OUTBACK TRIP 18-26 August 2007
Frank E. Rheindt
and Fiona Parkin
This trip was a great success, as we obtained fabulous views of 5 different
grasswren species, Letter-winged Kite, Flock Bronzewing, three quail-thrush
species, Chestnut-breasted Whiteface and an array of other unique outback
specialties.
The desert had received rains earlier this winter, and we were lucky in
choosing one of the most ideal times to do this trip. The only target
species missed was Grey-fronted Honeyeater in the Flinders Ranges, but that
was not such a great loss in the end.
Itinerary:
18 August 2007
- Whyalla / Iron Knob (WK)
- Lake Gilles Conservation Park (LG)
- Port Augusta (incl. Aridlands Botanic Garden) (PA)
- Dutchman?s Stern (near Quorn) (DS)
19 August
- Stokes Hill Lookout (Flinders Ranges) (SH)
- Brachina Gorge (Flinders Ranges) (BG)
20 August
- Mt Lyndhurst
- first 200km of Strzelecki Track from Mt Lyndhurst to Montecollina Bore
(ST)
21 August
- tree oasis at several KM north of Montecollina Bore (LW)
- remaining Strzelecki Track to Cameron?s Corner (RS)
22 August
- areas around Epsilon and Santos Stations in Queensland (ES)
- road trip from Santos to Noccundra (SN)
- Cooper?s Crossing (CC)
23 August
- Cooper?s Crossing (CC)
24 August
- road trip Thargomindah to Cunnamulla in Queensland (TC)
- Bowra Station (incl. Cunnamulla environs) (BS)
25 August
- Bowra Station (incl. Cunnamulla environs) (BS)
- road trip Cunnamulla to Onepah Gate (via Bulloo Downs) (CO)
- Onepah Gate (OG)
26 August
- areas around Epsilon and Santos Stations in Queensland (ES)
- road trip Santos to Wentworth in New South Wales (SW)
27 August
-Eremophila Reserve (near Waikerie) (ER)
Sites:
Whyalla ? Iron Knob
We received a helpful hint from Andrew Black regarding the existence of a
Western Grasswren breeding area in close vicinity to Port Augusta. Andrew is
thoroughly involved in some fascinating research on these grasswrens and
pointed out that he has accumulated data that would argue for a split of the
Thick-billed Grasswren complex into a western (A. textilis) and an eastern
species (A. modestus), with the western species reaching all the way from WA
to the gates of Port Augusta, while the eastern one is more limited in
distribution to the north of the Flinders Ranges and into NSW.
Most people who have field experience with this complex go to see the
eastern species at Mt Lyndhurst. However, with the myall subspecies of the
Western Grasswren breeding so close to Port Augusta, decided to add another
day at the beginning of our itinerary.
Western Grasswrens live in bluebush habitat along the road from Whyalla to
Iron Knob, especially along the central bit close to the abandoned train
station of Middleback. Initially, we concentrated our search on the small
and silvery saltbush habitat that dominates the landscape around here but
appeared unsuitable for the grasswren. Instead, we found great flocks of
Crimson and White-fronted Chats, as well as sporadic Slender-billed
Thornbills.
The grasswren specialises on bluebush, which is bigger and greener than the
dominant saltbush shrubs in the area and is much more restricted to the
roadside. In one such patch near Middleback, we found one confiding Western
Grasswren along with a Redthroat (see trip list for coordinates).
Lake Gilles Conservation Park
We spontaneously decided to do the 60km detour to the mallee habitat in Lake
Gilles Conservation Park to look for some of the western Australian species
that are here at their easternmost point of distribution. We followed the
directions given by Thomas & Thomas into the best patches of mallee.
We found a lone Western Yellow Robin in the mallee, a species said to be
much more secretive than its common eastern counterpart. Additionally, we
saw the range-restricted (though apparently common) local race of Grey
Currawong and a beautiful pair of Chestnut Quail-Thrush. The fairywrens at
this site were more problematic than expected: Thomas & Thomas report on
Blue-breasted Fairywrens during their visit to Lake Gilles, supposedly at
their easternmost point of distribution. Though trying hard, we did not
manage to turn the fairywrens we saw into Blue-breasted Fairywrens (despite
seeing both sexes in great numbers and under excellent viewing conditions).
