>From April9-20, I drove from Sydney to Broken Hill to Maree in S. A. and
then up the Birdsville Track to Birdsville, Qld. and then east to Windorah,
Quilpie, and then Bourke to Sydney. Bird highlights include:
1. Spent a morning at the Chestnut-breasted Whiteface site out of Lyndhurst
(p. 169 of Thomas and Thomas). No Whitefaces, but had great looks at Rufous
Calamanthus (Fieldwren) and very brief glimpses of Thick-billed Grasswren.
This is an easy site to get to (once you're in Lyndhurst) and the directions
are very good.
2. Saw about 6 Orange Chats and two Gibber Chats along the Birdsville
Track. Generally seen flying just off the road and then landing nearby.
3. Saw 3 Blue-winged Parrots at the waterhole at Mungeranie Roadhouse.
Also my first Budgies.
4. Camped at the end of Koonchera Dune. If the Birdsville Track seems kind
of crowded, this is a great place to get away from it all. The very good
track is about 20k long. The last 500 meters or so is very soft sand. We
almost got bogged. This is a magical place to be at dawn. After a couple
hours working along on the dune and seeing lots of raptors, but no
grasswrens, I went down into the flatland (lignum bushes). Here it was easy
to see both Grey and Eyrean Grasswrens. Had numerous good looks at both. I
missed Inland Dotterel, but a non-birder in our party informed me 24 hours
after the event, as we were looking through a bird book, that she saw one of
those on the drive into the Dune!
5. Saw several Cinnamon Quail-thrushes on the drive out to Lake Eyre and
along the Birsville Track.
6. At the spot 84 km east of Windorah (p.77), saw lots of Hall's Babblers
and a acouple White-browed Treecreepers. Saw Chestnut-crowned Babbler south
of Quilpie.
7. On road south of Quilpie, also saw Bourke's Parrots and Chestnut
Breasted Quail-thrush.
The Birdsville Track is easy in even a light 4WD. Parts of the track are
very rocky and a bit rough on tires (we had one flat). But the country is
beautiful and the birds were great.
Woody Kuehn
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