Spinifexbird, Brown Falcon, Eurasian Coot, Hooded Robin, Little Crow, Mistletoebird, Spotted Harrier photos

An enjoyable drive out to Papunya. Started the day early and found some Spinifexbird with a friend, then on to a variety of birds along the way. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Banded Lapwings disturb a nature stop and then others appeared!

Driving along my now favourite stretch of road, the Namatjira-Kintore Link Rd, which runs between Glen Helen and Haasts Bluff/Papunya, I pulled over to heed the call of nature. As I headed towards some trees a little off the road, I noticed there were others already in residence - 8 Banded Lapwings. I had only just been reading about their habitat the previous night as I was fairly sure they should be around somewhere, and sure enough, Pizzey and Knight stated they tended towards the small shrubs and trees during the day. Unfortunately for me, they had chosen my spot. I slowly walked back to the car, grabbed the camera and then took some photos:

Banded Lapwings

in flight

looked a secluded spot for a comfort stop except for the 8 incumbents!

I put the camera back in the car and headed across the road to another group of trees. This time Banded Whiteface were the initial culprits, again headed back to the car to grab the camera (was I ever going to get the relief I was now starting to need desperately?) but this time they had flown well back into the scrub, not to be seen again. This time, with camera around my neck I started the process I had originally intended when I heard the "chk chk" almost at my feet! Hands up to the camera and I saw a tail at the back of some spinifex. "What the...?" what was going on? I had seen the Bourke's Parrots early morning about 200 metres back down the road last week and now Banded Lapwings, Banded Whiteface and whatever this "chk chk" bird was. I stood still for about 5 minutes, being checked out by a Willie Wagtail who had a nest nearby, and a Grey-headed Honeyeater, followed closely by a Brown Honeyeater. I was determined to keep my gaze on the spinifex bush about 10metres ahead of me where I had seen the tail. Eventually I could stand it no longer. No, I didn't answer the call of nature, but instead moved forward to the spinifex bush. "Chk  chk" there it was again, but ahead and to the left about 5 metres this time. I was about to move again when up it popped! A Spinifexbird, sat beautifully on a fallen exposed branch. Camera up and ..... (zoom out... zoom in.... zoom out.... zoom in and focus, just as the bird moved. Oh I long for my new gear!

Not wanting to continue the chase and disturbing the poor thing, I decided to finally relieve my now over-extended bladder, and headed back to the car, kicking aside the Crimson Chats, Masked Woodswallows, Black-faced Woodswallows, Australasian Pipits and the ever-present Willie Wagtail who had all landed between me and the car.

As I sat in the car I wondered what the birding will be like in another month as everything dries out and they all start to congregate around the remaining water holes. I can't wait!

Spinifexbird photos and sound recording of calls

The Spinifexbird is one of those birds I don't see very often, but do hear quite a lot. In some of the bird books it states that the birds like to sit on top of grasses and trees and drop down to the undergrowth when they sense danger (in my case, me). On a recent occasion, I could hear two birds, but couldn't work out where each one was other than a general direction which were quite a distance from one another. I walked slowly along a track, trying to get a better fix on the nearest one. Eventually I spotted it, only because it fluttered out from a branch and then back to the same branch, sitting low on the tree just above the ground cover. So much for sitting on the top of the tree! It was still a fair distance away, so I crept forward again, trying not to spook the bird. Luckily for me it came closer and sat on top of some spinifex grass. It then flew very close but settled on the ground beneath another tree in among more spinifex. By now I was hearing the calls clearly and could almost tell where the second bird was. Still no photos though. Finally I gave up on the first one as it stayed hidden under the grasses and was moving around judging by the calls. It then flew up to my right and I eventually managed a few photos. Although they aren't the best photos due to the distance from me, they are still better than ones I had previously taken, and it was lovely to hear the calls so close, despite the prickly indentations on my leg from the spinifex.

Spinifexbird

Here is the sound file

or here

https://soundcloud.com/richard-waring/spinifexbird0011

Rufous-crowned Emu-Wren, Spinifexbird and Crested Bellbird