Emus and Bustards in The Centre

More big rains out here in the “arid” zone.

Yulara recorded just over 70mm in 24hours and there were heavy falls north, west and east of Alice. The Stuart hwy was closed for some hours as the floodway north of the Palmer River was up around a metre, and the Lasseter hwy was closed for several hours due to extensive flooding around Mt Ebenezer. Access to King’s Canyon was cut off and may still be closed for a while.

If you’re heading up this way, be sure to check the road conditions at http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/roadreport/ as some roads may be closed for extended periods this time around.

Despite this, as I made my way through the receding floodwaters there was the opportunity to spot a couple of unusual birds.

4 young Emu about 4kms west of the Curtin Springs roadhouse. Don’t often see Emus out here, so it’s good to see that they have been breeding.

3 adult Australian Bustards were frollicking in the floodwaters beside the road 7kms east of the Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse. This is the large floodplain area that usually causes road closures when it rains.

Cheers,

Chris Watson Alice Springs ===============================

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