From Warri Gate (see last post, Sturt
National Park) we drove generally north for 190km on dirt roads to the historic
Noccundra Hotel to camp on the Wilson River, a tributary of the Cooper, and
search for the elusive Grey Grasswren (Amytornis
barbatus).
Historic Noccundra Hotel |
The plane was from Byron Bay on a trip out to Lake Eyre and stopped in for lunch at the Hotel. |
There is free camping on the Wilson River
at Noccundra
Unfortunately the news regarding sightings
of the Grey Grasswren from the pub was not promising with no records for the
past three years. The area has been in the grip of a drought with little rain
for a number of years and the river has not flowed for three years.
In the past Grey Grasswrens have been found
in lignum growing along the flood plain at Noccundra and this is one of the few
places listed in the “where to find birds” books. Another location is at the
Cooper Creek bridge on the Thargomindah / Innamincka Road.
We searched the lignum for several hours
late in the day and early in the morning with no success. There were very few
birds about in general and in the lignum we only encountered a few Variegated
Fairy-wrens and Zebra Finches enjoying some early morning sun.
On a late morning walk upstream from our
campsite we returned wide of the riverbank through stoney Gidgee (Acacia Cambagei) woodland where we were
very lucky and surprised to find a pair of Chestnut-breasted Quail-Thrush (Cinciosoma castaneothorax). Their
presence was marked by the male’s repetitive calls, which turned out to be a
communication with his female mate. Fortunately the area lacked much understory
cover so they took to the Gidgee where I was able to get some photos rather
than run for cover on the ground as they so often do.
Gidgee woodland on gibber – the woodland is a lot more open than it appears in this photo. |
We have seen this elusive species before at
Bowra Sanctuary near Cunnamulla and were not expecting to find it at Noccundra
which is right on the western edge of its range.
iPhone screen shot from Pizzey&Knight apt of range for the CQT |
At first we found the male, as the unfamiliar call had attracted our attention. |
I had not noticed the presence of the female until she appeared in the viewfinder of the camera. |
The male continued to call – perhaps this was pre-breeding behavior – the female seemed interested? |
The female is less richly coloured than the male. |
Unexpectedly finding the Chestnut-breasted
Quail-Thrush pair and getting some photos was some compensation for the
disappointment of not finding Grey Grasswren.
From Noccundra we headed west out to Cooper
Creek on the Thargomindah / Innamincka Road to try our Grey Grasswren luck
there.
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