Author: euanfothergill@hotmail.com

Please note this is an ongoing blog, please come back later to see where we went and later still for the photographs and page updates.

31/12/2023

Okay so it’s still 2023, but it’s close to 2024. I set out early from Fontaine Ct and headed over to Swan Bay salt marsh and spent a disappointing 20mins there. I had a better time at Lonsdale lakes Queenscliffe with 37sp including 3 Australian Spotted Crakes, over 100 wader with a good number of Curlew Sandpipers and some Banded Stilts. Taylor Ct Ocean Grove was back to ordinary birds.

9/1/2024

In the late morning we drove down to visit my old friends John and Janice who were camping right next to my site at Barwon River Ocean Grove. We had some lunch with them then I did my survey, but even with a low tide there were no waders using the sand flats, just herons and egrets.

10/1 131km

The car was overdue for a service and this morning was the soonest I could get, so I got it done in the morning and waited there for it to get done, no major issues which is always a relief. I went back to Fontaine Ct to pack and headed off at 11.30. Picked up fuel at the Apco Servo which is always the cheapest around then went to Jerringot wetland and got 22 ordinary species, I usually get something interesting here, but just the usual coots, hens, ducks and a few human tolerant bush birds. Down to Grove Rd Grovedale for more human tolerant birds, then to Morissons for lunch by the blackberry choked stream. Next was Hunts Rd bridge where I got Blue-winged Parrots, I got them last time I was here too. Lal Lal rail didn’t have much activity and I went to Russell’s place for the night.

11/1 216km

It was a dissapointing 19 species survey of his property with the most interesting bird being a Fan-tailed Cuckoo calling. I left there at 8am and went to Pioneer Park Ballarat which only had 3 species in the freshly mown grass with nothing in the ponds. North to Rail dam Daylesford which is accessed down a blackberry choked lane and a forest track then a 500m walk along the railway. On the way out I was able to pick a few ripe blackberries out the window of the car, new season blackberries fresh off the bush are just the best! Sugarloaf Rd Denver only had White-eared Honeyeater but a dam by the road had some Eastern Banjo Frogs calling in the middle of the afternoon so I recorded them on my FrogID app. Next was Jack Coromal Reserve which is now no longer a reserve but a motorcycle track, thankfully they haven’t chopped the trees down, but it’s fenced off. Bellbird survey 87 Mandurang had the first Yellow Thornbill and Striated Thornbill that along with some Silvereye got chased by a Collared Sparrowhawk whilst I was trying in vain to get a photo. Bellbird survey 49 had some Brown-headed Honeyeaters that I managed to get a photo of. Here there was a motorcyclist with a motorcycle that I’m sure would classify as noise pollution as he tore up and down the stretch of road here several times, back and forth, back and forth, you never get anywhere just expensive thrills for hoons. Shanahans Rd Axedale didn’t have much activity. Taig Track Axedale was closed due to a large muddy puddle and a big washout, thankfully my survey site is only 250m up it. I camped at Smart Track dams and had Fuscous Honeyeater, Black-chinned Honeyeater and White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike amongst others by sundown. I recorded the frogs at about 22.00 and got 6sp

12/1 234km

Only added Magpie-lark in the morning and headed over to Toolleen Hotel for a handful of species. At Myola Rd Coranella East I started to find still partially flooded fields from the recent major rain event. The dam here was full with a Yellow-billed Spoonbill. I went through Rushworth where the water had subsided and repair work was under way, as I got out the other side of town it was easy to see why it gets flooded. It sits in the middle of a shallow valley, but there is no creekline until after the town, so any major water flow has to go down the main street. They need some sort of flood mitigation to direct the inevitable water flow away from the main street, problem solved! At Goulburn River Murchison I saw that the river had peaked at about 10m and was running swift still at 9m. In the scheme of things it was a minor flood. I bought some desert for dinner and a huge lemon slice for morning tea that I cut in two and put one in the fridge for another day. I passed the field west of Violet Town where 37 years ago I was parascending, but I didn’t recognize it, it was so long ago. It was then a run up the freeway and through Eldorado to my friend’s property at Everton Hills for the night. I had a go on an old Massey Fergusen tractor slashing a lane and a blackberry bush. My old friend Durham arrived later in the afternoon and we sat around talking til late.

13/1 65km

I did my round of the property with Durham and showed him a few new birds like Crested Shrike-tit and Dusky Woodswallow. I left at 11.30 with the hope of catching up with Bruce and Helen next week in Melbourne. I went through Wangaratta and up into the hills to Griffiths Tk Warby Ovens NP, but all I got was a White-throated Treecreeper. Back down to Killawarra School Rd for 10sp in the heat of the day around a farm dam. I camped at Ovens River Peachelba, a lovely spot perched right on the bank of the muddy river still receding from the floods. I spent the rest of the arvo relaxing in the shade and catching any cool breeze that came off the river.

14/1 86km

Had a Koala grunting several times during the night and a Brush-tailed Possum joined in once or twice too, so added to a pair of Boobook Owls and a Tawny Frogmouth it was quite a noisy night. Headed east and found that my access to Black Swamp was blocked by the swamp, so surveyed the edge of it as my survey point is less than 500m along the track. Next on my list was Developmental Rd Peechelba East which had lots of eastern Rosellas. Narong east had some Grey-crowned Babblers in the farmers front yard. Rutherglen Rd Whistler Tk had Black-chinned Honeyeater, and Indigo south had a Little Friarbird. Chiltern where I’ve had Grey-crowned Babblers before had none. Bartleys Block didn’t dissapoint with some White-throated Needletails zooming around overhead and another Black-chinned Honeyeater, Although there was plenty of Mistletoe, none seemed to be in flower so I had little chance of a Painted Honeyeater, but I got Yellow-tufted Honeyeater which is a nice consolation. There was a group of White-winged Choughs foraging along the ground when a noisy bike went by. They took fright and flew up into the bushes, hiding there for a minute or so before resuming their foraging. So what you might say. Now to White-winged Choughs all it probably did was add to their nervousness. But picture this. A beach somewhere with an endangered Hooded Plover trying to raise a chick, picture a popular beach anywhere in their range, and there are a lot of them. There is always a sign on a beach where they are breeding asking people to keep their dog on a leash, because a lot of people do care. Unforunately dog owners are almost as irresponsible as cat owners, and rarely keep their dog on a leash. I was recently at Ocean Grove beach where the birds failed to raise a chick, so disturbing birds can have devastating impacts on them, and if you have enough disturbance over a long period it can cause extinction both locally and totally. KEEP YOUR DOG ON A LEASH!, and KEEP YOUR CAT INSIDE! And don’t ride noisy motorbikes near choughs! Come to think of it DONT RIDE NOISY MOTORBIKES! It was a short drive to Indigo cemetery where there were three more White-throated Needletails. At Barnawatha cemetery I had a dog follow me around that escaped from a garden opposite from where I parked, the thing just wouldn’t go away. The owner turned up as I got back to the car. She knows it escapes but does nothing to prevent it, sigh. End of Coyles Rd Barnawatha had a Common Myna, it’s disturbing to see the spread of this awful aggresive pest. I camped at Doolan Bend Murray River at 13.30. Expectedly it was busy and I was lucky to find a spot by the river right at the end of the track and perched above the river I sweated out the afternoon. Not long before dark we had a thunderstorm with a bit of light rain, but just before I took refuge an Azure Kingfisher turned up and sat nicely for me.

15/1 209km

The rain didn’t last long last night, so the track out was just a few bigger puddles than yesterday. First stop was Murray River south of Howlong with both Noisy and Little Friarbirds. The track into Dowdle Swamp was rather muddy, so I engaged the diff-locks for extra control and apart from one spot where my rear wheels fell into one track and my front into another making me crab along the track I got in to the swamp okay. There were a few frogs calling so they got recorded, but I struggled to keep the mozzies at bay, and several got their mark before being squished. The birds were a bit disappointing considering the effort I made to get in here. Over to Tungamah swamp for more mozzies and a pair of Blue-winged Parrots, the frogs were too far away to record here. Moodie swamp had more frogs but very few Mozzies and the only wetland species of bird for all the swamps, were some White Ibis, exciting stuff. Gawne Rd Yabba south had a Striated Pardalote which has been missing from all the other treed sites. I thought I’d have trouble getting in to Rowan Swamp but the track was mostly dry, added Restless Flycatcher and White-winged Triller here. Winton wetland had the expected wetland and woodland birds adding up to 23species. Just up the road Lake Mokoan at McCann Hill added Golden-headed Cisticola which propped nicely on some grass heads for me. I camped at Broken Creek Goomalibee at 14.15 and had 32sp by dark. The billabong had a few frogs calling but I recorded them too early, by 22.00 there were lots more calling than I recorded (you’re only supposed to record once at each wetland per night).

16/1 178km

Off early again, first stop was Robinson Rd Baddaginie, an old spot for Grey-crowned Babblers, I saw a nest but no birds. The track to end of Laserre rd Baddaginie was blocked by a large fallen tree that there was no way around, but it was less than 500m to my site, so I walked in but didn’t find much, apart from a calling Stubble Quail in the field nearby. At Balmattum Grassland I thought I heard a Grey-crowned Babbler but couldn’t find it, I wasn’t sure enough so I left it out of the survey. Just down the road at Balmattum Grassland shed I found a group of three Grey-crowned Babblers which is a low number, an indication that they aren’t doing well, or perhaps it just wasn’t the full group. Larne Rd Tamleugh had a very young Horsefield’s Bronze Cuckoo in close proximity to a pair of Superb Fairywrens a quarter its size, if they are rearing it, it must be a struggle for them. There were more frogs calling in the swamp here and I suffered a few more mozzie bites. Caniambo didn’t have much depite there being water in the channel, but then there’s water everywhere at the moment. Picked up some fruit and vegies in Shepparton and had lunch at Victoria park lake which had a few wetland species on it. Rafferty’s Bend Golbourn River is flooded out but I got 16sp including Blue-faced Honeyeater. Golbourn River Toolamba wasn’t as good, but had two ponds with frogs calling in the late afternoon. Angle Rd NW of Murchison is another spot where I’ve found Grey-crowned Babblers in the past, again I found an old nest but no birds. Basin Rd channel was flooded beside the channel with a good number of waterbirds including Hardhead. Similarly Bitcon corner with Basin Rd was flooded in the corner with lots of wetland birds including Pied Stilts. I camped at Waranga Basin Recreational Reserve with a steady stream of people coming and going and had 26sp by dark including a Hobby Falcon which helped me count the White-plumed Honeyeaters as they gave out their warning call as it flew by.

