Flinders Ranges Spring 2010 Trip Report

Hi all,

I’ve just returned from a family trip to the Flinders Ranges, see below a report of the trip. For the report with photos see my web site at http://tim-dolby.blogspot.com/. (Big thanks to Jon Thornton and Geoff Jones for the use of a couple of excellent photos.)

IN SPRING 2010 with family and friends I visited the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. Just prior to this trip I’d just been the Alice Springs in the Northern Territory (see my report Alice 2010) and I was intrigued to see how the Flinders Ranges compared with the MacDonnell Ranges, especially considering all the rain that the arid lands of central Australia had been having. I wasn’t let down. This trip also contrasted sharply with a previous trip to the area, mainly because the Flinders Ranges were totally green! And purple. Due to large areas of the invasive Salvation Jane (Echium plantagineum). Salvation Jane is a name particularly used in South Australia, while Victoria we tend to call this plant Patterson’s Curse, and in its native Europe it’s known as Purple Viper’s Bugloss!

The Flinders Ranges are located 450 km north of Adelaide, and have a wide range of habitats including dry woodlands, mallee, and rivers and creeks lined with River Red Gums. We had driven in from Melbourne stopping at Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and then Broken Hill on the way up; and on the way back the Clare Valley and northern Wyperfeld National Park.

Like the MacDonnell’s the Flinders were similarly stunning, particularly in terms of the greenness of the place, and the wildflowers. The native pine forests before Wilpena Pound were carpeted in green grass, looking more like a pine forest in Germany, and the Triodia grasslands were all flowering. I found flowering Sturt’s Desert Pea at Wilkawillina Gorge. It’s an amazing experience to stumble across this plant in the wild in an unexpected situation. Spring had bought a carnival of colour to the ranges, with many flowering plants and birds celebrating another breeding season. Although I’d visited the area a few times before I thought I’d chase down some of the Parks specialist species such a Short-tailed Grasswren, Elegant Parrot, Redthroat and Chirruping Wedgebill to name a few.

While in the Flinders (once again) I stayed at Willow Springs Station, 21km north east of Wilpena Pound. A great camping site, all the campgrounds here are without exception excellent. I remember Graeme Chapman once writing that it was the ‘preferred’ campsite in the Flinders – which sums it up. We stayed in the campground at the end of a line of five campgrounds, space about 300 metres apart. There’s also a campground situated at the base of the Stokes Hill appropriately called the Grasswren Campground (can it get any better than that!). Willow Springs is an excellent place to base oneself to see Short-tailed Grasswren. (For further information see www.skytrekwillowsprings.com.au)

The bare spinifex covered slopes at the Stokes Hill Lookout is one of the most reliable places to look for Short-tailed Grasswren – sometimes (locally) known as ‘Flinders Ranges Grasswren’. Once considered a sub-species of the Striated Grasswren, it has evolved sufficiently to be considered a separate species, differing by having a shorter tail and the black moustache is broken by white-streaking. The turn-off to the lookout is 13 km north of Wilpena and then another 2 km to the lookout. Short-tailed Grasswren is found over most of Stokes Hill, although they are reliably seen west of the ridge-line northwest of the car park. From the top of the lookout I headed south-east to a fence line 200 m from the top and the walk down and followed the fence east for about 500 m. On the north side there is a small valley sloping down (you can see the top of the hill on your left side). Search amongst the spinifex and Xanthorrhoea grasstrees in the gullies 50 m to 200 m from the fence I found a pair within 30 min or so.

This year Short-tailed Grasswren seem to having a great year, being present in far more numbers that previous years. For example, on the way back to lookout I found a pair of Short-tailed Grasswren in the small gully just 20 metres north of the lookout. I returned to this gully the next day to show my family the Grasswren and found them within a minute of arriving at the lookout. I can’t remember a time when I could show off Grasswren with so little effort.

I also got onto Short-tailed Grasswren nearby on the Appealina Ruins Track, which is north of the turnoff to Willow Springs / 5.5 km north of the Stokes Hill turn-off. They were in the flatland immediately beside the road about a kilometre from the turn-off. They were extremely forthcoming and at one point a family of Grasswren even crossed the road. This is the area immediately in front of the ‘Bounceback: Bush Bird Barometre’ sign. Along the creek near the ruins I also saw Redthroat, and at both Stokes Hill and the Ruins, several flocks of Elegant Parrot flew through.

At Willow Springs there were a couple of birds of interest. One was Crimson Rosella, here there was an interesting subspecies known as subadelaidae, a yellowy-orange mix between the yellow race flaveolus and Adelaide race Adelaidae. The Australian Ringneck in the Flinders is also fascinating, being in the hybrid zone between Port Lincoln race zonarius and Mallee race barnardi, having features of both, being slightly dull, but having as black head.

Also around the campsite and up and down the creekline was (in no particular order) Southern Whiteface, Variegated Fairy-wren, Rufous Whistler, Collared Sparrowhawk and Brown Goshawk, and at night Southern Boobook and Australian Owlet-nightjar, Inland and Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Weebill, Southern Whiteface, Little Corella, Striated Pardalote, Red-capped Robin, Tree Martin and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater. Red Kangaroo, Western Grey Kangaroo and Euro (a short-stocky kangaroo) were also found around Willow Springs and Stokes Hill. Euro preferring upper-slopes, Red Kangaroo the open plains, and Western Grey Kangaroo lightly wooded areas. At the start of the drive into Stokes Hill and Willow Springs you’d usually see Brown Songlark and Emu were common.

