The Big Year and the Fiery Phoenix

Well after our awesome last weekend down the South-east we realised we'd have our work cut out for us trying to top it. Four Big Year ticks, with unexpected birds in Grey Goshawk and Fiordland Penguin was going to take some beating. With another weekend squeezed in between that one and our first trip up to the north of the State for a week coming up we had to arrive at a plan that would help to maintain our momentum. Two days is not a lot of time to do much so we needed to stay within easy driving of home that could still offer us up some birds. With a bit of thought a plan came to fruition. We'd drive up to Morgan to search for Regent Parrots and Little Friarbirds and work our way towards Loxton on the River Murray to give us several opportunities to connect with both. Then, we were to drive down to Billiat CP to camp overnight and search for Red-lored Whistlers in the morning when they'd hopefully be calling. The only risk in that was we hadn't been to Billiat in quite a while and knew there had been several recent fires down there but didn't know the extent of them or even if there was any habitat left!! Well you've just gotta try these things.

So Saturday morning came and we found ourselves in the command vehicle buzzing up the road towards Morgan. Passing through Eudunda we had some Apostlebirds just out of town which is about as close to Adelaide as they come these days and then a Pied Butcherbird in Sutherlands which is a fair way from the river. Not bad records locally. Nearing Morgan we checked out a  site near an old rail siding that has a lot of Eremophila glabra which were starting to flower nicely. A lot of White-fronted and Singing Honeyeaters along with Spiny-cheekeds had already found them but just a little too early for Black Honeyeaters. We made a mental note to check back in a month or so. Arriving in Morgan to a lovely sunny day we crossed on the ferry and headed south to an area where Regent Parrots usually nest.

As we pulled up a pair of suspicious looking birds took off through the trees and we didn't really get anything on them. Well..........it was time for a brew anyway! Halfway through my cup of tea and as bold as brass, in flies a lovely raucous male Regent Parrot in to a tree directly over our heads......nice!!. He posed this way and that before another bird flew in to a nearby tree to call him over, it was a female. The pair were obviously loved up and spent some moments mutually preening before she flew towards a hollow to try it on for size. "No....that one just won't do, lets try over there" and with that, they were off.

Morgan on the great bend in the River Murray

Male Regent Parrot at Morgan

A loved up pair of Regent Parrots

Having enjoyed the Parrots we were still looking for Little Friarbirds. Morgan pretty much is the western extremity of their range so are very thin on the ground here. I suspect they may well only make it down this way in Spring/Summer when there is at least some of the floodplain vegetation in flower. As it was, none of the trees on the floodplain around Morgan were flowering so we headed east.

We decided to check out Banrock Station Wetlands on the way. Having only visited once before when the entire basin was dry we were looking forward to having a look around now there was water in the complex.

Overlooking the Wetlands at Banrock Station from the visitor centre/cellar door

Registering at the visitor centre before heading off on the track we then proceeded to the start of the boardwalk that winds its way through some floodplain vegetation where we hoped to pick up Little Friarbirds. Sadly we never even heard one but did enjoy the walk and a group of five Regent Parrots that flew through right in front of us. An enjoyable ramble even though we didn't go the whole way around but definitely worth a revisit some day when our schedule isn't so manic.

The boardwalk through the wetlands at Banrock Station

A friendly Banrock local

As time was getting on we started the drive down to Billiat via Alawoona arriving with enough light in the day to set up camp. Time to enjoy the first frothy of the day while listening to the footy on the radio.

The next morning we were up early in the bitter cold of a steady southerly breeze. A brief dawn chorus was enough to know there were at least some birds around. As we crossed over the first dune from our camp it was evident that the most recent fire had indeed passed through here but the regrowth was advanced enough to suggest that was at least over five years ago but it likely meant birds were not going to be as prevalent as we thought. After the first half an hour we arrived at a site we had previously seen Red-lored Whistler, but this time there was no sign despite the dune having escaped the ravages of the fire and being well vegetated. Not to be put off we carried on but realised after a while that most of the area was still recovering from that recent fire and we failed to locate any Whistlers or indeed hear any. The cold southerly breeze was not helping matters much and we felt like we were flogging a dead horse so we turned back after several kilometres of walking .

