Embedded Files
Visited: mid dry season
Recommendation: If you are in Alice Springs, you should go to the Desert Park. There is so much more there than the exhibits. Birds and reptiles are in abundance throughout the park and in the areas surrounding it. Unless specified, all my photos and commentary are about wild animals.
Desert Park in Alice Springs is probably the best wildlife park that I have ever been to and that is somewhat of a surprise in the middle of the desert. A combination of excellent planning, well maintained exhibits and incredibly interesting local animals makes it a place you can spend a lot of time at! I have visited a couple of times and spent the entire day exploring.
All around the park are fairywren with the Splendid being most prominent. This male in breeding colours was incredible. I only recently found out that there is no such thing as a blue pigment so the blue feather is actually an optical illusion created by the structure of the feather itself. Blue feathers contain melanin, a brown pigment. The feather has a unique microscopic structure with tiny air pockets and when light hits the feather, these air pockets scatter certain wavelengths of light, specifically blue light. This scattering effect causes the feather to primarily reflect blue light, making it appear blue to our eyes. Who knew?
Splendid Fairywren (Malurus splendens)
And now a contrast of colours. In one of the exhibits were the Chestnut-rumped Thornbill and I really enjoyed watching it sitting up and calling.
Found in arid and semi-arid woodlands and shrublands across much of inland Australia. They prefer areas with low-lying vegetation but can also be found in roadside vegetation and farm gardens. Primarily insectivores, they will occasionally eat seeds and they forage for insects, spiders, and grubs in the foliage and branches of shrubs and low trees, sometimes gleaning insects from the ground.
These are sociable birds, rarely seen alone. They typically forage in small flocks of up to ten individuals, sometimes associating with other thornbill species.
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza uropygialis)
In the largest aviary I could hear a reed warbler calling and stood patiently until it appeared. These birds give everything when they are calling, their whole body shakes. It is quite a sight.
They are well known for their loud and varied song. Like many songbirds, the males use song to attract mates. This complex song is a way to showcase its fitness and territory to potential females. The rich and varied nature of the song might signal good health and strong genes, making the male a more desirable choice for breeding.
The loud song also plays a role in defending territory from other males. By consistently singing, the male establishes dominance and warns rivals to stay away. This helps to ensure the male has access to resources and a safe space to raise young.
Australian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus australis)
Around the park were lots of small skinks and larger dragons. My favourite was the interesting Long-nosed Dragon. I've seen a few of these and they have some variable colours but always this distinctive enlogated snout.
Long-nosed Dragon (Gowidon longirostris)
The surprising highlights of the exhibits were the incredible numbats. I'd never seen them before and I watched them for a while as they dug in the ground and chatted to each other. They are marsupials that feed on termites (hence the long nose I suppose). I really hope I get to see animals like this in the wild.
Numbats were once widespread across southern Australia, but their habitat has significantly decreased since the arrival of Europeans. Today, numbats are an endangered species and are only found in several small colonies in southwestern Australia.
Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)
I have been on the road in Australia for several years now and I am always looking for buttonquail. Having visited lots of places where they have been seen and frequently thinking about where they might be, I had just about given up that they really existed. As ever, while wandering the park I had an eye out for them when, to my shock, I saw one scrabbling around in the dirt right next to the path I was on. It was tiny, cryptic and shy. Luckily there weren't other people around so I could watch it for a while. Difficult to photograph in the dark and as it moved around so fast, I was so pleased to get a couple of sharp(ish) shots.
Little Buttonquail (Turnix velox)
White-browed Babbler (Pomatostomus superciliosus)
Grey-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis)
Both the White-browed and Grey-crowned Babbler can be found within the park and the car parks. Grey-crowned Babblers are larger with a more prominent grey crown and a broader white eyebrow, while White-browed Babblers are smaller with a narrower eyebrow and may have a rufous wash on the breast.
Hooded Robin (Melanodryas cucullata)
Crested Bellbird (Oreoica gutturalis)
There were numerous other dry country specialists living around the park. A family of Hooded Robin were using a wooden post as a base and from there they hunted for insects and fed their young. A Crested Bellbird scurried around in the undergrowth as they do and the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater with its metallic call was also busy looking for food.
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis)
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse