Birding Central Australia #83 - Cockatiel

Cockatiel Nymphicus hollandicus

 After a few seasons of hefty rainfall, the country is finally beginning to dry out a bit. As smaller waterholes dry up, bird populations concentrate on the remaining, more reliable, water sources. Cockatiels have been prominent around town for a few months now, and along with the Zebra Finches and Budgerigars, are one of the more obvious of the nomadic desert species at the moment. They can disappear for long periods as they breed up in remote areas and then they come back stronger than ever in big flocks at waterholes wherever they find them. At the moment they can be seen drinking in the hours before sunset at any decent water sources around town, and the photographed birds were at Wigley’s Waterhole on the Telegraph Station Reserve.

This week has seen a few reports of Grey Falcons from east of town around Emily Gap and another down the old south road. Princess Parrots continue to be seen out at Newhaven Reserve and Grey Honeyeaters have been reported again near McGrath Creek on the Stuart Highway north of town.

The area of Deep Well Road that was burnt out last year continues to support healthy populations of Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens and Spinifexbirds. At the sewage ponds, the water level has been perfect for some of the shorter-legged wading birds and both Spotless and Australian Crakes have been seen during the week. A pair of Black Falcons have been frequenting the area south of The Gap and have been seen most afternoons around the sewage ponds and the Todd River.

Redthroats and Slaty-backed Thornbills round out the local reports of elusive residents, both of which have been seen out the back of Flynn’s Grave during the week.

Happy birding!

Birding Central Australia #82 - Pallid Cuckoo

Pallid Cuckoo Cacomantis pallidus

At the start of the cold weather in Central Australia, we often see long processions of hairy caterpillars moving around. These caterpillars, the larvae of the bag-shelter moth, are difficult for most animals to eat due to the stiff, itchy hairs. The bird in the picture this week makes a meal of them though. This is the Pallid Cuckoo, one of a small group of birds that consider these hairy caterpillars a good meal.

The usual procedure is to catch one of the grubs in the beak and then chew it long enough to get the bristles all matted down with juice and saliva, enabling it to be swallowed.  The Pallid Cuckoo belongs to a group known as the obligate brood parasites – meaning that it doesn’t build its own nest and hatch eggs and raise young like most other birds. This bird has evolved a strategy that involves an elaborate subterfuge. The cuckoo will lure a nesting bird from its nest while its mate sneaks in and lays a cuckoo egg in the nest that closely resembles the eggs of the host bird.

When the cuckoo egg hatches, typically earlier than the host’s own eggs, the chick is adept at pushing other eggs and chicks from the nest and thereby reaping the benefits of two doting parents with an irresistible urge to feed any gaping mouth they find in their nest.

Two pelicans were reported out at Hermannsburg this week by the students at Ntaria School who participated in a bird identification workshop on Friday. A Little Eagle was seen on Larapinta Drive near the Owen Springs access road. Princess Parrots are still being reported out at Newhaven Sanctuary and Shane Green reported a Grey Falcon at Emily Gap.

Happy birding!

Birding Central Australia #81 - Western Bowerbird

Western Bowerbird Chlamydera guttata

Olive Pink Botanic Gardens are currently hosting the greatest piece of theatre ever to hit The Centre. There is tragedy and comedy, mystery and intrigue. This production has a stunning and talented cast and has been going on in the Alice Springs region for thousands of years, and will continue for the foreseeable future – free of charge!

The show might be named, A Tale of Two Bowers, for the star performers are the Western Bowerbirds that reside in the gardens. Many will be familiar with the bowerbirds’ habit of collecting things, usually of a particular colour, even going as far as pinching clothes pegs, cutlery, or keyrings. The term bowerbird has even passed into common usage to describe anyone with a collecting habit.