17/1 131km

The sky was red this morning but I took no heed, had my usual breaky and was on the road by 7am. The road had notice of dry weather road only but I paid no heed and headed up the road to Carac Rd Karook, when I needed to put it into 4wd I should have heeded, especially since my site wasn’t all that far up the road. I got to my survey point and had a dissapointing survey, again there’s so much water around that flooded fields are common at the moment. I walked up the road a bit and I finally decided to take heed, as the track looked to get boggier and the low lying area was quite large according to my map. So with no place to turn around without a real chance of getting bogged I put the car in reverse and drove back about 1km to where I could turn around with safety. On my way to the next survey it started to rain which would have made the track even worse. Thankfull that I’d paid heed I headed for Lake Cooper south and waited for a break in the rain to do my survey. There was a small flooded area where the Spotted Marsh Frogs and Eastern Banjo Frogs were going bonkers (pun intended for those that know the call of Eastern Banjo Frogs). The rain kept on coming down as I got to Mt Pleasant Ck Elmore, so I had to wait for it to clear again before doing the survey. It was now 11am, it had rained for nearly 2 1/2hrs and I am finding that I have a surprising amount of my surveys on dry weather only roads, that after my morning’s trial I wasn’t willing to go down. So I found Bendigo Ck Drummartin that was on a bitumen road, but now I was pestered by a swarm of mozzies, most uncomfortable. Again at Millwood Rd south corner of national park I was pestered mercilessly by mozzies forcing me to have my lunch in the car. I camped at Boiler dam Whipstick Forest and spent the afternoon doing my survey by ear only from the safety of the camper. It was late in the afternoon when a group of hoons turned up, yelling and swearing at the top of their voices, I rolled my eyes. One of them got into his car and did doughnuts in the open area next to me. Just no idea. I quietly hoped that he’d blow his car up, and I’d no sooner thought that than a plume of blue smoke came out of his car. The hood went up, they tinkered, but it wouldn’t start, so he got into one of the other cars and they left it there and peace returned to my ugly little clearing, and I could hear the odd bird calling again. I had a quiet little smile. Sometimes fools do get exactly what they deserve. Thankfully this morning I was no fool.

18/1 150km

It was a surprisingly cold night last night, where has summer gone? It was also a quiet night with no night birds for the first time this trip. I headed south to Marlborough Rd end of bitumen for Red-capped Robin, then over to Leichardt rail where the eucalyptus trees were in bloom and got Musk Lorikeet. Shelbourne NR O’Barry Tk had Fuscous Honeyeater. Comers Rd Woodstock east had a some open country birds around the farm dam. Loddon River Laancoorie had 14 human tolerant species. Just around the corner Laancoorie reserve was it’s usual disappointing self, with nothing to pique my interest. On to Melton lane Bromley which only had 5sp. Havelock MSF 1 did one better with 6sp. United Kingdom Track Simson for some reason is always abuzz with birds getting Buff-rumped Thornbill, Fuscous Honeyeater, Brown-headed Honeyeater and a very young Shining Bronze Cuckoo in the proximity of a young Brown Treecreeper with no adult birds around, so I don’t know what the story is there. Bucknall Reserve Carisbrook was almot birdless with a few Magpies on the grass and a few Reedwarblers in the reeds. I camped at The Dam Mt Beckworth at 12.50. A pleasant spot except that dogs are allowed in here so of course they make a bee-line for the water. I suspect that not a lot of waterbirds use it but the honeyeaters used it to drink and bathe once the dogs had gone.

19/1 262km

No frogs calling, no night birds again. Only 18sp here with Yellow-tufted Honeyeater the most interesting. The clouds were lowering with light showers as I got to Burrumbeet pub which is now a coffee and cakes place on weekends only with a museum of garden ornaments, which although not all that sophisticated nevertheless had character. The birds weren’t all that fussed about the area though with not much happening in the wind and the rain and cold. The lake at Modesty Lane lake was dry but the dam had water. The corellas here were all Long-billed Corellas. Next on my list was Gnarkeet Ck east of Bradvale where a Collared Sparrowhawk was carrying it’s catch of Goldfinch to somewhere quiet to have its feast. In the grassy shallows of the dam here I got a pair of Baillon’s Crakes, it’s been a long while since I’ve caught a glimpse of this species. Chain of ponds Crambs Rd had a good array of grassland birds including lots of Stubble Quail and Golden-headed Cisticola in the long grass by the creek. Gnarkeet rail had more Stubble Quail and Golden-headed Cisticolas, again in the long grass by the railway line this time. It was no surprise when further east at Wingeel rail there were yet more Stubble Quail and Golden-headed Cisticolas, again in the long grasses by the railway. South now to Prices lane 14km west of Winchelsea where I found a pair of Latham’s Snipe, not in the long grass by the creek but in the dead dry grass in the planted woodland by the road. I’ve been surprised not to find them before with all this wet land and all the swamps I surveyed. Winchelsea had Little Corellas noisily draped in every tree along the creek and underneath the bridges. When they give their schreechy calls in the confined space under a bridge you realize just how much volume they can possess. Lake Gherang only had a few pools around the edge with the only wetland birds being White Ibis and Purple Swamphen, not exactly scintillating stuff. Giddings Rd Paraparap was the first quiet spot for me to have my lunch. A walk along the closed off lane produced Golden Whistler. Thomson Ck Point Impossible had Red-capped Doterrel on a nest, and my last survey at Barwon Heads Jetty had Little Wattlebird. It was then back to Fontaine Ct for another break.

Fine and warm tomorrow 16/10/2023

Meat and three veg for dinner
And Monday's news in on TV
But it's all war and woe
And I think to myself
It's a horrible horrible world
If you're an ethnic minority
But it's fine and warm tomorrow

Meat and three veg for dinner
And Tuesday's news is on TV
But it's all war and woe
And I think to myself
It's an awful awful world
If you're in the wrong country
But it's fine and warm tomorrow

Meat and three veg for dinner
And Wednesday's news is on TV
But its all war and woe
And I think to myself
It's a dangerous dangerous world
If your skin's the wrong colour.
But it's fine and warm tomorrow

Meat and three veg for dinner
And Thursday's news is on TV
But it's all war and woe
And I think to myself
It's a terrible terrible world
If you're living below the poverty line
But it's fine and warm tomorrow

Meat and three veg for dinner
And Friday's news is on TV
But it's all war and woe
And I think to myself
It's a cruel cruel world
If you are disabled
but it's fine and warm tomorrow

Meat and three veg for dinner
And Saturday's news is on TV
But it's nearly all war and woe
And I think to myself
It's an abominable abominable world
If there's no one there to help
But my team won their game
And it's fine and warm tomorrow

Meat and three veg for dinner
And Sunday's news is on TV
But it's back to all war and woe
I see emaciated bodies lying in the streets
I see nation fighting nation
They're really saying I hate you
I see wild life being brought to the brink of extinction
I see pollution and ugliness everywhere I look
I see little children crying in the streets
And I think to myself
Unless you're white or wealthy
It's just not a nice world at all
But it's still fine and warm tomorrow

3/2

Up at 5.30, breaky, packed lunch and drove in to Geelong to pick up my old friend Emily, then out to the Western Treatment Plant. We met Bridget and Randall there and we all piled into the one car and headed down to where the Brolgas had been breeding near the birdhide. The young had fledged and were feeding with the adults in the fields. A short hop to Austin Rd Lagoons where a pair of very tolerant Brolgas were feeding on the edge of a tank, there was also a Marsh Sandpiper here. From there we headed to The Spit. One can no longer walk The Spit even in summer. It was now lunchtime and we went over to the Borrow Pits, for the only shade on the circuit. By now it was quite hot so we spent a long time down at the coastal birdhide watching the waders feed as the tide went out, then made our way out. Took Bridget and Randall back to their car. We went back to Emily’s place, met her husband and went out to dinner at the Cremorne Hotel where I had the vegie burger, which was tasty and enough. Back home.

10/2

It was mid morning when we set off from ocean Grove and headed into Geelong, picking up some diesel at the APCO servo on the Ballerine Hwy. The first survey spot was Rippleside Park which was unusually quiet as far as the birds go. Foreshore Rd Geelong had the usaul haul of coastal seabirds on the old pier that is fenced off to humans and a marvelous roosting spot for the birds. Next stop was Skeleton Ck Hoppers Crossing which on the south side of the road usually has some Pied Stilts and other waterbirds, they didn’t disappoint. We went around the ringroad to Ely St Eltham for lunch and I found a Dusky Woodswallow. We visited Bev’s cousin Julie in Ringwood then went to Mt Waverley to meet our old card group friends for a night of the card game 500. I won 5 out out of the 8 games I played. We spent the night here, which saved us the long trek back to Ocean Grove.

