PILBARA BIRDING

If you want to see grasswrens, I recommend that you seek help from Bellbird Tours. The IOC presently recognises 13 species of grasswren. Phil Maher showed me one species (the Carpentarian near Mt Isa); Klaus Ulenhaut showed me one (the Black Grasswren on the Mitchell Plateau); and, remarkably, I've managed to get two by myself (the Dusky at King's Canyon and the Striated at Hattah Kulkyne in my home state). But Bellbird Tours has shown me an incredible eight species. Yes, you're right, I still have one to get: the elusive White-throated Grasswren at Kakadu. There are also another eleven subspecies to chase, of which I've now seen four, leaving me with a total of one species and seven subspecies yet to see. I'm just back from a Pilbara tour with Bellbird Tours, where I clocked up three grasswren subspecies: the Western Grasswren, famously at Monkey Mia in Shark Bay (easy!); the Sandhill Grasswren, a race of Rufous, at Sandstone (typical grasswren difficulty); and the Pilbara Grasswren, another Rufous race, at Newman (which also seemed remarkably easy - but that might just be down to the skill of the guide!).

The tour, comprising six birders (including me) and Louis Maserei, our guide, started at lunchtime on Wednesday, 5 June 2024 in Kings Park Cafe in Perth - don't ask me why! After lunch, we had a quick walk around Kings Park, allowing me to add Western Spinebills to my daylist. They are even more beautiful than their eastern cousins. We saw a few other birds, including Carnaby's Black Cockatoos and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. The Red-tails had an unusual rolling call, which I hadn't noticed before, and I declared them to be my bird of the day. We had an uneventful drive to Geraldton, where we spent the night in cabins in the caravan park. On Thursday, we were disappointed that we could not view the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool. There had been a cyclone in 2021 and the damaged boardwalk had been fenced off, which, to be fair, is much easier than fixing it, and it is only 3 years, isn't it?

We drove on to Monkey Mia, admiring Black-breasted Buzzards from the car, and stopping briefly to see Chiming Wedgebills and Western Fieldwrens. It was almost dark when we arrived at the Monkey Mia Resort, but Louis still managed to point out a pair of Western Grasswren in the carpark, right on cue! Of course they were my bird of the day. We had better views in the daylight the next morning, and everyone expressed due excitement at the dolphins. I was surprised (because I'd forgotten) how pale the Southern Whiteface are here, and how bright their chestnut flanks are. My bird of the day was the Southern Scrubrobin, which had provided us all with excellent views. We were back in the Geraldton caravan park cabins overnight. On Saturday we drove to Mt Magnet accompanied by a little unwelcome misty rain. We saw lots (and lots!) of Red-capped Robins, but they are beautiful, aren't they? I like the understated females even more than the showy males. We also saw quite a few mixed flocks of thornbills: Inland, Chestnut-rumped and Slaty-backed, and quite a few very colourful White-browed Treecreepers, a bird I wouldn't normally think of as 'colourful,' yet they were. Simpson and Day says that they breed from July until December, and I reckon that, in June, these blokes were getting ready for an early start. We saw an interesting wattle, Red Mulga, with red, prickly stems. The Granites provided spectacular scenery, as well as Little Woodswallows and our first Western Bowerbird for the trip. This is what The Granites looked like:

Our accommodation on Saturday night in Mt Magnet was called 'Outback Gold' and the less said about it the better. My bird of the day for Saturday was the White-browed Treecreeper, although I was spoiled for choice. On Sunday morning, we ate breakfast in our room, then set off at 5.30 in quest of Sandhill Grasswren, a bird I had been warned we may not see, as it can be difficult. Louis found (or re-located) a likely spot in the spinifex, and we all had excellent views of both male and female Sandhill Grasswrens before 7.15 a.m.! Of course they were my bird of the day. We had lunch at a picnic table. Being vegetarian, I'd been given a special lunch: a salad with two raw eggs! That night we went spotlighting. The rain paused long enough for us to see absolutely nothing. The others heard owlet-nightjars, but I managed to miss even this. On Monday, we all had wonderful views of Bourke's Parrots and one very special Banded Whiteface, which I named my bird of the day. We moved on to Nallan Station, where we stayed in the Shearer's Quarters (note where they placed the apostrophe). I did not like this accommodation. One compensation was a Western Bowerbird's bower very close to our accommodation, with a most accommodating bowerbird tending it. He had a large pile of brand new screws carefully arranged on his runway. The photographers got great shots, and Louis even managed a most professional video on his mobile phone. On Tuesday, we drove to Newman, finally arriving in the Pilbara. An odd thing, to start a Pilbara Tour on day seven of a nine day tour! Here, without any apparent effort, Louis produced Pilbara Grasswren for us, my easy pick for bird of the day. On Wednesday, we birded around Newman, admiring Crimson Chats and Masked Woodswallows. I found a small turtle carapace, which I'm told came from a Flat-shelled Turtle.

We did not see Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, a minor disappointment, well compensated for by our great views of Grey Honeyeaters, my obvious pick for bird of the day. These small, inauspicious honeyeaters must be the most mis-identified honeyeater we have. Often in mixed flocks, they are easily confused with thornbills or gerygones. On Thursday, our last day, Louis showed us some delightful Painted Finches (clearly the bird of the day), then dropped me off at the airport. I attempted to get a boarding pass, and was quite traumatised when I was informed that there was no seat for me on the plane: I was on standby, despite having paid for my ticket months beforehand. No apology, no explanation, no seat. Alone in Newman, far from the township and any possible accommodation, I didn't know what to do. There is no taxi rank at Newman airport. How could I get back to town? I waited patiently, and after my plane was fully loaded, somehow they managed to find me a seat. I've never been so grateful for a squashy economy seat. I managed to get back to Perth without further drama and my disappointment at the attitude and behaviour of Qantas Link will soon be forgotten. It was a great tour. Great grasswrens. Great company and a great tour leader.