Big Year blues

I must admit to struggling a bit with motivation now we've hit the "dead period" of the year. As I alluded to in our last blog post it can be hard to try and focus on what we should be doing with our time now that we've seen quite a few of the birds already this year that are in easy reach. Most of the remaining species we need, we'll need to travel much further afield to see and that requires more time off work than we're getting now. Even then some of those birds we'll have to wait until spring before having a chance to get to grips with them. All of those birds have been planned for and our holidays are already booked for the rest of the year, so its a matter of just sitting it out until those trips come around.

There was a report of Northern Shoveler from Hindmarsh Island that would have been a great addition to our Big Year lists and an Oz tick to boot, but we got that info too late and we were stuck at work for the week. Even still, despite being seen on the Monday it could not be found by other observers who searched throughout the rest of the week. In the end and in the absence of any further reports, we decided not to waste diesel looking for it ourselves.

We still have a number of pelagic trips we're booked on each month but there's no guarantee any of those will go such are the vagaries of the Southern Ocean at this time of year. We were due to go on one last weekend but unfortunately the weather conspired against us and despite reorganising the trip from Sunday to Monday it ended up getting cancelled. We had three days off too, so trying to work out what to do with that time was a challenge. Well in the end we thought we'd split our time with a search for Bassian Thrush and a trip out to the Mallee.

Saturday saw us out and about in the Pine forests around the southern shores of South Para Reservoir. In autumn/winter Bassian Thrushes can sometimes be seen foraging for invertebrates in the moist pine needle leaf litter inside these forests.............sometimes...........but not this time! We did enjoy the walk and it always amazes me just how many native species can be found in Pine forests especially Scarlet Robins and White-throated Treecreepers. These birds seem to be doing quite well in these artificial habitats and we must have seen at least six pairs of Robins at least. At the end of the day we beat a retreat as the wind began to pick up quite significantly and both of us had commitments that evening anyway.

Plenty of Scarlet Robins in the Pine forests around South Para Reservoir

Sunday we spent doing domestic chores instead of driving down for the pelagic we should have been going on but the weather started to show exactly why we weren't going. Quite wet and windy conditions all day .

Monday came and we decided to go up to Brookfield Conservation Park out in the Murray Mallee. This time of year is not particularly good out there compared to Spring, but in the absence of anything else more pressing we thought we'd just do some general birding anyway as we hadn't really spent much time in that habitat yet. There had been some good birds reported recently with Olive-backed Oriole and Painted Honeyeater being very noteworthy, but it was unlikely either would still be around. So in the end we thought it would be a good opportunity to get Sue some catch up birds I'd seen earlier in the year and perhaps get to see one of my all time favourite birds we still needed. To start off we managed to get a small family group of about 7-8 Chestnut-crowned Babblers which was a nice pick up for Sue and there seemed to be lots of Mulga Parrots and Bluebonnets around on the entrance track. A nice female Crested Bellbird sitting up on a branch was encouraging. It's good to see those are still around this close to Adelaide.  After stopping for a cuppa once in the mallee proper, we had a walk around, seeing and hearing a number of nice species but nothing new for either of us

Blue skies in Brookfield CP at least initially!

Towards the eastern boundary we walked up the track beyond the vehicle access where you start to get Bluebush as a major component of the understory. We've seen some good birds in this general area before and it wasn't long before we came across a good loose feeding association that surprisingly had White-browed Woodswallows in it, another catch up bird for Sue.

Lovely out of season male White-browed Woodswallow

Given the amount of activity here I wasn't surprised when Sue spotted a Southern Scrub-robin scuttling between the bushes. Quite often when there's lots of activity with birds in these loose winter feeding flocks, like various Honeyeater species, Pardalotes and others around they are often accompanied by other more cryptic ground dwelling birds. So we started looking carefully on the ground ahead of us as we walked.

