Success!!! I started the day in search of the elusive grasswrens found in and around Mt. Isa. The morning started at a site along Duchess Road where within about 20 minutes, I found a party of 3, possibly 4, Kalkadoon Grasswrnes along a dry creek gully. I followed them around for a bit and eventually I was able to get some good photos. During these next few weeks I will have chances to see 6 different species of grasswrens and while Ihad hoped to see and photograph some of them, I honestly didnt' have very high hopes for photographing any of them. So needless to say, I was thrilled with these photos (above).
From there I moved on to another site, about 60 kilometers west of Mt. Isa. Here Ihoped to find the Carpentarian Grasswren, reportedly one of the shiest of these birds. Again, within about 20 minutes of arriving at the site, I found a bird singing and within a few more minutes, I had seen three birds.. However, unlike the Kalkadoon Grasswrens of this morning, these birds were extremely flighty and would not let me get anywhere near them so photos were out of the question. However, in the morning I will give it another shot and see what I can find.
As I left the site, I decided to stop at another site where they had been seen in recent years and offered bushcamping. I pulled in and parked my car and decided to go for a bit of a walk just to see what is around. Within about 300 meters of the car, I was amazed to find another three Carpentarian Grasswrens and just like the others, these birds disapeared very quickly. However, I now had two sites to try in the morning so after a nice dinner, Iheaded to bed so I could be up early tomorrow.
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