Hi all.
Allan Benson, Alan Morris, Rob Benson and I have have just had a very enjoyable but unsuccessful search for the Princess Parrots in the Kings Canyon and Uluru areas.
We travelled from Kings Canyon up the Mereenie Loop Road to around the north west extreme of the road. As has been stated, the country was alive with flowering plants, Black and Pied Honeyeaters, Little Button Quail, White-winged Trillers and Rufous Songlarks in profusion. We also encountered some Grey Honeyeaters, a new bird for most of us, near the transmission tower at the NW corner of the Mereenie Loop.
We found Bourkes Parrots and Spotted Harriers close to Kings Canyon and had brilliant close and extended views of a pair of Dusky Grasswrens near the beginning of the Kings Canyon walk inside the Canyon, as well as Spinifex Pigeon and Western Bowerbird in the car park.
Woodswallows, mostly Masked were seen in most places, Little Woodswallows seen at the Kings Canyon and the Olgas. Crested Bellbirds were everywhere. We only saw one group of Grey Crowned Babblers.
We had brilliant views of Black-breasted Buzzards on the road out of Kings Canyon as well as in a number of other places. A pair of Major Mitchells were a delight.
We then left the area and travelled to Uluru and further west on the Docker river Road. We travelled about 50Kms along this before deciding that the country was too dry and not improving and not nearly as good as that around the Mereenie Loop. We saw Grey-headed Honeyeaters at Ayers Rock and the Olgas.
We also checked the area around Curtin Springs and stopped many times in likely looking habitat.
The best area by far is that around the Mereenie Loop and were sorely tempted to head west from there on the track to the closest Princess Parrots.
We all hope that the Princess Parrots will breed up and become accessible rather than disappear back into the Gibson Desert.
Happy birding.
