Great Grasswren Air Safari update (ADVERTISEMENT I guess)

Hi all
We’re already halfway through our Great Grasswren Air Safari! Never before
has anyone attempted to search for all of Australia’s Grasswren species in
one tour by private airplane. Here’s a brief update:

Day 6: A pre-dawn departure from Birdsville for the 1-hr flight to Lark
Quarry near Winton, central Qld. Main target: Rusty Grasswren, which we had
short views of after a ½ hr search. We were then distracted by a pair of
Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens which showed beautifully! After lunch we obtained
much better views of Rusty Grasswren as it showed off singing while camera
shutters were going off. Flocks of Cockatiels and Budgies were flying
overhead. A very obliging Spinifexbird topped off the day – or so we
thought. Driving back to the plane we checked out some babblers’ nests
which yielded 2 Hall’s Babblers! To top off the day we flushed a
Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush which eventually gave good views. One of the
best days of the tour so far!

Day 5: We were up at first light trawling through sand-dunes covered in
wildflowers along the Birdsville track. A pair of Eyrean Grasswrens proved
very obliging, one bird coming in as close as 5 m to the delighted
observers! In the surrounding bushes were Pied and Black Honeyeaters while
the saltbush-flats had singing Chirruping Wedgebills, Diamond Doves and a
Cinnamon Quail-thrush. Flocks of Budgies and Cockatiels whizzed past. We
then drove up the Birdsville track to a magical swamp full of birds – but
our main target, Grey Grasswren, only showed after a 3-hour trudge through
mud and water! On the way to Birdsville we were treated to excellent views
of Gibberbird and a few Flock Bronzewings.

Day 4: The morning was spent in the bluebush plains near Lyndhurst where it
didn’t take long to track down a pair of Thick-billed Grasswrens. A
Cinnamon Quail-thrush and a pair of Rufous Fieldwrens provided a nice
bonus. We then flew to Mungerannie, on the Birdsville track, and searched
the sand –dunes for Eyrean Grasswren of which we eventually found one,
followed by a pair of Banded Whiteface. The already great day was topped
off by a sighting of 2 Grey Falcons on a roost at the end of the
day–celebrated with beers in the field at sunset!

Day 3: A frosty morning in the Flinders Ranges soon gave way to a
beautiful, calm and sunny day. We started off with Southern Scrubrobin,
Inland Thornbill and Black-eared Cuckoo but the highlight was no doubt
provided by no less than 2 pairs of Short-tailed Grasswrens who gave
multiple, prolonged and photographic views. The scenic Brachina Gorge
yielded Elegant Parrot, nesting Little Eagles and a Tawny Frogmouth. We
observed a prolific bed of Ediacara fossils (the first multi-cellular
life-forms, 600MYO) and finished the day with a Black Honeyeater feeding on
flowering Eremophila bushes.

Day 2: Cool and cloudy conditions didn’t stop Western Grasswrens from
providing a great show in the Bluebush plains surrounding Whyalla this
morning. We found at least 2 pairs along with Slender-billed Thornbills,
Crested Bellbird, Mulga Parrot and a trifecta of Cuckoos: Black-eared,
Horsfield’s Bronze and Pallid. We then flew to Hawker where birding the
local area yielded good views of Redthroat, Inland Thornbill, Grey-fronted
Honeyeater and Australian Ringnecks.

Day 1: Today we flew early from a shivery Melbourne to Mildura, Vic.
Success! Striated Grasswren was located after 10 minutes, but it took
another 3 hours to get prolonged, photographic views. We then hit the skies
again to head to Whyalla, SA, in preparation for our search for Western
Grasswren tomorrow.

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