Hi all,
Having just returned from a quick (3.5 day) trip to the Tibooburra area, I
thought I'd provide an overview of our findings.
Tibooburra in outback (far SW) NSW is less than a day's easy drive from
places like Mildura (Vic) and Renmark (SA). During my previous visit there
in early December,
the area was struggling from a bad drought. Recent rains (up to 120mm in
places) have transformed the landscape, although some parts missed out.
Most dams and some creeks contain water again and wildflowers were out. The
weather ranged from moderately hot (37C) to pleasant (25C).
On this trip we visited Tarawi Nature Reserve (in the mallee between
Renmark - Broken Hill), a dam north of Broken Hill, the Packsaddle
roadhouse area, a lake in the sand dunes south of Tibooburra, and spent a
day in Sturt NP. We also checked various sites where Halls Babblers have
been reported over the years, without success, at times questioning the
accuracy of those sightings given the unlikely habitat in which some of
these sightings have been reported. We also ventured into the gibber plains
and swamps of southern Queensland. Total number of birds recorded was 105,
with highlights being:
20 Freckled Duck, 100 Pink-eared Duck, 50 Blue-billed Duck (lake S of
Tibooburra)
6 Australian Pratincoles, 1 Black Falcon, 3 Grey Grasswrens (S Qld)
2 Diamond Doves, 1 Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo singing, 1 Spotted Nightjar,
several Cockatiel, several Blue Bonnets, 100s of Budgerigars, 1 Pied
Honeyeater, several Chirruping Wedgebills, 100s of Zebra Finches, several
Crimson and Orange Chats and a nesting White-fronted Chat (Sturt NP)
Inland Thornbill, Chestnut Quail-thrush, White-fronted Honeyeater,
White-browed Treecreeper (Tarawi NR).
All in all a great area, underexplored by birders, but not too far off the
beaten track.
cheers
Peter
-------
Peter Waanders
In 2014, Southern Birding Services will become Bellbird Tours. Visit our
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