In other news, Simon is having problems with posting, he hasn't abandoned us. Bear with him, he'll fix it :)
-J
September 6th and 7th
Well, I am combining these two diary entries because nothing much of interest, to be honest, has happened.
Yesterday we spent a lot of time out in the field, hoping to find waterholes at which we might wait early tomorrow morning for the elusive painted finches. We had no luck, although we did find Palm Springs, which is very nice (and I saw Archerfish!).
A dragonfly and an Archerfish from Palm Springs
Yesterday afternoon Case arrived, and pretty much immediately he and Derek set off again in the search. I stayed in camp, enjoying the reasonably cool (34 degree) weather while it lasted.
Today was basically a much-needed rest day for me. I was able to sleep until 7.22am, and I was able to take my time with breakfast and getting up. Luxury!
Derek and Case left very early, as per the usual. I hung around in camp all day, moving from shade patch to shade patch, reading my book and adding no new birds.
Derek and Case arrived back around 2pm, having had no luck. We considered leaving early, but eventually decided to just leave it, and head for the Bungles tomorrow as originally planned. Our helicopter ride is tomorrow!
Currently there is a local music festival going on at the town oval, which we can hear from where we are, several blocks away, very clearly. It's been going on since 3pm, and for memory it was supposed to finish at 10pm... Well, it's 11.07. Still going. I hope they shut up soon! Although I guess I can sleep in the car.
September 8th
Today we arose late(ish), at six thirty. Not having a waterhole to be at by first light does wonders for sleep!
We took our time over breakfast, and by nine thirty we were beginning to pack.
Field checks complete, we said a final goodbye to Case and Ingrid. They're heading east now, down the Fitzroy Crossing, and we were heading northwest back into the Bungle-bungles.
We hit the road, and we reached Warnum by 10.30. We headed for the small 'Slingair' building - time for the scenery highlight of the trip! A 45 minute ride in a no-doors helicopter over the Bungles!
Having booked in and paid up, our young (I say young - older than me, thankfully) pilot Matthew led us to the chopper. On first appearances, a small craft, electric blue, and to be honest, not particularly stable looking. Matt removed the rear doors (which, I noted, came off pretty easily) and we clambered in as he did the checks.
Takeoff in a helicopter is totally different to in an aeroplane. You bump around on the ground for a short while, then you rapidly ascend and tilt forwards, zipping off at the merest touch of the steering column.
The flight was absolutely fantastic. The scenery was amazing, the rock formations breathtaking, and Matthew very knowledgeable on the geological and cultural history of the ground below us. Whilst this is a birding blog, and we saw no birds from the helicopter, I can wholly recommend that if you can afford it (its not cheap), booking a flight is definitely worth the effort. Instead of waxing lyrical, I'll let photos do the talking!
Elated, we returned to the travel. We took the turnoff into the Purnululu National Park, and spent the next two hours or so bumping around on the heavily corrugated road in. Whilst we stopped briefly a few times, we saw nothing of interest on the drive in terms of birdlife.
There was plenty to look at though, the scenery (while not a spectacular as when seen aerially), is very interesting. One thing I did notice, is that the spinifex here only seems to grow to about 80cm across and 40cm high at most, with the majority being abut 20-30cm across and 10-20cm high. Very different to the massive clumps that grow near Alice Springs, and I suppose therefore they are less capable of supporting the bird and animal life which you find near Alice, such as Emu-wrens, Spinifexbird, and various small mammals such as Kultarr and Hopping-mice.
A quick stop at the visitors centre saw us adding Double barred and Long-tailed Finches to the day list, and the lady in there directed us to the campground we are currently in, as it has a small source of water, she said.
After arriving and setting up, Sue found this small source of water in the form of a man made rock puddle, and nearby a leaking outdoor shower. There was little activity at the pond, but the shower drip was attracting Double-bars and Brown Honeyeaters, so we sat down to wait.
Pied Butcherbird
No more than five minutes into our wait, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a small, point-ended shape moving on the ground about 20m away. "Quail!" I announced, and stalked off, camera poised.
It wasn't the Button-quail I was hoping for, but a large covey of Brown Quail emerged from the grass next to the little path I was on, and although I moved with much stealth, I needn't have bothered - they weren't fussed with me at all, and came within 150cm, passing by, heading for the water. Once they had disappeared into the grass, I hurried back to the drip and settled myself laying on my stomach with my camera at the ready.
These quail (there were about 14 of them) must come in to drink regularly, as they followed a distinct trackway. I hadn't noticed the track as I lay down, and I was practically lying across it. Unconcerned, the first two quail walked straight past me, almost brushing against my lens hood. The rest were more nervous, and took a detour to avoid me.
The uncharacteristically brave quail spent about ten minutes drinking around the leaking shower, within easy photography range. Some people moving around the campground eventually scared them off, but we remained entertained by the BHEs and DBFs, as well as Peaceful Doves, Magpie Larks and a few of the prehistoric-looking Pheasant Coucal.
Peaceful Dove (above) and female Pheasant Coucal
We trotted back to camp. I was feeling extremely good, as I have always had a love for quail species, but I've never been able to get close. And this certainly was close! I'm looking forward to trying again tomorrow.
After dinner, we all traipsed out of the campground on a short and futile spotlighting search for Owlet and Spotted Nightjars. The bush was silent, and nothing responded to the playback at all. I'm running out of nights now! This is not good!
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