Our first stop was at a small place on the river called Qualco. I had never heard of it before, but Steve had been there once. The river was up, covering some of the river edge tracks, so we went for a stroll through a nearby paddock. The birding was great! 26 species in not much over 45 minutes, including Brown Treecreeper, Whistling Kite, Peregrine Falcon, Pied Butcherbird, Red-rumped Parrot and Barn Owl. The Owl was discovered by a couple of juvenile Butcherbirds, and a massive bird chase began! Little Ravens joined in and the poor Owl was harrassed from tree to tree. At one stage it flew directly over our heads, only twenty feet from the ground. Great view! It eventually took refuge in a hole in a tree, with the pursuers waiting animatedly on the branches around.
We then headed on to Waikerie where we had dinner at the pub - a decent beef schnitzel with pepper sauce and chips, washed down with a nice red was a pleaseant way to watch the sun go down. We then crossed the river on the ferry, and headed into the night towards Gluepot.
We were hoping to pick up some nightjars on the way in but saw absolutely nothing until just before the gate into Gluepot proper, when we jagged a Tawny Frogmouth. It sat obligingly on an exposed branch while we experimented with speeds, f-stops and angles in the dark. Some photos were dismal failures, but a couple were OK.
We headed into Gluepot and set up camp at Babblers. The swags were quickly in place, and after a quiet red, we hit the sack. I was finally awoken by a Grey Butcherbird calling and my brother's snoring. Not much difference in the jarring quality of both!
We were soon out and about, and were greeted by hundreds of White-browed Woodswallows, along with a few Masked and Black-faced Woodswallows, circling and calling incessantly overhead. They would land in large flocks on sections of burnt out trees, and then take off again to the great sound of wing beats and cries. Stunning!
We then headed on to Steve's STS (Special Treecreeper Spot), near one of the hides and immediately had fanatstic views of both Brown and White-browed. Seeing them only about ten minutes apart made identification that much easier and the differences between them that much more noticeable. In between, we had the most stunning views of two male Red-capped Robins - photographing them was a JOY!
We then headed back to the campsite, packed up our swags and went Miner hunting! We came across a number of flocks and we able to idenitfy Yellow-throated, but could not pick out the elusive and rare Black-eared. As this would be a Lifer for me, I was getting a little frustrated! After passing through the main station, we happened on a beautiful Brown Falcon, who posed dor us and then saluted!
Just before heading out of the park, we heard another group of Miners and so we leapt out and went looking! They were very skittish, as were the previous groups, and always seemed two trees ahead of us! Finally, they stopped and we scanned the flock. There were plenty of Yellow-throated, and then Steve alerted me to a couple sitting to the right of the tree. One of them was unmistakeably Black-eared, and not just "hybrids". It had both the darker rump and much darker jaw to ear area. With the Yellow-throated next to it, the comparison was immediate. LIFER! Happy happy! After the obligatory "high-five for Jesus", we headed back to the car for the drive home. Gluepot had delivered once again - not only with a lifer but 43 species altogether and lots of great views and photo opportunities. Spending time with my brother was an added bonus - lots of sharing as well as birding. Thanks mate!
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