Yellow-throated Miner lunching at Glen Helen Gorge

Some of the best places to see birds around Alice Springs in a dry year are in the watered areas of tourist attractions such as the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens, Telegraph Station and The Alice Springs Dessert Park , there were plenty of birds around the town too.
We stayed in accommodation on Strehlow Street, one of the first birds we saw when we arrived was a large family of Grey-crowned Babblers living across the road. From here we went for a walk along the Todd River toward the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens, on the way we saw Red-browed and Striated Pardalote and Port Lincoln Parrots amongst others. There were plenty of birds at Olive Pink especially in the area near to the Visitor Centre and the waterhole. We found the Western Bowerbird with bower in the Blakeman Garden and another Bowerbird was keeping watch over the tables in the cafe. There were many other bush birds and honeyeaters around the garden, including Red-capped Robin, Splendid Fairywren, Inland Thornbill, Grey-headed and Brown Honeyeater, Zebra Finch, and Weebill.
We visited the Telegraph Station at the end of our trip where we finally caught up with a Slaty-backed Thornbill on the Bradshaw Walk. Interesting birds seen along the Riverside Walk and in the picnic grounds were Crested Bellbird, Red-capped Robin, Inland Thornbill, Grey-crowned Babbler, Red-browed and Striated Pardalote, Western Bowerbird and Weebill. There were also lots of the more common birds in the picnic area such as Galah, Pied Butcherbirds, Australian Ringnecks and Crested Pigeon. This place was well worth the visit on our last morning.
Ormiston Gorge
We only had a short amount of time to visit some of the places in the West Macdonnell Ranges . We chose to spend the night at Redbank Gorge, the camp ground here is set in a lovely Mulga woodland which I think is one of the nicest camps in the West MacDonnell's, around the campground in the evening we saw Mulga Parrot, Collared Sparrowhawk, Crested Bellbird, Red-capped and Hooded Robins, Australian Ringnecks and Weebill. The next morning we took the walk to Redbank Gorge and managed to see a Dusky Grasswren in the rocky spinifex along the way, on this walk we also saw Variegated Fairywren, Inland Thornbill, Red-Browed Pardalote and Grey-headed Honeyeater (one of the most common honeyeaters in Central Australia).
Other sightings worth mentioning in the area were Spinifex Pigeon, Peaceful Dove and Western Bowerbird at Ormiston Gorge (we didn't have much time to spend here), Diamond Dove, Peaceful Dove, Zebra Finch and Mistletoe Bird at Glen Helen Gorge.
Dolomite Walk, Ellery Creek Bighole

Telegraph Stations Trip List

Olive Pink Trip List