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Mutawintji and Sturt National Parks

Discussion in 'Australia' started by akasha, 3 Sep 2019.

  1. akasha

    akasha Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    8 Jun 2018
    Posts:
    655
    Location:
    NSW, Australia
    Later this month I am heading to outback NSW to do some wildlife watching, mainly birding. I have a few target species in mind:

    Rufous Fieldwren
    Redthroat
    Chirruping Wedgebill
    Black-eared Cuckoo
    Grey Falcon
    Little Woodswallow
    Hall's Babbler
    Gibberbird
    Australian Pratincole
    Flock Bronzewing
    Black-breasted Buzzard
    Ground Cuckooshrike
    Red-browed Pardalote
    Spotted Nightjar
    Banded Whiteface
    Cinnamon Quail-thrush
    Eyrean Grasswren

    I am also hoping to find the erubescens subspecies of Euro, and maybe Yellow-footed Rock-Wallaby.

    I'm going to Broken Hill, then out to Mutawintji National Park for a night, and then up to Sturt National Park for 5 nights. I will be going to Cameron Corner and far enough into South Australia to find Eyrean Grasswren (hopefully!).

    I'll be looking for other mammals, and herps too.

    Has anyone else been out that way? Any tips or advice on how and where to spot wildlife would be appreciated!

    Also, I will be writing a trip report that I could post here if anyone is interested :)
     
  2. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    23,398
    Location:
    New Zealand
    I've just moved this to the Australia forum.

    Also, tagging it for @Najade who might be of help.
     
  3. akasha

    akasha Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    NSW, Australia
    Cool, thanks.
     
  4. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    1,095
    Location:
    Germany
    Sadly I won't be of much help as I've never been to that corner of the continent.
    This blog post might help though and for the grasswren have a look here.
    I'd also suggest to join a couple of fb groups and ask around there (if you haven't already).
    Also have a look at ebird and for mammals Atlas of Living Australia.

    @Dannelboyz might have more of an idea?
     
  5. akasha

    akasha Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    8 Jun 2018
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    655
    Location:
    NSW, Australia
    Thanks for the tips :)
     
  6. Terry Thomas

    Terry Thomas Well-Known Member Premium Member 5+ year member

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    Location:
    NSW
    You may see most of the species you are looking for but the smaller birds are a bit difficult to get close to. Through binoculars you can see OK. Several of the species are fairly shy and you may not have the time to find them. Many can be heard. Best tip I can give you is to look for water, and then sit quietly for a while. Early mornings and late afternoons are probably the best times to look. Mutawintji is pretty good and I saw many birds there, as well as fresh water crocs, which you can get fairly close to for photos. Look for the black bitterns. Very nice scenery. Corner country is normally very dry ; a few birds can be seen, but I never saw many species there. Sturt N/P is another rather dry place but if you can find a place with water you should see some. The more time you spend the more you will see, and in all of that dry country I have spent a lot of time slowly walking about, and trying to follow the bird calls, sometimes getting very close but often just getting a fleeting look. Anyway I wish you a successful trip and I am sure that you will want to return again. The first time I went into the dry outback I swore that I would never return there. A few years later I went again, and fell in love with the region. Have often spent weeks wandering around, often not seeing anyone else for several days at a time. The silence is fantastic!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 6 Sep 2019
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