Little Desert - Red Gums Meadow

Visited: summer

Recommendation: This area not far from the Kiata Campground was stunning and full of wildlife. A must do in the Little Desert.

I have just loved being in the Little Desert. It is so peaceful and yet so busy, so quiet yet so noisy. Each morning I try to open my van door so I don't disturb the grazing kangaroo. Another morning, a group of juvenile emu ran through the long grass. They looked so comical, with only their heads visible, bobbing up and down.

My favourite place at the Kiata Campground has been an area on the Red Gums track. I called it the Meadow. It was at the eastern side of the loop and there was more grass here and bigger trees. It almost looked like an old orchard with smaller trees lining the path. The area used to be a eucalypt distillery so that might account for it. Anyway, it was just beautiful and the birds seemed to agree with me. They used the area as a sort of thoroughfare with numerous species zooming through. Best of all, they would regularly stop and sit on a dead branch, frequently in front of me.

Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus)

First up was the Striated Pardalote. For a small bird, they frequently allow you to get close and they never disappoint.

There are six recognized subspecies of the Striated Pardalote and their plumage varies considerably across the bird's range

P. s. uropygialis: Found in northeast Western Australia to Cape York Peninsula, northeast Queensland (north Australia)
P. s. melvillensis: Found in the Tiwi Islands (north of Northern Territory; central north Australia)
P. s. melanocephalus: Found in central east to southeast Queensland (east Australia)
P. s. substriatus: This subspecies along with the following two are found in southern Australia
P. s. striatus: Found in Tasmania
P. s. ornatus: Found in southeastern mainland Australia

A family of robin frequented the area so I wasn't surprised when they turned up. As usual, the male was shy but the juvenile hung around for a while.

Hooded Robin (Melanodryas cucullata)

It was chased away by a Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater. That, in turn, was replaced by a White-plumed Honeyeater. I couldn't keep up!

I find that in a lot of areas there is a dominant honeyeater and very often where ever this noisy bird is, it is aggressive and sees off many other honeyeaters and other birds.

White-plumed Honeyeater (Ptilotula penicillata)

I returned the next morning at dawn and just wandered this part of the track. In the early morning sun, the whole area was stunning and I loved the big trees.

The Brown Treecreeper appeared with a youngster in tow and I was thrilled to actually get them in the sunlight, just showing against the tree. What camouflage!

Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus)

As I walked further round, a young White-eared Honeyeater landed right in front of me. I blinked and blessed being at this place once again.

White-eared Honeyeater (Nesoptilotis leucotis)

Last up was another family of robins, this time the red-capped. A bit tricky to identify them at first as the family consisted of a female and 2 juveniles. Their call is unmistakable, which confirmed it.

Red-capped Robin (Petroica goodenovii)