222) Stakeout in the Flinders

Redthroat ! Wow...

We ran into a local bird guide - her utterly  classic response to  us telling her we spotted a (rare) Redthroat was "are you sure it wasn't a Red-capped robin?"

Actually yes - this is what a Red-capped Robin looks like! Our Redthroat was most emphatically NOT a robin.

We headed to the Stokes Hill area east of the park in search of one bird - the Short-tailed Grassswren. We stayed at a working cattle station that has camping facilities where, due to some misunderstanding about unmarked one-way roads and unwritten rules of where we could (not) go, we left feeling punk and shall not return, as there are far more pleasant options close-by. 

Southern Whiteface

But we also saw some great birds - an input error into the GPS lead us the wrong way, but we encountered some nice looks at a Southern Whiteface, and many thornbills.

We also saw numerous examples of the tree-clearing practice of girdling - to clear land for more cows (more grass grows if there are fewer trees?), the bark is cut and the tree dies. We have seen an unfortunately large number of these, it seems to be a common practice - 

We got back to our camp and cleared up all the "what the hell do you think you were doing.." attitude and made it to Stokes Hill (where we had been trying to go as that was what the map they gave us said...sigh)

Here we walked and sat ...and listened...

.listened....and sat and walked. But the wind was pretty bad for locating grasswrens (who were undoubtedly undercover in the spinifex) and we eventually called it quits and headed out.

Its no fun to dip... (twitcher slang for failing to find a specific bird you go to an area to find). But then these are an endangered species ... 

The Finders Range National Park is another former pastoral property undergoing rehabilitation

Some old homestead ruins.....

Interesting petroyglyphs

and a great geology drive across the anticline

We spent another night at the north end of the park in a blissfully-empty campsite (except for the birds!) where we saw the Redthroat.  We had Ringneck parrots, honeyeaters, kookaburras and a whole family of Babblers to keep us company.

A long distance view of an Elegant Parrot (yes, that's their name!)

and a wonderful Black-breasted buzzard!

Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby

We made a special trip through Brachina Gorge where a small population of Yellow-footed rock wallabies live.  Check out that gorgeous stripey tail!

Unlike their nomadic kangaroo breathren, rock wallabies creche their young and are restricted to rocky slopes and cliffy areas. This made them an easy hunting targets until they reached critically low populations. This population is protected in the Park.  They are glorious critters to watch as they effortlessly float across huge boulder-fields.









We finally pushed on into the sunset and days of flat horizons, dirt tracks and dust......











 Out here there be monsters.......