Nine tour report 17 July – 28 July 2016 Bellbird Tours Pty Ltd PO Box 2008 BERRI SA 5343 Ph. 1800-BIRDING Ph. +61409 763172 www.bellbirdtours.com @bellbirdtours.com ABN 40 159 352 002

Summary and checklist of 2016 Nine Grasswren Tour

Dates of tour: 17 July –28 July 2016

Leaders: Peter Waanders (assisted by Helga Kieskamp & Mark Carter) next tour: 8 July 2017 go to our tour program page tour brochure

Dusky Grasswren, 28 July 2016, © H Kieskamp

Nine Grasswren tour report 17 July – 28 July 2016

Tour overview

The 2016 ‘Nine Grasswren tour’ started in Adelaide (SA) and finished in Alice Springs (NT). After visiting Birdlife Australia’s Gluepot Reserve (Black-eared Miner) we explored the bluebush plains around Whyalla (, Splendid (turquoise) Fairy-wren) and travelled through the scenic Flinders Ranges (Short-tailed Grasswren) up to the Birdsville track where we had both Chestnut-breasted and Banded Whiteface as well as the elusive Grey Falcon and . Unfortunately the site was inaccessible due to flooding but we had great views of Gibberbird and Inland Dotterel. Through the heart of outback Queensland we arrived in Mount Isa after ticking off Red-browed Pardalote, Australian Bustard and Black-breasted Buzzard while flocks of Budgerigars were wheeling through the sky. We had great views of both Carpentarian and as well as Spinifex Pigeons, Varied Lorikeets, Spinifexbird and mixed flocks of woodswallows coming in to drink. From Mt Isa we travelled west over the vast Barkly Tablelands, where Flock Bronzewings entertained us with their antics in the sky while we also found overwintering flocks of Horsfield’s Bushlarks. Finishing around Alice Springs we found Dusy Grasswren, Grey-headed Honeyeater and Spinifexbird while the highlight of the many additional birds seen by those people that took the 3-day extension were Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Painted Finch and Bourke’s Parrot.

The weather was good throughout, with calm, sunny days and maximum temperatures in the 14-30 0C range, some frosty mornings, and no rain. A grand total of 192 species were recorded. The full bird list follows at the end of this document. Other sightings of interest included Freshwater Crocodile, Dingo, 3 spp of Kangaroo, Yellow-footed-, Purple-flanked and Black-footed Rock-wallaby.

Itinerary

20 July: Adelaide – Birdlife Australia’s Gluepot Reserve - Peterborough. 21 July: Whyalla Conservation Park and surrounds – Hawker. 22 July: Flinders Ranges – Leigh Creek area – Lyndhurst. 23 July: Mt Lyndhurst Station – Marree – Birdsville track to Mungerannie roadhouse. 25 July: Birdsville track from Mungerannie to Birdsville. 26 July: Birdsville – Mt Isa, birding en-route. 28 July: all day around Mt Isa. 28 July: all day around Mt Isa. 29 July: Mt Isa to Barkly Homestead, birding en-route and north of Barkly HS. 30 July: Barkly HS –Tennant Creek –Alice Springs. 31 July: all day around Alice Springs.

A number of participants then joined the Red Centre Adventure, available as a stand-alone tour or an extension.

Nine Grasswren tour report 17 July – 28 July 2016

Australian Bustard, Chestnut-breasted Whiteface, Black Honeyeater (l: m, r: f), Kalkadoon Grasswren, Spinifex Pigeon. Photos © H KIeskamp. Nine Grasswren tour list of birds seen 17-28 July 2016

