Northern Adventure Day 12 Alice Springs: Cold day out

Our first planned stop for today was the Redbank Waterhole in the Owen Springs Conservation Reserve. As we drove out to Owen Springs it was 6°C, and when we got there, there was no water to be seen! We went for a walk anyway in the freezing wind, and came across a family of seven Grey-crowned Babblers who kept us amused for a while. They are quite noisy, and one of their calls sounds just like a kitten meowing!

Grey-crowned Babblers, Redbank Waterhole, Owen Springs, NT

We went back into town and visited the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens. Again, we had the issue with the cold temperature and the wind and not much was active, but we saw some more babblers and a few other common birds. We were looking for a western bowerbird, as we’d heard that several reside in the gardens. We found one bower, but no bowerbirds!

Bower, Olive Pink Botanic Gardens, Alice Springs, NT.

We decided we probably weren’t going to have much luck anywhere else so just went for a drive around town to see if we could spot any raptors to try and get a photo of. We drove north up to the Tanami Road and back again, and then a few km east out to Emily Gap. We had a look in the trees in the dry Todd River bed near the Ross Highway and found this Whistling Kite.

Whistling Kite, Todd River, Alice Springs, NT.

We ended the day by meeting up with Jim again for a farewell beer, then packed up ready to head home tomorrow! 

Northern Adventure Day 11 – Alice Springs: Trephina Gorge, Alrtunga Historical Reserve, Telegraph Station and Anzac Hill

The weather turned colder today, and it was very windy. Unfortunately this seemed to send all of the birds into hiding! We headed out to Trephina Gorge first. We did the Creek walk first, which the sign promised to have high bird diversity. We saw a mistletoebird, a pair of hooded robins and some zebra finches, but that’s about it. Then we went in the other direction and did the short gorge walk, then walked along the sandy river bed, but saw nothing but a few white-plumed honeyeaters and a black-faced cuckooshrike who refused to sit still long enough for a photo. The gorge looked quite nice, and I would have liked to have seen it in nicer weather to get a better appreciation for it.

Trephina Gorge, NT

Next we headed out to Alrtunga Historical Reserve. The road was terrible, but we made it and were impressed by the informative visitor centre and displays about the gold mining activity that occurred there, and by the ruins of the old buildings where people used to live and work. They have done an excellent job of restoring a couple of the buildings.

New restoration project anyone? Arltunga Historical Reserve, NT

Steam Engine at old Government Battery Works, Arltunga Historical Reserve, NT

Old Police Station, Arltunga Historical Reserve, NT

 A couple of prisoners were caught trying to escape from the prison cell!

Arltunga Hotel: A pub with no beer :( NT

Back in Alice Springs we visited the Telegraph Station and looked through the buildings there. It seems that the people here in the early days might have had it slightly better than the people at Arltunga, but nowhere near what we have today! The buildings have been well restored and have displays inside them as well. A few galahs, crested pigeons and ringnecks grazing on the grass out the front were the only birds I got photos of all day!

Old Telegraph Station, Alice Springs, NT

Old Telegraph Station, Alice Springs, NT

Old Telegraph Station, Alice Springs, NT

Old Telegraph Station, Alice Springs, NT

Token bird photo for the day: Galahs, Old Telegraph Station, Alice Springs, NT

We ended our day out by driving up Anzac Hill to see the memorial and the view over Alice Springs.

Anzac Memorial, Anzac Hill, Alice Springs, NT

It looks like our run of nice weather has come to an end up here, but we’ll keep trying to find some birds here and on the way home.

Northern Adventure Day 7 - Kings Canyon to Alice Springs

Today we got up early to leave Kings Canyon and head to Alice Springs, where we will be staying for six nights in order to explore the town and the surrounding area. While packing up the car, we spotted a pair of Western Ringnecks, or Port Lincoln Parrots, depending on which field guide you go by! The ones that call them Western Ringnecks seem to list them as a separate species, and others that say Port Lincoln Parrot have it as a sub-species of Australian Ringneck, which also includes the Mallee Ringneck which I have seen back home. So not sure if this is just a recent split, making this a lifer, or if there is still some confusion! Anyway, the photo below was actually taken later in the day at our Alice Springs accommodation, but I wanted to put it first!

Western Ringneck/Port Lincoln Parrot, Alice Springs, NT.

On the way to Alice Springs we stopped off at the Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve and went for a walk to see the 12 craters formed 4,700 years ago when a meteor broke up into four large fragments and eight smaller fragments before impact. The largest crater is 180 metres wide and 15 metres deep, and has plenty of trees and shrubs growing at the bottom. Found a few birds there, including budgies and pied honeyeaters, but didn't manage any photos of them. Got a photo of an interesting looking caterpillar!

Henbury Meteorite Crater, NT

ID required, Henbury Meteorite Crater, NT

Eventually we got to Alice Springs and checked in at the Stuart Caravan and Cabin Tourist Park. After being tipped off by Jim Oatley that Western Bowerbirds actually thrive in suburban environments, we went for a wander to look for one. In the caravan park grounds we found a very relaxed ringneck which didn't mind me getting close to photograph it. We walked across the road to a local park, and then around the corner to another park that showed up on Google Maps - Westland Park. It is a small park with some scrub hiding it from the street, and looks like people probably take their dogs there to run around. I wandered around for a little while, watching white-plumed honeyeaters, then spotted something very different up in the trees - a Western Bowerbird!!! A lifer for me, and one of the birds I was most hoping to see on the trip. Unfortunately it stayed quite high up in the tree, and it was getting late in the day so this is the best photo I got. Jim also told me that there are quite a few resident bowerbirds in the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens in town, so we will be heading there at some point before we leave. 

Western Bowerbird, Westland Park, Alice Springs, NT.