A Big Day in Alice Springs…

G’day All, Some of us folks here in The Centre get a bit miffed when folks get upset and threaten to cancel birding holidays as if there was only one bird to see here in The Centre (and only one place to see it).

I also strongly support the position of the Traditional Owners but understand the disappointment some of you may be feeling. So I had a day off work yesterday and decided to put in a big effort at a “Big Day” to use the US vernacular – just to give you some indication of the quality of birding that you can expect around Alice Springs at the moment, without a sat phone, without a 4wd, and without any permits.

The limits I imposed were to go no further south than Hatt Road and no further north than the Tanami Rd turnoff but I was allowed to go to Kunoth Bore on the Tanami rd as it is sealed the whole way.

No further east than Emily and Jessie Gap and no further west than Simpson’s Gap. I was not allowed to go off sealed roads and not on any private or permit controlled property. I allowed the Sewage Ponds as the key is readily available to visitors.

Here’s my list:-

1. Black Swan – Sewage Ponds 2. Australian Wood Duck – SP 3. Pink-eared Duck – SP 4.Grey Teal – SP 5. Hardhead – SP 6. Pacific Black Duck – SP 7. Australasian Grebe – SP 8. Hoary-headed Grebe – SP 9. Darter – SP 10. Intermediate Egret – Wetlands beyond the railway line across Norris Bell Dve 11. White-faced Heron – SP 12. White Necked Heron – Norris Bell Wetlands 13. Royal Spoonbill – Norris Bell Wetlands 14. Straw-necked Ibis – SP 15. Black Kite – everywhere 16. Whistling Kite – everywhere 17. Black-breasted Buzzard – Ilparpa Rd near Honeymoon Gap and also on Tanami Rd 18. Wedge-tailed Eagle – Telegraph Station 19. Spotted Harrier – Honeymoon Gap, Norris Bell and Tanami Rd 20. Swamp Harrier – Norris Bell 21. Black-shouldered Kite – Larapinta Dve near Desert Park and Norris Bell Wetlands 22. Brown Goshawk – Telegraph Station 23. Nankeen Kestrel – Norris Bell Wetlands 24. Australian Hobby – Colonel Rose Drive 25. Peregrine Falcon – Simpson’s Gap 26. Brown Falcon – Hatt Rd, Colonel Rose Drive, and Tanami Rd 27. Purple Swamphen – SP 28. Black-tailed Native-hen – SP 29. Eurasian Coot – SP 30. Little Button-quail – Flynn’s Grave and Telegraph Station 31. Wood Sandpiper (9) – SP 32. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper – SP 33. Black-winged Stilt – SP 34. Red-necked Avocet – SP 35. Red-capped Plover – SP 36. Black-fronted Dotterel – SP and Norris Bell 37. Red-kneed Dotterel – SP and Norris Bell 38. Masked Lapwing – SP 39. Crested Pigeon – Dixon Rd 40. Spinifex Pigeon – Botanic Gardens and Simpson’s Gap 41. Common Bronzewing – Kunoth Bore 42. Peaceful Dove – Cora Cres 43. Diamond Dove – everywhere 44. Spotted Turtle-dove – Dixon Rd 45. Red-tailed Black Cockatoo – Emily Gap 46. Little Corella – SP and Tip 47. Cockatiel – Tanami Rd and Hatt Rd 48. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo – Honeymoon Gap 49. Galah – Dixon Rd 50. Australian Ringneck – Dixon Rd 51. Mulga Parrot – Norris Bell Wetlands and Hatt Rd 52. Bourke’s Parrot (3) – Kunoth Bore 53. Budgerigar – everywhere 54. Pallid Cuckoo – Commonage Rd, Ilparpa Rd, Kunoth Bore, Flynn’s Grave, etc 55. Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo – Flynn’s Grave, Hatt Rd 56. Spotted Nightjar – Tanami Rd (after sunset at Kunoth) 57. Australian Owlet-nightjar – Tanami Rd 58. Red-backed Kingfisher – Colonel Rose Drive, Hatt Rd, Telegraph Station etc 59. Sacred Kingfisher – Cliffside Court 60. White-winged Fairy-wren – SP 61. Splendid Fairy-wren – Flynn’s Grave and the walk up Mt Gillen 62. Variegated Fairy-wren – SP 63. Dusky Grasswren – Up Mt Gillen and also at Simpson’s Gap 64. Red-browed Pardalote – Botanic Gardens, Simpson’s Gap and Heavitree Gap 65. Striated Pardalote – Ghan Road 66. Redthroat – Flynn’s Grave 67. Western Gerygone – Flynn’s Grave and Telegraph Station 68. Weebill – Telegraph Station 69. Yellow-rumped Thornbill – Telegraph Station, Kunoth, and Flynn’s Grave 70. Inland Thornbill – Flynn’s Grave, Simpson’s Gap, Telegraph Station 71. Slaty-backed Thornbill – scrub near Kunoth Bore 72. Southern Whiteface – Kunoth and Flynn’s Grave 73. Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater – Cliffside Ct 74. Yellow-throated Miner – Cliffside Ct 75. Singing Honeyeater – Telegraph Station, Flynn’s Grave, Simpson’s Gap 76. Grey-headed Honeyeater – Simpson’s Gap, Telegraph Station 77. White-plumed Honeyeater – Cliffside Ct 78. Brown Honeyeater – Hatt Rd and Flynn’s Grave 79. Mistletoebird – Flynn’s Grave, Telegraph Station 80. Crimson Chat – Hatt Rd, Tanami Rd, Colonel Rose Drive, Larapinta Drive, Ilparpa rd, Flynn’s Grave etc 81. Hooded Robin – Simpson’s Gap 82. Red-capped Robin – Flynn’s Grave, Telegraph Station etc 83. White-browed Babbler – Flynn’s Grave, Undoolya Rd 84. Grey-crowned Babbler – Botanic Gardens, Roe Creek, Hatt Rd, Telegraph Station 85. Crested Bellbird – Tanami Rd, walk up Mt Gillen 86. Rufous Whistler – Simpson’s Gap, Flynn’s Grave, Hatt Rd 87. Grey Shrike-thrush – Cliffside Ct 88. Willie Wagtail – Cliffside Ct 89. Magpie-lark – SP, Cliffside Ct 90. White-winged Triller – Botanic Gardens, Telegraph Station 91. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike – all around town 92. Masked Woodswallow – Tanami Rd, Kunoth, Ilparpa Rd 93. Black-faced Woodswallow – SP, Norris Bell, Hatt Rd, Tanami Rd, Colonel Rose Drive 94. Little Woodswallow – Simpson’s Gap, Kuyunba Reserve 95. Pied Butcherbird – Cliffside Ct every morning 96. Australian Magpie – Heavitree Gap and around town 97. Little Crow – Telegraph Station 98. Torresian Crow – Kunoth Bore 99. Western Bowerbird – Botanic Gardens and in my front yard every day 100. Australian Pipit – SP 101. Zebra Finch – everywhere 102. Painted Finch (Firetail) – Simpson’s Gap and walk up Mt Gillen 103. Tree Martin – SP, Tanami Rd, Hatt Rd 104. White-backed Swallow – SP 105. Fairy Martin – My house and in huge numbers at the sewage ponds 106. Australian Reed-warbler – SP 107. Spinifexbird – rocky spinifex slopes above Norris Bell Wetlands 108. Little Grassbird – showing well at the sewage ponds 109. Rufous Songlark – Simpson’s Gap, Ilparpa Rd, Norris Bell, Telegraph Station etc 110. Brown Songlark – Similarly common all about the place and calling prominently