Emu Black-breasted Buzzard Cockatiel Malleefowl Brown Goshawk Rainbow Lorikeet Brown Quail Collared Sparrowhawk Varied Lorikeet Stubble Quail Spotted Harrier Musk Lorikeet Plumed Wistling-duck Swamp Harrier Purple-crowned Lorikeet Wandering Whistling Duck Wedge-tailed Eagle Regent Parrot Freckled Duck Little Eagle Eastern Rosella Musk Duck Nankeen Kestrel Crimson Rosella (Adelaide, Black Swan Brown Falcon Yellow) Australian Shelduck Australian Hobby Aust. Ringneck (Pt Lin-coln, Australian Wood Duck Grey Falcon Mallee, Cloncurry) Pink-eared Duck Black Falcon Blue Bonnet (yellow-vented, Australasian Shoveler Peregrine Falcon pale) Grey Teal Brolga Red-rumped Parrot Chestnut Teal Purple Swamphen Mulga Parrot Pacific Black Duck Baillon's Crake Budgerigar Hardhead Australian Spotted Crake Bourke's Parrot Australasian Grebe Spotless Crake Blue-winged Parrot Hoary-headed Grebe Buff-banded Rail Elegant Parrot Great Crested Grebe Black-tailed Native-hen Scarlet-chested Parrot Rock Dove Dusky Moorhen Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo Spotted Dove Eurasian Coot Black-eared Cuckoo Common Bronzewing Australian Bustard Pallid Cuckoo Flock Bronzewing Black-winged Stilt Fan-tailed Cuckoo Spinifex Pigeon Red-necked Avocet Southern Boobook Crested Pigeon Banded Stilt Eastern Barn Owl Diamond Dove Red-capped Plover Laughing Kookaburra Peaceful Dove Inland Dotterel Red-backed Kingfisher Tawny Frogmouth Black-fronted Dotterel Sacred Kingfisher Spotted Nightjar Red-kneed Dotterel Rainbow Bee-eater Australian Owlet-nightjar Oriental Plover Western Bowerbird Australasian Darter Banded Lapwing White-browed Treecreeper Little Pied Cormorant Masked Lapwing Brown Treecreeper Great Cormorant Common Sandpiper Superb Fairy-wren Little Black Cormorant Wood Sandpiper Splendid Fairy-wren Pied Cormorant Common Greenshank White-winged Fairy-wren Australian Pelican Ruddy Turnstone Variegated Fairy-wren Great Egret Red-necked Stint Rufous-crowned Emu-wren Intermediate Egret Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Cattle Egret Ruff Short-tailed Grasswren White-necked Heron Little Button-quail White-faced Heron Australian Pratincole Thick-billed Grasswren Little Egret Crested Tern Western Grasswren Nankeen Night-Heron Gull-billed Tern Glossy Ibis Caspian Tern Kalkadoon Grasswren Australian White Ibis Whiskered Tern Eyrean Grasswren Straw-necked Ibis White-winged Black Tern Grey Grasswren Royal Spoonbill Silver Gull White-browed Scrubwren Yellow-billed Spoonbill Galah Shy Heathwren Black-shouldered Kite Major Mitchell's Cockatoo Rufous Fieldwren Letter-winged Kite Long-billed Corella Redthroat Whistling Kite Little Corella Weebill Black Kite Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Western Gerygone Nine Grasswren tour list of birds seen 17-28 July 2016

Yellow-rumped Thornbill Golden Whistler Slaty-backed Thornbill Grey Shrike-thrush

Chestnut-rumped Thornbill Crested Bellbird Slender-billed Thornbill White-breasted Woodsw. Buff-rumped Thornbill Masked Woodswallow Inland Thornbill White-browed Woodswallow Southern Whiteface Black-faced Woodswallow Chestnut-breasted Whiteface Little Woodswallow Banded Whiteface Dusky Woodswallow Spotted Pardalote Grey Butcherbird Red-browed Pardalote Pied Butcherbird Striated Pardalote Australian Magpie Pied Honeyeater Grey Currawong

Singing Honeyeater Grey Fantail

Grey-headed Honeyeater Willie Wagtail Grey-fronted Honeyeater Australian Raven White-eared Honeyeater Little Raven Yellow-plumed Honeyeater Little Crow

White-plumed Honeyeater Torresian Crow White-fronted Honeyeater Restless Flycatcher Blue-faced Honeyeater Magpie-lark Little Friarbird White-winged Chough Noisy Miner Apostlebird www.bellbirdtours.com Yellow-throated Miner Jacky Winter

Black-eared Miner Red-capped Robin 1800-BIRDING Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Hooded Robin Red Wattlebird Southern Scrub-robin Little Wattlebird Horsfield's Bushlark Striped Honeyeater Eurasian Skylark next Nine Grasswren tour: July/Aug Crimson Chat Australian Reed-Warbler 2017 Orange Chat Little Grassbird White-fronted Chat Rufous Songlark go to our tour program page Gibberbird Brown Songlark Yellow Chat Spinifexbird Black Honeyeater Silvereye tour brochure Brown Honeyeater White-backed Swallow Black-chinned Honeyeater Welcome Swallow New Holland Honeyeater Fairy Martin Brown-headed Honeyeater Tree Martin White-browed Babbler Common Blackbird

Chestnut-crowned Babbler Common Starling Cinnamon Quail-thrush Mistletoebird Chestnut Quail-thrush Zebra Finch Chiming Wedgebill Painted Finch Chirruping Wedgebill Red-browed Finch

Varied Sittella Pictorella Mannikin Ground Cuckoo-shrike House Sparrow Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Australasian Pipit White-winged Triller European Goldfinch Crested Shrike-tit Gilbert's Whistler

Red-lored Whistler

Rufous Whistler