Two of us are planning a whirlwind 4-day trip to SW Qld in a fortnight’s time and wondered if anyone had reliable sites for Grey Grasswren? (…or any other SWQ specialities) There have been a number of reports on B-A in the last couple of years and I would love to get coords for us to plan a route. I have spent quite a bit of time in the Thargomindah, Cunnamulla, Charleville in the past but haven’t been out that way in the for a while….not since all the wet years started anyway.
Look forward to some great gen,
Tom
Hi Tom, I’ve just returned from a trip to west Qld. I spent some time looking for Grey Grasswren at 2 sites without any luck. On both occasions I was alone & I have poor high frequency hearing, so I was essentially relying on my sight to find the Grasswrens. Firstly at Cuttaburra Crossing on 11/7. Was pressed for time so only spent about 90 mins here searching around the rest stop area & on west side of main road. Best bird here was 50+ Flock Bronzewings. I then spent about 10 hours searching the Cooper Crossing (Adventure Way) area – GPS 27°30’4″S, 141°55’57″E. Arrived about midday on 14/7, searched until dark, & then again until midday on the next morning. The limited research I did suggested most people find the Grasswrens looking from the road, at the far western end of the crossing, so I spent all my time there. I mostly walked up & down the road between the bridge & Tennappera HS access road, with short walks into the lignum. Over the 2 days here I found 4 families of White-winged Fairy-wrens, 8-10 families of Variegated Fairy-wrens & a few Little Grassbirds, among a total 59 bird species, but never saw anything that I thought might be a Grasswren. i.e. I was lucky enough to identify pretty much every little brown bird sneaking thru the lignum, so I didn’t leave wondering ‘maybe I saw one’. Bird of interest here was a pair of Plum-headed Finches, on the edge of their range (getting close to SA!).
I noted a report of Grey Grasswren across the road from Noccundra Hotel, but I didn’t have time to try there.
BTW, I noted a good patch of lignum near Nockatunga, where the Adventure Way crosses the Wilson River, about 4km east of the Noccundra turnoff. Has anyone ever found Grey Grasswren here? Have many people tried here?
Cheers, Steve McBride Ballina