11/2

Had an early breakfast with Gilbert and Bernadette then headed up to Craigieburn Grasslands to meet up with 8 others to assist in the survey that I used to run here. Unfortunately it was a very windy morning, but we still got 38sp including a good number of raptors. From there we went to Spurr St Craigieburn to find that our house there had been pulled down and the new town houses there were built to the design that we made. The birds were the usual street birds. Woodlands Park Greenvale 3 had Red-rumped Parrots. We had lunch at Jackson Ck Bulla, not the best lunch spot, but the creek was flowing and I had a few hot blackberries. Westward to Ryans Ln east of Toolern Vale which had a few birds around the fenced off dam here. South to You Yangs main entrance which again had a few birds around the dam here. The White-winged Choughs were rather tame, but they just wouldn’t let me get a shot of them. From there it was back to ocean Grove.

19/2 104km

It was about 9am when to took our leave of Colin and Lynne and drove for about 5mins down to Barwon River Ocean Grove, where we got some Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters. Next stop was Thomson River Breamlea where the Red-capped Dotterels had finished breeding and were nowhere in sight. Bev did the shopping in Torquay then we went to Spring Creek Bellbrae for lunch. On the beach over the sandune at Point Roadknight Anglesea I met the warder of the breeding Hooded Plovers. They had gone from 3 fledged young to one in the past few days, but I could only see the two adults, the young one kept out of sight so it would seem. Aireys Inlet added Black-faced Cormorant and Bev got a pair of Rufous Bristlebirds whilst I was out looking unsuccessfully out on the bar for more Hooded Plovers. Loutit bay looked as good as ever and proved as bird poor as ever with a lone calling Pied Currawong the only species. St.Georges River Allenvale had a Yellow Robin. I was disappointed to find that Wye Rd camp 1 was blocked off, it looks like it never opened up again after the bushfires of 2018. We found a flat spot on the road a bit further up and set up camp, finding White-throated Needletail, Satin Bowerbird and Gang Gang Cockatoo as highlights.

20/2 177km

We had a noisy start to the night with three Boobook Owls calling, two Koalas and a few brush-tailed possums having an argument, but as the night wore on they went quiet. Ended the survey with 19sp and went to Sturt Point Wye River, but didn’t get much. Down to Blanket Bay Cape Otway, which we’d tried to get in to last night but is booked out until Thursday, there are still a lot of tourists along the coast. There was a Rufous Bristlebird feeding out in the open quite tame as they can be. The White-browed Scrubwrens were also easily seen feeding in the open, and an eastern Yellow Robin also got its portrait taken. At Cape Otway we chose not to pay the $10ea fee to go look at the lighthouse which is closed due to an earthquake and mercury spill at the moment. Instead we walked the walking trail, but it gives no views for quite some way, the birdlife wasn’t all that inpressive either. We had lunch at Castle Cove lookout. Melba Gully with its lush rainforest and trickling creeks had a Rufous Fantail. I usually get White’s Thrush here but we were probably too late in the day and with too many tourists around they’d probably gone to more peaceful places. The pond by the entrance road had frogs in it that I recorded for FrogID. Princetown had about 110 Australian White Ibis and 7 other ordinary wetland species. Sturgess Point Port Campbell had Little Wattlebird and fifty or so ravenous Silver Gulls being fed by tourists who don’t know any better. Irvine Rd Peterborough had a pair of Hooded Plover, I got a shot and was trying to get a better one when someone walked by me and flushed the bird, another ignorant tourist who has no manners and obviously doesn’t know any better. We camped at Joanna St Peterborough and found Latham’s Snipe in a small swamp by the road, also got some Blue-winged Parrots and I was making sure that some red-tailed finches were indeed Red-browed Finches, when a Tiger Snake that I’d been standing less that three feet from decided I was too close and took off into the scrub, which reinforces the idea that unless most snakes feel threatened by you they’d rather get away from you than strike at you, but I wish I’d spotted it first, it was a big fat one and would have made a good shot that close to it.

21/2 161km

There was quite a heavy dew overnight, one of the birds that I found this morning was a Grey Fantail, it was flitting about on the top of Bracken ferns bathing in the dew drops, never seen that before. Ended with 33sp which isn’t bad for a rural/urban site. It was still early when we got to Bay Of Islands, there was the usual Singing Honeyeater, Silver Gulls but not much else, the early morning light though was nice on the rock stacks in the bay. At Curdie Vale the river was still slightly flooded, but got the usual wetland easy to finds, like Purple Swamphen. Tower Hill Reserve Koroit had high water level in all the lakes, and I found a pair of Red-browed Finches in exactly the same spot as I did last time I was here, but this time I couldn’t get a shot of them. Lake Yambuck and Beach was lunch, which was about the only thing happening here. lake in farmland Yambuck had lots of water with 120 Black Swans swanning around. We stopped at Sawpit Camp Mt Clay SF and sat in the shade slowly adding birds through the afternoon, the highlights being a lone Gang Gang Cockatoo that came creaking in to camp and three White-throated Needletails overhead, but much lower than the other day.

22/2 130km

The wind got up well before dawn roaring over the tops of the trees on a warm night. Being in the forest the wind didn’t get below the trees, but I didn’t find many active birds in the morning. It’s a total fire ban day today so we can’t use our stove to cook tonight so Bev bought some salad stuff in Portland and we went down to Fawthrop lagoon which had 34sp but no Willie Wagtails or Magpie Larks, both are in low numbers so far this trip. What we did find was a Tiger Snake that crossed the track in front of me and as I approached it seemed unconcerned, so I crept close enough to get a good shot of it as it continued hunting. Next stop was Point Danger gannet colony where there were about 500 Australasian Gannets and a Forest Raven. A bit further west is Cape Nelson with its spectacular lighthouse, there were a few Australasian Gannets here too off shore. We had lunch at Mt Richmond Summit picnic area with only a handful of birds active. Telegraph Rd Mt Richmond netted a Brush Bronzewing. It took more than an hour to walk the sand dunes down to Swan Lake Beach and back, I got Wedge-tailed Eagle, Emu and Kelp Gull, but no waders on the beach. Nearby at Swan Lake Nelson I added Olive Whistler. A short drive east to camp at Monibenong Lake Nelson. It had never got really hot down by the coast and not long after we arrived the cool change came through and it got decidedly chilly, enough to require a jumper, and a beanie for me with my short hair. By sundown I only had 13sp. I went down to the lake after dark but there were no frogs calling.

23/2 261km

It was a cool cloudy and windy morning that persisted for most of the day with a top temperature of only 19C. On our way out of the site we were struggling up the hill on the narrow dirt road when a bloke in his $100000 Landcruiser towing his $100000 you beut off road caravan came hooning over the crest and wizzed by us without slowing down in a plume of dust and stones. Just no consideration whatsoever. There’s just so little consideration for others these days. He waved nonchalantly at me as he went by, I didn’t return the courtesy. My first site at Glenelg River estuary had a road closed for roadworks, so we skipped that one going into South Australia and to Picinini Ponds CP where I scored a pair of Arctic Jaeger cruising the coast, a new one for SA and the first time I’ve got them on a survey, which makes 629sp surveyed now. Next along the coast was 8 Mile Ck Port McDonald which also includes a significant roost for waders, we got Red-necked Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Sooty Oystercatcher. There is a birdhide here, but it’s set too far back, so I had to walk closer to get proper IDs. A short distance west is Stony Point where there were good numbers of Golden Plover and Ruddy Turnstone and a lone Fairy Tern, there were also Sharpies and Stints here too. Carpenter Rocks had a pair of Hooded Plovers but no chicks with them. Poonada Rd German Flat was looking like a no birder until a lone Magpie intervened, and Canunda Tip Rd Eagle Point was looking the same when it went from zero birds to 300 with a large flock of Starlings erupting from some nearby trees. Geltwood Beach Canunda NP had a Blue-winged Parrot, but nothing on the beach with huge rollers crashing onto the beach with the strong southerly. We found that Lake Frome now has a no camping sign, we’d hoped to stop here, as we have before, so instead we did a 20min survey and moved on to Drain L east of Robe. By the time we got here the birds were largely silent, so I didn’t get much.

24/2 203km

It was disappointingly quiet this morning apart from the measured explosions of the nearby orchard canons. We headed into Robe Foodland where there are two small reserves holding human tolerant species. I bought a 30mm socket to tighten up one of the spare wheel carriers which is wobbling a bit, it didn’t fix it so there is damage to the inside of the hinge. Cape Jaffa had good numbers of birds including 130 Silvereye. One of the residents here had a sprinkler on and they were swarming around it, then going to the bushes and trees around to preen themselves. Wyomi beach should be even better but it isn’t, there is a good stretch of scrub between the houses and the beach, but here there is much more beach traffic. Driving on the beach kills all the small organisms that live in between the sand granules, destroying the habitat. We’re very good at doing that. North then to The Granites another beach that’s driven on a lot. The only beach bird was a lone Black-faced Cormorant perched on one of the granite domes just by the beach. Some hoons on motorbikes had been tearing up the beach and riding over the small boulders on the beach, just plain irresponsible. We had lunch at Tilley Swamp. The channel had a good level of water, but the heathland is still recovering from the fire that came through here just before I was last here. We poked our head in to 42 Mile Crossing campground, but the lake was dry, so we just did a 20min survey and moved on to Salt Creek Coorong, which had a Brown Goshawk, then to Messent CP SW corner to camp, ticking off the birds one by one including a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles soaring over the hillsides.

25/2 161km

5C was the wake up temperature, just a bit too cold for my summer sleeping bag. Managed to spot a Purple-gaped Honeyeater on my morning stroll. Soon it was time to head up the Coorong to Jack Point. The water was very low here, there is is a wide verge of mudflat extending nearly to where the pelicans breed. There were still a lot of juveniles hanging around the area, but all the breeding has finished. Coorong Wilderness Lodge track had a Blue-winged Parrot. Parnka Point Coorong NP had a large flock of White-fronted Chats with a few juveniles, but they were very camera shy. Meningie had some eucalypts in flower with lots of Purple-crowned Lorikeets and a few Musk Lorikeets. Murray River Talem Bend didn’t have much. Talem Bend boat ramp had some Dusky Woodswallows with juveniles. We picked up some supplies in town the got the free Wellington ferry and went to Lake Alexandrina Reserve to camp. There was a strong southerly coming across the lake but Bev braved the cold waters for a quick dip in the fresh water lake, I refrained. We had a look at going across to Kangaroo Island but to take the car was nearly $500 for the two of us so we decided it was too expensive. It’s essentially the same service run by the same company as the Queenscliff Ferry, so why isn’t it the same price? Probably because it’s the only way to get to the island, price gouging.

