Wildlife Preservation Autumn 2012.indd - Wildlife Protection Society ...

eucalypt-lined creeks bustling with
breeding birdlife and an array of other
animals that crossed our path.
During one lucky afternoon an
endangered malleefowl crossed the
road just metres in front of our car!
We stopped and quickly jumped out to
grab photographs, expecting the bird
to hasten away into the woodland, but
amazingly it walked slowly in a circle
and allowed us to get very close shots.
Another time we observed a burrowing
bearded dragon as it took over three
hours to excavate a nest-chamber in
the side of the road near our camp.
Galahs nested in just about every
hollow-bearing tree we passed, and in
others we were lucky enough to nd
cockatiels and budgerigars. Although
the latter species is common in
metropolitan pet shops, nothing beats
seeing massive ocks of them wheeling
through the outback, their vivid green
clouds a stark contrast to the red dust.
Outback birds are usually common
where surface water is present, and we
were lucky that most areas we travelled
through had had a thorough soaking
in Autumn and Winter. Although it
was now late Spring, the rivers still had
quite deep pools and there were even
waterholes around a large breakaway
which I had only ever seen empty in
the drier months. This breakaway was
right near a campsite and we spent
three days discovering its secrets. We
found that one particular waterhole,
or ‘gnamma’ as the Yamatji people call
them, was well known to local birdlife,
and decided to sit quietly one morning
and see what came in. Just after sunrise
we heard many zebra nch calls, and
had great pleasure watching dozens of
them utter in to drink. Then came the
diamond doves, a few budgies, a lone
galah and even a Western bowerbird.
I tried creeping closer to the waterhole
but as soon as I moved from our hiding
spot among some tall grasses, the
birds zipped away and stayed hidden
in their perch tree, refusing to drink.
After several attempts to get photos
I decided it would be a good idea to
leave my motion-sensitive camera at
the edge of the water, come back in a
few hours and see what photos I had
got. Squatting near the waterhole I
found a rock to balance my camera
against and tinkered with it, nding
the right position. And then something
amazing happened. A bold zebra nch
ew down onto the rock, hopped along
Australian Wildlife Vol 2 - Autumn 2012
A pair of vibrant green budgerigars sharing a kiss
A male zebra finch comes to drink at an outback waterhole
A diamond dove waits for the finches to leave before he can drink
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