8.00pm Thurs, camped in a sandy river bed on Pyampa Station (the Grey
Grasswren site). Darkness hides the innumerable cow-pats and a campfire
makes it positively cheery. But this is hard work!
We arrived in situ in the lignum and canegrass a little before 4pm and
immediately acquired personal swarms of flies which persisted until dark
They are a genuinely miserable aspect of this rather inhospitable place
some 60kms north of Tibooburra, through Wompah Gate into far south-western
Qld.
Startlingly, however, a brief and relatively distant, but quite conclusive
view of a Grey Grasswren was achieved within 10 minutes of setting out.
Easy, eh? Well not quite. The object of our somewhat fevered attention
promptly disappeared and a further 2 1/2 hrs of slogging through the lignum
and canegrass produced White-winged Wrens, Orange Chats, Chirruping
Wedgebills and Singing Honeyeaters (oh, and of course the ubiquitous Willy
Wagtail) but no further Grasswrens, until we returned to near the site of
our initial sighting where I had another brief view of what was likely to
be the original bird. Hard work (but as they say, someone has to do it!).
Maybe closer and longer views in the morning? (It does make one rather
jealous of Thomas and Thomas's reported sighting of 50! GG's though.)
A few other highlights since my last posting (from Hungerford, some 250 or
so kms due east of here):
Diana's life Spotted Bowerbirds at Currawinya NP (a truly lovely spot, well
worth combining with any visit to Eulo Bore) - and 3 cuckoos (Pallid,
Horsfield's and Black-eared) and 3 Babblers (Chestnut-crowned, Grey-crowned
and Hall's) on one day.
Pairs of both Black-breasted Buzzard and Little Eagle over the fringe of
the fresh-water lake at Currawinya.
Crimson and Orange Chats in Sturt NP (plus a probable Australian Pratincole).
A FLOCK of Wedge-tails - 10 of them standing close together on a stony rise
some 20 metres from the road to Wompah Gate.
And the GREY GRASSWREN.
Regards from the Outback.
Richard
Postscript from Tibooburra, 11.30am Friday: Mission accomplished!
Excellent views of two Grasswrens early this morning. Margaret Thatcher
would be proud of us - hard work has brought its own reward.
The only downside was no Flock Bronzewings - but an immature Blue-winged
Parrot at the dam at dawn is an interesting consolation prize. Presumably
just arrived from its summering grounds much further south.
R.
_____________________
From: Dr Richard Nowotny,
Melbourne, Australia.
Tel. (w) 61-3-9214.1420
<>
_____________________
To unsubscribe from this list, please send a message to
Include ONLY "unsubscribe birding-aus" in the message body (without the
quotes)
|