26/2

We were camped just a few feet from the shore, and although the strong southerly moderated overnight the sound of the waves on the shore seemed a bit loud and close sometimes when I woke during the night. By morning’s light though the waves were still lapping quietly where they had been yesterday. Ended the survey with 19sp, most being fly bys of Pelicans, cormorants and the like. First stop for the day was West Creek Rd Boggy Lake where I usually get Cape Barren Geese, and they didn’t dissapoint today with 16 of them by the shore. Tolderol Game Reserve added a lone Elegant Parrot, with the usual Little Grassbird and Golden-headed Cisticola. Frank Potts Reserve Langhorne Creek had Adelaide Rosella, the local form of the Crimson Rosella, but they were all right up in the tops of the trees, so no photo. Monarto info bay had a Rainbow Bee-eater. Swanport Wetland had 30sp with nothing outstanding to report. We had lunch at Waterfall Reserve Mannum and got White-browed Babbler. Bolts Reserve Mannum had people feeding the Black Ducks, a practice I frown on for many reasons, not least because the food that are usually fed them can actually kill them. Lake Moody was dry, Bev found a Mulga Parrot on her round that I didn’t get. We camped at Swanport at the free campsite oblique from the ferry to where my site is a few hundred metres away on the other side of the river. It was a noisy afternoon with about 3000 Little Corellas making cacophonic noises until just before dark when quiet settled over the river.

27/2

It was a warm night, with a Boobook Owl calling every now and then. I ended the survey with 28sp. We got the ferry over to the other side of the river and took the bitumen road up to Blanchtown south where on the bend of the river here were about 160 Pelicans. A few kilometres inland is Brookfield CP SE where I added Restless Flycatcher and Bev got a Yellow-plumed Honeyeater. Back to the river again at Morgan Lagoon where the lake next to the river held 270 Pelicans, the lake was almost bank to bank with them, then something flushed out another 70 or so. Again not far away from the river is monument White Dam CP where we got Splendid Fairywren and Mulga Parrot amid the whispering sheoaks and Bluegrass. We had lunch in total silence and heat at Pooginook CP after I’d found a small group of White-winged Choughs. At Napper Bridge Lake Bonne we watched the funeral service for my good friend Bruce Christie with a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat throughout, he was an early positive influence upon me in my unhappy years, who along with his dear wife Helen and a few other good friends kept me in hope that there was a better life, which came to pass when I met my wife Bev. Over the years that we’ve been travelling it has been my one regret that I miss spending time with them. It was a quick drive down to Milich’s Landing where despite the 37C heat the birds were still active.

28/2 157km

We sweltered for a while, but with no cloud cover the night did cool down to a reasonable sleep level. We woke to the odd spit of rain, but that was all we got as the day warmed up to 44C. We headed east to Obst Rd Ingalta, I should have put the survey point a few kilometres west where the is currently a lake, but I chose the street corner which has never had good bird life, and so it was today, just a few hardy birds eking out a life. We filled up the fuel tanks at the United servo in Berri saving us $16 to the same fill up at the cheapest in Renmark. We then went down to Martins Bend camp. Bev did the shopping in Renmark, then we went down to Plush’s Bend to find that they’d slapped a $10 fee for no improvement in the campsite that used to be free, so we had lunch and went back to Renmark to do the clothes washing and I did my 20min survey in the 44C heat. All the birds were in the shadow of the cars by a gutter that had some water in it. We then headed up to Monoman Island camp 13. It costs $14 for us here, but I haven’t camped here before and I’d rather pay National Parks than council. There was nice cool water in the creek by the camp but still a hot northerly, another total fire ban day, so salad for dinner. It’s so hot that the freezer part of the fridge isn’t working properly again.

29/2 96km

It’s a leap year! Once the sun went down the hot northerly became a pleasant westerly, making for a balmy evening. The car though still had a lot of latent heat so we lay sweltering in the camper with the wind mostly going over head above the trees, thankfully quite often a breeze would waft through the campers large flyscreens and we’d go aaah. I found an adult Emu in the morning shepherding 5 juveniles about ¾ grown, he’s a good dad, he sent the young ones running whilst he watched me, then turned and ran himself. We headed up the Chowilla Rd which was quite smooth, the first stop was Chowilla Rd yard that had Chestnut-rumped Thornbill in the good woodland. Chowilla Rd grid added Bluebonnet, Chestnut-crowned Babbler and Crested Bellbird. 29 Mile Dam Chowilla was dry but we got Southern Whiteface and Hooded Robin. We had lunch at Canegrass dam which had some water in it with Little Crows in attendance. The Danggali road is more sandy than the Chowilla Rd, I still didn’t need 4wd but I’d recommend having one to use this road. Amil dam Danggali was dry and I added White-fronted Honeyeater and Red-capped Robin. We went to Campsite 2 Danggali which has two big dams nearby, both were dry, as was the smaller third one. We camped here as the afternoon heat set in, nowhere near as bad a yesterday but still enough to upset the freezer section of the fridge. I put the solar panels out since the fridge is running non stop, and when I pulled them up after the sun went down I found that some termites were underneath, they were back under ground in less than a minute. The highlight of the afternoon was a Striped Honeyeater and a White-browed Treecreeper that spent a brief time moving through the camp foraging.

1/3 167km

We had an Owlet Nightjar call right out the side of the camper, waking us both up. Our firststop for the day was at Olympic Boundary track where Bev found some Mulga Parrots. East Sandy Dam was dry with only 2sp. Morganvale Claypan was dry, they’ve also bulldozed in the dam that used to be here, but I got Orange Chat, Pipit and Hooded Robin. I’ve been through Danggali quite a few times over the years and have yet to meet another soul, and so we exited the park without seeing anyone again. Claypan Pine Valley station had the first White-winged Fairywren. I checked the temperature, it was only 24C but with high humidity it felt hotter. I used the A/C in the car to cool down in between surveys as the day got hotter and stickier. Sturtvale Station north was lunch with not much happening apart from sandwiches going down. At Saker drain and dam the wind was hot and howling across the open plain, but I still found more Orange Chats and lucked on to a Brown Songlark. The clouds were gathering at Oratan Rock where I found some Chestnut-crowned Babblers in the sparse woodland. We camped at Ocalia Creek with a big thunderstorm passing by to the south, eventually though the storms came through us and we packed up to huddle in the camper. It continued raining after the storms had passed so we had a cold dinner. As soon as we started to eat the rain stopped, typical. I went for a stroll not long before dark and found a feeding group that included Redthroat, Silvereye, Red-capped Robin, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill and Splendid Fairywren, a nice little find. As I got back the rain started again.

2/3 377km

The rain didn’t last all that long and we got a cool night’s sleep. I didn’t add much in the morning to end with 21sp. The road was generally pretty good but there was enough rain yesterday to make all the creek crossings through the hills slow, some were okay, some had big puddles, some small and the occasional one had a washout. Galah Ck Tiverton station had Mulga Parrots again, they seem to be more common than usual. We filled up the fuel tanks at Yunta only to find that the road to Arkaroola was closed, so we had to change our plans and headed down to Mercer Rd rail along the Barrier Hwy. We got a lone Wedge-tailed Eagle soaring around. One of the problems of going this way was that we had to go through the fruit quarantine station so we lost all our fruit, we weren’t even allowed to have lunch there and eat it. Our lunch spot was only a few kilometres down the road at rest stop south of Oodla Wirra, it was a fruitless lunch. We picked up more fruit in Peterborough then went to Orroroo quarry for only a handful of birds. We took the Hawker Rd and stopped at Yanyarrie Ck which had Yellow-rumped Thornbills and an usually high number of Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, they usually aren’t a flock or even family species. We crossed what should be called the Nullarbor hills, a sheep and goat ravaged landscape along the dirt road that led us to Boolcunda Ck not far north of Quorn. Here we got Redthroats and Bev got a Chirruping Wedgbill that I didn’t hear. We booked a site in Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges for the night arriving just in time to cook dinner and eat before the night crept in

3/3 127km

The site added Tawny Frogmouth and Apostlebird, it’s not really a good birding spot with a gravel surface and usually lots of people. I was happy to see not many camp birds just a few Australian Ravens and the usual Magpies ever hopeful of handouts. We headed north to Stokes Hill where there is a possibility of Short-tailed Grasswrens, but the spinifex looked a bit too thin, well that’s my excuse for not finding any. The consolation bird was a Spotted Harrier slowly flying close to the ground hunting until some Magpies spotted it and chased it off. Next was Okaparinga Rd, another Short-tailed Grasswren site, this time the spinifex was definitely too sparse, so we didn’t gat any. Fifteen Mile well was a birdy spot, the first bird I got was a Black-eared Cuckoo, there were also 20 or so Rainbow Bee-eaters. It’s the second time I’ve seen a large number of them, I suspect they are starting to migrate north. Minnitinni Ck had a Chirruping Wedgebill. The road north has been a bit treacherous, most of the creek crossings were muddy, at one I was going a bit too fast when too late I saw there was a drop off of about a foot (1/3 of a metre) and I skidded over it giving the troopie a rather large jolt as stuff went flying around in the back. No damage done thankfully. The track into Chamber’s Gorge was even worse requiring 4wd in a few spots. I had someone elses tracks to follow for a while to Chamber’s Gorge Track where we had lunch. The last kilometre to the end of the track I was the trailblazer with a couple of slippery spots, but we got to the parking area, and went for a walk down the gorge. We got a few Flinders Ranges Toadlets calling, my phone wouldn’t record them, again because the FrogID app isn’t talking to my location services. Thankfully Bev’s was working so we got a recording. On the way back I had a swim (more of a bath) in the largest of the pools in the flowing creek. It was pleasantly warm, but Bev only went for a paddle. When it got dark we had a lot of Red Tree Frogs calling in the pond opposite the camper. It could be a noisy night tonight.