They all looked like perfect assimilis Variegated Fairywrens. It would be
good to hear from future visitors to Lake Gilles what they make of the local
fairywrens.
Port Augusta
Purple-crowned Lorikeets were common in town, and the Aridlands Botanic
Gardens provided good views of our first Chirruping Wedgebills, which put in
a great song performance.
Stokes Hill Lookout (Flinders Ranges)
The reason of our visit to this site was ? of course ? the distinct
Short-tailed Grasswren in the spinifex-clad hillsides of Stokes Hill. Armed
with a number of coordinates from the
Birding-AUS archives, we set out early to see this bird around the lookout
site, but it was one of the most uncooperative grasswrens of the entire
trip, and though short good views were repeatedly obtained, none of them was
longer than 3-4 seconds. Our best sightings were actually made in the early
afternoon, so we settled for the views we had got and decided to move on.
Most grasswren activity was in the area along the row of fence posts a few
hundred meters due SSW from the carpark, pointed out in several other trip
reports on Birding-AUS. Other birds were hard to come by in this barren
landscape, but I was happy to photograph a single Elegant Parrot on the
rocky scree.
Brachina Gorge (Flinders Ranges)
>From a landscape perspective, this ancient canyon was very pleasant to
behold, and even though we were a little late in the day, we still witnessed
a fair share of wildlife activity, such as five rock wallabies and more
Elegant Parrots.
The only big dip of the trip was Grey-fronted Honeyeater, a bird that we
intently searched for, but failed to locate.
Mt Lyndhurst
For closer directions to any of the particular spots at Mt Lyndhurst, refer
to the copious amounts of information in previous Birding-AUS postings and
in books such as Thomas & Thomas. We headed to the ?rusty car site? near the
mine. It took us about 45 min to hit upon a group of three very flighty and
mobile Chestnut-breasted Whitefaces. We followed the moving birds, running
across the slopes, hardly able to keep up, until they finally settled for a
while in the big plain-like area about 2/3 of the way from the ?No Access?
sign at the mine towards the big black rock visible towards the right (as
facing the sign). Rufous Calamanthus was also in the general area.
After the whitefaces, it was grasswren time again, this time the eastern
species of the Thick-billed Grasswren complex. After initial brief views of
one individual near the famous rusty car, we kept on searching for three
hours until both of us had finally obtained great views of a pair of them in
the dried-out skeletons of saltbush along the dried creek line, virtually
only a few meters away from the rusty car. While looking for the
grasswrens, we also chanced upon a group of Cinnamon Quail-Thrush.
Strzelecki Track from Mt Lyndhurst to Montecollina Bore
It was finally time to head down the Strzelecki Track into the real outback.
Named after the famous Polish outback explorer, this track is more correctly
pronounced ?Streletsky? rather than the ghastly ?Strezlekky? that is in wide
usage amongst the locals.
At KM 32 (from Lyndhurst), we had glimpses of our first Inland Dotterel next
to a group of Rufous Calamanthus and the first flocks of Orange Chats. Then
we entered several stretches of extensive gibber plain, stopping repeatedly
and walking into the vast empty landscape to look for a certain type of
gibberish chat that we knew was going to be difficult, as several other
people had missed them in the previous months. At KM 170, our persistence
finally paid off as we detected two Gibberbirds on a particularly desolate
gibber patch next to a sandy bit with single bushes.
Montecollina Bore was occupied by a number of happy campers, with Pavarotti
and the full program playing on the radio, and searches for grasswrens at
this site were abandoned with the fading light.
Tree oasis site a few KM north of Montecollina Bore, not far from the
Strzelecki Track This morning saw some of the most awe-inspiring birding of
the entire trip, as we approached a tree oasis half-hidden behind the dunes
and witnessed the spectacle of a little Letter-winged Kite colony,
consisting of 2 pairs. Unfortunately, directions and coordinates to this
site are not available. Careful so as not to disturb the sensitive birds at
their breeding grounds, we had tantalizing views of all four individuals
from a distance, seeing them perched, in full flight, as well as copulating.
