Hullo All.
Our Easter around Mt. Isa was mainly about Grasswrens.
Carpentarian Grasswren
This single species was our main objective, being unticked
despite prolonged searching at the Borroloola site two or three years ago.
An isolated population exists near Mt. Isa.
The Thomas & Thomas (" The Complete Guide to Finding Birds of
Australia") site is now marked by an open stone cairn on the corner of a
track to the right 7.7 km. on our speedo up the road marked "Lady Loretta
Mine Project" which runs north off the Barkly Highway about 63km NW of Mt.
Isa. The site behind the cairn was burned out when we arrived, only sprouts
of spinifex shooting from the stony soil.
With great forsight, Bob Forsyth has left an exercise book
inside the cairn, with a mudmap of sightings, and comments by visiting
birders, showing that most sightings were over on the opposite, western,
side of the road, also partly burned out but with clumps of mature spinifex
further back.
We split up, walking slowly about 30m apart, and within
minutes Penny flushed a grasswren which hopped from one large clump to
another, then flew across an adjacent dry gully to another clump 25m away
when I arrived. It came out and had a good long look back, which was
gratefully reciprocated.A female CARPENTARIAN GRASSWREN
Then a second bird flew into the same clump and also came out
and posed. It was poorly coloured and slightly smaller, possibly, and
hopefully for the future of this isolated population, a juvenile.
Time was mid morning.
Eyrean Grasswren.
While in the area, for sentimental reasons, we went south to
Birdsville, detouring along the Coorabulka road in the unfulfilled hope of
sighting a Letterwing kite or two.When we last visited Birdsville via the
Birdsville Track 38 years ago, on our honeymoon, survival rather than
birding was on our minds, but the absence of notable birds hasn't changed
despite the name "Birdsville". Unless you call House Sparrows notable, now
the commonest bird in town. The human population has grown from half a
dozen, the town is now quite touristy. Our original crossing of the then
flooded Diamentina River just behind town was in a plate steel floodboat,
now a historical display, painted and mounted in front of the Information
Centre, replaced by a high-level causeway connected to the now upgraded,
2wd, day trip Birdsville Track.
35 km. west, out past the pub and airstrip, a monster sand
dune called "Big Red", an Eyrean Grasswren site, lies across the start of
the Simpson Desert track. Its' canegrass clumps looked dead and unpromising.
About 5.30pm we went about 1.5 km north along a good track next to the dune
and climbed up between very grey canegrass to find signs of life in the
clumps on top, some with occasional green shoots, and soon heard
high-pitched "seet" sounds and grasswren tracks in the freshly blown sand.
Penny stood still for five minutes next to a "seet"ing
clump, and a very rufous grasswren appeared on top for a look before
bouncing away over the top of the dune. On the other, sunny side, birds
were calling from several clumps, but as I was watching a group of Banded
Whitefaces on the flat below, two grasswrens appeared from under a dead tree
a few metres from the dune, maybe 50 metres from me. Over the next twenty
minutes they circled around in front, up onto the dune and back along the
top to disappear into a large clump of canegrass, presumably to roost as the
sun was now setting. They were foraging on the sand ,disappearing briefly
behind vegetation or sand, when I would approach closer, up to about 15 m.
Then they would bounce to about 25m away but not were particularly
preturbed.
I assumed them to be EYREAN GRASSWRENS, but the colouring
didn't fit with any of the guides. The larger leading bird had a very grey
striated head, and thick mantle almost like a mane, sharply cut off from a
grey-brown back and wings, pale below, rufous tail. The second bird also had
a distinctly grey head and mantle, white chest, was otherwise very rufous
and colourful. Neither had whiskers.Unlike the all rufous above and white
below bird I'd seen last August at the southern edge of the Simpson Desert
near Anando Station.?
Best birds on the way back to Cloncurry via Bedourie, Boulia
Djarra and Duchess were Cinnamon Quailthrush north of Bedourie,
Blackbreasted Buzzards north of Boulia, and a mummified Little Corella near
Mitakoodie Gorge on the Duchess to Cloncurry Rd. near where a mummified
Night Parrot was found some years ago. It's possible.
Dusky Grasswren, race ballarae ( Horton's or Kalkadoon
Grasswren)
Occurring in spinifex on rocky screes of ranges around Mt.Isa
and Cloncurry, it is "easy to see" according to T &T, at Mica Ck. We visited
Mica Ck., Sybella Ck., Warrigal Waterhole, Mt. McKeon near Kalkadoon town
(now Kajabbi), Mitakoodie Gorge on the Duchess to Cloncurry Rd, 35km south
of the Barkly Hwy.), and a likely site on Top Camp Rd., (unmarked but going
east off the sealed road just north of Mitakoodie gorge after the hills).
Over ten days we ended up searching them all for two to six
hours, Mica Ck.six times,Sybella and Mitakoodie twice, all both sides. Dawn,
dusk, morning and afternoon. ZERO Dusky Grasswrens. Spinifex birds at Mica
Ck. and Mitakoodie, Variegated Wrens most places. Grey-headed Honeyeaters
feeding in the sinifex, plenty of grasshoppers, otherwise ZILCH.
All these areas were at the end of severe drought, Mica Ck. was
burned out to the north but still with good habitat.
Will return six months after good rains.
Many thanks to Bob Forsyth and Irene Denton
Cheers
Michael & Penny Hunter
Michael Hunter
Mulgoa Valley
50km west of Sydney Harbour Bridge
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