Always hell bent on finding out what you're up to Southern Scrub-robins are great characters

  

With Shrike-thrushes and Scrub-robins hopping along on the ground I nearly missed the bird we were hoping for. Just up ahead and not making a sound I saw a bird running between two clumps of bushes. We got closer to it only to discover a pair of beautiful Chestnut-backed Quailthrush. These are my all time favourite birds in the mallee and one of my favourite bird families anywhere in the world. We managed to get great walk away views. Hopefully we'll get to see another two species of these exquisitely marked birds later in the year.

My favourite bird in the Mallee

This female Chestnut-backed Quailthrush seemed quite curious.

The clouds were starting to scud in and so with the main target bird under our belts we decided to drive up to Morgan to see what else we could find. Nearing the Cadell turn off we had a nice Pied Butcherbird on the overhead wires as we drove past and Sue was able to add this one to her list. Morgan Conservation Park was very quiet and we saw none of the hoped for birds like Little Friarbird and Regent Parrots. These birds are far more reliable in Spring/Summer so it was hardly surprising we missed them. Heading home from Morgan we took a popular back road that comes out at Mt Mary that has some good birds on it especially in Spring with Black and Pied Honeyeaters being quite regular............. but this wasn't Spring. There had been a recent report of Ground Cuckoo-shrikes and that would have been nice but we didn't see any. Several stops along this road produced some good views of  Redthroats and a nice Black-eared Cuckoo. Not normally found at this time of year, the Cuckoo came as a big surprise and it sat nicely for a photograph.

An out of season Black-eared Cuckoo

So we ended the day back in a rain soaked Adelaide with one new year bird for me putting me on 305 and Sue getting 4 new birds. A week of 24 hour standby for work will put paid to any birding aspirations this next weekend but it will give us a chance to clean and restock the command vehicle. Our next opportunity to get out will be the June long weekend where we hope to chase winter breeding Powerful Owls and a couple of other species down the far south-east. After that, another pelagic. Fingers crossed!

Big Year Sunday filler

This time of year the birding tends to slow down a bit. All the waders have gone back to the Northern Hemisphere, the majority of local species are no longer breeding and the bush goes a bit quiet. Autumn and winter does have a few birds to chase though mostly made up of interstate migrants that make sporadic but unpredictable appearances, but there aren't really many of those.

Seabirds are worth spending the time on but pelagic trips only take up one day and only go once a month. So what to do? Answer? Start looking to fill holes in our lists. There are always some birds that slip through the net in the initial mad rush at the start of a Big Year so we decided to chase a couple of birds that we still needed that are available year round. So after spending Saturday on domestic chores and purchasing a new camera body for me after drowning mine on a boat trip, we decided to head down to Victor Harbour on the Sunday.

Arriving early morning we first headed over the causeway out to Granite Island in bright sunshine and warm conditions

Heading over to Granite Island

Granite Island is a popular tourist destination that used to have a thriving Little Penguin colony, but as is so common these days the colony has suffered from predation and vandalism. Such a shame but that's not why we where there. Another normally secretive and furtive bird, that for some strange reason, can be seen with relative ease on the Island in the cooler months was our target. Once on the Island we headed around to the right, away from the breakwater and cafe to the western side. We climbed up to a more secluded track that cuts through a group of shrubs and seaberry saltbush understorey and it wasn't long before Sue noticed some birds feeding in the shade on the side of the track. A pair of Brown Quail were foraging without any fear in the open just a few metres in front of us. These birds used to be super rare in SA but recent good seasons has seen their numbers build up and we seem to be bumping in to them all over the place.

The ubiquitous Brown Quail

While watching the quail I heard the unmistakable call of our target bird but back in the scrub off the track. We couldn't see it at all even after waiting a while, so we moved off to see if we could find another more cooperative bird somewhere else. Despite hearing another bird at a spot further up the hill we ended up going back to where we saw the Quail. This time we decided to give a short burst of the call on Sues phone. Initially nothing, but after a relatively short interval out popped a Buff-banded Rail on to the track. Strutting around like a small bantam chicken it casually crossed over in front of us then decided to come over and check us out as bold as brass.......nice! That constitutes the last of the Crakes and Rails for us to see in SA now.