Other avian attractions, included our first Pied Honeyeaters, which would
prove somewhat common throughout most parts of the remaining Strzelecki
Track, and our first good views of Budgerigars, which were outright abundant
in the area. Other raptors utilised the area for hunting and/or nesting,
most notably Spotted Harrier.
Remaining Strzelecki Track (and Merty-Merty Track) to Cameron?s Corner
The rest of the day was spent along the remaining Strzelecki Track,
including the short-cut directly along the western bank of the Strzelecki
?River? from the Strzelecki Crossing to Merty-Merty, and from there to
Cameron?s Corner. Before the Strzelecki Crossing, considerable time was
invested in a dune site recently published by Ian May on Birding-AUS for
Eyrean Grasswren. After 2 hours, one of us had obtained distant though
sufficient views of one Eyrean Grasswren, but we decided to give this
species a second go at another site later on. Again, Pied Honeyeaters and
Crimson Chats were very much in evidence at this site.
The above-mentioned shortcut along the water-bearing Strzelecki River was
one of the most fascinating stretches of road from a landscape point of
view. The desert was in full bloom, with yellow flowers reaching to the
horizon, and bird activity was in full swing even at lunch time. Overflying
psittacines included Budgerigar, Cockatiel, Little Corella, and a
Black-breasted Buzzard.
After Merty-Merty, we entered sand dune country again, and soon reached the
site at the western boundary of Bollard?s Lagoon property (signposted about
40-60km west of Cameron?s Corner), where an excellent cane grass covered
sand dune can be found immediately west of the fence and cattle grid. Again,
the dunes were in full bloom,and a quick search revealed a confiding pair of
Eyrean Grasswren after an amazingly short time. An added bonus at this site
was our first Red-backed Kingfisher of the trip, seen in flight.
We headed towards Bollard?s Lagoon, hoping for some waterhole action at
dusk. Leaving the sand dunes, the landscape started to be dotted by ponds.
Reaching ?Bollard?s Lagoon?, we failed to notice any body of water, but the
many ponds we had passed en route had provided quick views of a number of
common waterbirds (see trip list). A subsequent night drive took us into
Queensland and close to Epsilon Station, to position ourselves strategically
for the next morning.
Epsilon and Santos Stations (Queensland)
Schodde and Mason?s Directory to Australian Passerines refers to an unknown
and forlorn population of Striated Grasswren in spinifex country of the
Epsilon-Santos region in far south-west Queensland. This population is of
equivocal subspecific identity. Geographically nested in between the
nominate mallee race and the isolated Queensland race rowleyi, nobody knows
which race this population belongs to, or whether it may constitute a fourth
subspecies altogether. The only museum specimens that ever existed are lost,
and nobody has seen these birds for a while.
Modern DNA research has shown deep divisions and unexpected relationships
between so-called ?subspecies? in many Australian passerines, which has led
to
modern species splits on numerous occasions. Even though the grasswrens have
not been genetically analysed yet, some of their isolated forms may well be
considered distinct species in the future, as is demonstrated by Andrew
Black?s fascinating research on Western Grasswrens (see above). When
planning the trip, one of our main hopes was, therefore, to have enough time
to search for this isolated grasswren population in the Santos-Epsilon
region in order to contribute to our knowledge about these birds.
Driving from Cameron?s Corner towards Epsilon the previous night, we
wondered whether we would hit any spinifex, a plant that we hadn?t seen
since the Flinders Ranges on this trip. The morning?s sunlight then revealed
a degraded and heavily altered landscape, overgrazed by sheep and cows,
though surprisingly the Inland Dotterels did not seem to mind, as they were
present in well-sized family parties. A closer look, however, showed
moderate to good spinifex habitat on top of the sand dunes that runs
parallel through this country. This dune habitat is very different from the
spinifex inhabited by the nominate race of Striated Grasswren in the mallee
of south-eastern Australia, so if this population is indeed not distinct in
its own right, we
assume it will prove to be more closely related to rowleyi from central
Queensland on habitat grounds.