3 km north of Willow Springs is the turn-off to Wilkawillina Gorge – along Wirrealpa Rd and then Wilkawillina Gorge Rd. Wilkawillina Gorge is a Red-gum lined creek-bed and gorge, surrounded by ridges and hills covered in Callitris pines. Along the river before the gorge there were large pools of water after the rain. The birds here were excellent, reminiscent of the gorges of central Australia, and a number of similar species. Birds around a large waterhole between the carpark and the beginning of the gorge included Red-backed Kingfisher, Elegant Parrot, Rainbow Bee-eater, Peaceful and less commonly Diamond Dove, Little Corella, Rufous Songlark and Striated Pardalote. Little Woodswallow was common, at the beginning of the gorge, along with Tree Martin hawking at the top of the cliff faces. Little Woodswallow is uncommon this far south, being the southern extreme of its range. It was really nice to link up with this bird – it was a feature of the gorges of the MacDonnell Ranges. White-winged Fairy-wren was seen in the moonscape area just north west of the creek-line just before enter the gorge.

There’s an easy 10.8 km walk along the gorge, called the Mt Billy Creek Trailhead. Bird seen along here included a few Grey-fronted Honeyeater and Redthroat; as well a single Yellow-footed Rock-Wallaby, some Red Kangaroo and Euro were common. Other birds seen include Wedge-tailed Eagle, Australian Raven, White-browed Babbler, Grey Shrike-thrush (there wonderful call reverberating up and down the gorge), Yellow-throated Miner, Spiny-cheeked and White-plumed Honeyeater. Also Along the gorge, on a small ridge line I came across flowering Sturt Desert-Pea – as mentioned it was great to stumble across this plant in the wild.

In the area between 8 km and 12 km from the turnoff to Wilkawillina Gorge there’s a nice section of mallee with some patches of Eremophila, with a particularly good area for birding between the two crossings of Mt Billy Creek. Birds seen here include Mallee Ringneck, Mulga Parrot, Grey-fronted, Yellow-plumed, White-plumed, Variegated Fairy-wren, Crimson Chat, Weebill, Masked and White-browed Woodswallow, Grey Butcherbird and Red-capped Robin. I also found Chirruping Wedgebill 5 km down the 7 km Wilkawillina Gorge Track, in areas of scattered bluebush, wattle and saltbush, as well as Southern Whiteface, White-winged Fairy-wren and some Crimson Chat.

Wilpena Pound is dominated by areas of native pine, mallee woodland, heathland and River Red Gums along creeks. Surprisingly one of the best areas for birds is near the information centre, where there were Apostlebird, Yellow-throated Miner, Striated Pardalote, Australian Ringneck, Crimson Rosella (race subadelaidae) and Red-rumped Parrot. The Mount Ohlssen Bagge and Drought Busters walks were particularly rewarding, with unexpected finds being Shy Heathwren and White-fronted and Tawny-crowned Honeyeater (the northern South Australian limit for this species), seen when taking a wrong turn in the track, and heading into some scrub on the wide of the gorge. Also along here were Inland, Chestnut-rumped and Yellow Thornbill, Red-capped Robin, Singing, White-plumed, Brown-headed, Spiny-cheeked, Yellow-throated Miner and Red Wattlebird White-winged Triller, Brown Treecreeper, Spotted and Striated Pardalote, White-browed Babbler, and Grey Butcherbird.

Brachina Gorge was washed out when we were there, however a brief stop at the eastern end produced Elegant Parrot, Redthroat and Variegated Fairy-wren, White-browed Babbler, Southern Whiteface, and honeyeaters such as Spiny-cheeked and White-plumed. Parachilna Gorge, 10 km east of Parachilna, produced Redthroat, Variegated Fairy-wren, White-browed Babbler, Spiny-cheeked and Singing Honeyeater, Zebra Finch, Peregrine Falcon and Black-fronted Dotterel, Dusky Woodswallow, Rainbow Bee-eater, and in the flat areas on Wilpena Road just 2 km east of Parachilna and Blinman there was Chirruping Wedgebill.

The trip back to Melbourne was via the Clare Valley, known for its Riesling. It was also where I watch the 2010 Grand Final draw – disappointing, but only for a week, when the mighty Pies stormed home. Of real interest in Clare was the number of parrots – if anyone had wondered where they’d gone in Victoria it’s here, in South Australia. Some of the parrot seen included Purple-crowned, Musk and Little Lorikeet, Red-rumped Parrot, Australian Ringneck, and the Adelaide subspecies of the Crimson Rosella (race fleurieuensis). Interestingly this was the fourth significant subspecies of the Crimson Rosella I’d seen for the trip – which include ‘Adelaide’ (two races – fleurieuensis and subadelaidae), ‘Yellow’ (race flaveolus), and of course Crimson Rosella (nominate race elegans).

The next stop on the way home was northern Wyperfeld, where again parrots were on the birding agenda, with all the wonderful mallee parrot seen around the Casuarina Campground – 9 in total: Galah, Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo, Little Corella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Mallee Ringneck, Mulga Parrot, Red-rumped Parrot, Blue Bonnet and Regent Parrot.

In the last month I’d done trips to two of the great mountain ranges in Australia, the Flinders and the MacDonnell’s. Both were green, with the rivers full of water. There was also an abundance of native grasses and wild flowers, such as the wonderful Sturt’ Desert Pea in the Flinders and the Upside Down Plant in the Red Centre. As a result there was lots of wonderful birds linked to this type of habitat, such as Grasswren and ground feeding parrots.

>From a natural history viewpoint, if you have the time and the inclination you need to get inland as soon as possible.

Cheers,

Tim Dolby

http://tim-dolby.blogspot.com

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