

Torresian Crow 

Western Bowerbird 10 L

Richard's Pipit 

Zebra Finch 

Painted Finch 10 L

Mistletoebird 

Little Grassbird 

Spinifexbird 10 L

Rufous Songlark 

Brown Songlark 

 

 

Total:                 102

New 10:                19

Life:                     11

 

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