Hi Fellow Birders, I’m thinking of heading up Hattah way this weekend and I’m hoping I might get lucky with seeing a Striated Grasswren. Has anyone seen them at Hattah recently? Everyone I speak to about them says they are very difficult to see. I’m wondering if it is impossible to see them without playback? I was out on a day trip with Tim Bawden last year and we saw a Chestnut-rumped Heathwren and I would say that it’s virtually impossible to see one without playback and excellent birding skills combined. So with this in mind I don’t want to waste my time if the Striated Grasswren is one such bird as I don’t have either an an iPhone or recored birdcalls currently.
I’m also going to have a go at the Rufous Fieldwren and I’m wondering if they are usually seen alone or do do they group like fairy-wrens? At his time of the year will they come up to the top of the saltbush or do they usually only do that in the Spring?
Happy Birding, Patrick Scully ===============================
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Yes, I think it should be a good year for Striated Grasswren – they’ll certainly be along the Nowingi Track. FYI here’s a few spots I’ve found Striated Grasswren at/or near Hattah.
– Nowingi Track. A good particular good spot for the grasswren is just east of where the track turns north-west, in Google maps see -34.69138,142.274297, or at the base of a small rise on the west of the track, -34.692333,142.271553. – Pink Lakes. Along the Pioneer Dr just west of where it intersects with the Salt Bush Flat Track, -35.035232,141.740234.
In reality in the Murray-Sunset they’ll occur in any decent area of mallee with a spinifex understory, specifically those areas that have a post fire age of between, let’s say, 20 to 50+ years.
From my experience, there are two good techniques to seeing Striated Grasswren (and grasswren generally). Either walk very slowly and listen very carefully for their weak call or, alternatively, walk reasonably quickly, covering more territory, stopping whenever you think you hear something. Then listen carefully and move slowly. The latter is a particularly good technique for grasswren, as they tend to move away when approaching. In most cases I’ve seen Striated Grasswren they’ve been in areas that have large tussocks of Triodia combined with a patch or two of low growing Mallee eucalypts – especially where there’s plenty of scattered bark around the base of the trees. In effect the eucalypts act as a small island in sea of spinifex. (Interestingly I found that Striated and Carpentarian Grasswren have an almost identical habitat preference.)
To see Rufous Fieldwren, they’re in the bluebush area immediately adjacent to Lake Tyrrell, -35.443846,142.828262, usually in pairs at this site.
In terms of call playback, with grasswren (and with most birds) I reckon the challenge is actually to see them without using playback. There nothing more frustrating than being around someone who’s continually using playback when trying to find new species. As a rule playback’s best used when doing formal bird surveys, otherwise it should be used in absolute moderation i.e. I sometimes use it to quickly confirm a bird species that I think I’ve heard.
Cheers,
Tim Dolby
Hi Patrick I’ve found Striated Grasswren easily at Hattah (along the Nowingi track) as recently as early January this year. They were quite active and pishing/squeeking was sufficient to get good views. And yes Rufous Fieldwrens usually occur alone or in pairs. cheers Peter *
Hi Patrick, I hope u are well…
As u well know, I’m not a great fan of observers using playback when just looking for birds – there are times when playback, in my opinion, should be used (like in some well-meaning research, for instance…). But using it just solely for finding birds to make it easier & for saving time, just to tick them off, I feel it is rather unsporting & quite frankly, rather lazy – surely, we are not so time poor that we can’t use our time to actually find the birds we are seeking without “cheating” by using playback… I know that this can be a rather contentious issue, so I’m not wanting to invite a great slinging match here over this topic (again!!) – I’m just stating this as my opinion & in this case, knowing you Patrick, this is very relevant… It is better to learn how to find the birds without using playback first… I must say I am quite proud that I’ve found all the birds I’ve seen in this vast country without any use of playback whatsoever, but I guess, each to their own…
Now having said all of that, please do try for Striated Gwren along the Nowingi Track at Hattah – I’ve usually got them at the northern end of it, but if you just walk quietly or drive very slowly (as I normally do) along this track, u should come across some – also if needed, the country to the west of Hattah township can be good for them. There are other sites further afield like Pink Lakes etc which are good also, but u won’t have time…
For Rufous Fieldwren, hit the country west of Hattah township & as soon as u see a few salt pans, try there & search the saltbush areas for them. Another good spot is to the sth-east of Hattah just sth of Manangatang at the very northern end of Lake Walpool (where Lake Walpool Rd actually crosses the lake) – hit the saltbush flats there… If u miss there then try Lake Tyrell nearby, u should get Redthroat easily there too…
Good luck & don’t worry about calling the birds in with anything other than your own mouth!!!
Cheers,
Martin Cachard Cairns
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