Rusty Grasswren

The thread (and advertisements) for Grasswren tours is timely, as Jun Matsui and I went down to Opalton over the weekend in quest of the proposed split Rusty Grasswren, one of 4 proposed out of what was- or is- Striated Grasswren. We found a pair in the spinifex just south of Opalton and will post photos to our website below, also got Chestnut-breasted Quailthrush, Hall’s Babbler and lots of Budgies, but it was very dry here and small birds were very sparse. Bladnesburg NP further N near Winton that afternoon May 4 was very nice, here we managed Cloncurry Ringneck ( when oh when will they split the ringnecks into 2_+ species?), Grey-headed honeyeater, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Spinifexbird and a great pair of Rufous-crowned Emuwren, plus Cockatiels, Budgies and an Emu, all making for a very good trip, about 1000km from us in Cairns and Kuranda. Coming back we saw 13 Australian Bustards between Winton and Km 40 from Hughenden, all feeding right by the road, and several hundred budgies flying over. A good pick up for us at Woodstock near Townsville were 2 of the white-rumped race of Black-throated Finch sat on a fence wire, a new taxon for both of us. This is of course greatly threatened by proposed coal mining ventures, which should neatly decimate the habitat- amusing to read how the company apologists are going to combat this by setting up equivalent habitats, as if such things can be magicked out of thin air….. Anyway, a very successful weekend. To digress slightly I even got a new local area bird on May 2 when a flock of 40+ Masked Woodswallows appeared over Cassowary House, with 5+ White-browed amongst them, the latter a new bird for me here and the former only our second sighting in the 18 years we have been here. Off to the Solomons next….. Phil Gregory ornithological writer/ bird guide/ tour organizer Field Guides / Sicklebill Safaris / Cassowary House / Cassowary Tours P.O. Box 387 Kuranda QLD, 4881 Australia Phone: +61 (0)7 4093 7318 Fax: +61 (0)7 4093 9855 Website 1: Http://www.sicklebillsafaris.com Website 2: Http://www.cassowary-house.com.au ornithological writer/ bird guide/ tour organizer Field Guides / Sicklebill Safaris / Cassowary House / Cassowary Tours P.O. Box 387 Kuranda QLD, 4881 Australia Phone: +61 (0)7 4093 7318 Fax: +61 (0)7 4093 9855 Email: oreornis@gmail.com Website 1: Http://www.sicklebillsafaris.com Website 2: Http://www.cassowary-house.com.au