A whole morning was unsuccessfully invested to look for the bird. However,
we found tantalizing footsteps in the sand that we believe to be
attributable to a grasswren, since we are not aware of any other bird of a
similar foot size that leaves single foot marks in succession the way we
detected them at this site (28.23.57S 141.19.54E). Additionally, this was
the only site of the trip where we saw Black Honeyeater.
Road from Santos Station to Noccundra
Our next target site was Cooper?s Crossing. Extensive gibber plains
characterize the area, but despite frequent scans we were not to see the
gibber chat again on this trip. Then, closer to Noccundra, a tinder-dry
mulga grove at approximately 28°02?S 42°27?E held our first ten Bourke?s
Parrots.
Cooper?s Crossing
Armed with a number of coordinates for Grey Grasswren, we sped down the
Adventure Way from Noccundra to Cooper?s Crossing to get a visual on the
site before sunset, in order to better co-ordinate the next morning?s
search.
Little were we to know that we would see our best bird at Cooper?s Crossing
on that very afternoon, and that it wouldn?t be a grasswren: About 10km
before we got to the actual grasswren site (better known as Billy Moorhead?s
grasswren site, see Birding-AUS), we stopped the car for a loose group of
about 10 large pigeons flying across the road at a great height. Some of
the Flock Bronzewings suddenly circled around and flew back towards us,
passing the road once more into the opposite direction and affording
breath-taking views.
Arriving at the grasswren site, we were surprised to see the lignum in such
a dry and scattered state. The best lignum was generally right along the
side-arms of the Cooper. However, these locations were generally far from
the exact coordinate readings where Billy Moorhead and a number of other
people have seen the grasswrens. Most trip reports refer to White-winged
Fairywrens in association with the grasswrens, but here in the lignum along
the flowing water there were only Variegated Fairywrens around. Out in the
open towards the White-winged Fairywrens, however, the lignum was in a
terribly bad state and really very dry. We searched for a full day without
success. We did flush a number of Buttonquail, most of which must have
almost certainly been Little, though there were also a few larger
individuals with a very cold brown back coloration that may have been
Red-chested.
Road from Thargomindah to Cunnamulla
The road towards Cunnamulla was the easternmost point during the trip. The
landscape changed considerably, and Callitris-like trees on a red clay soil
indicated mulga country. A very fortunate sighting was that of five Ground
Cuckoo-shrikes near where the road enters Paroo District. A quick stop at
Eulo Bore was disappointing. Another good sighting once we had almost
arrived in Cunnamulla was a lone Black-breasted Buzzard.
Bowra Station
Bowra is one of the rare examples of an eco-touristic property in the
outback with an excellent birding infrastructure. The owner couple Ian and
Julie know their birds really well. As such, Bowra is the best place on
earth to see the two Channel Country endemics that we had missed at Eulo
Bore (see below). Accommodation is excellent value and Ian hands out good
maps of his property and there is fantastic stake-out information for most
species.
Our foremost target bird at Bowra was Hall?s Babbler, of which we saw two
groups of 2 and 3 individuals, respectively. Other notable birds included a
sprinkling of sightings of Chestnut-breasted Quail-Thrushes of the very
distinct Queensland race, which will surely one day be split if current
trends in systematics are maintained. Spotted Bowerbirds nest right behind
Bowra Station and are easy to see around the house. There are areas where
White-browed Treecreeper is reasonably common, and we also flushed two
Bourke?s Parrots close to the homestead. One of the big surprises, however,
was a Black-eared Cuckoo singing its heart out and affording great views
near the Redthroat sign along the main track through the property (hopefully
that cardboard Redthroat sign will be there for a while yet, otherwise this
location info will be useless).
We did a detour due east from Cunnamulla to check a couple of buttonquail
spots posted on Birding-AUS by Carl Billingham, but only succeeded in
locating three Australian Bustards about 20 km east of Cunnamulla.