Less well-known, is the sophisticated artistic sense possessed by these birds and their complex sex lives and seduction techniques. Most birds perform sexual displays using an evolved feature of their plumage or external body parts; the peacock’s tail is the most obvious example. Bowerbirds are unique however, in employing a display of items separate to their own bodies, to attract a mate. The male bowerbird arranges an art gallery if you like, for the delectation of female visitors; if the arrangement appeals, mating may ensue. But there are always rivals, and if the bower is left unattended the owner may return to find it ransacked, torn apart, and his prized baubles pilfered to adorn the gallery of a jealous neighbour.  If you haven’t been down to OPBG for a look at this extraordinary spectacle, you’re missing out.

More Princess Parrots reported this week, this time out on the Mereenie Loop. Long-awaited reports of Night Parrot have drifted out from QLD and NW Victoria. Black Falcons and Welcome Swallows have both been making daily appearances at the sewage ponds.

Happy birding!

Birding Central Australia #80 - Bush Stone-curlew

Bush Stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius

If any readers have seen or heard the bird in the picture this week, apart from around Alice Springs Desert Park, I’d be very interested to hear about it. It is not a bird that would be easily mistaken if it was seen or heard. The Bush Stone-curlew can stand up to 60cm tall, but will often be encountered in the prostrate posture depicted. Though blending perfectly with the background of leaf litter, it is the staring, yellow eye that will often alert a keen observer to the presence of this bird.

The call is unlike any other animal in the Australian bush and is known for putting the unaccustomed on edge. A piercing and repetitive WEER-LOO is the sound, and it has the uncanny knack of setting off other Stone-curlews in the vicinity. Dogs, foxes, and cats have made short work of this strongly terrestrial and ground-nesting bird, so I’d be surprised if they are ever seen close to town anymore. They are still sometimes reported along the Plenty and Barkly Highways, but being mainly nocturnal, these sightings are mostly after dark.

Princess Parrots are continuing to be seen at Newhaven, and there have been many reports this week of Grey Honeyeaters along the Tanami Rd to the east of Tilmouth Well. I snuck out and did a few sections of the Larapinta trail this week in the vicinity of Serpentine Chalet, The Ochre Pits, and Ormiston Gorge. Spinifex Pigeons were present in huge flocks in areas of unburnt grass, and Painted Finches were as common as Budgerigars. White-browed Treecreepers and Grey Fantails were a pleasant surprise on the descent from Count’s Point, and Zebra Finches seem to be nesting in every available space. 

Happy birding!

Birding Central Australia #79 - Rufous Whistler

Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris

Our bird this week is the male Rufous Whistler, responsible for some of the more strident and energetic notes of the Central Australian dawn chorus. It produces these with the avian vocal organ called the syrinx. This is similar to our larynx but with twice the number of vibrating membranes, allowing a richness of harmonic effects beyond the reach of the finest human vocalists. You will hear these finely turned out birds in stentorian colloquy throughout any good mulga woodland habitat around town, including Olive Pink Botanic Gardens and Alice Springs Desert Park.

Alice Springs had a visit this week from Australian Reptile Park and Devil Ark director John Weigel, during his world record attempt at an Australian Big Year. John has carved an impressive swathe through the list of inland bird species in recent weeks, and was drawn to Alice Springs by recent sightings of Princess Parrots and our ever-reliable Dusky Grasswrens.

 Unfortunately, we were unable to find a Spinifexbird to add to his list, but this is not a great setback. John’s list is already nudging 600 before the year is half gone. By comparison, the current record holder, Sean Dooley, had 414 species on his list at this time of year when he set the record (703 species) in 2002.

John’s record attempt is a way of raising awareness of the plight of his much-bedevilled ward, the Tasmanian Devil. Sadly, it seems almost inevitable that they will become extinct in Tasmania in the not-too-distant future. The Devil Ark insurance population then becomes crucial in ensuring the survival of the species and maintaining genetic diversity until such time as they can be reintroduced to the island. Learn more and follow John’s progress at; http://www.birdingfordevils.com.au/

Happy birding!