The "highly secretive and furtive" Buff-banded Rail

Happy with that it was time to head off to look for another bird that can be found in this area So after a spot of lunch we ended up at one of those great birding destinations that can be found throughout the world and arguably attracts more birders than birds themselves.........sewage ponds!! Only this time we weren't looking for shorebirds or any other kind of "waterbird" normally associated with such salubrious habitat but instead we were looking for a Honeyeater. A very rare one at that. Needless to say we drew a blank despite searching the surrounding district and the lower Inman River Valley.

Sue on the lower Inman River failing to find a Black-chinned Honeyeater

Never fear we knew another spot where people had seen a bird recently in some street trees right in the suburbs of Port Elliot. Parking the car on a side street we played the call once or twice to see if it had any effect on any birds nearby. Almost immediately a juvenile Black-chinned Honeyeater marked by the green skin above its eye flew in to an adjacent tree. Before I could get a decent photograph it was seen off by the far more aggressive New Holland Honeyeaters.

Still a nice day out with two more birds for our Big Year lists putting me on 304. Next weekend promises to be another belter if we can get out on the pelagic, so tune in next week to see how we get on. Don't forget you can get live updates from the field by following along on Twitter at Sue@Tytoalba

The Big Blue Paddock MkIII or 300 up!

After spending the previous weekend on a family social event, we were keen to head out on another pelagic from Port MacDonnell. The previous trip  (See previous blog post) was an absolute cracker, and in the wash up it was determined we had seen Northern Royal Albatross after an inspection of photographs taken at the time. So we headed down the south-east on a revised total of 297

We thought we'd bird through the Bangham/Geegeela area on the way down, as there are still a number of species that we could have potentially seen in that area. Despite driving the boundary tracks of both Conservation Parks we failed to come across any of those species at all so we continued on to Port MacDonnell to meet the other participants

Down at the wharf again on the Sunday in time for a 7:00am departure The boat rounded the breakwater and headed south in to a 1.5m swell out of the south-west with a slight 5-10 knot South easterly breeze causing a cross chop, so a bit bumpy. It was at this point I discovered my camera was dead! Absolute disaster. It's one of the fun elements of a boat trip to take loads of pictures and I was going to be denied the opportunity. This time we were going to have to rely on Sue for all the blog pics.

Rounding the breakwater the excitement was palpable

Less than 1 or 2km's offshore I noticed a small Sterna type tern tracking on a parallel course just behind us. Calling for the skipper to slow down so it could catch up several people got some shots of it. Initially I called it as an Arctic Tern as the cap was quite dark and it appeared to have a dark trailing edge to the primaries but the rest of the details on the bird were difficult to pick up as conditions were dull and overcast. It was only after some pics were posted online the following morning that interstate birders noticed the distinctive markings of a juvenile Antarctic Tern on our bird. These details were only brought to light with the magic of photoshop and were impossible to see in the field. This constitutes the first pelagic record in South Australia of this bird and only the third ever record in the State

3rd South Australian record of Antarctic Tern and very unexpected

Heading out through inshore waters towards the shelf we started picking up a few birds here and there with Fairy Prions being notable along with a lone Yellow-nosed Albatross, the only one of the trip. Reaching the berley point there were a few light showers scudding around making conditions a little damp on the back of the boat but they passed quickly. Again it wasn't long before the birds started to appear on the slick with Campbells Albatrosses rapidly outnumbering Black-browed Albatrosses and a swag of Great-winged Petrels. Soon Wandering Albatrosses started to appear with both nominate and New Zealand type birds present, jostling for positions at the back of the boat. A lone Sooty Albatross came in from downwind and while coming close it seemed to ignore us and continue on its way. A Soft-plumaged Petrel came whizzing past, making several loops over the berley slick to the delight of the paparazzi on board. Amongst the building numbers of Wilsons Storm-petrels I noticed a flash of white on a bird in close that turned out to be our first Grey-backed Storm-petrel of the year, nice!

