Crested Bellbird (photo by Gail Bryant)
In late June, Gail and I undertook a 7000km trip to Alice Springs. Our first major stop was Bowra Sanctuary near Cunnamulla. Some interesting footage, especially of
White-plumed Honeyeater
was taken but no new species were found. Through Central Queensland conditions were poor for birding – hardly sited a Willie Wagtail for 1000km. Across the Plenty Highway we saw such species as Wedge-tailed Eagles and
Brown Falcon
but again nothing new. In Alice Springs I hired Mark Carter for a day of birding. With his help I was able to video
Grey-headed Honeyeater
Grey-fronted Honeyeater
Western Gerygone
Slaty-backed Thornbill
Redthroat
Crimson Chat
and Crested Bellbird. What a full-on day it was. We also obtained improved video of
Black-breasted Buzzard
In Olive Pink Botanic Gardens I picked up the
Western Bowerbird
displaying in the bower.
A highlight of the trip was a visit to Desert Park just outside Alice. Here I was able to video
Chirruping Wedgebill
Chiming Wedgebill
Dusky Grasswren
Cinnamon Quail-Thrush
Inland Dotterel
Orange Chat
Painted Finch
Another great day.
In South Australia I finally obtained reasonable video of the
Little Crow
This made a total of 16 new species for the trip. In addition, we saw all the sites of Central Australia and took improved video of about 20 species. Gail took thousands of photos. So August was spent editing video and photographs. The total number of species on video is now 423.