2006 Tour Narrative
An audible gasp was collectively heard as the lights of the bus illuminated our woodland picnic site on our first night in Australia. Australian wine with real wine glasses, paté, pesto dips, cheese and tasty breads provided a starter and social time while the main course of Australian sausages and potatoes cooked over the stove followed by dessert of lemon tart and freshly brewed coffee. This meal foretold of the culinary experiences and adventures to come on this remarkable birding trip that we were embarking upon. The Milky Way and Southern Cross drew our attention, while a rising full moon soon had us staring at the horizon as its brilliance added light to our dinner and provided an indication of the first of many star-filled nights we were to experience in the interior of the country. The conversation quickly turned to ‘bird of the day’ with Scarlet Robin, Spotted Pardalote in full breeding plumage, Eastern Spinebill and Shining Bronze Cuckoo being some of the highlight species. And, all agreed, we would then have to have a ‘bird of the night’ following our night-time search. This, of course, ended up being a female Plains Wanderer that posed motionless allowing us to marvel at the uniqueness of this monotypic family species while a Fat-tailed Dunnart took the prize for mammal of the evening!
‘Walkabout’ - a period of wandering, of variable length, undertaken as a sporadic interruption of routine life. The group who joined this year’s Inland Australia tour experienced a birding walkabout that had us travelling over 3000 miles by bus, walking miles in search of birds unique to the habitat zones visited and experiencing the ‘other’ side of Australia. Our experience left visual memories that will remain forever etched when we hear the words ‘back o’ Bourke’ in the future - the pink haze of Galahs in flight against a sunburnt orange backdrop; lignum bushes that provided perches for Grey Grasswrens in the late afternoon followed by a spectacular sunset; vast gibber plains where Gibberbirds and Cinnamon Quail-thrushes eke out a living for themselves and their young even in years of drought such as this one; dry river beds lined with ribbons of river red gums filled with woodland birds that left to our imagination the lushness that would be present in a ‘good year’ that brought rain to the region; fragmented mallee forests holding small populations of Red-lored Whistlers and ‘Malleefowl’; and spinifex that provided homes to two of the trip favorites - grasswrens and emu-wrens. Winding our way through parts of four states, we experienced a side of Australia known to few travellers or birders - a land where a station may be a million acres with one homestead in the center. Here the Dog Fence separates sheep and cattle stations, where you can travel for many miles without any signs of humans - no houses, no cars, no shops - a perfect setting for pure enjoyment of seeking seldom encountered birds.
The birding highlights of the trip kept spilling forth as often as the culinary highlights did from Trish’s ‘grub rover’, leaving us sated each day but eager for the next offering. Our initial sighting of Grey Grasswren led to sightings of four other grasswren species with the chipmunk-like antics of each – here one minute and there the next (perhaps they really do use rabbit holes for their disappearing acts!) – endearing them to us all. The more common Southern Whiteface was eclipsed by its interior and seldom seen cousins – Banded and Chestnut-breasted. We soon found that the birds and the habitat regions of this country go hand-in-hand and that to find the birds we must have some understanding of the flora of the region. Gibber plains appeared stark and empty at first, daunting us with the task of finding a 5 inch Gibberbird amongst the miles and miles of small stone comprising the plains.
Our sighting of first one Gibberbird, then a family group where one adult seemed intent on protecting its young by a confrontation with the bus and repeated sightings of Inland Dotterels and chats emphasized the importance of the plains to these species. Three species of quail-thrushes provided a serene auditory and visual beauty to the landscape. Experiencing the rarely encountered Bourke’s Parrots feeding and drinking at waterholes during the day held our attention each time sighted (as did most of the parrots – so colorful and captivating as are most of the Australian parrots). And, we will always remember one of the last days of the trip as one lone Mallee Emu-Wren stared back at us as intently as we were staring at it late one afternoon and a Malleefowl surprised us all as it crossed the track in front of us.
Some species may not have been ‘inland’ targets but competed for and occasionally won bird of the trip. A last minute pair of Powerful Owls with a fledged youngster, a pair of Barking Owls and Owlet Nightjars were nightbirds that were immensely enjoyed during the day. The shocking blue of male fairy-wrens stopped us in our tracks each time they were sighted, while the reds of Mistletoebirds, robins and Crimson Chats were vivid in the Australian sun. Raptor sightings including Wedge-tailed Eagle, Australian Hobby, Collared Sparrowhawk, and Brown Goshawks frequently saw us departing the bus quicker than the spotting of our daily picnic site.
Mammals excited as much as the birds with five species of kangaroo including the localized Yellow-footed Rock-Wallaby and incredible numbers of Red Kangaroos and Euros being seen. The seldom seen Yellow-footed Antechinus, 2 brief sightings of Short-beaked Echidna, and a Fat-tailed Dunnart remain mammal highlights. As the bird activity decreased in the heat of the day, our attention frequently turned to spotting butterflies and reptiles with the tree-climbing Lace Monitor and Painted Dragon being two of the more spectacular reptiles of the trip.
No less important than the wildlife sightings was the daily mid-day ‘grub rover’ sighting, always positioned in a shady (and often relatively fly-free) site. Each day we experienced diverse picnics including fresh salads and deli delights even in the most remote areas of our trip, gourmet cheeses, an Aussie barbeque in a town park that left locals salivating for a taste of the noonday fare, home-cooked bakery treats that never ran out and ice-cold drinks. No matter how strong the resolution each morning not to overindulge, will power always remained in the bus each time we arrived for our buffet picnics.
Our birding walkabout covered enough ground that the flies never had time to settle on our backs for long before we were moving to another site, providing us with opportunities to sample all the types of accommodation inland Australia has to offer. From quiet motels in tranquil towns, to dongas and shearers’ quarters on cattle and sheep stations to a 4-star hotel, we sampled it all in amazing comfort. The more remote the accommodation, the greater the perks – home-cooked dinners, proximity to our birding sites, a bonding of the group as we socialized in the evenings and always, starlit skies brighter than ever seen under city lights.
For veteran birders of Australia, this was a trip to have more than a chance encounter with some of Australia’s more nomadic species, to see birds never seen on a normal Australia tour circuit or to complete some family groups. For two members of the group, this trip had been impressionable enough years ago that they returned for a second inland experience – soon finding the difference climatic conditions can have on the area and its birds. And for all, this was a trip that provided exceptional bird, mammal and reptile sightings (missing only a few of the possible species), unequalled scenery and a chance to see a side of Australia normally only read about in novels and an opportunity to enjoy the next grasswren, the next layer of bakery treats or to sample the next glass of Australian wine or beer to the fullest each day!
Judy Davis