One of lots of Fairy Prions working the slick

Very photogenic Soft-plumaged Petrel that made several passes of the boat

The sheer size of a Wandering Albatross needs to be seen to be believed

The only Grey-backed Storm-Petrel of the day

By now we were seeing a few "Whalebirds" amongst the Fairy Prions working the slick and an analysis of photos while on board enabled us to determine we were seeing both Antarctic and Slender-billed Prions. Unfortunately for me because I wasn't taking pictures, I couldn't be 100% confident I was seeing the same birds, so the Slender-billed will have to wait for another trip! At this point the sky cleared a bit and the sun shone through giving photographers an opportunity to take some creative pictures when this full rainbow appeared behind the boat

No gold at the end of this rainbow but certainly cool birds

I picked up another all dark Albatross tracking in from downwind and as this one came closer I could see the paleness and greyish tone to the overall body color and I was sure it was a Light-mantled Sooty Albatross. A careful look at the key identifying marks and a consensus was reached by those on board. Indeed it was, albeit an unusually marked immature bird and a lifer for both Sue and I and many others on board. It was fair to say everyone on the boat were pretty stoked with getting that but no more than me as it was a great bird for number 300 for the Big Year.

Our first Light-mantled Sooty Albatross

Light-mantled Sooty Albatross completely oblivious to the clicking cameras

After enjoying the birds for a few hours it was eventually time to head back to Port. Just as we began to cruise back I noticed another Sterna type Tern crossing paths with the boat. I managed to get a good look at this one in good light and the full black cap, strong black trailing edge to the primaries and small "spikey" beak all pointed to adult Arctic Tern. Unfortunately most people had started reviewing their pictures for the day and no one got a photograph of this bird.

Motoring back to shore. Time for some "chimping"

Another great day on the boat despite not having a camera, hopefully I'll have that sorted in time for the next one. A hot cup of coffee and a debrief back on shore before the long drive home. So we finished with 4 year ticks each and a lifer giving me 301. Can't wait for the next one now.

A mid week trip for work to Mildura had me driving through the Riverland for the first time this year. Nearing the turn off for Banrock Station a single Pied Butcherbird was seen perched up in a tree giving me another year tick for number 302. 

The Big Blue Paddock MkII

Sue and I are really starting to look forward to pelagic trips for our Big Year and with four trips in six weeks we'll get our fair share. Last weekends trip from Port MacDonnell was another belter.

You wait with nervous anticipation in the days leading up to a pelagic carefully perusing the Bureau of Meteorology website trying to analyse the predicted weather conditions and worrying as to whether the boat is gonna go or not!. In this case we got the confirmation late on Thursday night, it was on! Friday came and while enduring the last working day of the week I received a timely message from Luke Leddy based in Padthaway in the south-east. "Did we need Flame Robin"?.........did we ever! A winter visitor to South Australia this species has suffered a marked and steady decline over recent decades and can prove difficult to find. No matter, as Luke had found a small group that had returned to a regular spot he had seen them in previous years. Armed with this information we headed off in the trusty 4WD early on Saturday morning.

Stopping at Keith for a "tail gate lunch" I nearly choked on my cuppa soup when a Blue-faced Honeyeater popped in to view in the tree right in front us. I've seen these birds here before but they had been absent so far this year in our travels down this way so it was nice to pick that one up. Leaving there and following Lukes' instructions, we easily found the spot he had told us about and just as easily found the birds. A stunning male Flame Robin along with his harem of two females showed quite nicely

Gorgeous male Flame Robin near Bool Lagoon

 With two year ticks already under the belt we carried on straight through to Port MacDonnell where we were staying for the next two nights. Everyone on the pelagic usually meets in the Victoria Hotel in town for dinner the night before the pelagic to have a meal and swap wish lists about what we're going to see on the boat the next day. An early night usually ensues and Sue and I retired to our tent with eager anticipation.