4/3 127km

It wasn’t too bad in the end, each time I woke up there were less of them calling until there was none. It’s not the best spot in the world for birds here, even though there’s usually water. Many of the big trees are dead or dying and the hills around have been overgrazed ever since I’ve been coming here. The water is a bit brackish so this is a system in decline I suspect, and the bird list of 9sp confirms it in my mind. We headed north to Wearing Gorge for another handfull of hardy species, then turned around and back to the Blinman Rd taking a side trip up to Nildottie Spring which had a few pools with Spotted Marsh Frog calling which Bev had to record on FrogID again. Through Blinman and down to Parachilna Gorge where we stopped for lunch and also to camp by the trickling stream. 12sp by dark which is better than Chamber’s Gorge but still poor considering there’s water here. After dark we went in search of frogs and found a few Spotted Marsh Frogs again, but nothing like the noise of last night and well upstream of us.

5/3 195km

Only added a speeding Hobby Falcon in the morning. There are several differences between here and Chamber’s Gorge, the first thing is that the big trees are all looking in good condition and the surrounding hillsides are decidedly better vegetated, just not as spectacular. Out to the main road and south to Commodore rail which had 9sp in the 20min survey, most in a small patch of acacias. Turned around and headed north up the main road to Breakfast Time creek. I went north and for a long time I only had a calling Australian Raven, but added a few birds towards the end. Bev went to the south of the road and had a busier time, 14sp in the dry creek. Aroona Dam had a good level of water with Blue-billed Duck, Musk Duck, both deep water specialists and a few Rainbow Bee Eaters. We picked up some food in Leigh Creek, diesel in Copely where it was 12cpl cheaper, good old fuel app to the rescue again. Copely Dam was quite low where there were some Black Swans. Lyndhurst south rail had a pair of Emus with one juvenile in tow. It was 38C with a strong westerly blowing when we stopped to camp at large dam north of Farina, it turned to a southerly but a southerly here is not cold, perhaps just a little cooler. Being a stock dam there was desert all around and thousands of house flies. I sat in the shade and killed hundreds of them, but we still had to eat dinner in the car to escape their unwonted attentions. Just on dark there was a flurry of Common Bronzewings being chased by a Collared Sparrowhawk which is smaller than they are.

6/3 238km

Ended the survey with 16sp including a Cinnamon Quail-thrush and headed north. Paradise waterhole was no paradise with no water and only a few birds. Grid Marree Station is open grasslands where I was lucky to spot a lone White-winged Fairywren doing it tough in poor habitat. Through Marree and onto the Oodnadatta Track which was an easy saunter at 60kph. 50Km from Marree Bev got a Gibberbird, I got nothing. We had lunch at Lake Erye South lookout where I got the Thick-billed Grasswren. Margaret Ck only had soda pools left in the creek with lots of Pipits and a pair of Black-fronted Dotterels. The Bubbler was going well at Wabma Kadarbu CP so we stayed here until 20.30 in the hope of finding some frogs in the permanent wetland. In the meantime I found about 200 Red-capped Plovers and just on dark a Spotted Nightjar came by. It got to 48C, not a nice day. We heard what might have been a few calls of Desert Frog, but neither of us got a recording. It was then a slow dash in the dark to Warriner Ck to camp since camping isn’t allowed in Wabma Kadarbu CP.

7/3 168km

Warriner’s Creek was the worst for flies so far, it was an uncomfortable brief look around that didn’t yield many birds in the dry creek and surrounds. I was dissapointed to find the road into Lake Eyre closed, so Ollie isn’t going to make it there, this trip anyway. We did a bit of internet stuff in William Creek then headed on up the Oodnadatta Track to Rocky dam which had 12sp including a brief flyby of a pair of White-backed Swallows. On north on a rough but not deadly rough track where most of the time I was still able to do 60kph with only a minimum of rattling around. Duff Ck was dry but still had Zebra Finches. We had lunch at a small creek where I found a Red-backed Kingfisher hiding in the shade with a few other birds in the 36C afternoon heat. We found a large pool at Peake Ck that wasn’t turned to soda so we decided to call it a day, and not long after the cloudy day turned stormy with two thunderstorms one after the other, lots of high wind but not a lot of rain, just enough to enjoy getting wet. Of course when the storms passed it got uncomfortably sultry and remained that way until after dark. After the storms we were treated with an areal display from lots of Fork-tailed Swifts. The White-backed Swallows were unhappy with this and would chase them when they zoomed low over the water, it was a futile effort, even with eight of them, they couldn’t catch the swifts.

8/3 190km

It remained cloudy all night with a pleasant breeze blowing through the camper. Ended with 29sp. It remained cloudy all day also but never really looked like rain, it got to 36C. Algebuckina Bridge is a heritage listed spectacular bridge in the middle of nowhere. This route was the original route of the Ghan railway and the telegraph route, many years ago now. Many structures are decaying, but the bridge still looks good. We had another flight of Fork-tailed Swifts, here, I was up to 16 of them until a Little Pied Cormorant invaded their airspace, all of a sudden the were about 35 of them playing dive at the lumbering bird and calling like mad. Not far up the track at Oodnadatta Track 1, in the gibber hills I spotted a pair of Cinnamon Quail-thrush, so stopped and tried to get a photo of them. There were no other birds here. Allandale Track looked like a no-birder, and so it proved in the disturbed habitat on the corner. In Oodnadatta we found a set up dispensing free water, an attempt to try and stop people buying bottled water. The only down side was that it took about a minute to get a litre of water. I took 30L so it took ages, nice water though. I recommend supporting the idea wherever these dispensers turn up. Bottled water in Australia is unnecessary, remember bottled water makers don’t maunfacture water but plastic bottles of which most end in land fill. We had lunch at Mount Dare Track corner which had a pair of Brown Falcon. Mundania waterhole was awful, so bad that Ollie refused to come out of his bag to get his photo taken. It’s a small waterhole and it has the same problem anywhere where stock have access to water, they trash the environment in and around the water. We stopped at Coongra Creek, which has the same problem, but it’s a much bigger waterhole so the percentage of damage is lessened, but it’s still damaged, particularly where the stock come down to the water and the immediate surrounds.

9/3 165km

Added a few bird in the morning including watching a Collared Sparrowhawk chase a pair of Ringnecks, and then the tables turned and it got harassed by one of them. I tried to get a photo of the Sparrowhawk as it came to rest in a tree, but above it was sitting a White-faced Heron that gor spooked and that spooked the Sparrowhawk so no photo. I was looking for a place to do a survey around Welbourn Hill when I spotted a bird of prey with a catch by the side of the road, it took off, struggling with its prey, it was a Peregrine Falcon with what was probably a Crested Pigeon as there were some of them around. We found a site at Floodway 1 which still had some water and was looking green after the recent rain, we added Chiming Wedgebill to the trip list. We stopped for a while in Marla to do some internet stuff then headed up the Stuart Hwy stopping at small ephemeral lake 150km south of Kulgera. The lake was bone dry but there were lots of birds that need water like some Bourkes Parrots, so there must be water nearby. We stopped for a late lunch and camp at Granite Downs dam and sat in the shade for the afternoons heat, sipping cold water from the fridge and slurping icypoles from the freezer.

10/3 212km

Ended he survey with 29sp with a flurry of raptors from Black-shouldered Kite to Hobby Falcon and ended with a Brown Goshawk chasing Ringnecks, they must be tasty, every bird of prey seems to be taking a tilt at them, none have been successful that I’ve seen. Last night I got a shot of a Grey Teal alone on the dwindling pond in the dam here, I thought maybe it was sick, the water sure looked uninviting to me, being cattle damaged… again. This morning it had two mates, so I thought I’d put them under a bit of pressure, and to my relief they all took off, hopefully to nicer waters. We headed north to 79km north of Marla where I found an unusually friendly Grey Shrike-thrush who had his portrait taken. Agnes Creek rest area was a bit of a none event apart from a Striated Pardalote that hasn’t been on a survey for quite some time on this trip. Eataringinna Ck was even quieter with only 3sp. Agnes Creek Station north used to be a thick Mulga woodland, about 90% of it is now dead with only a handful of healthy looking trees, I don’t know why the woodland is dying, but there are a few hangers on like Hooded Robin and a lone young Masked Woodswallow. They are usually a flock bird and soar high in the sky together. Northern Territory border rest stop was lunch, being low season the area was clean, unlike our last trip through here during high season when there was so much rubbish. I put a bit of fuel in, 35L for $100, that equates to 280cpl at Kulgera. We wanted to buy some food here, but we found that it isn’t a general store, so we headed off east along the Finke Rd and stopped at Hamilton Ck where we got 15sp in the 20min survey despite the creek being dry. We camped at Hillocks Finke Kulgera Rd and sheletered in the shade of the car for the rest of the afternoon, slowly adding species.

