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Visited: winter
Recommendation: This huge rest area and surrounding Outback provides wonderful opportunities for wildlife spotting. Alternatively, you can sit next to you caravan/campervan and wait for the animals to come to you.
This unassuming rest area about half an hour north-west of Mount Isa, is quite large and most people (me included initially) set up camp on the left hand side of the area. In the middle there is a patch of scrub which is only accessible by bushwhacking. As I wandered around the site I noticed the right hand side was less busy, had more shade and definitely more birds. So after repositioning myself close to the scrub area, in the shade and with a lovely view of the barbed wire fence, I settled down to see what would arrive.
In the adjacent bush was a family of Purple-backed Fairywren and lots of Weebill. The White-winged Triller was never far away and the Yellow-throated Miners hooned around noisily as is their wont. The Weebill were particularly curious of me and regularly came close to inspect me. It was truly delightful to have one perched less than a metre from me eye to eye and watch it sing. The smallest Australian bird it maybe, but it has a good set of lungs.
Weebill (smicrornis brevirostris)
I didn't photograph the fairywren because I was actually after the grasswren with the Carpentarian and Kalkadoon being seen here very recently. After sussing out site, I realised that you could slip under the fence (very inelegantly and with the occasional swear word) and explore further. As I am travelling on my own safety in the Outback is an obvious priority (promise Mum) so triangulating my position with the view of the caravans, the position of the sun and Google Maps I ventured forth.
I only really went a couple of hundred metres south and west of the rest area and found different birds in each. To the west there were honeyeaters with the Grey-fronted being the dominant species and with lots of juveniles around they were quite obliging.
Grey-fronted Honeyeater (ptilotula plumula)
Also in this area were:
Grey Shrike Thrush
Little Friarbird
Red-browed Pardalote
Spotted Bowerbird
Paperbark Flycatcher
To the south of the rest area I heard lots of Spinifexbirds calling and it was another mission to see them for the first time (everyone loves a lifer!). Not due to my excellent birding skills but rather to a somewhat sleepy bird, I stumbled across sitting up on a branch for me (they usually skulk around in the grass).
Spinifexbird (poodytes carteri)
Sometimes you can just snap away and only realise you have something good when you download your images. This happened with the White-winged Triller that I had been chasing around. It finally settled to eat some flower heads and I finally got it. This is one of my favourite shots from this area.
White-winged Triller (lalage tricolor)
Despite 3 days of searching I didn't find the grasswren or any other of the rarities I had seen listed on eBird. I guess my birding prowess failed me on this occasion but I couldn't be disappointed with seeing what I did and getting a decent shot of the Spinifexbird. I did het a few other species including the fairywren. I shall come back (maybe) another time and have another go for the grasswren.
Red-backed Fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus)
Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis)
Cloncurry Ringneck Parrot (Barnardius zonarius macgillivrayi)
Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris)
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