Hello all, With the recent release of the new 2011 Australian Birdlist, which includes several updates from the 2008 list, I found myself needing another grasswren. The newly split Thick-billed GrasswrenAmytornismodestus( Gawler Ranges SA etc).
I’d only previously seenA textilis, which is now called Western Grasswren from Shark Bay, Monkey Mia etc.
Having a couple days spare after seeing the Hoopoe in Broome I decided to head down to Mt Ive Station in the Gawler Ranges. Mt Ive is about seven hours drive from Adelaide Airport and with dry roads can be reached with a 2WD or SUV quite easily.
Birdlife in general wasn’t all that abundant, with most of the species seen at the station visible on the drive in. Despite the general lack of birds, the Grasswren were plentiful. I stayed in the stone cottage and had seen modestuswithin minutes of arriving and within 100m of my accommodation. I walked down the side of the main dam, adjacent to the runway. At the back of the dam wall there was a depression, which although dry, obviously often holds water. A quick squeak and out popped three grasswren.
The other species on the property and also close to the accommodation is the A.m.pedleri sub species of Short-tailed Grasswren. To see this I parked at the base of Mt-Ive and walked straight up the hill to the aerial. I saw two birds on the way up and a further three on the top. Again, very easy to see.
This ssp is very different in appearance to the Flinder’s Ranges race.
Note: The new 2011 Australian Birdlist download Excel version is on Tony Palliser’s Birder’s Total webpage.
Cheers Richard Baxter ===============================
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Yes, Jeff and Martin you’re absolutely correct. I did have my ssp mixed up. The new Thick-billed is the one many people see at the whiteface site at Lyndhurst and surrounds. My visit to Mt Ive was two fold as I’d only ever had very poor, barely tickable views of Short-tailed in the Flinders and wanted to see them again.
Although Western/Thick-billed are flat/low country birds, I have heard that the Whyallah birds are found on the hill tops in the Conservation Park near town. I’ve never been there but this is something I’ve often wondered about. Perhaps someone who has been to Whyallah CP can comment on this.
Next stop: whitei androwleyi.
I now think albatross taxonomy is easier than grasswren taxonomy!
Cheers Richard
________________________________ Sent: Tuesday, 22 November 2011 11:50 AM
I think I should have explained more clearly, the important thing to realize is that the Western and Thick-billed are not actually on the ranges but on the flat country. I was just continuing on from Richards original post by saying he should have gone to the Flinders not the Gawlers, neither species are actually on the hills although they can be very close by. When I said Flinders I actually meant adjacent places like Lyndhurst which sits at the top of that range. Short-tailed GW however is actually on the slopes of both ranges and nowhere else.
Cheers Jeff.
I think I should have explained more clearly, the important thing to realize is that the Western and Thick-billed are not actually on the ranges but on the flat country. I was just continuing on from Richards original post by saying he should have gone to the Flinders not the Gawlers, neither species are actually on the hills although they can be very close by. When I said Flinders I actually meant adjacent places like Lyndhurst which sits at the top of that range. Short-tailed GW however is actually on the slopes of both ranges and nowhere else.
Cheers Jeff.
Hi Steve, The bird at Whyallah is race myall of Western, same race Richard saw in the Gawlers. Form modestus (ie the new species split) is widespread in the Eyrean zone, which Jeff explains. I have seen lots of them north from Lake Torrens in the Mt Lyndhurst area & right along the Oodnadatta Track, especially near William Creek. Cheers Martin CachardCairns
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G’day all
What is the species/subspecies of Grasswren in Whyallah Conservation Park, SA please? I saw what I called Thick-billed there in 1999. What would the current taxonomic position be for these?
Cheers Steve Clark Hamilton ===============================
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G’day Jeff & Richard Jeff, you just beat me to correcting Richard’s slip-up. Another great spot for modestus is the Mt Lyndhurst area – maybe Richard you have seen them there (& maybe since forgotten about it) when you’ve been searching for the CB Whitefaces – there’s quite a few of them out there… Cheers Martin CachardCairns0428 782 808
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Hi Richard,
What are the top 5 birder totals for Australia now?
Regards,
Graham Buchan
PEREGRYNE CONSULTING Reducing real risk
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How does one define an “official” list? I guess if most birders accept it (and Tony Palliser’s site is leading the way) it will happen. Since there is unlikely to be an update to C&B 2008 it makes sense that Aus adopts an internationally accepted list and IOC seems as good as any. I assume that BirdLife Australia will have to take a position at some stage!
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I have some bad news for you Richard, you still haven’t seen the second half of the split Thick-billed Grasswren. The birds in the Gawlers are ssp myall of the Western Grasswren textilis which you have already seen, you should have gone to the Flinders not the Gawlers, it’s an Eyrean basin division of the two species. Short-tailed on the other hand straddles the basin with a ssp on either side.
Cheers Jeff.
On the Owl topic – i should have checked the link on Tony’s page before i asked the question of course
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-owls.html
Footnote about the Ninox owls simply says “Restore traditional name”. A small thing, but i can’t tell you how happy that makes me! Couldn’t stand saying Powerful Boobook!. I assume this change was made due to outcry from somewhere? Who cries and who listens in these debates?
Cheers David Stowe
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Hi Richard, Tony et al.
Good stuff, congrats on your new graswren! Just a quick note on the “update”: The list on Tony’s website you are referring to is based on IOC, whereas the 2008 list is based on Christidis & Boles (2008). Is the 2011 IOC-based list now the “official” Australia list?
Cheers,
Nikolas
Great report thanks Richard – sounds like a great place to visit! Love to add a couple more Grasswrens to my poor list!
On the topic of checklists – does this mean that birders have fully accepted the IOC list as the new C&B? Love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this in order to keep up with the times so to speak
Also doesn’t the IOC list name Powerful Owl etc as Powerful Boobook? I notice on Tony’s list that he still has “Owl”.
Cheers David Stowe
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