The morning saw us up before the sun devouring some toast and cups of tea before making our way down to the wharf to get on the boat. With everyone aboard it was time to head off checking out the birds roosting inside the breakwater as we went. Lucky we did as there were several White-fronted Terns loafing with the regular Crested Terns on the rocks. Rounding the breakwater we immediately headed in to the forecast 3-4 metre swell from the south west. With only light northerly winds this didn't prove to be too uncomfortable for most and we made good speed out to our spot over the continental shelf. A few lingering Short-tailed Shearwaters inshore kept us interested but the unidentified Whalebird that whizzed past on the way out proved frustrating! Starting the tuna oil slick and throwing suet over the side soon attracted a plethora of oceanic wanderers to the back of the boat, starting with Great-winged Petrels and a few Shy and Black-browed Albatrosses, soon to be joined by Campbells Albatross. A few Wilsons Storm-petrels started to appear on the slick too, along with the odd White-faced Storm-petrel, but a few Fairy Prions made there presence felt although not approaching the boat closely for good photographic opportunities

Fairy Prion, one of several that cruised up and down the slick

Right out over the shelf break we had a few Sooty Shearwaters come to the back of the boat and we marvelled as they upended and literally dived under water almost as efficiently as a Cormorant

Sooty Shearwaters can dive under water up to depths of over 50m!

We were soon joined by the first of what would prove to be over 20 Wandering and New Zealand Wandering Albatrosses of several races and its always fun trying to ID them with major differences in size and bill shape even between males and females of the same species

Possible adult female New Zealand Albatross race gibsoni?

Possible female "gibsoni"?

Probable old male "gibsoni"?

Probable near adult female Wanderer "exulans"

We had several first year "Gooneybirds" with this one dwarfing the majority of all the other birds at the back of the boat

It wasn't long before the first of what we estimated to be six or seven Sooty Albatrosses throughout the day that graced us with their presence. These birds are elegant to say the least compared to the other Albatross species and their lithe body shape and thin wings enables them to scythe through the air with ease

Arguably the most graceful of the Albatross. 

Based on careful analysis of photos we had up to seven different Sooty Albatross pay us a visit

The activity at the back of the boat was quite frenetic at this stage with loads of birds milling about over the slick but one in particular caught my eye as it banked away. Soft-plumaged Petrel was the call and everybody managed to get on to it without too much difficulty

One of two Soft-plumaged Petrels that made passes over the slick

At this stage it was decided to motor back up the slick for a bit as it had spread quite a long way and birds were becoming spread out. Stopping again and continuing to berley it was evident a continuous stream of birds were being attracted by the smell from way down wind and we continued to get new birds coming in The first of these was a single immature Northern Giant-Petrel that kept darting in amongst the larger Albatross to snatch food showing little fear

The reddish orange bill tip gives this birds identity away as a Northern Giant-petrel

Not to be outdone a Southern Royal Albatross appeared that flew straight to the back of the boat looking for its share of the handouts

Southern Royal Albatross

While keeping a close eye on the few Prions that were scudding through out wide a single Prion with very little black on the tail grabbed my attention as it flew past. With my camera having packed up from getting wet I called out for someone to "get that bird"!!! Colin Rogers managed to get a few shots and an analysis of the photo showed the bird to be an Antarctic Prion. A lifer for both Sue and I

Antarctic Prion by Colin Rogers

That proved to be the last of the new birds for our Big Year on this boat trip. We headed back into Port with a brief interlude inshore as we came across a large mixed group of Terns, Short-tailed-Shearwaters, Fluttering Shearwaters and Australian Gannets working a school of feeding Tuna. A terrific day at sea despite the heavily overcast and drizzly at times conditions. Fortunately my camera came back to life after it dried out the next day.

Heading home on the Monday we decided to return via the Bangham area to look for some key species we still needed. The day proved to be rather wet and overcast but while driving along the road adjacent to Geegeela Conservation Park and stopping to look at some Honeyeaters, Sue noticed some movement on her side of the car. A pair of Painted Button-quail were wandering around trying to not drown in the sodden under growth. We managed to get reasonable views before they scooted off in to the vegetation.

Perfectly camouflaged in amongst the vegetation a Painted Button-quail plays hide and seek
Can you see it???????

So a very successful weekend gaining us some valuable year ticks and both of us getting lifers with one for me and four for Sue. A break this weekend before getting ourselves ready for yet another pelagic trip that promises to have a cast of thousands. With loads of Seabirds still to see we're looking forward to it.