11/2 223km

Ended with 20sp, there is a water source in the vicinity which helps. We went into Lambert’s Centre of Australia which is a 4wd only track, easy with a bit of 2^nd gear through the deeper sand, I didn’t need to let my tyres down. The area around the marker is human damaged, with all the dead wood burnt in huge bonfires by people who don’t understand the problem of depletion. Further away the habitat improves, but I still didn’t get many species. Back to the main road which has been recently graded, so is as smooth as a baby’s you know what. Through Finke where we did a bit of internet stuff then onto the track to Alice Springs, which starts out rough and stays that way for much of the route, 4wd is highly advised. We had lunch at Rumbala Swamp Resort. It’s some resort, I love taking Bev to special places, this isn’t one of them. The swamp rarely has water in it, so is a low grade grassy woodland for most of the time. Only 2sp and two birds, one of each. It was a slow 4^th gear drive at about 50kph to Bundooma Siding where the huge water tank still stands guard over a degraded habitat. In the 37C I couldn’t find any birds. Titjikal access track had a Chiming Wedgebill in full song, and we camped by the dry Hugh River Maryvale Station, where there wasn’t much activity in the heat. The bird of the site was a small flock of 4 Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos which are always a delight to find.

12/3 223km

It wasn’t a good start when we woke to the car being invaded by ants. The bull bar at the front was just touching a small bush and there was a steady stream of ants using the road. We killed as many as we could and headed off, but we didn’t get very far. As I was crossing the dry river that we’d just camped next to we got bogged in the sand. It took us about 30min of digging and letting the tyres down to get us out. It was then a slow drive down to Chamber’s Pillar, one of the more spectacular rock formations in the region. We added Little Woodswallow and Ground Cuckoo-shrike here, then turned around and headed back. There is a hill here that I used low range 4wd to ease my way up. The view from the top was panoramic. We got back to the Hugh River where I got bogged this morning and Bev got out to video me getting bogged again, but with more oomph and speed I made it through. We had lunch here then headed on up to Bremer plain south of Alice Springs, where there wasn’t much happening. We got some food in alice and booked in to the G’Day Mate caravan park for a few days rest.

https://youtube.com/shorts/0HHX8Qqt-t0

Link showing crossing the Hugh river and making it this time without getting bogged.

19/3 369km

Up before light, packed up and drove the short distance to the Alice Springs Sewerage Plant and met up with Siri who took us around last time we were here. It was a shortened walk but we got Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and lots of Wood Sandpipers. We left at 9am and picked up fuel in Alice. We got a free $100 worth from AWC because we are going to do volunteer work for them, then went to the Motul Servo to top up the tanks with the cheapest fuel in town. We then headed north and along the Tanami Rd stopping at 46km along the Tanami Rd which had a Wedge-tailed Eagle come and circle me overhead calling before heading off south. 156km from Alice Springs had a Red-backed Kingfisher. floodway 13km south of Yuendumu had had a fire through it and in the heat of the day there wasn’t much active. Through Tunoth Well roadhouse where we let Newhaven know we were on our way. A 20min stop at Newhaven Rd 1 which was also burnt out didn’t produce many birds again. The road into Newhaven for most of the way was as smooth as bitumen and I cruised along at 80kph, but just short of Newhaven the track turned rough and I put Rudolph (that’s now the name of the car, Rudolph the blue nosed Troopie) into 4wd. We got to Newhaven at 16.30 and found our air conditioned room, and generally settled in.

20/3

Did our induction with James (who I knew from Limmen NP 2017 grasswren survey trip) and Bev went out with one of the T/Os to check for incursions into the feral animal free enclosure, whilst I filled up the water tanks in the enclosure that supply water for the Mala (Hare Wallaby) population in there. In the afternoon we both did a run around the fence to check for damage.

21/3

Our job for today was to change the batteries in listening posts on the east side of the property, late in the morning we started to get the first drops of rain. On the way back we did my site at Freshwater Bore and got Hooded Robin, by now the rain had set in, it was light but steady for the rest of the day. 14mm of rain

22/3

Rain, rain, rain and more rain. For most of the day we had mostly light rain but with the occasional heavy downpours which curtailed any field work. Our only job for today was modifiying some Elliot Traps. These are small traps designed to trap small animals, but they have found that Golden Bandicoots are able to break out of a standard trap, hence the need for the modification which is a small but powerful magnet helping to secure the door. After dinner and when it was dark a few of us went for a walk around the ops area and found a Knife-footed Frog, just one. 58mm of rain.

23/3

Rain, rain, rain and more rain, all day except for the odd break. We did our operations shake down as much as we could in the Big Shed, then didn’t do much for the rest of the day as the rain stopped everything. 83mm of rain.

24/3

Rain, rain and more rain, again mostly light but with the occasional heavy squall. Not much got done today, I just lounged around. After dinner the rain finally stopped and a few of us went for a short walk along the tracks to see if we could find anything, all I got was a spider and a moth, the others found a Spinifex Hopping Mouse. 37mm of rain.

25/3

After a brief shower in the morning we headed out mid morning to BWS47 the track to the gate was wet in patches, but we all got through no probs, through the gate we went and to the turn off to the small track that led to the site, still no probs. We got to the turn around loop at the end of the track and my rear end just sank into the slush beneath the surface that Gavan’s Subaru had just driven over, how embarrasing. We hooked up Kim’s Hilux with two snatchumstraps and tried twice to get me out but we had the same problem I had at Benelaking, the rear is so heavy that the max traks just sank into the slush and the rear refused to rise to the surface. We called in help from AWC staff, Mike turned up with a Landcruiser dual cab and dragged me the last few metres on to firmer stuff. I won’t be using my car for the surveys. We all headed back to base and spent the arvo relaxing. On the way back into base we spotted a good looking frog pond, so after dinner Magen, Kim Bev and I went out frogging again and we got Suddell’s frog calling along with 4 night birds and the smallest scorpion I’ve ever seen.

26/3

After breakfast we headed a short way up the track to do a practice survey, we added Black-breasted Buzzard here. At about 15.00 some of us went down to Honeymoon lake which had some water in it with 17 Hardhead and 42 Grey Teal but the find of the day was a Little Grassbird. With rain threatening again we headed back to base. Helenna and Judith had gone for a reconoiter of the tracks we were intending to use to start the surveys tommorrow, but we heard that they had got bogged. Mike went out again but couldn’t get close enough to pull them out so the car was left there. At about the same time the storm hit us dumping 27mm of rain and putting paid to getting any surveys done tomorrow.

27/3

Bev and I walked down to the airstrip and found some Plumed Whistling Ducks, not your usual bird that you might find on an airstrip, but this one was about 50% covered in water, there will be no evacuations by airplane any time soon. In the evening the usual 4 of us went for a walk, we heard some intermitent calls of Desert Spadefoot but didn’t get a recording, we found a tiny Western Beaked Gecko too.

28/3

Bev and I walked north along the exclusion fence adding Stubble Quail and Australian Pipit to the list and walked back for lunch. In the evening the usual four walked down to the airstrip where we were hoping that the frogs would be calling, not a single frog for the night, but we got three species of gecko and a small Children’s Python, so it wasn’t a fruitless walk. When we got back Kim found a blind snake and as we were photgraphing that we got a Red-headed Centipede.

29/3

Most of us went for a walk through gate 2 and into MGW001, we didn’t add anything new but the mulga and surrounds had lots of birds in it including a Spotted Nightjar that was flushed. Of interest was that the small creek here was running with drinkable water. We followed it to the wetland it had created, again nothing new but lots of birds again. It was then a long hot walk back. The rest of the day was spent in the shade. Magen and Kim went out at night with Coral back into the fenced area. Bev and I decided not to.

30/3

Walked down to the airstrip and found a pair of Banded Lapwings, I called them in to the two way radio and Bev, Kim and Magen got permission to drive down to the edge of the airstrip, in the meantime I’d found a Spinifexbird. Whilst they searched for them I went and did Newhaven Track 1 but only got 2sp in the mainly spinifex with a few small trees. I got a lift back with them. We had a BBQ put on by the staff for dinner. It’s supposed to be a thankyou BBQ for all our survey work, but because we can’t drive anywhere none are getting done.

31/3

Up at 5am and headed up the hill near the camp at 6am, we made our way across the ridge line occasionally hearing Dusky Grasswrens. We decided one gorge short of Potato Gorge to search the good looking gorge we were in. We got brief looks at Dusky Grasswren, and Coral managed to get some shots of them. I went down to the two small waterfalls and plunge pools for a few photos. We then made our way back to the camp.

1/4

Drove down to the airstrip, there was nothing new on the slowly diminishing pond, so I walked the wider area and found some Splendid Fairywrens in the mulga at the end of the runway. In the late afternoon we drove down to as close as we were allowed to Susie’s Lake. Kim lugged the canoe down in her pack and the rest of us carried the paddles, lifejackets and pump. The lake was as deep as the double paddle. We took it in turns to search amongst the submerged trees for the birds adding Australian and Hoary-headed Grebe and Coot. Bev recorded the Tanami Toadlet which the AWC staff had identified last night. We had our snack down there, then walked back for dinner.

2/4

Drove as close as we were allowed to Susie’s lake then walked down to Bottle Neck Lake where we added Pink-eared Duck and Chestnut-rumped Thornbill. Kim and I went for a paddle around Susie’s Lake and added Hardhead to the site list.

3/4

We went out early to see if we could find some Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, the three sites that we were given proved duds, Gavan thought he heard them on our way in, so we went back there and found a pair. In between we actually managed to get a survey of the official sites done. Our team of Bev, Kim, Magin and I did FSD108, and didn’t get much in the sparse spinifex country. In the evening Magin, Kim and I went down to Susie’s Lake to record the frogs and suffered the attentions of ravenous the mozzies.

4/4

In the morning I drove down to as close as I could get to Susie’s lake then walked down to Bottle-neck Lake, had a pleasant time but only added birds to the site list nothing new for the property. Spent the rest of the day relaxing

5/4

We said goodbye to Judith, Gavan, Kim, Magan and Coral as they got permission to head out along the main road. That left just Peter, Vicki, Bev and I. Our vehicles are more dificult to get through, so we are delaying until Monday. Did internet stuff for the rest of the day.

