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Red Centre Adventure 4 Day Birding Tour July 2019

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Bellbird Tours Pty Ltd PO Box 2008, BERRI SA 5343 AUSTRALIA Ph. 1800-BIRDING Ph. +61409 763172 www.bellbirdtours.com [email protected] Red Centre Adventure 4 day birding tour July 2019 The Red Centre around Alice Springs is host to a variety of Adventure visits the Eastern and Western MacDonnell Ranges, exciting bird species. Using Alice Springs as a base, this the sewage works, the Old Telegraph Station, the Tanami Road, comfortable 4-day tour takes daily trips out to different Kumoth Bore and the Deep Well Road. An optional extra 2 days areas targeting enigmatic birds such as Dusky Grasswren, for Sandhill Grasswren is also offered, plus the opportunity to Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Spinifexbird, Grey Honeyeater, seamlessly link with our subsequent Nine Grasswren tour. Read Western Bowerbird, Painted Finch and maybe even Grey on for full details! Falcon…! This is a small group tour of like-minded people (max. 8 participants); all-inclusive, fully guided, departing from and returning to Alice Springs. The Red Centre Tour starts & finishes: Alice Springs, NT Price: AU$2,799 all-inclusive (discounts available). Scheduled departure & return dates: Leader: Peter Waanders and/or Mark Carter • 18 -20 July 2019 Uluru / Sandhill Grasswren extension Trip reports and photos of previous tours: • 21 -24 July 2019 Red Centre Adventure http://www.bellbirdtours.com/reports Questions? Contact BELLBIRD BIRDING TOURS : READ ON FOR: • Further tour details • Freecall 1800-BIRDING • Daily itinerary • email [email protected] • Booking information We’re offering an optional 2-day trip 19-20 July to Uluru and to see Sandhill Grasswren, details below Red Centre Adventure Tour details Tour starts & finishes: Alice Springs, NT Scheduled departure and return dates: Tour commences with dinner on 20 July 2019. Please arrive in Alice Springs on or before 20 July. Tour finishes late afternoon on 24 July 2019. Please depart Alice Springs on 24 July (after 6pm) or the next day. You can include the Uluru / Sandhill Grasswren extension arriving on or before 18 July. See itinerary on next page for further details. Leader: Mark Carter, our dedicated Alice Springs based bird and wildlife expert. Difficulty: Low/Medium/High/Excellent level of fitness required. The tour has a relaxed pace and walks are on varying surfaces, from paved roads to uneven, rocky walking trails. We generally walk slowly, with lots of stops. You can opt out of any challenging walks. What to bring: Please travel light. Binoculars, camera, mobile phone, chargers, power adaptors if you’re an international guest, insect repellent, sunscreen, personal medications, sun hat, water bottle, hand sanitizer. Sturdy footwear recommended. Scopes, super-telephoto lenses with tripods, and heavy suitcases are discouraged. Clothing: Lightweight long pants, t-shirt and long-sleeved shirt, over the top of which you can wear layers that can be taken off as necessary, including a jumper / sweater and a wind- and rain-proof jacket. Group size: Minimum 4, maximum 8 participants. Cost: AU$2,799 per person including accommodation and all meals, based on double or twin-share occupancy. Single occupancy surcharge of $290. Uluru/Sandhill extension an extra AU$2,299 per person (single sup. $180). Not included: drinks, tips, personal expenses. Earlybird discount $99 for bookings up to 6 months before departure. Return-client discount may apply. Bookings: http://www.bellbirdtours.com/bookings or complete the booking form on the last 3 pages. Red Centre Adventure Uluru and Sandhill Grasswren extension Extension Day 0: Thu 18th July ‘19. Make your own way to Alice Springs and check-in to the Mercure Springs Resort (included). Overnight Mercure Springs Resort, Alice Springs (Motel with en-suite rooms, meals not included). Extension Day 1: Fri 19th July ‘19. We’ll collect you from your accommodation after an early breakfast and depart Alice Springs, birding at a comfortable pace at key spots en-route, planning to arrive at the first Sandhill Grasswren location mid-afternoon. We’ll bird until sunset then we’ll check in at our accommodation near Uluru where you can view the sunset on this magnificent rock. Afterwards we’ll enjoy a nice meal while watching the myriad of stars shining, more brilliantly here than anywhere you’ve been before. Accommodation: Uluru resort or similar (private en-suite rooms; meals included: B, L, D). Extension Day 2: Sat 20th Jul ’19. Depart accommodation pre-dawn to get into position in prime Sandhill Grasswren habitat at dawn. Bird until lunchtime. We’ll have lunch back at base, after which it’s time to hit the road back to Alice Springs. Possibilities include: Chiming Wedgebill, Spinifex Pigeon, Banded Whiteface, Cinnamon Quail-thrush, Ground Cuckoo-shrike, Major Mitchell subspecies mollis and others. During the entire tour we also have a