RFI: Balliatt & Bakara CPs and Mutawinji NP

Hi All, I’m planning a trip to the mallee in South Australia and then up to Mutawinji National Park near Broken Hill. Our first stop is Loxton, and I’ve been looking for the closest places to Loxton that have a good chance of purple-gaped honeyeater. I’ve come up with Bakara Conservation Park east of Loxton and Balliatt Conservation Park south of Loxton, but we only have time to visit one place. I’ve read Philip Maher’s excellent run-down of the current state of Balliatt, but I can’t find any detailed reports from Bakara. Can anyone with experience advise as to which one would be better for purple-gaped honeyeater, and advise on specific locations within the parks? Also, since eBird unfortunately doesn’t do reptiles, does anyone know whether there are any spots in either park that hold a reasonable chance of seeing mallee tree dragon? Afterwards, we’re planning on heading up to Mutawinji NP provided the roads are in good condition. Here the main target bird is Hall’s Babbler, and I was wondering if anyone has specific advice on where to see them within the park. There is one report of them “behind of the Mutawinji Historic Site (near the ruin of the toilet block)” does anyone know where that is? Is it within the area where you need an Indigenous guide to enter? There is another report that cryptically says they were located “in Mulga woodland at approximate area where seen in the mid-1980’s” presumably referring to this report , however the precise location data for the latter report seems to have been lost, maybe in the transition from Eeremaea to eBird? Does anyone know if there are good spots for Hall’s Babblers within the accessible parts of the park? Thanks for your help! Daniel Hoops PhD Candidate, Keogh Lab Evolution, Ecology & Genetics Research School of Biology The Australian National University 116 Daley Road Acton, ACT, 2601 Australia +61 2 6125 4945