Flinders Ranges

I camped near Stokes Hill, a sure-fire site for the newly classified species of Grasswren, the Short-tailed Grasswren. Or what the locals like to call the Flinders Ranges Grasswren. I drove to the top of the lookout and over the spinifex plains which claimed to support many families of grasswrens. From what I'd seen of grasswren habitat in the past though, the area looked far from promising, with plenty of spinifex, but little other vegetation to add diversity. After a good 30 minutes of searching, I eventually came across some squeaks in the spinifex clumps. I tried to coax them out with bad squeaking noises, but it wasn't too be. I decided I had enough, and made a mental decision to give up the chase. Being mind readers, this is when birds always seem to appear! A cute little Short-tailed Grasswren appeared on a rock in front of me, and continued to pop up in different locations around me, trying to see whats was going on in his hood. Satisfied with my views and photos, I continued on to a dam at the bottom of Stokes Hill. Elegant Parrots skimmed the dam surface and took rest on a nearby bush. Red rumped Parrots and Galah's also came into drink. Moving on to Wilpena Pound, i made a brief stop for a snake that slithered across the road in front of me. At Wilpena Pound, Mallee Ringnecks drank from a cleaners hose in the campground. A young Mallee Ringneck contantly harrassed it parent to give it what ever it had. I didn't do the walk into Wilpena Pound, but instead decided to visit Arkaroo Rock. A small, beautifully marked, Painted Dragon posed nicely for me on arrival. There were lots of Inland Thornbills around, and even a Southern Scrubrobin in the dense scrub along the track. I found a small waterhole, but the only things that came down to drink, where a few feral goats. Time came to head back south down to Port Augusta.