This is very good news because there have been hardly any reports of
Princess Parrots in recent years but several reports of their scarcity or
even absence from several previously favoured haunts. Fire had devastated
some of those areas such as around Lake Tobin. For those unable to read
Don's message he reported the presence of Princess Parrots near Well 44 on
the Canning Stock Route (CSR) and at Jupiter Well, both in WA.
As Don was heading north after seeing the birds, he met a group led by
George Swann travelling south so passed on the good news. George's group
went to Don's spot near Well 44 and saw up to 11 birds together on three
consecutive days. Sorry to tell you this Don, but eventually they got
crippling close views not the fly-aways you got! Even so, the days of seeing
100 in a day and nearly 300 in a trip as we did on the CSR in 1993 are well
and truly gone it seems.
However a warning. Don advises that the best place to look for them at
the moment is at Jupiter Well because the road from Alice Springs is
excellent and you don't have to battle the corrugations and dunes of the
CSR. But I suppose you can still get stranded because of vehicle break
downs. It was near Jupiter Well on the Gary Junction Highway that my wife
and I sat for fifteen (15) days awaiting rescue in 1991. We were lucky to
survive. That road which the locals call the Western Desert Highway was
always better than the CSR but far less frequented. I suppose these days
everyone would have a satellite phone and an Epurb. But then we had a radio
but couldn't use it because both our batteries were flat. And satellite
phones need to be recharged I guess. Another point is that in those days one
needed permission from the traditional land holders to camp at Jupiter Well.
Even some that had a permit were ejected.
Don, if you reply to this please do so by direct email, not via an
attachment because they are not allowed on Birding-Aus.
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mount Eliza VIC 3930
Tel (03) 9787 7136
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