Sound Recordings
Mallee and Flinders Ranges Trip Report 2011 - Part 2
22 October to 24 October see Victoria - Mallee
24 October
Today we were tempted into a flyby visit to Gluepot where we intended to camp the night. The weather was hot and humid when we arrived and rain threatened. Chestnut Quail-thrush was flushed from the side of the road a couple of times as we drove in. After having a look at the Visitors Centre and setting up camp in the Sitella Campground we headed to the Lunette walk in an attempt to see a Scarlet-cheated Parrot. As soon as we arrived it started to drizzle with rain and this continued for the entire time it took us to complete the walk, possibly due to the rain few birds were seen, I thought I caught a glimpse of a SC Parrot fleeing into the woodland at high speed but could not be sure. A good sighting of a Striated Grasswren sitting on top of some Triodia was a nice consolation bird and we also enjoyed seeing a number of flocks of budgies.
By this time it was around 6pm, the rain had really set in and the call of a nice dry motel bed was too much for us. So we fled to Morgan where we found a room at a nice new clean motel. It was too late for dinner at the pub though, so we satisfied our hunger with some very average takeaway food.
25 October
Today was spent driving to the Flinders Ranges taking the road north through Peterborough and Hawker. On the road just north of Cradock we stopped to watch a couple of magnificent Spotted Harriers wheeling overhead. We stopped at the Cradock Hotel for lunch but unfortunately the owner had to see a doctor in Port Augusta about a heart condition and wasn’t opening the kitchen, so we ear marked this interesting looking hotel for a visit on a future trip. This left us looking for somewhere to stop to make sandwiches. We decided to take a small side road and found our selves at a small picturesque cemetery, which seemed as good a place as any to stop. 
After lunch we heard fairywren calling from the blue bush which surrounded the cemetery and after a little while saw our first White-winged Fairywrens for the trip, the male in brilliant blue plumage.
We arrived at the Flinders Ranges NP in the late afternoon and set up camp at Trezona campground. Although the campsite was pleasantly situated alongside a tree lined gorge with distant views of Wilpena Pound I was a little disappointed with the selection of birds on offer, being Tree Martins and White-plumed Honeyeaters. A walk over the hill at the back of the campground into some native pines revealed Diamond and Peaceful Doves which cheered me up a little. Later in the evening other birds revealed themselves and we saw Sacred and Red-backed Kingfishers, Rainbow Bee-eater, Variegated Fairywren and Little Eagle. The following morning we heard Elegant Parrot zipping up and down the gorge and finally got a glimpse of one perched in a River Red Gum before it took off again.
26 October
The next day we travelled up to the Vulkathunha – Gammon Ranges NP. This park is much rockier, drier and more rugged than the relatively lush Flinders Ranges NP. We had booked the recently restored Nudlamutuna Hut for two nights, a small stone cottage originally built in 1954 as an outstation for the Balcanoona Station. It has been restored, complete with a kitchen, bathroom with hot water and solar powered lighting, it is available to rent from the DEH.
The hut is situated in a picturesque little gorge, being a bit tired I decided I was not moving from the hut and would be restricting my bird watching to the surrounding garden for the next two days. Birds seen around the house were Red-capped Robin, Red-backed Kingfisher, Zebra Finch, Splendid Fairywren and Grey-fronted Honeyeater. The silhouette of two Owlet Nightjars was seen flying along the gorge in the evening calling as they went.
27 October
In the morning we found the car had a flat tyre. The roads around the area are littered with sharp angular rocks and Paul found a sharp rock nearby which was a likely culprit. This necessitated a tyre change and a visit to the nearby Arkaroola village to fix the spare. Luckily they were able to fix it on the spot and since I had been roused out of the hut we decided to do a bit of bird watching around Arkaroola. Arkaroola Village has a number of walks leading from it and would be a very convenient spot to stay for further trips in the Northern Flinders ranges.
We took the Mawson Valley Walk and it wasn’t long before we heard a Mistletoe Bird calling, the only one we saw for the trip. There was a bit of bird activity in the area and we saw our first Grey-fronted Honeyeater and a Redthroat. On the rock face we glimpsed the stripy tail of a Yellow footed Rock Wallaby as in hopped off. A high pitched squealing was heard coming from the gorge below us, we peered over to catch sight of what was causing the commotion. Birds from all around flew in to see what was occurring. Grey Shrike-thrush, Rufous Whistler various honeyeaters, Variegated Fairywren and Chestnut-rumped Thornbill grouped around to witness the dramatic scene. Shortly, a Sand Goanna with a rabbit kitten struggling in its mouth appeared from the bushes. It was agonizing to hear the poor thing squealing but at least someone was benefiting from these pests. By this time the day had heated up so we returned to the coolness of our stone cottage.