Road from Cunnamulla to Onepah Gate (via Bulloo Downs)
>From Cunnamulla, it was time to head back west again and retrace our
footsteps. In Thargomindah, we opted to take the little-traveled route via
Bulloo Downs all the way to Onepah Gate at the border to NSW. This was a
fascinating route with varied (though degraded) landscapes, ranging from
gibber to dry swamp closer to the Bulloo Overflow. We failed to check the
?dry swampy? bits for lignum at this point. Best birds along this stretch
were a multitude of Bourke?s Parrots, Inland Dotterel and many of the other
more widespread outback specialties mentioned before for Strzelecki and
Epsilon/Santos.
Onepah Gate
This is the old, traditional site for Grey Grasswren from the days of Thomas
& Thomas. It is also a controversial site, since various trip reports
contradict each other on whether it is off limits or not. The latest we had
heard is that it was again OK to visit the site, after the owners had
discouraged people from visiting in the previous years. We tried contacting
the owners but never got through, and therefore came here on the assumption
that what we had heard about access was correct. In retrospect, we are not
so sure any more if our entry into the area was against the wishes of the
owners. Therefore, we encourage all potential future visitors to make
comprehensive enquiries before heading out. We saw two Grey Grasswrens
before dusk but we will not provide details on access and locations, since
we do not want to encourage other people to come here without knowing
whether it is OK.
Epsilon-Santos (Take 2)
After our great success at Bowra and Onepah, we decided to give the
Epsilon-Santos area another try for the little-known population of Striated
Grasswren. Starting out in the morning at the same dune site as given above,
we worked our way through a number of dune sites with slightly different
spinifex character, but again failed to locate any grasswrens. We again
noticed tantalizing footsteps in the sand assumed to be of grasswren origin.
The habitat looks good in places, and we assumed they might have been
sitting on their nests and therefore too shy to respond to our presence.
Many other bird species on these dunes had young juveniles while we were
there, such as fairywrens and Crimson Chats. Other good birds we saw this
time here in the dunes include White-backed Swallow, Chirruping Wedgebill,
Black and Pied Honeyeater and Cinnamon Quail-Thrush.
Road from Tibooburra to Wentworth
A quick drive through NSW from the Queensland border to the Victorian border
was relatively eventless, with a Spotted Harrier and our last outback
species (Budgerigar, Crimson Chat) slowly fading out.
Eremophila Reserve
En route back to Adelaide, we stopped over at Eremophila Reserve about 20km
from Waikerie for close-up views of a Malleefowl that regularly comes in to
seeds. The mallee is in great shape, but the day was very windy, and we didn
?t see any other notable birds at this site.
Trip List:
All birds seen; abbreviations refer to sites listed in itinerary; cm ?
common
1. Emu ? cm
2. Malleefowl ? 1 ER
3. Stubble Quail ? 1 OG
4. Buttonquail spec. ? several flushed at CC; very probably Little
Buttonquail, as
white flanks, tawny upperparts and small size seen on some individuals;
however, flushed sightings of larger and colder brown-mantled birds points
to
possible presence of second species ( -> Red-chested)
