We headed back through Katherine and spent the night at Mary River roadhouse.
Highlights were nice meal, a good State of Origin Game of Rugby League and 2
pairs of Hooded Parrots on the wing.
Other travelers at Mary River had told us horror stories of the road into
Gunlom. With some trepidation we inquired with ranger about whether the Hyundai
Getz would make it. Reassuring us the first 5 kms were the worst, we set off
down the road to find it corrugated but driveable. In fact at 70-8 kph it was
actually not too bad. Mind you the recommendation was 4 WD and we were the only
2WD vehicle in the car park. Th highlight of the drive was 4 Northern
Rosella that flushed off the road.
Gunlom is a beautiful place and well worth the 40 km of rough road. Without
further ado, we headed for the track to the top of the escarpment. The sign
described the climb as steep and they are not kidding but again the climb was
worth it. The rock pools above the waterfall are spectacular.
The target bird was one of the holy grails of birding: the White-Throated
Grass-wren. Despite having Niven?s very clear instructions, I wandered
around aimlessly for 2 ½ hours. I was resting in the shade when along came Sybil
a 70 something year old birder from Melbourne. She informed me that she had been
searching for the WTGW for 4 days now. This didn?t exacting inspire confidence.
We decided to join forces and search along a series of low cliffs (3 ?4 metres
high) about 200 metres away. While Sybil walked along the cliff edge, I walked
along the low side. At one stage I got several hundred metres ahead of her and
backtracked. I thought I heard Grass-wrens calling below the cliff line and
climbed down. Almost immediately I spotted 3 WTGW moving along the cliff face
searching for insects in the nooks and crannies. I called to Sybil but she had
trouble seeing them as they were moving quickly along the cliff face and she
couldn?t keep up. I was moving on easier ground and had no such trouble and for
the next 5 minutes or so had fantastic views. The highlight, however, was having
a WTGW, a White-lined Honeyeater and a Sandstone Shrike Thrush all
in the one view in the binoculars. Eventually the WTGW?s went up a crack in the
cliff and Sybil had good views as they hopped across the rocks at the top. We
were so excited. Not only had we had a fabulous tick but we were able to share
the experience. It was one of those special moments in birding. I also saw 3 or
4 Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeons.
We stopped at the Thomas and Thomas site at Stag Creek on the way out and
found no Banded Fruit-Dove despite a very thorough search and headed for
Cooinda. The room at Cooinda was much more upmarket than our previous
accommodation but then again so was the price at $195 per night. We took the
4.30 p.m. cruise on Yellow Waters and were totally enchanted with the trip
especially the beautiful sunset over the wetland. We saw 4-5 good size crocs and
a multitude of birds including Jabiru, Plumed Whistling Duck, Green Pygmy-
goose, Comb-crested Jacana, Pied Heron, Great, Little and Intermediate Egret,
Rufous Night-heron, Royal Spoonbill and Purple Swamphen.
At dusk a number of Barking Owls were calling around the complex, but
to my frustration my spotlight had shaken its connections on the road to Gunlom.
By the time I fixed it, the owls had stopped calling. However, one called again
at 5 a.m., which roused me from my bed. I spotlighted it almost immediately. We
had even better views at the Caravan Park at Bachelor.
The next morning we headed to Nourangie. It is a very special place with a
sense of both grandeur and spiritualness. However, it was the Banded Fruit-Dove
I wanted to see and my spirits soared as a birder on the track told me "She
could almost guarantee a Banded Fruit-dove." A quick dash to the right spot
proved, as we all know, there is no guarantee in birding. I could hear a pigeon
moving in this small patch of rainforest. After trekking through the bush 3
times, I finally found an Emerald Dove.
June is certainly a great time to visit the Top End. The days are warm ? high
20?s but not too hot and its cool enough at night to be comfortable.
Accommodation cost us in the $80-100 per night except Cooinda as noted above and
Springvale at Katherine, which was $55. However, I wouldn?t recommend it. Timber
Creek had little going for it except finches and if I was to do this trip again
I would stay in Victoria River Crossing (which is a magic spot) and "commute" to
Timber Creek Its only 92 km so say 40 minutes with no speed limit.
Car hire was relatively expensive, as I couldn?t find an unlimited kilometer
deal so every km over 900 km cost $0.25 and we drove 2,500 kms. Petrol was about
$1.05 per litre in Darwin and Katherine bit $1.37 per litre and about $1.14 at
Victoria River Crossing, Mary River and Cooinda.
Total bird count was 138 species and I saw 7 out of 9 target species i.e.
Chestnut Rail, Zitting Cisticola, Red-backed Button-quail, Chestnut-backed
Button-quail, Star Finch, Yellow-rumped Mannikan and White throated Grass-wren.
The birds I dipped on were Banded Fruit-Dove and Varied Lorikeet (and I seemed
to look in every flowering tree in the Top End.)
Niven McCrie and James Watson?s guidebook is an absolute must for any birding
trip to the Top End.