6/4

We went inside the fence and walked the track below the escarpment, but didn’t find anything new. In the process Bev dropped her phone, it took us an hour to find it, as she had walked off the road. At 20.00 Helenna came around and we went for a short spotlight inside the fence in the car, we saw 7 Mala, 3 Bilbies and 2 Spinifex Hopping Mouse.

7/4

Mostly hung around the base slowly packing up.

8/424km

Up early and finished packing and headed off with Sam in her vehicle. The road out was pretty easy, most pools didn’t extend across the road, there were two long pools with tracks around them, so there was only a handful of pools that we had to drive through and all but one had a solid base, the one that didn’t I had enough momentum to get me past the boggy bit. We stopped at Nehaven Rd 1 but although there were a few birds calling when we arrived they all moved away, so the 4sp I got were done on call. We said goodbye to Sam at Tunoth Well and went down to Floodway 130km south of Yuendumu for 5sp. We had lunch at 102km north of Alice Springs with a pair of Spotted Harriers. 64km along the Tanami Rd had 13sp in the mid afternoon including some Pied Honeyeaters. Kunoth Well was quite full with a Black-tailed Native Hen. We topped up the tank at the Mogas servo, still the cheapest in town. Bev did some shopping and we headed out of Alice Springs. It’s not a pleasant place to be at the moment with riots recently and a lot of police around. There was an incident whilst I was parked with several police swarming around a young black woman, definintely not a good place to be at the moment. We camped at rest area south of Alice Springs and got a few species before it got dark.

9/4 317km

It was quite a quiet night with only a few trucks waking me up. Ended the survey with 12sp including a Chiming Wedgebill. First stop south was Stuart hwy 1 which had Pied Honeyeater. Hugh River had some flow to it. 157Km north of Kulgera had more Pied Honeyeaters. Finke River rest area had a lot of water in it and was flowing well. 160Km south of Alice Springs had Grey-headed Honeyeater. Karinga Ck was dry. The predominant ground cover throughout the region now is the weed Buffel Grass, but here in and around the salty creek are some natives which were harbouring a pair of White-winged Fairywrens. Kalamurta Ck and dam was lunch. The dam had a good level of water with some Wood Ducks, and in the cattle fouled creek there were still pools that had 70 Zebra Finches, most crammed into one bush by an ugly looking pool. Northern territory Border rest stop was very quiet with no birds stalking the rest area looking for human food, which is unusual. The recent rains seem to have stopped near the border, as north of here the Buffel Grass was lush green with new seeds about to be released, and south of here everything dry. So Eateringinna Ck only had three birds in three species. We stopped to camp at Agnes Creek rest area where it’s possible to get about 500m from the road. The flies here didn’t take long to annoy me and so they started dying, one by one about one every 15seconds, for about 2hrs before they started to go to rest around dark. Each one was flicked onto the ground. There was a single hole ant colony right by where I was flicking them. They were having a hard time keeping up with me with congestion around the hole, I can only imagine what was going on undergound as they stuffed their larder full of the windfall. I can also imagine the baby ants being fed their dinner. “What’s for dinner tonight?” “Fly soup dear.” “What’s for breakfast?” “Fly soup dear.” What’s for lunch?” “Fly soup dear” “I’m sick of fly soup.” By dark I only had 5sp. Not long after dark a Barn Owl started screeching nearby.

10/4 295km

It was 5C when we got up this morning, but it warmed up to a pleasant 23C but with a cool southerly wind, which of course meant a head wind all day. Ended the survey with 12sp which low, particularly for a tree lined creek, even though it’s dry. First stop was 79km north of Marla in some good if a bit sparse Mulga woodland and got Mulga Parrot and Red-capped Robin. Granite Downs dam was dry with only 3sp , a big contrast to the overnight survey we did here on the way up. Small ephemeral lake 150km south of Kulgera was also dry but had more species including Chiming Wedgebill. Old quarry 37km south of Marla had 4 White Browed Babblers which is below their usual 5-6, and perhaps a function of the dry habitat here that doesn’t look like its had rain for a while. Apprettinna Ck was the site for the day, the dam here usually has some water in it, and although it was low there were 250 Zebra Finches desperate for a drink, the problem for them was that it was being patrolled by a pair of Black Falcons. They were coordinating their attacks, flying about 200m away and zooming in one after another at about a 30 dgree angle, sometimes one after the other from the same direction and sometimes from a different direction from each other. They weren’t successful though for the time that I stood watching them. I tried not to give them an unfair advantage by stirring up the Zebra Finches. I left them still swooping in every few minutes. Definitely the highlight of the day. Small ephemeral lake south of Cadney Homestead was dry and had a Chiming Wedgebill a bit of deja vu there. Dam 102km south of Marla was dry and had an Australian Pipit, not as common as I’d expected. 107Km south of Marla had had some recent rain, so although the habitat looked sparse I got 5sp including Crimson Chat. The rain had extended to Terminus Ck just down the road which had a number of pools in it, but few birds. Pootnoura Channel 2 was back to dry. We disturbed a Hobby Falcon upon arrival, which was the bird of the site. We camped at track 197km south of Marla which is up on a gibber stone plateau with half the shrubs in desperate need of water and the other half dead, but we got a family of Emus, then a pair of White-backed Swallows and then a Hooded Robin. Just on dark a Little Crow came and sat on a shrub nearby and announced its arrival with a call, which was nice of it as it’s the only definitive way of separating our corvids.

11/4 345km

Only added a few common birds in the morning, but found 35 Zebra Finches which is a lot for a habitat like this. In to Coober Pedy, I got 10 ordinary species at the Oasis Caravan park whilst Bev did the shopping. We then continued south stopping at Ingomar station south of Coober Pedy which is a low herb environment with a dry creek, there were only 2sp here. Old Peake Ck was dry with a total of 2 Zebra Finches. The area is cattle ravaged with nearly all the ground cover gone, a sick looking habitat, with no prospect of rehabilitation. 80m tower Mt Eba station had no birds. We then went through Bon Bon station which is now owned by Bush Heritage and the change in the quality of habitat is stark. My survey on the station is at at dry creekbed but even in the late afternoon we got 8sp including Chestnut-rumped Thornbill which has been absent for a while. We took the road to Kingoonya stopping at North Well station Kingoonya which had 7 Splendid Fairywrens. Kingoonya is a dilapidated little settlement with a still active pub, we drove on. Stopping at Stony Hill top tanks where we got White-backed Swallows. I stood still with the usual mob of flies pestering me when one of them swished by me no more than a foot away from me, I don’t know if it got one of the flies but it didn’t come back, maybe they don’t taste good. We camped at Hiero Tank amid the Desert Oaks and had some Mulga parrots come through just before sundown, hot on their heels was a squadron of mozzies, whining around me with intent, so it was dinner and hide in the camper.

12/4 301km

Ended the survey with 11sp, not as many as I was expecting, especially wit 2 night bird species in the area. The track continued it’s slow rough way south eventually getting better towards the end where it’s been upgraded. Reedy dam wasn’t visible behind the fence but on the other side of the dune from the road were a pair of White-backed Swallows, still never seen one perched. Lake Everard Station had the biggest spinifex circle I’ve seen at about 10m wide, so big that it had a smaller one inside it. There were a few woodland birds here including Jacky Winter. Hilltaba Reserve creek was dry as was the big tank, with not much using the trees here. We had lunch at 10 Chain Rd Pureba CP which had a big feeding group that included the likes of Red-capped Robin and three species of Honeyeater. Pimbaala Rd Pimbaala was mostly Yellow-throated Miners and a few species that can stand up to them. Backshall Rd east of Ceduna only had 3sp in the lat afternoon. It was then in to Ceduna to fill up the fuel tanks, pick up a bit of food from the supermarket and we decided to be lazy and went to Yirolas food van where I got a burger. I’m not sure that putting suvelaki meat in a bun constitutes a burger, but it was tasty and for just shy of $40 for the both of us, probably not bad value these days. We then headed to Rail reserve Ceduna to camp.

13/4 379km

Got the White-browed Babblers in the morning but couldn’t find the Yellow-rumped Thornbills I usually get here. We headed on east stopping at Cundilippy station west of Penong getting a large flock of Yellow-throated Miners, but despite their numbers there were 6other species here. 36Km SE of Yalata had a White-fronted Honeyeater. Lunch was taken at Coombra Tk Yalata which was the site of the day with 9sp, 4 being honeyeaters feeding on the flowering mistletoe. 50Km east of Nullarbor was down to three species and 23km down to two. At Nullarbor there was only 1sp but it was a huge flock of 40 Australian Ravens, I went to check out what they were feeding on and was disgusted to find the carcasses of 9 sheep. No doubt they had died in transit in one of those horrid road trains crammed full of them and the truck driver had just dumped them there. Too many of the things that we do I believe are unconscionable, we are collectively guilty when we allow others to behave so. I’m so sick and tired of seeing bad behaviour by our species and being powerless to do anything about it, and I do feel guilty, and I hate it. We camped at truck stop 103km west of the WA border with a cold sou’easterly that at least kept the flies and mozzies at bay until dark.

14/4 421km

The trucks rolled by all night, nearly far enough away from us, but not quite, that combined with the recuring memory of those poor dead sheep yesterday meant I didn’t sleep well. Ended the survey with only 5sp, I thought there would be more than that here. First stop west was Great Australian Bight lookout which had a pair of Pacific Gull calling which I’d never heard before. 60Km east of WA border had White-browed Scrubwren. Border Village SA had Purple-gaped Honeyeater again, but I couldn’t get a photo of them. There was a long queue to get through the quarantine station which took for ages to get through. Down to Eucla dunes for only 2sp. Hearder Hill repeater station rd was better with Redthroat and Inland Thornbill. Mundrabilla repeater station had Nankeen Kestrel, not as common as they should be. Gravel pit east of Madura had more Redthroat and Inland Thornbill. Hampton Tablelands west of Madura only had 3sp despite the area looking quite lush from recent rains. At Eyre Hwy63km west of Madura Bev flushed a pair of Stubble Quail, otherwise there was only a pair of Yellow-throated Miners. We took the rough road down to Eyre Bird Observatory car park getting there only just int time for Bev to cook dinner before it got dark. All in all a disappointing day apart from the Redthroats, and I didn’t manage a photo of anything.