5. Hoary-headed Grebe ? several RS on ponds near Bollard?s Lagoon
6. Black Swan ? ES + juv.
7. Australian Shelduck ? ES flock 20-30
8. Pacific Black Duck
9. Gray Teal ? cm
10. Pink-eared Duck ? cm
11. Hardhead ? 1 RS near Bollard?s Lagoon
12. Maned Duck ? not in arid outback
13. Black-tailed Native-hen ? c. 100 ES
14. Pacific Heron ? cm
15. White-faced Heron ? cm
16. Great Egret ? 1 TC
17. Straw-necked Ibis ? RS
18. Australian Bustard ? 3 BS, c. 20-30km E Cunnamulla
19. Australian Pratincole ? cm, esp. ST, SN
20. Masked Lapwing ? cm + juv.
21. Banded Lapwing ? cm
22. Red-capped Plover ? 1 RS near Bollard?s Lagoon
23. Black-fronted Dotterel ? cm
24. Inland Dotterel ? 1 ST at KM 32 (from Lyndhurst); many ES, incl. old
juv.?s
25. Black-winged Stilt ? BS, RS
26. Red-necked Avocet ? 1 RS near Bollard?s Lagoon
27. Silver Gull ? PA
28. Gull-billed Tern ? 10-20 OG
29. Black-shouldered Kite ? WK
30. Letter-winged Kite ? 4 LW
31. Black-breasted Buzzard ? 1 RS ca. 10 km N Strzelecki Crossing; 1 TC near
Cunnamulla
32. Black Kite ? cm
33. Whistling Kite ? cm but not in arid land
34. Wedge-tailed Eagle ? cm
35. Little Eagle ? 1 ST, 1 CC
36. Spotted Harrier ? 2+2+1 RS; 1 SW; 1 SN
37. Australian Hobby ? 1 CC, also elsewhere
38. Brown Falcon ? cm
39. Nankeen Kestrel ? cm
40. Peaceful Dove ? several sites but uncommon
41. Diamond Dove ? very cm
42. Common Bronzewing ? LG, ER, BS
43. Flock Bronzewing ? c. 10 CC
44. Crested Pigeon ? cm
45. Galah ? cm
46. Little Corella ? cm
47. Major Mitchell?s Cockatoo ? BS, CO
48. Purple-crowned Lorikeet ? PA
49. Cockatiel ? RS, ES and all the way through to SW
50. Budgerigar ? cm at most sites from ST through SW
51. Adelaide Rosella ? DS
52. Mallee Ringneck ? all barnardi; 2 LG; SH, BG, BS, ER
53. Mulga Parrot ? WK, LG, BS
54. Blue Bonnet ? WK, ES, SN, TC, BS
55. Bourke?s Parrot ? c. 10 at SN (28°02?S 142°27?E); 2 BS; cm at CO near
Bulloo Downs
56. Elegant Parrot ? 1 SH, many BG
57. Pallid Cuckoo ? 1 TC in Thargomindah
58. Black-eared Cuckoo ? 1 BS at Redthroat signpost
59. Horsfield?s Bronze-Cuckoo ? cm
60. Southern Boobook ? 1 BG, heard only at BS
61. Laughing Kookaburra ? TC, BS
62. Red-backed Kingfisher ? 1 CC, 1 TC; 1 RS at Eyrean Grasswren dune at the
western boundary of the Bollard?s Lagoon property along Merty-Merty Track
(see Ian May?s postings)
63. Varied Sitella ? 3 DS, several BS
64. White-browed Treecreeper ? BS
65. Brown Treecreeper ? BS
66. Splendid Fairywren ? WK, BS
67. Variegated Fairywren ? cm; at LG possibly this species and not
Blue-breasted
(contra Thomas & Thomas)
68. White-winged Fairywren ? cm
69. Short-tailed Grasswren ? SH, 4 seen well, more heard
70. Eyrean Grasswren ? 2 at Eyrean Grasswren dune at the western boundary of
the Bollard?s Lagoon property along Merty-Merty Track (see Ian May?s
postings); another one at Eyrean dune north of Strzelecki Crossing along
Strzelecki Track (see Ian May?s posting)
71. Grey Grasswren ? OG 2
72. Western Grasswren ? 1 WK at Middleback (33°00.81S 137°32.86E)
73. ?Eastern? Thick-billed Grasswren ? 2-3 ML a few meters from the rusty
car
74. Spotted Pardalote ? 1 ER
75. Striated Pardalote ? cm
76. Rufous Calamanthus ? 3 ML; 1 ST at KM 32 from Lyndhurst
77. Redthroat ? 1 WK at Middleback (33°00.81S 137°32.86E)
78. Weebill ? cm but not along Strzelecki
79. Inland Thornbill ? WK, LG, BG, BS
80. Chestnut-rumped Thornbill ? BS
81. Yellow Thornbill ? DS
82. Slender-billed Thornbill ? WK 2-3
83. Yellow-rumped Thornbill ? WK, LG, BS
