Hi Birders, Please don’t be put off summer birding out here in the Red Centre by worries about a lack of birds. Us desert locals get some of our best birding when no-one else is here: summer is the growing season for our plants and peak season for our reptiles and invertebrates (ie bird food!), so the birds really are at their best at this time of year. Yes its hot during the day but you just have to do what the birds do and adapt your patterns to suit- temperate climate style ‘office hours’ birding is not an option! For best results plan to bird in two sessions between pre-dawn and 11am then 4 till nightfall. This leaves plenty of time in the day for the long drives sometimes needed to cover ground, or even for non-birding activities! Heat is easy to deal with in a normal dry year when its not humid: just plan to be out of the sun during the warmest parts of the day (ie.11am-4pm), wear loose, natural-fibre long sleeved shirts (you could do worse than a good ol King-G) and plan to drink lots of water (I aim for a litre an hour when the temps go over 28 degrees). The shorter sessions do mean that you have to be pretty sharp about your site selection- thats where local knowledge comes in handy…
Mark Carter- Birding Guide and Wildlife Surveyor 0447358045 www.desertlife.com.au ===============================
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Hi all I led a 5-day Grasswren tour in November 2009 visiting Gluepot, the Flinders Ranges, and the Birdsville track. The first day at Gluepot the official weather station there recorded 43.9C. We chased and found Striated Grasswrens at 3pm that day. The second day I remember arriving at Lyndhurst when it was 45C. An Inland Dotterel was walking around in the carpark of the pub. The third day on the Birdsville track, temperatures at Birdsville exceeded 45C. We saw Gibberbird, Grey and Eyrean Grasswren, Letter-winged Kite, Yellow Chat, and 8000 Flock Bronzewings. The fourth day was a bit cooler in the high 30s and rain developed. At the end of that day Leigh Creek had received 50mm and we were stranded because the road was under a raging torrent of a meter deep water. The fifth day we got out and returned to Adelaide. Trip report available on my website! cheers Peter
Mark
Agree re the birding early morn and late afternoon but I reckon that during the height of summer, and after seeing a few new birds, rehydrating with a cold beer in the cool of a country pub can’t be beaten.
Greg Little
The best way to judge your hydration level, is not the frequency of urination, but the colour. The darker the urine, the more you are dehydrated and the more imperative to rehydrate.
There is a urine colour chart at http://www.urinecolors.com/dehydration.php
This chart is similar to that used by emergency services, such as fire services and SES.
Electrolyte replacement is also important. One or two drinks of elec. replacement drinks such as Staminade are useful, though too much can be as harmful, as it can overload the kidneys. Going easy on drinks containing caffeine is a good idea as well, as they increase urination.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
If you’re not peeing regularly, drink more water till you do.
Peter Shute
Hi Peter et al., Yes, I should have mentioned that about sand country and gibber- it heats up faster than other habitats and reaches higher overall temps. Desert rivers, gorges and to an extent Mulga woodland tend to be comparatively cooler and facilitate birding up to the 11am cut-off. A good bit of fieldcraft in summer is thinking-through where the birds will be on warm mornings: no point looking for Eyrean Grasswrens on the sunward side of a dune! Of course weather can always go the other way too- you occasionally get those freak overcast days where the temps don’t get over 30 all day- they are solid gold. Basic rule of thumb is when its too hot for you, its usually to hot for the birds too! To make the water drinking easier I strongly recomend a water bladder with a hose such as ‘camelback’ or ‘source’ which either come in their own backpack or you can fit inside your usual bag or scope tripod pack. These allow you to carry up to 3 litres easily and allow you to sip it gradually as you go- your body cannot absorb more than (roughly) 250ml every 15 mins so if you drink your litre for the hour all at once at the end of the 60 mins not only will you feel queer, you will pee out 3/4 of it and still be dehydrated anyway! Camelback do military-grade insulated 3litre bladders under the ‘maximum gear’ label- a bit expensive but worth every penny.
Mark Carter 0447358045 http://www.desertlife.com.au ===============================
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I’ll be interested to hear how many people have been birding there at that time of year. I was there in late November 1995, sightseeing, not birding. Not sure if the conditions in early summer are similar to late summer.
We did what Mark describes, walking in the mornings and evenings, travelling during the day. We found we had to get out of the sun by about 10am, as it was already in the 40s by then.
Most days were in the low 40s, nights were around 25 minimum. Humidity was around 13%, which helped, but meant drinking huge amounts of water. I found it hard to get used to that, and if you’re there for less than a week I think you’d have to be very careful not to forget to do it. If you’re not peeing regularly, drink more water till you do.
Car air conditioning is essential, and a white car is preferable. Our hire car was dark grey, we had to take it back and swap it because the esky was melting the ice faster than we could replace it.
Didn’t notice the birds much back then, but there were what I assume were Spinifex Pigeons running around wherever we went.
Peter Shute