An Island Paradise..............and a pair of "plastics"

So the shortened working week flew buy quite quickly and it wasn't long before we found ourselves in the trusty 4WD again heading down in the predawn gloom to Cape Jervis and our date with the Sealink Ferry that would take us to Kangaroo Island. No local Big Year attempt at least would be complete without visiting the Island as there are several birds there that you just can't see anywhere else on the mainland and some that are easier there than elsewhere.

The short ferry crossing went uneventfully with a few Australian Gannets and a lone surface paddling Little Penguin being the only highlights. Arriving in Penneshaw and after a quick breakfast we decided to checkout the Casuarina groves up behind the town as well as going for a walk in Baudin Conservation Park for the Islands special resident bird. Despite seeing several Crescent Honeyeaters, which were actually new for us, the bird we were looking for was a no show. Undeterred we moved off in the direction of American River where we were staying for the next three nights.

After checking out around the estuary we decided to begin searching for the two feral species that have established themselves on the eastern half of the Island and can only be found there. Between the airport turn off and the Cygnet river bridge we eventually came across a large group of 14 Wild Turkeys foraging in a paddock adjacent to a fence line. Controversially considered feral since around 1950 these birds are now being considered for culling by the Natural Resource Management Board. Including them in our Big Year no doubt will also come with some controversy but the author of "Birds of Kangaroo Island a Photographic Guide" and expert on the Islands avifauna Chris Baxter assures me that these birds are indeed feral and "answerable to nobody" and that is why he included them in his recent excellent tome.

American imports. Oversexed and over here!

With the afternoon rapidly expiring we made our way back to American River for an early end to the day to indulge in a few beverages while watching our local AFL team the Adelaide Crows demolish the opposition. The birds of course hadn't quite finished with us and it was with great delight we had several pairs of Glossy Black Cockatoos coming in to roost adjacent to our accommodation in the early evening. These birds are incredibly isolated from the core population on the east coast of Australia and the mind boggles as to how this relic population from a time long ago in Australia's ecological history has managed to survive. The fact is they very nearly didn't, and if it wasn't for some intensive management of the Islands population, which has proven to be quite successful, they may well have succumbed

One of the eight or so pairs of Glossy Black Cockatoos roosting above American River

Early the next morning just as we were waking up we heard the unmistakable call of a Fan-tailed Cuckoo trilling somewhere from behind the cabin. As soon as it was light enough to see we were outside looking for it. Wasn't long before we heard it calling across the street and we both were able to add it to our year lists with good views.

This guy got us out of bed

Now we were up it was decided we'd travel to the far end of the Island to Flinders Chase to see if we could catch up with an old friend. Most of the western half of the Island is still quite well forested and we drove past lots of nice habitat on the way Having paid our entry fee we drove down the rest of the way to Remarkable Rocks, an enigmatic volcanic formation that stands on the edge of the sea, but it's here in this spot last year we made a local friend. With a coffee under our belt we went to see if he was home. Nothing............wait a minute......... was that a bird briefly sitting on that rock?.......waiting, waiting......Boom there he is. A little more furtive than last year but we still managed to get good looks in the end of the Kangaroo Island race of Western Whipbird 

I see you!.................Extremely secretive, sometimes you only get to hear them

With a quick stop off at Admirals Arch to see all the Seals with pups loafing around on the rock shelves we then headed back to the other end of the Island and called in to Murrays Lagoon. The main road through to the camping ground had been cut from all the recent rains having washed away the track so we got out to have a look at what was around. Quite a few ducks were evident out on the Lagoon which was obviously over full and even a couple of Spotted Crakes were sneaking around the waters edge amongst the fringing Melaleucas but a distinctive call had us both interested. Foraging and hawking along the creek line we were graced with a Restless Flycatcher. Not a bird that you can pin down to any one spot normally so it was nice to get this one.