small chance of Scarlet-chested Parrot, Grey Honeyeater, other nomadic inland honeyeaters and Inland Dotterel. Dinner is back at our Alice Springs motel tonight where we’ll meet up with the main tour for introductions. Overnight Mercure Springs Resort, Alice Springs (Motel with en-suite rooms, meals included: B, L, D). Left: Grey Honeyeater © P Waanders. Top-bottom: Dusky Grasswren © C Watson Pt Lincoln Ringneck, Red-browed Pardalote © P Waanders Red Centre Adventure MAIN ITINERARY Day 0: Sat 20 July ‘19. Tour participants will need to arrive in Alice Springs today and after you make your own way to our motel we’ll meet up for introductions and dinner. Overnight Mercure Springs Resort (Motel with en-suite rooms, meals included: D). Day 1: Sun 21 July ‘19. We’ll head into the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges for our best chance at some of the tricky spinifex species. Prime targets are the tiny Rufous-crowned Emuwren, Spinifexbird, Crimson Chat, and Painted Finch. We’ll bird all the way into the picturesque Trephina Gorge for an easy walk to search for another local specialty: Dusky Grasswren. Other species we may find here include Australian Owlet-nightjar, Red-browed Pardalote, Western Bower- bird, and the gorgeous “Golden-backed” race of Black-chinned Honeyeater. We’ll have lunch in the famous Olive Pink Botanic Garden, with its resident Chiming Wedgebills, Grey- crowned Babblers, Western Bowerbirds and many honeyeaters. We’ll then visit Simpson’s Gap where we’ll take a gentle stroll to look for Slaty-backed Thornbill, Western Gerygone, Redthroat, another chance at seeing Dusky Grasswrens and Painted Finches and this is a common place to find Peregrine Falcon hunting Little Woodswallows above the cliffs. Black-footed Rock Wallabies often come down from the scree slopes to drink. On the drive back we may encounter Brown Quail and Spotted Nightjars. Overnight Mercure Springs Resort (Motel with en-suite rooms, meals included: B, L, D). Day 2: Mon 22 July ‘19. We start with a visit to the Alice Springs Sewage Works and adjacent swamp. In a good morning of birding we can be assured of seeing over of 50 species, including Pink-eared and Freckled Duck, waders like Red- necked Avocet, Red-kneed Dotterel, all three ibis and all three grebe species, both spoonbills and occasionally Banded Stilt. White-winged Fairy-wrens are common and Black Falcon is often seen. After lunch at the historic Old Telegraph Station Reserve we’ll bird the mulga woodland along the Tanami Road keeping an eye out for raptors including Black-breasted Buzzard, Little Eagle and a chance of Grey Falcon. We’ll reach Kunoth Paddock to look for specialties like Banded Whiteface, Banded Lapwing, Chiming Wedgebill, Spotted Harrier and Australian Bustard while in the scrub we may find White- Sandhill Grasswren © J Weigel Rufous-crowned Emu-wren © G Jones Western Bowerbird © C Watson Red Centre Adventure browed Treecreeper, Grey Honeyeater and Slaty-backed Thornbill. This is one of the few sites in Australia where it is possible, with luck, to see all 6 Australian falcon species in one place. If there is water in the dam we will stake it out for sunset and should have a good chance at Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos and Bourke’s Parrot as they come in to drink. On the way back to Alice Springs we’ll spotlight for Dingo, Southern Boobook, Spotted Nightjar. Overnight Mercure Springs Resort (Motel with en-suite rooms, meals included: B, L, D). Day 3: Tue 23 July ‘19. Today we are heading deep into the Western MacDonnell Ranges. At our first stop at the Ochre Pits the many flowering plants along the creek can attract a wealth of honeyeater species. Grey Honeyeater will be our target but we will also be looking for Black-chinned, Black, Grey-fronted and Pied Honeyeater. Next, at Glen Helen Gorge, we’ll take a short walk to view the stunning waterhole and bird back along the bed of the Finke River – which rarely flows, but pools of water often contain Spotless and Baillon’s Crake, and Nankeen Night-heron. Following a delicious pub lunch at the Glen Helen Homestead, we’ll bird one of the gems of the Western MacDonnell Ranges: Ormiston Gorge. Here we take a scenic walk with views of the gorge and good birds including Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Painted Finch, Spinifex Pigeon and Dusky Grasswren. Overnight Mercure Springs Resort (Motel with en-suite rooms, meals: B, L, D). Day 4: Wed 24 July ‘19. After an early breakfast we’ll head down the Deep Well Road with reliable sites for Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Spinifexbird and Dusky Grass-wren. Also sometimes seen here are Crimson Chat, Cinnamon Quail-thrush, and Red-tailed Black Cockatoo. On the return drive to Alice Springs we will stop at another mulga woodland site for another chance at Bourke’s Parrot, Little Button- quail, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, and Slaty-backed Thornbill.
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