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Visited: dry season
Recommendation: This short walk is a little known part of the Kings Canyon area. It is pleasant and quiet, deceptively so. Walking the track to the spring slowly brings more and more sightings. If you visit Kings Canyon, this is an easy and productive place to see wildlife.
Kathleen Springs is part of the Watarrka National Park and is another suggested walk to do while visiting Kings Canyon. It is a short and easy track through open land that becomes more enclosed as you approach the water hole. Old fencing dots the area, where early settlers would rest their cattle overnight.
The area is another sacred place for Indigenous peoples and you can read about the legend of Ipitilki, in the Carpet Snake Dreaming. It is altogether a quiet and peaceful place and you can see why it is revered so. The pool looks inviting but swimming is not allowed here.
The short walk to and from the water provided me with some good opportunities to look for wildlife. There have been reports for numerous reptiles in the area, including snakes and monitors. I didn't see any so the birds had to keep me busy.
My first interesting spot was a Black-breasted Buzzard that circled the surrounding cliffs. I have been trying to photograph them for years but I'm sure they don't ever roost! I had to settle with a gorgeous Brown Falcon. This bird was so preoccupied with scanning its surroundings that it totally ignored me as I moved around it to get better light.
Brown Falcon (Falco berigora)
Despite the heat there were quite a few bush birds still active and I was thrilled to see the Inland Thornbill right by my campervan in the car park. Several of them were chattering away in the bushes. As they came and went, it looked like they were nesting. Thornbills can be difficult to separate even by calls. This species is easier with a speckled forehead and red eyes.
Inland Thornbill (Acanthiza apicalis)
I was pleased to see a few Little Woodswallow sitting up above the path. They are relatively uncommon and I have only seen them a few times. They prefer rugged terrain around inland ranges, escarpments, and gorges so this area is perfect for them. They look a lot like Dusky Woodswallows but if you can't guage the size from a distance, they lack the white primaries which is much more obvious.
Little Woodswallow (Artamus minor)
A lone White-faced Heron sat above the water at the spring. They are widespread across Australasia and very common in the more green areas of Australia so I was a little surprised to see one out here in the desert. The dry specialist is the Diamond Dove, although they always stay close to water. Very shy, it can be difficult to photograph them. You can see this bird eyeing me with suspicion!
White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
Diamond Dove (Geopelia cuneata)
On my way out, I was thrilled to see both the Red-backed Kingfisher and White-winged Fairywren out in the open. The kingfisher was with its mate and I watched them as they fed each other. Another dry specialist, I haven't seen too many in the area. They are often mistaken for other species of kingfisher but they are the only species with a salt and pepper speckled head. Easy.
The male White-winged Fairywren is one of the most stunning birds in Australia. No doubt. They are not easy to photograph even though they are fairly common within their range. It took some time to get everything lined up for this shot and I was pretty happy with it. Not sure what had happened to his tail though!
White-winged Fairy-wren (Malurus leucopterus)
Red-backed Kingfisher (Todiramphus pyrrhopygia)
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