Early morning light over the regrowth of Billiat CP

As we passed the boundary gate and back in to more mature habitat near camp we heard a faint peep from the adjacent mature spinifex understorey that sounded not unlike an Emu-wren! Mallee Emu-wrens did once inhabit this park in years gone by but with successive burns over the years in what is effectively an isolated albeit large block of scrub it was thought that these birds were now extinct in SA. The other well known historical range for them incorporated Ngarkat CP which has also endured extensive and excessive fires over the years. There was something not quite right about the call and so as a suggestion I asked Sue to give some brief playback for Striated Grasswren. From out of nowhere a dark looking bird literally ran straight at us from deep in the scrub veering off at the last minute and disappearing again. We both looked at each other very perplexed. "Was that a Heathwren?" Sue tried Shy Heathwren playback with no result at all. "Surely if it was a Heathwren it would respond, those things love the sound of their own voice". Sue tried Grasswren again. I walked a bit further back up the track away from Sue and realised I was hearing the call in stereo!!! At that moment a bird burst out on to the track before flitting back in to cover. It WAS a bloody Striated Grasswren!! A species whose population has crashed significantly in SA especially north of the River Murray. We had given up much hope of actually seeing this species in SA during the Big Year and here they were in a park that had been ravaged by fire over the years, yet endured out of the ashes like a Phoenix of legend, and what a legend this bird was. Turned out it was an adult pair and we enjoyed excellent views of the two of them after we peaked their interest. We had our fill of photographing them both and left them in peace while wishing them well for the future. We'll definitely monitor these birds over the next year and see if we can find any more within Billiat CP and elsewhere.

Rising out of the ashes of recent bushfires like a fiery Phoenix a stunning and increasingly rare Striated Grasswren from Billiat CP

Sue enjoying the rare and declining Striated Grasswren

That was trip made for both us right there and then and we went back to camp for a much needed warming cup of coffee and breakfast. After something to eat and refreshed with something warm in the stomach we decided to have another walk along the boundary track that had escaped the ravages of the fire and contained some mature stands of spinifex. We didn't encounter much of interest and certainly didn't see or hear the Whistler we were specifically here to chase. Time to withdraw and come up with another plan. The day as moving on and it was nearly midday before we headed back out of the park and back up to the river again. We thought we'd give the Friarbird one last shot so drove in to Loxton but then carried on to Berri. I hadn't been here for quite some time but remembered the Marina road as one I'd seen Blue-faced Honeyeater at before so thought that might be worth a shot. We parked up at the entrance of the "Alan Thurmer Recreational Trail" that seemingly wound its way through some riverside vegetation and started walking. We'd gone nearly a kilometre and despite having lovely views of a perched up female Peregrine Falcon there was no sight or sound of any Friarbirds. Giving up we turned tail and began walking back to get ready to drive the long road home. Nearing a Black Box tree that was partially flowering I intimated to Sue that it was exactly the kind of thing the birds would be feeding in. As I was pointing it out a Little Friarbird called from the canopy!! I imitated the call and you'd think I'd become its best friend as the bird flew directly towards me looking intently for its new found friend. A few photos later and we were back in the command vehicle whizzing our way back to Adelaide having enjoyed a really good and surprising weekend that gave us both another three year ticks.

My new best mate!

 

A random track in Berri that had just what we were looking for

So another week to endure for work before we head off up to Port Augusta this coming Friday night to start our big trip up to Coober Pedy, Marla and the NT border. Having picked up our friend Andy Walker from the airport last night this trip is gonna be epic and could see us rocket in to the mid 340's. We just need some of that "Andy Walker luck" The next blog post promises to be huge so stick around for that one. 

The Big Blue Paddock MkV........with special guests

After the Great Floater Twitch of 2017 things went a bit quiet for us the following weekend as I was on call for work which gives us zero opportunities for birding. The thought of another pelagic on the horizon though is one of those things that got us through that birdless weekend. During the week leading up to the trip we paid close attention to the prevailing weather conditions. You tend to check "MetEye" and the "BOM" website for constant updates on wind speed and wave height every half hour, I swear I can change professions and become a weather man after this year is done and dusted!. As it was a series of cold fronts passing through meant we weren't sure if it was going to go or not, but as it turned out a break in the weather lined up perfectly with the Sunday. Anticipation was high!

Travelling down on the Saturday Sue and I checked out a few spots with no real expectations of anything new and so it turned out to be. Arriving at Port MacDonnell we parked up on the Headland at Cape Northumberland gazing out to sea watching a few Shy Albatrosses and a line of "Fluttering type" Shearwaters pass by when the phone rang..... it was Bob Green. "Are you guys in town yet?..........My mate Wayne has got Grey Goshawk at Valley Lake..........NOW!"...Well alrighty then!. Cups of tea were hastily thrown out and stuff packed away and we were back off up the road to Mt Gambier. This was a bird that just wasn't on our radar at all given how rare and random their appearances are in the south-east of the State. It was reported earlier in the year from the same location and we did try once from the lookout overlooking the lake but never had any real expectation of seeing it  Driving down in to Valley Lake we parked up near the edge of the lake opposite the eastern rim of the long extinct volcano and started to scan. Within minutes we spotted it sitting up in a tree on the northern rim. Good scope views but quite distant for photos. It moved several times around the edge of the lake and I managed to snatch a few dodgy pics of it. Bob phoned again as he was looking down on it from the ridge line above as it was obscured from our view. I rang Colin and Stuart and they headed up from Port Mac as soon as they could. We moved up the entrance road to meet them but the bird sadly did not reappear from this angle. They did get poor views later after the bird was relocated buried deep within the vegetation on the far side of the lake and it appeared to have caught something. Happy campers all around although poor views for Colin and Stuart.

Me Bob Sue Wayne Colin and Stuart. Happy tickers!

Distant male "White" Goshawk inside an extinct volcano. Very cool!

We had to stay up in Mt Gambier overnight as the caravan park in Port Mac was closed for winter so that meant leaving a little earlier than normal in the morning to get down to the boat ramp in time. Heading out at first light we slowly cruised past the loafing Terns on the breakwater, picking out several White-fronteds among the Cresteds

Wintering White-fronted Terns on the breakwater

Rounding the breakwater we cruised for a while before approaching "The Bank" which is an area of the sea floor that rises up creating a rich feeding zone for inshore birds, cetaceans and pelagic fish. There were literally hundreds of Fluttering Shearwaters with a few Huttons Shearwaters in with them and above those were lots of Terns including White-fronteds. Jeff Davies was the first to spot the red bill on one of the Terns and called it immediately as an Antarctic as it flew past the boat on rapidly beating wings. A stunning adult in winter plumage and the 4th or 5th record for South Australia. There is an increasing realisation amongst those of us in SA that this species has either been under reported up to this point in time or is genuinely increasing its presence in our waters during winter. Future winter pelagic trips may provide an answer to that question.

Feeding frenzy just offshore

Adult winter Antarctic Tern. Photo by Colin Rogers

Antarctic Tern. Photo supplied by Colin Rogers

Huttons Shearwater picked out of the crowd

Anticipation was high

With all the activity inshore we were convinced we were going to have a great trip so carried on out to the shelf break and started to chum the water. After a time it was evident the birds were just not interested and we were struggling to attract much at all. Initially a few Shy Albatross and some Great-winged and Grey-faced Petrels were joined by Black-browed and an "odd" looking Yellow-nosed Albatross with a subtle grey hood and white forecrown that raised some discussion. Very few of these birds would actually stop on the slick with most wheeling about and moving off just as quickly.

An "odd looking" Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross

There were none of the smaller species like Storm-petrels or Prions around and we were perplexed as to why, given what we thought were ideal conditions leading up to this trip. Eventually a single Giant-Petrel flew in and it turned out to be a Northern. A distant fly past of a "Wandering type" was as brief as it was inconclusive. We were becoming a bit despondent! Lunch was taken before a lone Brown Skua flopped down on to the slick at the back of the boat. He couldn't believe his luck that none of the other birds seemed hungry...........more for him!

Brown Skua incoming

Heavily moulting and hungry to boot

I'm a duck!......no really.....throw bread :)

It was evident that we were flogging a dead horse and the decision was made to head back in towards shore to try and connect with the birds we'd seen earlier. On the way back in we came across a group of Albatross on the water and we realised we'd crossed the track of a now distant Trawler. That probably went a long way to explaining why we were struggling to attract the birds as most of them were probably already full from following the Trawler. A lone Southern Royal Albatross cut in the wake of the boat but kept its distance before peeling off as we approached the coast. We failed to relocate the earlier activity and eventually called it a day.

We had a nice coffee and debrief at Periwinkles Cafe with Jeff Davies, Rob Drummond, Rob Farnes and Peter Lansley but all the SA crew had headed up to Mt Gambier to try and twitch the Grey Goshawks but they failed until the next morning. So we started the long drive home to Adelaide but as we were approaching Naracoorte the phone rang again...... It was Bob Green..... "where are you?" Well heading home over an hour up the road. "There's a Fiordland Crested Penguin on the beach at Port Mac!"......WHAT?.and as it turned out not 500m from where we had our coffee!!! With an hour left of daylight turning around and heading back would get us there after dark but that decision was easy to make. Vagrant Penguins are notoriously difficult to connect with, either disappearing or being taken in to care as most are either sick or moulting. Either way they're invariably at risk from dogs or foxes while standing on an open beach. We phoned ahead to alert the others who were staying overnight and got them to sit with the bird before we could arrive. Getting there about half an hour after dark we quietly walked down to where the bird was and took a few pictures before wishing him well and just as quickly moving off so as not to overly disturb him. With high fives all around we resumed our journey home again, the five and a half hour trip passing quickly getting us home at just after midnight.

Happy Feet the live show! Fiordland Penguin Port MacDonnell

"I'm beached as eh Broo"

The next morning we found out the bird had gone during the night. We'd like to think he'd had a nice rest and was happily swimming around in the Southern ocean somewhere offshore and thanked our lucky stars he stayed around long enough for us to see him.

So even though the boat trip itself was somewhat disappointing given the expectations despite the Antarctic Tern and two year ticks, we managed to go home with four year ticks each with two of those being off the radar and one a lifer. So I'm now on 328 and Sue on 323. With a couple of options for this coming weekend depending on the weather we might get another tick or two before we go on our next big trip up to the far north of the State. Stay tuned

The great Floater twitch of 2017

Back in late May news filtered through to us of an apparent male Northern Shoveler on the south side of Hindmarsh Island near the Murray Mouth. At the time we only received the news late on the Sunday and so with work the next day we had no chance of chasing it. As it turned out after having been seen the next day it disappeared for the rest of the week despite the best efforts of many birders in trying to locate it , so by weeks end it was looking increasingly likely the bird had gone. This made our decision not to chase it the following weekend all the more valid.

As we were preparing to head off up to Port Augusta to start our week long birding adventure out west, I had a call from Bob Green who was coming up to Adelaide that night to do a talk at the Birds SA meeting......... "I've got reliable intel the Shoveler has been relocated down the Coorong. I'm gonna have  a look on my way back home tomorrow".........Oh great! So there we were driving in the completely opposite direction with no chance of chasing it for what we thought would be a few weeks as we weren't expecting to come home until the night before work and the weekend after that I was on after hours call out.

The next day as we were driving towards Ceduna the images and postings on Facebook were starting to come through and although the bird was playing hard to get those that put in the time were coming away with reasonable views despite it being on private property. I wanted to delete my Facebook account. "Well never mind" I said to Sue "we're gonna see some cool birds anyway".... but none of those would be a Northern Shoveler and that would be an Oz tick as well as a State tick and a good bird for our Big Year......hmmmmmm.

As it turned out the weather closed in while we were away which forced us to pull the pin and head home a little earlier than expected. By the Wednesday of that week however it was looking like the bird had flown the coop again with no further reports despite people having searched. Getting home late on Friday night we were in two minds as to whether we would go looking ourselves or not and with its behaviour mirroring that of it's last appearance on Hindmarsh Island it wasn't looking encouraging. I got a message from Philip Peel "Philthy Flocker" on Facebook. He was going to make the effort with some friends to drive over from Victoria to see if they could twitch the bird and were we still going? I had to admit I was feeling very tired from all the driving and the weather wasn't looking good despite ducks apparently liking rain! So I asked Phil if he'd message me in the morning when they expected to arrive on site as to whether they were successful or not and he kindly agreed.

The following morning time was marching on and we hadn't heard anything but then by mid morning the phone rang..... it was Phil "We've got it"! Great....we'll see you in about two and a half hours. We hastily got changed into suitable birding gear got in the command vehicle and headed off.

Coming over the brow of the hill and descending towards the causeway between two ponds we parked up behind two vehicles that were already there. Out popped Glen Pacey who'd flown in from Brisbane to see the bird. They'd got it earlier but it hadn't been seen for about two hours, but he knew where it had flown and it was likely loafing in front of some sedge obscured from view sheltering from the strong northwesterly wind. So we decided to drive to the other end of the causeway where we had a better view of the southern pond but still no visual on the bird.

Not looking good

Phil arrived with Matt and Tim and along with Glen it was nice to finally put faces to Facebook names. As it was though the bird was still not on show and after a massive flock of nearly 700 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flew past Phil decided to start the long trek home satisfied with their success. There were still some people coming down from Adelaide who'd flown over from Melbourne and they were expected in an hour or two. Sue and I sat for quite a while watching intently at the south pond and listening to the football on the radio and with the wind strengthening and rain beginning to squall through we weren't very confident.

I'd just scanned the north pond and back to the south pond in between bouts of windscreen wiping to clear the rain drops off when we saw two vehicles approaching from over the hill. As they pulled up on the opposite side of the causeway a lady got out the car raised her bins in the direction of the north pond and promptly started a "happy dance"............."That lady's doing a happy dance!!!!" Sue exclaimed.. "They've bloody got it" A quick scan again of the northern pond from our position and even at that range it was clear the bird was not only there but happily floating around in front of it's newly arrived admirers. We slowly drove up a little closer to get a better angle on the bird and managed to get a few long distance grainy pics despite the horrible conditions

With rain on the window and wind gusting out of the north west we managed to get some pics

The Great Floater himself. Actually pretty snazzy looking for a Duck

Trying to keep out of the wind

We eventually moved up to the admiring Twitchers to whom I exclaimed out the window..... "You don't just get to drive up, get out of the car and go .....there it is" At which point  we all had a laugh. So after some introductions we all had our fill of the bird that had brought us so much joy. After some farewells they headed off back towards Adelaide leaving us with the Shoveler who was happily swimming backwards and forwards and busily feeding. When we eventually left, the bird was still there but to our knowledge it was never seen again despite some birders looking for it the following day in increasingly horrible weather conditions.

Happy Twitchers. Me, Sue Alison, Pete, Jack and Isaac

That awesome feeling you get

With that we drove through increasingly horrendous weather in the gathering darkness  to stay at my Nephew's place in Victor Harbor with a view to doing a seawatch the next day. The wind although strong was still tracking west north west so not conducive to bringing in pelagic birds close to shore. So we ended up going home happy with having added Northern Shoveler to the Big Year and our Oz lists. Strangely enough though it wasn't technically a year tick as we saw a few of them during our two week holiday to Thailand in February!

So that puts me on 324 and Sue 319 with a pelagic scheduled before the end of the month and then another week away up to the Northern Territory border in the first week of September. We'll be joined for that trip by our good friend and guide AW Birder of Birding Ecotours, only we'll be guiding him!!! The list should get a big boost..

How the West was won

A long and pic heavy post this week, so put the kettle on, make a cup of tea, grab some biscuits and make yourselves comfortable. It's time to settle in for another Big Year blog post.

Very early in the planning stage of the Big Year we knew we'd need to travel to the far flung corners of the State in order to see as many different species as possible. Working full time meant we're going to need to use annual leave booked well in advance to give us the time we need to travel the great distances involved. This strategy is a bit of a gamble as we have no idea what the weather will be like or even if the tracks will be open on our intended routes, so it'll be pot luck! We've planned three major trips for the year with one up to the Northern Territory border via Coober Pedy, Marla and returning via the Oodnadatta Track and another on the Strzelecki and Birdsville loop. All the rest of our birding is going to have to be conducted on the weekends we have left. This tale is about the first of these trips where we decided to go to the far west.

There are four special birds that require us to visit this remote corner of SA, namely Nullarbor Quailthrush, the mysterious Naretha Bluebonnet, the newly split Western Whistler and finally Brown Honeyeater. Of course we also had the chance of a few other birds in our travels. The timing of this one was based on the premise that Brown Honeyeaters can only be found during winter where they visit flowering trees in the vicinity of Border Village and we felt it might also be a better time for a chance of the Whistler, the distributional limits of which are little known.

Finishing work on the Friday we drove straight through to Port Augusta where we stayed for the night thereby giving us a head start on the long road ahead. A hearty breakfast in the morning and we were off on the long drive towards Yumburra CP for our first night out bush. A lunchtime stop at Thevenard near Ceduna along the way turned up a surprise bird in the sparse scrubby coastal bushes at Pinky Lookout in the form of a colouring up male White-winged Triller. Quite a surprise to see one this early this far south and as it turned out it was the only one we saw on the whole trip!

A sign of Spring to come!

Driving on past Ceduna we went up and through the dog fence and in to Yumburra before finding a nice place to camp. Having set up we took in the activity around us as birds went about their day feeding and chasing each other around, including five species of Honeyeater and some Dusky Woodswallows. The surrounding scrub looked really good for Copperback Quailthrush and to prove the point a pair wandered straight in to camp, the female even foraging under the car. I think she was as keen to hear the football on the radio as we were!!!

What's the score???

The lovely male showing off his extensive "coppery" back

After an uneventful night we hit the road early the next morning poking around the track between two rockholes in the vain hope of finding an early Scarlet-chested Parrot or a Sandhill Grasswren, but not surprisingly neither appeared to be in residence. We headed back out on the road towards Nullarbor via Penong and Nundroo stopping to photograph some Ground Cuckoo-shrikes along the way.

The most Ground Cuckoo-shrikes I've seen in any given year. There seemed to be a lot out west

Rain was starting to come down from what would prove to be the advance edge of a nasty front that was forecast to come through in the next few days but sitting on a fence post on the side of the road unperturbed by the rain just out of Penong was our first Pallid Cuckoo of the year.

The last species of Cuckoo we're likely to see this year

Of course you can't come to the head of the Great Australian Bight without paying homage to the Southern Right Whales that spend the Winter calving and lolling about there and this we duly did. At least twenty whales were in residence, some of which were easily viewable from the boardwalk and we spent a good hour or so marvelling at their antics.

Doing backstroke!!

Having a whale of a time

Moving on from there we arrived at Nullarbor Roadhouse late in the day but with enough light left to do a quick drive down the fenceline track where I'd seen Nullarbor Quailthrush in the past. The breeze was keeping the birds a bit quiet and the presence of another local resident on the plains wasn't helping matters. We did try for some late calling Rufous Fieldwrens across from the motel for Sue as she still needed that but they didn't perform.

A curious Dingo checked us out along the fenceline track

The next morning we got out early in the freezing cold and drove up the main track out the back of the Roadhouse but bird activity was very slow given the temperature. We did manage to get good views of Rufous Fieldwrens this time and there seemed to be quite a lot of them calling all around. A nice catch up bird for Sue.

One of many Rufous Fieldwrens out on the Nullarbor

Early morning light on the Nullarbor

Walking out on to the plains I was sure I heard the distinctive high pitch contact call of a Quail-thrush and then Sue motioned to me that she had accidentally flushed what she suspected to be one. They lead us on a merry dance of hide and seek and every time we got anywhere near one they would take off with a whirr of wings from at least 25 metres away. We found it impossible to get views on the deck so we gave up on this pair and moved on to try and find another. Another couple of k's up the track we found another pair that were just as furtive but we did manage some poor views of them on the ground and so were happy enough to add Nullarbor Quail-thrush to our year lists. We drove up as far as the first caves before returning to the Roadhouse. It was time to start heading out further west so we took the Old Eyre Highway and drove towards Koonalda Homestead where we intended to camp for the night. Not far out we flushed some Quail-thrush off the side of the road and after stopping to investigate we managed to get our best views so far with at least seven birds in total..

Probably the hardest Quail-thrush species I've ever tried to photograph

There's seven Nullarbor Quail-thrush in this pic!

The trip across the Nullarbor was interspersed by the occasional bird with lots of Horsefield Bronze-cuckoos, Pallid Cuckoos and even more Ground Cuckoo-shrikes in evidence. A few Slender-billed Thornbills and Southern Whiteface made up the numbers along with a pair of Stubble Quail close to the track. We arrived at Koonalda mid afternoon and drove on the track towards the main highway and also to the north towards the Koonalda caves specifically looking for Naretha Bluebonnets. Most people tend to travel to Western Australia when looking for this species via Cocklebiddy and Rawlinna Station but its a little known fact they actually do occur in SA right here in the vicinity of Koonalda. Noone really knows if they are seasonal here or whether they are here year round, but on this occasion they weren't here at all.......!!! As it was getting late we opted to camp amongst the tree line to the west of  the homestead and we spent a very cold night watching downloaded Netflix and drinking red wine..........as you do. A lone calling Spotted Nightjar kept us company until we went to bed and in the predawn hours the next morning a single Tawny Frogmouth was "ooooooooing" somewhere in a tree near the tent. The morning brought with it cold temperatures again and we packed up early before deciding to move off back towards Koonalda and the road down towards the main Highway. We'd probably only gone about 4km's when some parrots flushed up from the side of the track. Getting bins on them they proved to be Mulga Parrots, but there were a number of different species in that little spot that seemed to form a loose winter feeding association. There were White-browed Babblers, Crested Bellbirds and Black-faced Woodswallows as well as the Mulgas. Something made me decide to stop the vehicle and get out to investigate. Just as well I did. Walking off the track I noticed a parrot sitting on a low branch about 30 metres away and I casually dismissed it as another Mulga but Sue wasn't so sure and for good reason. It was a Naretha Bluebonnet. Turned out there were three birds hanging out with these other species. We noticed they were feeding on some "fruiting"  variety of saltbush that had reddish seed pods. In the end we got fabulous looks and some nice photos as well, a lifer for both of us..........most excellent.

One of the three Naretha Bluebonnets near
Koonalda

They seemed very keen on the fruits of this Saltbush variety

Naretha Bluebonnet fodder

Naretha Bluebonnet habitat south of Koonalda Homestead off the Old Eyre Highway

Having had our fill of the Bluebonnets we carried on travelling westward on the Old Eyre Highway flushing the occasional Nullarbor Quail-thrush along the way. The Mulga studded bluebush plains finally gave way to mallee as we got closer to Border Village but just before it did I noticed a bright orange puff ball flush up in front of the car. A lone male Orange Chat settled just off the track and we spent the next half an hour trying to get a few pictures. Normally seen in company with others of its kind this bird seemed happy all by its self. Perhaps he was the vanguard of all the birds that are making their way south for Spring, or maybe he was just hopelessly lost??

