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Visited: dry season
Recommendation: This is one of the few places that I would recommend any birder or wildlife watcher to go to. It is wonderful from start to finish, a real Aussie experience.
Artemis Station is a private cattle ranch on Cape York. Like many other places around Australia, they offer a small campsite near to their homestead for travellers. They are also part of a programme to protect the critically endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot. As part of their support, they feed resident birds around the year and this, in turn, affords visitors some terrific views of these threatened birds.
It is a bit of a slog to get to Artemis. You need to be prepared for some rough driving into Cape York and you also need camping equipment of some sort. However, it is worth it - for the birds, the animals and the scenery. The people aren't bad either.
Artemis Station has been a highlight of a recent Cape York road trip. I probably wouldn't go there again in my camper van but I am so glad my innocence took me there this time. It is smooth sailing until Laura traveling into Cape York. After that the road becomes a whole new experience. I knew that parts of it were unsealed but I wasn't prepared for the unforgivable and inconsistency of it. You would be sailing along on lovely bitumen and all of a sudden shuddering on vicious corrugations. 5km bitumen, 2km unsealed, 3km bitumen, you get the idea. I'm sure there is a good reason for upgrading the old track to sealed road in patches but it doesn't make it easy on the driver or the vehicle. It was also very busy as it was school holidays and the start of the grey Nomad exodus north. Most people were well equipped with 4wd vehicles and offroad capable caravans. They took the rough conditions in their stride. My stride was around 30kph. I felt battered when I arrived at the station and vowed never to go further on unsealed roads in my van. And it had only been 25km (I counted every metre).
Anyway, it was so worth the bumps. The station is beautiful and the little camp ground adjacent to the main house was fabulous. I loved the tin shed ablutions and the view of the wilderness. Each morning I would walk at first light back down the access road to the main highway. It was so magical at that time of day watching the sky lightening in an array of colours I had never seen before. It was almost like an aurora. The birds would be beginning to call. It was the only time I would hear the White-throated Honeyeater as it would be drowned out later by the parrot species. The noise would slowly build but as soon as the rising sun hit the tops of the trees, the place erupted. It was quite deafening and most glorious.
All day long there was bird activity at the station. There was a dam close by and it was lovely to see waterbirds in such a dry environment. The road continuing from the highway was a great place to walk and bird watch. When I got tired or hot, I would sit in the shade next to my van and wait. The Pied and Black-backed Butcherbirds would often pass by, sit in nearby trees warbling or eating a kill. Sometimes a White-throated Gerygone would pose for me singing it's beautiful melody. And always there were parrots and cockatoo flying past and screeching.
But the reason I was there was to see the Golden-shouldered Parrots. The station has become a focal point for efforts to save them from extinction. Poor land management has lead to increased predation of chicks and the population numbers have crashed. On top of changing the cattle grazing methods they use, the owners support the birds with supplemental feeding. The feeding station not only draws the birds but birdwatchers. It is a well thought out set up with a little bird hide offering shade close to the feeder.
Male Golden-shouldered Parrot
(Psephotellus chrysopterygius)
But of course, the star of the show here is the Golden-shouldered Parrot. Near the entrance to the homestead is a tin shed where you can sit and watch the birds come and go from a feeder. They are pretty reliable in the morning and late afternoon. Even though it was June and very late in the season, they were still active around the area.
Traditionally, fires played a natural role in keeping the parrot's habitat open. With fewer fires, woody shrubs and trees have encroached on the grasslands they depend on. This denser vegetation makes them easier targets for predators and reduces the amount of food available, like grass seeds. The thicker habitat also creates more hiding spots for predators like pied butcherbirds, which prey on the parrots.
This makes the efforts of the homestead all the more important in saving this incredible bird.
Female Golden-shouldered Parrot
The birds generally visit late afternoon and early morning and so it was on my first day that I arrived at the hide at 3pm. Early I know but I was super keen. It was blisteringly hot and quite painful to wait but I was joined by Jill, a Cairns birder and we suffered together. We had just about given up when some parrots flew in. Another 'don't need your bird book' moment. It was quite gloomy so we weren't happy with our photos but just so pleased to see them. Next morning, early on, we were there again and we got great shots in the intense early sunlight. I had 6 morning and afternoon opportunities to see the parrots and I got them every time. Male, female, 1st and 2nd year juveniles. It was an amazing experience, not just as a birder. I felt very privileged to be close to such beautiful creatures.
Young Male Golden-shouldered Parrot
Before I left, I interviewed owner Sue about her work with the parrots and it will be published along with my photos in the wonderful environmental magazine, Paws Trails.
Juvenile Golden-shouldered Parrot
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