Monday 9 September 2013

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Returning from a successful Short-tailed Grasswren hunt

If there was someone in Australia happier than Tony Abbott on Saturday 7 September 2013, then it was me! On that auspicious day, I saw a pair of Short-tailed Grasswrens and thus deleted a bogey bird from my list.  So a big thank you to Peter Waanders and to his group of birders who allowed me to join them for the morning on Stokes Hill in the Flinders Ranges to see this elusive bird.  What a treat!

Rog drove me over to Hawker and back, so thanks to Roger too.  We did not do much birding en route, my total for the trip was a measly 99 species.  Highlights were parrots (Elegant and Mulga, as well as Cockatiels and Blue Bonnets) and chats (both Crimson and Orange).  We saw just one fat feral cat and just one snake.  The countryside was blooming, good recent rains meant everything looked very healthy.

It was a quick trip, but an extraordinarily satisfying one.  I have looked for Short-tailed Grasswrens on many occasions, usually on Stokes Hill (where Peter Waanders showed it to me) but also other locations in the Flinders Ranges.  To finally add this difficult bird to my lifelist is a most rewarding experience.

Next month I will turn my attention to another bogey bird of mine:  the Rufous Scrubbird.  Let's hope I can be just as successful with that.

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