15/4 462km

When we got up at sunrise we saw that the valley below us was covered in a thin fog. The area is still recovering from the bushfires of 2019 so we only got 7sp, back along the 18km rough road to the highway and stopped at track near Oodlawirra rockhole Caiguna and got a White-browed Scrubwren and a shot of a White-browed Babbler with an unusually green background for this area which is usually sered brown. 90Km east of Balladonia only had 3sp in the good woodland. Wrecked house Eyre hwy only had some Australian ravens, but a small pond was teeming with tadpoles and a few Western Toadlets calling, but when I went to record them my phone location services wouldn’t talk to the frog app, so I got bev to record them. We had lunch at Newman Rocks. On the way through Balladonia we had sorted out the frog apps on both our phones as we trundled through the phone reception area. At Newman Rocks I got a Western Banjo Frog calling and the app recorded it. 10 bird species, the most for a while. Park bay Fraser Range had the usual Rufous Treecreeper, the surprise was Bev finding a pair of Chestnut Quail-thrush. The lake at Dundas Nature reserve was dry but I got 5sp including 3 Sitellas. There are usually around 6 in a flock, so another record of our dwindling woodland species. We camped at Buldania Eyre Hwy with not much more time for Bev to cook dinner before it got dark than last night.

16/4 293km

Only 8sp in a largely intact woodland is really bad, I only had 4 until I found a small feeding group with 4sp in it. In Norseman we picked up some fuel and food and headed out the Hyden Rd. It’s a rally nice dirt road with no surprises, so people hurtle along it, thankfully the stones are tiny so there’s not much chance of a stone hitting a windscreen. First stop was Hyden Norseman Rd 1 in an unburnt area amid an ocean of burnt woodland in the 2019 fires. Still only 2sp here. McDermid Rock road was another disappointing woodland survey with only 3sp in this intact forest. Norseman Hyden Rd track is in the ocean of burnt out woodland. There was some flowering grevillea here, but still only 2sp. Lake Cronin NR had 4 Southern Scrub-robins, I got scolded by one but I never saw any of them. There was also a pair of Purple-gaped Honeyeaters. We took the Holland track south for about 5km to arrive at Flat Rock campground and had plenty of time to relax in the afternoon sun, in the shade of the camper of course. The fire has ravaged this side of the lake, but we still got 8sp by dark when a whooping sound went up from the dense thicket nearby. First one or two and was racking my brain trying to think of what bird it might be when more started up until the whole thicket was whooping away. Western Spotted Frogs, a new one for me, so I got a recording of them.

17/4 414km

The frogs called all night with the last one closing up shop just as dawn broke. Ended the survey with 13sp including a pair of Emus. Back to the main road and stopped at Bald Rock Rd east of Hyden for 13sp in 20min, but they were all common species. The lakes around Wave rock had water in them so we stopped at claypan east of Hyden but it only had Grey Teal, with a pair of White-faced herons flying over, not interested in the site. Picked up some cakes at the bakery in Hyden and went on to Graham Rd south of Kondinin which had Pied Butcherbirds. Kerr Rd Wikipin had 4 common species, where we had half of one cake each, with our lunch. Narrogin Coles had Silvereyes which we haven’t seen for quite a while, they were in the park, not in Coles. Williams River Buraning had Grey Fantail and Rufous Whistler neither seen for a while. Minninup Pool Collie was really quiet, I managed to find a pair of White-naped Honeyeaters. We camped at Glen Mervyn dam, which was pretty close to dry. The Little Pied Cormorants were having a field day with easy to catch fish.

18/4 432km

There were some Red-tailed Black Cockatoos calling in the morning, otherwise not much of interest, ended the survey with 16sp which is quite low. Went to Leueur reserve Wonnerup and saw a White-bellied Sea Eagle carrying a dead Rock Dove, it took its catch to a pole probably to kill it then flew off with it. I also found a Hobby Falcon and a Black-shouldered Kite, so an interesting mix of raptors. We had a quick look at the Other Side of the Moon and found a large pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins. They didn’t wave and say “So long and thanks for all the fish.” Instead they lazily made their way along the coastline. There were also some strangely familiar birds like Australasian Gannet and Greater Crested Tern. Back to earth and down to Dunsborough, just a short drive away to pick up our trailer that some friends have been looking after. Up the freeway to Tamworth Hill swamp at Baldivis. Nothing exceptional as far as the birds go, but I didn’t take my phone and there were some Moaning Frogs calling at the western side of the swamp. I discovered that the Kings fridge wasn’t working, it’s still under warranty so it will be going back to them. It was peak hour traffic as we drove into Perth, I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with this every day any more. We have a week or so to relax and prepare for the next leg of the trip, staying at my friend’s place near Herdsman lake.

28/4 398km

Up at dawn, shower breaky and final pack. It included our new 90L Kings fridge. The old one was dead in less than 2years, thankfully it was covered under warranty, but they had no 75L fridges, strangely they had 90L fridges with cover for $130 less than we’s bought the 75L one, so we have a store voucher to spend at some stage. We were under way at 8.15. Filled up at the Vibe Beechboro servo at 185.9cpl and headed to Mussell Pool Whiteman Park which only a small pool with no water birds. Tried out the new Canon SX70 HS camera on a female Splendid Fairywren and it seemed to do a good job. The old Canon GX3 is getting unreliable so Bev now had the Nikon Coolpix900, so our photos should improve. Headed slowly up through the hills towards Toodyay and stopped at Dumbarton Bridge Avon River which was mostly dry with a few pools, there was a pair of Black Duck grimly holding on to their little pool. Through to 5km north of Goomalling which had a lone Weebil in the biggest tree here. Back to the T junction and east then north to Lake Koombelkine Koombelkine Rd where we found a small track to get us off the road to have lunch. The lake was dry with not much birdlife activity in the open woodland here. The site of the day was a random stop at the junction of Kalannie Rd and Corbett Rd where a eucalypt was in flower and had 8 White-fronted Honeyeaters feeding along with 12 other species in the area around what is an average green strip by the road amid the wheat fields. Lake De Courcy east was dry with a few more White-fronted Honeyeates in the good woodland here. We scooted up to Mt Gibson Rd 1 to camp and Bev had just enough time to cook dinner before dark, but there was not a sign of bird activity in the area.

29/4 471km

Up at dawn and only got 5sp all up, a very disappointing figure for what looks like undisturbed woodland. We were on the road early with a long day ahead. First stop was 125km north of Wubin that had a pair of what was probably Gilbert’s Whistlers in the mostly Mulga bit wit a few eucalypts. As we headed north around 26Km north of Paynes Find we began to find water in the surrounds, none here but we found a feeding group probably based around a family of 8 White-browed Babblers, which is a large family. At Korkalucka ck which also had no water I found the local feeding group as well, this one had Slaty-backed Thornbills and a vocal Redthroat. Shepherds Well south of Mount Magnet was dry but the best we could do here was a pair of Chestnut-rumped Thornbills. We continued to find more and more water, but all my sites were based in between. Austin south of Cue had zero birds in the highly disturbed environment. At last at lakes 21km north of Cue I found some water. The lakes were in fact mostly dry, but over near the camping area on the east side of the lake, yes it is in fact one lake, there was a pool that had some Yellow-billed Spoonbills. The recent rain event had started the spring that is to the north-east and the flow along the channel was just about to reach the pool. Floodway at Nannine north of Cue was back to dry but had Zebra Finches and was choked with Buffel Grass. We picked up so fuel and food in Meekathara and headed out to Carnarvon-Meekathara Rd 1 to camp. We just got dinner in before dark when I went for a walk back to the floodway to see if the water had activated any frogs, nothing. I found not a live thing to photo. Lots of small moths flitting around my torch and a few water beetles in the large pool.

30/4 312km

As we camped last night there were a few thunderstorms in the area, but none went through us, and it was clear in the morning. Overnight I heard a pair of Banded Lapwings, but I couldn’t find them in the morning. I found what was probably them at the next stop at Landor Meekatharra Rd Floodway 1 when they chased off a pair of Nankeen Kestrels. I also got some Wood Ducks here that are a bit out of range, but water does that, and there’s a lot of water in the region with ongoing storms. Yagar River had a pool with more Wood Duck, but apparently here they are more common in the pool here. Murchison River Moorarie had a big pool on the upstream with a pair of Black Swans. Mt Gould lock up camp had a lone Emu and a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles that were feeding on some road kill nearby. Errabiddy Station floodway had some Red-tailed Cockatoos that are out of normal range here. Gascoyne River Landor was lunch where I had a Black-breasted Buzzard come and circle over my head, so I shot it with my new Canon, it does a much better job at flying birds, or maybe I was just lucky. Old Homestead Well Landor Rd had three very vocal Redthroats chasing each other around the shrubs here. Thomas River Landor Rd was flowing well but was bird poor with a lone Whistling Kite and a Pacific Black Duck doing a good job looking after 5 small chicks. It did the injured bird trick to try and distract me from the chicks, then flew off once the chicks were stashed safely. I left them alone. It was 15.30 when we got to Mt Augustus caravan park, and spent the rest of the afternoon setting up camp, where we’ll be for the month of May.

If you would like to contribute the the well being of this world, our world, your world, an easy and effective way to do it is to join a quality environmental group. There are many spread across the world all plugging away trying to make the world a better place for wildlife. We belong to Birdlife Australia, Bush Heritage, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). You can donate your time and or money to these and many others knowing that the world will be a slightly better place because of your effort.