This Restless Flycatcher made his presence known by his "scissor grinder" call long before we saw him

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving up to Kingscote and cruising around the back roads looking for another of the feral species we "needed" with no luck. Dinner in the Ozone hotel then back to American River for the night. The next morning we drove back down to Murrays Lagoon where we were told these birds occur but no sign apart from some distant calling birds. Leaving there empty handed again we went back over old ground before being given some timely information from Chris Baxter, so we headed up Gum Creek Rd for a few km's as per his instructions. Pulling up in the middle of the road it was evident that the paddock next to the car was in fact full of the bird we had had so much difficulty finding up to this point in time Indian Peafowl. A covey of over thirty birds that included four or five males were spread out along the fenceline. Established on the Island since the mid 1900's these birds have spread out over much of the eastern half of the Island and is now considered a pest.

Part of a large group of Indian Peafowl we eventually encountered west of Kingscote

Having seen the last of the birds we needed to see while on the Island the rest of the weekend was ours to do as we pleased, so the following day was spent out on the Dudley Peninsula with a visit to a lovely winery. There were a couple of other species we might have seen, but without sites for them we would have just been burning diesel, so we left those for some other trip on the mainland.

On the ferry trip home we marvelled at the number of Short-tailed Shearwaters passing through Backstairs Passage as they start their long migration across the Pacific to the northern hemisphere. With seabirds now on our radar we wait patiently for the next weekend where we're scheduled to go out on the next pelagic trip from Port MacDonnell

Easter birding........ but did we get the chocolates?

After having a weekend off we were really keen to head out bush for Easter and add to our growing year lists. A four day break gave us that extra day to travel just a bit further away from home and with a few key species to chase we decided to go to Mt Ive Station on the eastern fringe of the Gawler Ranges. We left work on the Thursday and with the car already packed we drove up to Port Augusta to get a head start on the driving.

Good Friday saw us up early and on the road out to Mt Ive via Iron Knob. Stopping to investigate a dam we had three or four Mulga Parrots in some nearby trees. Further on about 2-3 km's north of Coruna we flushed some Galahs off the side of the road but they were joined by something else. As we focused our bins through the window we realised it was a Ground Cuckoo-shrike that was rapidly joined by another three birds. We watched them settle on the ground just in off the track and we got out to have a better look. Really stunning birds and one that is not easily seen as you never know where they are going to turn up.

The exquisitely marked Ground Cuckoo-shrike

Seriously happy with that we carried on travelling, passing through several pastoral properties on the way. While going through Nonning we flushed some birds near to the track that looked like Orange Chats. On investigation they proved not to be but we did pick up Red-capped Robin instead.

We made it to Mt Ive around lunchtime but decided rather than waiting for early morning we might as well drive up to the summit to search for the special bird that lives up there. Walking around the open spinifex grass habitat we had flybys of several Australian Ravens, there unmistakable calls confirming their ID. We hadn't gone far past the microwave tower that marks the summit when we heard a faint peep from just up ahead. A bit of squeaking soon had a male Short-tailed Grasswren virtually run at us. This was a bird that just kept giving, strutting around mere metres from us without any fear at all. Stunning birds you've just got to love the Grasswrens!

The bird that just kept giving Short-tailed Grasswren

Having secured the bird and indulging in another tail gate lunch with a view we decided to drive out on the track that accesses Lake Gairdner to see if any finches were coming to drink at the Embankment dam. The water level at the dam itself was lower than we had seen it previously and the unmistakable powerful odour of goats was heavy in the air. Goats are experts at stripping vegetation in harsh environments and these were no exception, the immediate vicinity of the dam was a wasteland. Apart from a few hardy Euros and a family group of Yellow-throated Miners nothing else came in at all. As it was getting late we decided to pull the pin and drive out earlier than planned and as we rounded a corner we came across a group of twenty Pink Cockatoos. These birds are our favourite of all the Cockatoo family with their delicate shade of salmon pink underparts and a stunning crest to match. We stayed with these birds until the end of the day before heading back to camp for a well earned frosty beverage and dinner

Stunningly gorgeous Pink Cockatoos

Just in case we didn't know which way to go, these guys did!

