Though I have only seen 3 species of Grasswrens so far (White-throated,
Thick-billed and Striated. I have not yet been to the areas where the
others occur as yet), it could be they are easier to see at certain
times of year/conditions. My Thick-billed Grasswrens were easy to see at
Monkey Mia in WA(I saw them running in front of me in the car park there
before I was able to park the car. I am sure similar experiences have
been experienced by others at this location) and have had the
White-throated Grasswrens even follow me at Gunlom. The Striated took a
while to see though. Sometimes if you just sit down quietly in an area
(no need for tape playback) and with patience they just suddenly appear
(my encounter with a Western Whipbird at Two Peoples Bay WA happened by
just doing that. At one stage, it was a metre or so in front of my nose
just quietly picking off bits of bark from a mallee tree, unconcerned of
my presence durng that time. All this occurred while waiting for the
Noisy Scrubbirds to appear. I have heard several birdos having similar
experiences with elusive birds without play back or walking around
looking for them.
Edwin
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Sue & Phil
Gregory
Sent: Friday, 24 June 2005 10:47 AM
To: Birding Aus
Subject: Grasswrens
Referring to Graham's posting about the Kalkadoon Grasswren " The
Kalkadoon Grasswren is one of the easiest Grasswrens of all . No need
for playback.' I would not be nearly so optimistic, like Alan Morris
warns.
I well recall searching for Grey Grasswrens bearing in mind the
memorable quote from Thomas and Thomas to the effect that it was " the
easiest of all the grasswrens, noisy flocks of fifty in the lignum.'
Well, armed with this knowledge we then spent about 8 hours in the dry
swamp without hearing or seeing a single bird, let alone a grasswren.
It was one of the most birdless experiences i have ever had. But, 3
months later after splash of rain, we had them within 13 minutes,
following my warnings about how hard this was going to be.....
Likewise, White-throated Grasswren this year at the well known
Waterfall Creek site could not be found, i suspect due to the burning
of the spinifex type habitat last year. The point is that much depends
on the season and the habitat, I would go expecting it to be tough and
be glad if it proves otherwise.
Good birding
Phil Gregory
www cassowary-house.com.au
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