Lyndhurst

The day continued to be blustery and overcast, so i did the express route past the Flinder's Ranges. I popped into Brachina Gorge quickly, but it was blowing a gale through the gorge, and birding opportunities were limited. I continued up to Lyndhurst, kidding myself that the weather might be better the further inland i went. So I headed straight for the Chestnut-breasted Whiteface sites on Mt Lyndhurst. The sun was starting to set and i found myself in a vast, apparently barren, windswept environment with little signs of life. After giving up on finding the 'mine site', the 'two gates site' and 'car wreck site', I thought i'd just get out and see what was around. I knew i was in 'roughly' the right area, but the rocky hills provided little inspiration. I headed down into a small gully... probably formed over a million years or more... it was nearly 1 metre deep! :) More a drain of the hard rock strewn hills, it was lined with small trees and shrubs, some containing mistletoe, which provided a small splash of colour against the dark brown rocky hills. Down in the gully i really started to appreciated the beauty of Australia's seemingly arid interior. Crested Pigeons appeared at first, followed by the squeaking of Variegated Fairy Wrens. They appeared in front of me, gleaming in the setting sun light, providing more than a mere splash of colour, they revealed the full spectrum of natures glorious palette. Singing Honeyeaters fed on the mistletoe and Rufous Fieldwrens appeared in the scrub further out from the gullies. No target species, but i found myself in a unique birding experience that was something more special. I couldn't miss Chestnut-breasted Whiteface though. They'd just have to wait till morning! The crack of dawn came and the Chestnut-breasted Whiteface search began. I found the mine site, and the first encounter was a pair of Mulga Parrots. I headed up one of the hills, and towards the only decent sized tree in the area. My intuition paid off... a pair of whiteface darted up from the ground and into the tree. They didn't stay long, and it turned out to be my only sighting off them. I explored the area, and came across a family of Red-backed Kingfishers with 3 juveniles. Another tick and totally unexpected. After a few hours of walking around, it was back to the car and back off towards the road. Fate struck to my benefit, and a flat tyre occurred right next to the 'car wreck site'...oh the irony. The area had quiet a few Large Billed Grasswren, and even some Black-faced Woodswallows turned up. For such a barren place, Lyndhurst really turned on the goods, with about 15-20 species being seen in the area. No Cinnamon Quail Thrush hovever. : (