Stunning male Orange Chat

Stopping for lunch just outside of Border Village amongst the mallee we were back in the company of White-fronted and White-eared Honeyeaters along with a few Weebills but nothing else of note. We realised we'd stopped not far from Border Village itself and another five minutes down the road we arrived at the border. Getting out of the car to enquire about getting a cabin for the night it was evident the commonest bird calling around the village were in fact Brown Honeyeaters, the very bird we had timed this trip around and a State tick to boot. I love it when a plan comes together!

A very vocal and very localised State tick!

Sitting out the back of the cabin we watched the Honeyeaters feeding in a group of trees opposite along with Silvereyes of the western race chloronatus.  There was also a single Purple-gaped Honeyeater in residence that had been reported by Paul Taylor back in May. A bird that's a long way from home! Later in the day we drove down the border track towards the coastal cliffs stopping and looking for birds along the way but we dipped on the hoped for Western Whistler. Overnight the front that had been forecast unleashed a torrent of rain and wind out of the south-west and any hope of giving the Whistler a serious bash went with it.

The next morning was wet and very windy so we decided to cut our losses and started heading back towards Eyre Peninsula. The Whistler will have to wait for some other trip in the future. We took the track back up towards Koonalda to see if we could find the Bluebonnets again but they must have been keeping their heads down in the prevailing conditions as there was no sign of them. Turning east on the Old Eyre Highway and back to the Nullarbor Roadhouse we ran in to some nasty weather and the track turned in to a canal at one point but its hard packed rocky calcareous base meant we had no trouble getting through.

Nasty weather ahead

Of great interest on the drive was the amount of Shingleback Lizards emerging out on to the side of the track to drink from the puddles on the road, and coming over a rise in the road we came across a very wet, thirsty and bedraggled Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat.

Furry roadblock

With the wind increasing we drove all the way through to a motel in Wudinna where we arrived well after dark. The rain continuing to fall throughout the night with the occasional flash of lightning and rumble of thunder. In the morning the conditions had abated somewhat so we thought we might try to find Sandhill Grasswrens again in and near Ironstone CP just to the west of the Middleback Ranges. Driving around all day to various sites and looking in what seemed to be fantastic habitat for the Grasswrens we came up short again. I know they're in here somewhere and given the state of these birds in South Australia it's something Sue and I are going to spend some time on next year when our Big Year is over.

There is a lot of suitable habitat for Grasswrens in Ironstone CP. They have to be here somewhere

Looking north towards the southern boundary of Lake Gillies CP

We ended up motelling it again, this time in Whyalla, as camping out would have been very soggy and breezy. At this point in time we realised this trip was basically over so we decided to head back to Adelaide with the weekend still to go. On the way back we lunched at Aridlands Botanic Gardens in Port Augusta but the wind meant Sue is still going to have to wait to catch up with Chirruping Wedgebill as they were hunkered down somewhere. As some form of compensation she did manage to get a White-breasted Woodswallow on the wires near the bridge over the head of the Gulf leaving her with only 5 more species to catch up to me.

So we had travelled a long way but were ultimately rained out. We did achieve our main objectives though having seen 3 out of the 4 main species to try for along with a few others with both of us getting a lifer in the form of Naretha Bluebonnets along with another State tick in Brown Honeyeater. I can't remember the last time I got a lifer in SA on the mainland so that's quite an achievement. This gives me 6 year ticks for 323 and Sue got 8 for 318

Now just as we were preparing to leave on this trip I had a phone call from Bob Green. Apparently the Northern Shoveler that was seen on Hindmarsh Island a month or so ago had been relocated in the southern Coorong and he was going to have a look on the Saturday!!!.......... Arrrggghhh. The rest of the week we were taunted with reports of it being seen by all and sundry until it disappeared by Wednesday. So what to do?.....well nothing until Phil Peel from Victoria told me he was going to have a look on the following Saturday. To go or not to go...........................stay tuned.