South Australia - 2006

Flinders Ranges, SA

South Australia - A Short Journey into the hot, red centre

 There are some places in the birding world that are legendary. One is the infamous Strzelecki Track in northern South Australia. This is the only "easy-accessible" site for the Chestnut-breasted Whiteface- one of Australia's very rare and range-restricted interior species.

As Roger and Megan had recently relocated to Australia from New Zealand, it was the perfect opportunity to visit them before my planned Australian Venture, with a chance to explore more of Australia's excellent birding places. As well as bird around Sydney, Roger and I planned a short excursion north of Adelaide - into Australia's "red centre". There has been a drought in Australia for the past 7 years and it was dry- very dry indeed in many places, but the area we ended up going to was very hot and dry with very little vegetation to break the seemingly bleak landscape. The Flinders Ranges North lay of Adelaide, with their rocky outcrops surrounded by eucalyptus and hillsides of spiny spinifex grass. None of it looked like prime birding habitat at first glance, but it was home to our first quest of the trip- Short-tailed Grasswren. With some careful tramping through the spinifex we had our bird, now only 3 to go!

We had planned our little sojourn in order to get the 4 grasswrens found in this part of Australia and yep, we got them all, although Grey Grasswren did take us 2 attempts. Thick-billed and Eyrean just involved getting into the right habitat and just tramping around, but the Grey involved us identifying Lignum vegetation - or what dried remnant was still left standing in the dead looking vegetation. Finding them was the first challenge, but the second was getting the little horrors to stay still. While the Short-tailed and Thick-billed allowed very close approach, the latter 2 species scurried off across the dunes at our approach. Add the heat, flies and wind to the mix and the birding was challenging to say the least, but very exciting indeed seeing some of the most difficult birds in the country.

As well as chasing grasswrens, we were after the rare nomadic inland chats, always a challenge to find. By carefully checking every remnant pool and waterhole we did end up with Orange and Crimson Chats, as well as the somewhat peculiar Gibber Chat, a bird that lives in one of the hottest and most inhospitable spots on earth.

After camping at various roadhouses and Billabongs with their associated flocks of Galahs and Corellas, we ended up back in the Adelaide area looking for an isolated population of the Western Whipbird, which we alas did not find.

We did finish our short trip with an excellent selection of interior desert and coastal birds, such as Emu, Pink-eared Duck, Australian and Baillon's Crakes, Banded Stilt, Brolga, and Budgerigar as well as a few neat mammals. Would I go back? You bet I would, and there are still a few birds that we need to go back to get!

Spinifex Grass clumps - home of Short-tailed Grasswren

Welcome to the Strzelecki Track!

Chestnut-breasted Whiteface

 
Little Corellas drinking at stock tank

Galahs at waterhole

Pink-eared Ducks at waterhole

Sturt's Desert-Pea

Little Red

Outback Fly outfits

Gibber Desert

Roger with a Shingleback Lizard

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