84. Southern Whiteface ? WK, DS, 1 SH, ES, BS, TC
85. Chestnut-breasted Whiteface ? 3 ML at the mine site about two thirds
along the way from ?no access? sign to big black rock on the right (as
facing the sign)
86. Red Wattlebird ? PA, LG
87. Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater ? cm
88. Noisy Friarbird ? 1 BS
89. Blue-faced Honeyeater ? BS
90. Yellow-throated Miner ? cm, e.g. PA, ST, BS
91. Yellow-faced Honeyeater ? 1 DS
92. Singing Honeyeater ? cm; also forresti, e.g. LW
93. White-eared Honeyeater ? LG
94. White-plumed Honeyeater ? cm
95. Pied Honeyeater ? LW, RS, ES
96. Black Honeyeater ? ES
97. Crimson Chat - + juv.; c. 20 WK; many LW onwards to ES
98. Orange Chat ? from ST through ES; CO; SW; generally lower in numbers
than Crimson, though at more sites
99. White-fronted Chat ? c. 50 WK
100. Gibberbird ? 2 ST at KM 170 from Lyndhurst
101. Chirruping Wedgebill ? PA, ML, ST, RS, ES, SN, CC
102. Chestnut Quail-Thrush ? 1 pair at LG
103. Chestnut-breasted Quail-Thrush ? repeatedly at BS
104. Cinnamon Quail-Thrush ? 1,3 + 2 at ML; 1,0 + 1 ES; 1,2 RS
105. White-browed Babbler ? WK, LG, PA, DS, BG, ST, RS
106. Hall?s Babbler ? 3+2 BS
107. Chestnut-crowned Babbler ? RS, ES, TC, BS, CO
108. Red-capped Robin ? cm
109. Hooded Robin ? TC, BS, CO
110. Western Yellow Robin ? 1 LG
111. Jacky Winter - BS, CO
112. Crested Bellbird ? TC and heard only elsewhere
113. Grey Shrike-Thrush ? cm but not along Strzelecki; also at LG
114. Rufous Whistler ? scattered sites
115. Willie Wagtail ? cm
116. Restless Flycatcher ? BS
117. Magpie Lark ? cm
118. Spotted Bowerbird ? BS
119. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike ? cm
120. Ground Cuckoo-shrike ? TC 5 near western boundary of Paroo District
sign
121. White-winged Triller ? LW, RS
122. White-breasted Woodswallow ? BS
123. Masked Woodswallow ? esp. along Strzelecki
124. White-browed Woodswallow ? esp. along Strzelecki and ES
125. Black-faced Woodswallow ? cm
126. Dusky Woodswallow ? ER
127. Grey Butcherbird ? BG
128. Australian Magpie ? cm
129. Grey Currawong ? 1 LG, 1 ER (different distinct subspecies)
130. Australian Raven ? cm
131. Little Raven ? ER
132. Little Crow ? from ML through ES
133. White-winged Chough ? whiteae at LG, nominate at ER
134. Apostlebird ? Thargomindah 3-5; BS flock
135. White-backed Swallow ? esp. LW and ES
136. Welcome Swallow
137. Tree Martin ? SH
138. Fairy Martin ? cm
139. Australian Pipit ? cm
140. Singing Bushlark ? 1 near Cunnamulla
141. Rufous Songlark ? cm
142. Brown Songlark ? cm (more so than Rufous)
143. House Sparrow ? Iron Knob
144. Zebra Finch ? cm
145. Mistletoebird ? occasional
146. Silvereye ? BG
147. Blackbird ? 1 Broken Hill
Acknowledgements:
Our thanks go out to the many members of Birding-AUS that have contributed
sightings to the mailing-list?s archives. In particular, we would like to
acknowledge Ian May ? without whom we would have missed one or two of the
trip megas ? and Peter Waanders ? who was also very helpful in responding to
our specific enquiries. Andrew Black pointed out the Western Grasswren site
and is warmly acknowledged for that. Our warm thanks also go to Jonny
Schoenjahn for much valuable advice. Moreover, Sue and Phil Gregory, Drew
Fulton, Carl Billingham and John Leonard provided helpful extra information.
Thanks also to Ian and Julie at Bowra Station for their great hospitality.
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