Saturday dawned and we decided to walk out in to the paddocks adjacent to the homestead to try for Western Grasswrens that had been reported from here a few weeks back. It was obvious that these holding paddocks were suffering from a lack of understorey and bird diversity was very low. Having walked a long way we were nearly back when we came across a mixed feeding flock of Southern Whitefaces, White-winged Fairy-wrens and a brief view of another bird dissappearing into a saltbush. This turned out to be a lovely male Redthroat. Also in this mixed flock were a pair of Slender-billed Thornbills. We're not used to seeing the paler nominate form that occurs through inland southern Australia but rather the darker gulf coast subspecies rosinae, so that was a pleasant surprise

A lovely male Redthroat by Sue

Slender-billed Thornbill in the early morning light

After breakfast we drove out on one of the extensive property tracks to explore and look for more birds. Conditions were quite dry throughout and combined with the time of year there were not many birds in evidence. We did however bump in to a pair of Chestnut-rumped Thornbills associating with some Southern Whiteface near one of the lookouts, so we were happy to knock those off. Higher up on the range we drove through some mallee habitat which proved good for Grey-fronted Honeyeater, and we eventually saw over a dozen.. Not much else to report though for the rest of the day. We spent the late afternoon early evening staking out a leaking bore tank that had a few birds coming in to drink, but nothing special. Waiting for dusk we drove back slowly, spotlighting as we went, hoping for a Spotted Nightjar in the car headlights. We did nearly run over an Owlet Nightjar but apart from that it was very quiet.

The next morning we made an executive decision to leave Mt Ive and head down to the southern Flinders Ranges where we stood a chance of picking up a few new birds. On the way down to the highway we stopped at a few suitable places to search for Grasswrens. At the first place we stopped on Kolendo Station we found a pair of Western Grasswrens but they proved too elusive for any kind of photographs despite staying with them for nearly an hour. This time of year they seem to not take too much interest in squeaking and pishing and we had to settle for views of the birds as they darted and bounced between clumps of Saltbush

Sue in stealth mode trying to get fleeting glimpses of a Western Grasswren

Passing through Port Augusta we drove out to Yorkeys crossing north of town to see if we could pick up a Rufous Fieldwren for Sue as she hadn't caught up with this bird yet. Unfortunately the wind had picked up as we got to the head of the gulf and despite seeing a bird briefly and another calling Sue didn't manage to get tickable views. Never fear  there is always next time. From there we drove down to Telowie Gorge near Port Pirie, A nice spot but one that had suffered from a serious bushfire a few years back now. The damage was still evident and the regrowth was obviously happening very slowly but despite this there is still a special bird that can be found here. In the low heath just the other side of the creek from the main car park I had very brief views of this bird Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. Unfortunately Sue missed it as she was distracted by a noisily foraging Yellow-footed Antechinus. We retreated back to our friend Stephens place for a night of Roast dinner and many beverages.

Monday morning we decided to drive back up towards Wilmington and pop in to Alligator Gorge. We had seen Heathwrens here in previous years and it wasn't long before we came across a pair foraging in the undergrowth. This time we both got great views

Race pedleri of Chestnut-rumped Heathwren at Alligator Gorge by Sue

On the drive back down from the top of the range we scanned the roadside slowly especially in areas of native grass and we were rewarded with finding Diamond Firetails. Only four or five at first but investigating further on the opposite side of the road I came across a flock of 30 birds that included numerous juveniles. A particularly gorgeous finch and it saves us a trip to Browns Road near Monarto. An obliging male Mistletoebird put in an eye level appearance for Sue as well giving her a much needed catch up bird.

Some of the more than thirty Diamond Firetails we saw east of Wilmington.

On reaching the main road a group of five Apostlebirds broke cover and flew over the car into the front yard of an adjacent property.........nice. Well satisfied with our weekends efforts we decided to head home and brave the Easter holiday traffic, which proved to be not that bad after all. I finished with a nice haul of thirteen year ticks taking my total to 277 and Sue fourteen which included some nice quality birds but despite all that neither of us got any chocolates for Easter!

So this week we have a four working day turnaround and its off to Kangaroo Island for another four day break where we'll be looking for the special residents of the Island