Hi Angus,
Heading out to Newhaven from Alice Springs on Saturday afternoon we stopped at
a nice bit of flowering mulga on the side of the road, and the first 2 birds
sighted were - Grey Honeyeater! We couldn't believe it, we had found Grey
Honeyeater before even seeing our first Willie Wagtail for the day! We stopped
another km up the road and I suspect we had another 5 fly over in a family
group but they were so fast we couldn't get a bead on them, however they were
the right size, shape and colour.
The rangers at Newhaven controlled proceedings pretty well on the Princess
Parrot 'tour', rightly so, considering there was a bus with 13 passengers that
joined us! Nobody was allowed to leave the track we drove in on. Anyway, no
Upside-down plants visible however there may have been some in the dunal areas
out of sight. We only(!) got a fly past of approx. 42 Princess Parrots that
alighted in a tree briefly nearby before flying over our heads and out of sight
over the nearest dune. I did manage to get the scope onto them twice and got
reasonable views and a couple of flight shots with the camera but what a great
experience it was.
I noticed a Grasswren briefly twice bouncing between the Spinifex beside the
track while we were waiting, it was fairly dark so I was unable to identify
it. I would appreciate anybody that gets a better view passing on the
details. I suspect based on the lack of rocky outcrops that they were Striated
Gw however we were unable to see any tonal difference between the back and
underside of the birds which means I cant rule out Dusky Gw, however it was
still pre-dawn when I saw them so this may account for my not noticing it.
After our Princess Parrot morning we carried on to track down Rufous-crowned
Emu-wren, a lifer for Kay. On the way we had a full blood male Dingo in
beautiful condition come right up to our vehicle and pose for a few photos. We
also got similar close views of a male camel and a Western Brown Snake.
Unfortunately we had to return to Alice Springs in the afternoon but stopped
off at the locations where we had seen the Grey Honeyeaters on the outward
journey but alas we didnt see them again.
Arriving in Alice just after dusk we saw Black-flanked (or footed) Rock
Wallabies on the escarpment. This was followed in the morning by some very
photogenic Dusky Gw silhouetted in the morning sunrise, another lifer for Kay.
Then it was time to pack up and head home - what a fantastic whirl-wind trip.
I would strongly recommend Newhaven at the moment - the desert is looking quite
spectacular. I would also recommend Central Car Rental's who provided us with
a brand spanking new Nissan Patrol and for an additional $15/day we got all the
camping gear you could possibly need including swags, -10degC sleeping bags,
tables, chairs, gas stove, cutlery, washing up bowl and a 20L container of
water.
Cheers,
Carl
Newhaven - Princess Parrots and the Upside-Down Plant - Leptosema
Chambersii
from [Angus
Innes] [Permanent Link][Original]
To: Birding Aus < >
Subject: Newhaven - Princess Parrots and the Upside-Down Plant - Leptosema
Chambersii
From:
Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 21:01:40 +0000
What an interseting resource Birding Aus is!
I raised queries about the major sightings of Princess Parrots in the Newhaven
Sation and whether these sightings could be related to the observations of Ian
May in 2010 that a critical component of the botanical environment of the
Princess Parrots appeared to be a stunted needle leafed plant - that Anthea
Fleming quickly identified as the Upside-down Plants, Leptosema Chambersii . He
said that the PP appeared to derive moisture or nectar from the near ground
flowers. (This was in a broader botanical environment of Desert Oaks and
Spotted/Bloodwood Eucalypts, Spinifex and an orange flowered grevillea.)
The following link and comment was received by me from Stephen Ambrose. They
confirm the significant presence of the Upside Downplants on Newhaven. Stephen
hoped to follow up with personal observations shortly.Stephen's references:
"Alice Springs Field Naturalists Club Newsletter, May
2010http://alicefieldnaturalists.org.au/10_05.pdf Pages 5 to 8 of the
newsletter discusses a ASFNC field trip to Newhaven and
there are several references and a picture of flowering Leptosema
chambersii."
Carl Billingham is also heading for Newhaven this weekend and will give an
update. Obviously plants do not flower continuously but, so far, the
interesting observation by Ian May, that the plant appeared to be a critical
component of the habitat of the PP may be supported and, at least, cannot be
rejected. "One swallow does not make a (British) summer". Does Leptosema
Chambersii significantly help to make a princess?Angus Innes
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