Hi all,
Ian and I recently drove across the Anne Beadell Highway (Great Victoria Desert) from Coober Pedy to Laverton from 29th April to 6th of May. Over that time we saw 5 sightings of Scarlet-chested Parrot but no Princess Parrot were seen. We saw quite a few Mulgas and some Mallee Ringnecks and two lots of Major Mitchells, but there were many hours when we saw no parrots at all in certain parts of the desert.
Sighting one (SA) on 30/4 at 8:15am, was a female perched on a dead branch facing me about 75 metres from our first camp. This was in Tallaringa Conservation Area, SA. Lat/Long S 028° 57 58.28 E 133° 01 27.28. Sighting two (SA) on 1/5 at 8:00am at our camp, was of a male and female on the low dune crest/swale. I admit here I used playback but no other time. I took a few photos that are ok. Good views for a few minutes then they flew off and the female landed on a dead branch nearby. Lat/Long S 028° 33° 11.56 E 131° 53 1.29. Sighting three (SA) was in the Woomera Prohibited area on 1/5 before 9:30 sometime? This was 3 Km west of Annes Corner. Two males flew into a dead tree fairly close to track so we had good views for a few minutes. Sighting four (WA) on 5/5 at 11:50am and I couldnt believe this luck we were having. We stopped at the Anne Beadell monument erected last year for morning tea and low and behold, I was looking around in the trees as per usual and spotted a pair resting on a dead branch (the only exposed part of the otherwise densely foliated eucalypt). Facing the monument the two eucs are side by side to the left. I got a few photos but light was poor. Sighting five (WA) on 6/5 while on Yarmana Road heading to Laverton, I saw two fly over the road just in front of us past an old bore/dam with a windmill. We saw a number of parrots unidentified flying fast across the road (mainly in pairs) along the way in SA mostly, and although saw flashes of yellow, we couldnt be sure but suspected some would have been Scarlets. It was very quiet at Neale Junction/Yeo Lake and parrots in general were not as common as muck there, as the Perth boys found at Neale Junction in January! All in all I think I counted 50 species along the Anne Beadell.
Regards, Carla and Ian Jackett
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