Well, I was right about the malleefowl mound being abandoned, or at least not active this year in harsh conditions. Ispent an hour or so there this morning and there was no activity so I decided to move on. I had been given the location of a reserve east of Hattah-Kulkyne National Park where there were a bunch of active mounds and specific directions to two mounds that were active as recently as a couple weeks ago and should still be maintained for at least another month or two. With these directions I headed back north in that direction arriving in the early afternoon. Idid a quick scouting trip and located both mounds without too much trouble and even spotted a Mallefowl in the vicinity of one. From everythingI have read, the birds monitor the mounds in the early morning and then tend to leave them alone during the day, or at least make more infrequent visits. Knowing this I decided to just go watch one mound this evening and while I didn't see the bird I did figure out where I want to set up in the morning. If the light is good, I should be able to get some shots if the birds are in fact maintaining the mound and judging by all the fresh scrapings I am pretty sure they are.
I just should point out that the Malleefowl was another land mark in my list for my trip, number 450. I am only including birds that I have actually seen, not just heard, so it could actually be a bit higher but thats just the rules I set for myself for the year. Just thought I would point that out since Iam amazed I have seen that many so far in only four and a half months. This really is an amazing country.
You may notice that I finally got a nice male fairywren to go up in the corner of my website. I have been wanting one for a while and it is hard to turn down this one. Hope you like the new splash of color.
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