28 October
Today we visited Grindels Hut via the picturesque Weetootla Gorge, along the way we stopped to look at a flock of Black-faced Woodswallow and a small flock of Crimson Chat flew up from the roadside.
After leaving the park we spent the night at Leigh Creek to stock up on supplies and petrol.
29 October
After leaving Leigh Creek we travelled up to Mt Lyndhurst via the Strzelecki Track. Here Paul spotted two Cinnamon Quail-thrush on the side of the road. We stopped to walk back to see them still standing by the side of the road before they dashed off into the undergrowth.
Having previously gained the permission of the station owner we searched the first site for Chestnut Breasted Whiteface listed in T.T & McBride. No CBWF however we did see a number of Thick Billed Grasswren which we discovered preferred the protection the saltbush along the creek beds. We also flushed a couple of Cinnamon Quail-thrush.
30 October
After spending the night at the Mt Lyndhurst shearers quarters we spent two hours in the morning searching the second site CBWF site. A strong wind had blown up overnight which made the going difficult. When we arrived at the rusty car site we spotted a Chirruping Wedgebill and during our search more Thickbilled Grasswren, but still no CBWF. We conceded defeat for this trip, however as the site is fairly accessible agreed we may return in the future. Seeing the grasswrens, wedgebill and quail-thrush was worth the trip.
Returning to the Flinders Ranges we spent the night at the Blinman Hotel for a bit of luxury and a nice dinner.
31 October
Today was spent sightseeing at Brachina Gorge and along the spectacular Bunyeroo Scenic Drive. While stopping at one of the scenic lookouts we had a close look at a small colony of Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies resting at the base of a rocky cliff.
We camped the night at Willow Springs campground a convenient base to see Short-tailed Grasswrens the following day. It was worth staying here for the useful information provided. We were provided with a map of Grasswren locations and some GPS co-ordinates.
1 November
Drove up to Stokes Hill around 7.30am, it’s worth the visit just for the spectacular scenery. While searching for the grasswrens we discovered a pair of Elegant Parrot quietly resting and preening in a stand of native pine. After a bit of searching we found a small party of Short-tailed Grasswren sheltering amongst grass trees about 100m south of the car park. Had a great view of one standing on a grass tree and another on top of a rock. These have been the easiest of the grasswrens to find so far. 
Having nothing better to do for the afternoon we decided on an eight hour drive southwards towards Danggali Nature Reserve by the unpaved outback roads via Martins Well and Waukaringa Ruins avoiding the numerous kangaroos, emus, sand goanna’s and bearded lizards as we went.
Hoping to break the journey we stopped with the intention to overnight at Yunta, however the surly bloke at the pub advised the rooms were booked out for at least 3 weeks and when asking at the petrol station for a place to camp they pointed to the gravel covered car park on the hwy in the next lot, designed for desperate caravaners. We couldn’t get out of the town quick enough and decided to continue the drive down to Danggali to camp, even though it meant not arriving till after dark. Driving along the road towards Lilydale a Spotted Harrier flew overhead and we flushed a flock of Black-tailed Native hens.
2 November
We camped at site number 9 which was conveniently located next to a dam. There must have been quite a bit of rain in the area recently as the vegetation looked healthy and the dams in the area had a decent amount of water in them. We spent a quiet morning around the campsite watching a small party of Pink Cockatoos near the dam. A Crested Bellbird made a brief appearance and the ever present bee-eaters were flitting around the camp all morning. A short walk away from the campsite revealed some White-browed Treecreepers.
After packing up we headed out on the access road towards Renmark getting out to bird wherever we heard an interesting call. Unfortunately part of the road was disturbed by a grader working up and down but we could hardly complain as we had enjoyed the currently good condition of these outback roads. Along the way we found Chestnut Crowned Babbler and Gilberts Whistler.
We spent the night at the Apex Riverbeach Caravan Park by the Murray in Mildura, always a nice place to rest and do some washing. White-breasted Woodswallow were seen perched on powerlines as we drove around town.