Sand dunes at Snow Drift

We intended to spend most of our visit to Wyperfeld National Park in the southern section but there was a forecast for storms so we decided to book some accommodation at Pines Plains lodge . Being a last minute decision we knew little about the place but after booking we were excited to find that it was situated right in the middle of the northern section of Wyperfeld National Park. The lodge itself is a unique building which is constructed of native pine, with the quirky rustic feature of being able to see through the walls in some places, where there were small gaps between the logs. In every other way the lodge is lavishly decorated and very comfortable. The lodge is owned by Susan O'Sullivan and Adrian Meehan. The O'Sullivan family have owned the 300 acre Pines Plains since the 1920's at which time they also leased part of the area which is now Wyperfeld to breed horses. The lodge itself was built in the early 1990's.

The garden surrounding the lodge is well manicured and only contained some of the more common species such as Yellow-throated Miner, Crested Pigeon, Mallee Ringneck and Grey Butcherbird. However the view from the back veranda looks out over an open plain with sand dunes in the distance. From here we spotted a large family of grazing emu, a Spotted Harrier (which spent most of an afternoon patrolling low over the grassland), Little Eagle and a small flock of Cockatiel which sailed by on the first afternoon, but where not seen again. Interior of Pines Plains Lodge

A few kilometers from the lodge are some large vegetated sand dunes. The track to the dunes is 4 wheel drive only so we decided to walk out there on foot. We saw a couple of raptors on the way but not many other birds till we reached the well vegetated 'Snow Drift' picnic ground. A Horsfield's Bronze cuckoo on the dues was attracting the attention of a number of irate thornbill species and a Splendid Fairywren, who in turn drew our attention. After watching for a while we heard and then saw some Major Mitchell Cockatoo in the native pines and then best of all on the walk out of the picnic ground we spotted a Black-eared Cuckoo.

During our stay at the lodge Adrian managed to drag us away from bird watching for a while and took us on a tour around Wyperfeld, during which, he showed us one of the 400+ canoe trees he has located in the park. We also had an opportunity to view some interesting footage of Mallee Fowl digging their nesting mound and also laying an egg, that was filmed by Adrian's friend at Wathe. All in all our visit to the Pines Plains was fascinating and one of the highlights of our trip.

To top this off we travelled down to the southern section of Wyperfeld on our last morning to do some birding on the Discovery Walk, which we have been told is the best place to find a Red Throat. We searched patiently for Red Throats in the most likely spots and stood vigilantly where we thought we could hear them, but none appeared. Our patience paid off though because we had two sightings of Shy Heathwren and a great view of a pair of Southern Scrub-robin quietly preening on the edge of some broombush thicket.