So there it is – 110 with no night-birding apart from the post-sunset drive home from Kunoth and with a lot of obvious dips that I could have chased harder. Where a road became unsealed, I got out and walked and it was never more than 1500metres to get to what I saw.

My total for the twitchathon last year was a rather drab 101 and that was driving much further, birding harder, and with more pairs of eyes and ears. Birding up here at the moment is a joy and this list could easily get up over 120 for a bit more unsealed driving and a few regulars that were missing at the Sewage Ponds.

Grey Honeyeaters will always be elusive, but then, that is their charm – “praise, like diamonds, owes its value to its scarcity”. A lot of eremophilas are blooming at the moment so they should be about if you can spend the time. The Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens (while even more difficult to hear now because of the multitude of other birds) should be fairly readily tickable at the well-known site towards Santa Theresa.

I’m often around town and I’m happy to be contacted off-list if you want more details or even accompaniment to a specific destination.

For those of you headed up this way, feel free to get in touch and make sure you google the Alice Springs Field Nats – the site is quite informative and can put you in touch with good local birders. Also keep in mind if you are heading up in September that the 2nd Red Centre Twitchathon will be on and it would be great to have some interstate teams to play with this year as well as the locals.

As for the Princesses… maybe its best that they are safe out there just beyond our reach…. for now. They don’t call it an irruption for nothing – there is beautiful sand dune and Desert Oak country along many sections of The Mereenie Loop and they come quite close to the area in question.While you’re out there, Tnorala is a great spot for Chiming Wedgebill, Black Honeyeater, Pied Honeyeater and a whole swag of raptors.

Regards, Chris Watson Alice Springs ===============================

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