Desert Park

 

Check my birding map for specific location. 

Desert Park in Alice Springs is probably the best wildlife park that I have ever been to and that is somewhat of a surprise in the middle of the desert. A combination of excellent planning, well maintained exhibits and incredibly interesting local animals makes it a place you can spend a lot of time at! I was there for a full day. I had tried to leave at lunchtime and visit somewhere else but there seemed no point when the area was just buzzing with birds. Some that I include here are from aviaries but there was also plenty to see walking around the park itself. 

The fairywrens were such a bird with the Splendid and Purple-backed calling in lots of places. This was the first sighting in 2022 for me of the former so I stalked them until I found the glorious male.

Splendid Fairywren (malurus splendens)

And now a contrast of colours. The rather plain looking thornbill family are small songbirds with a pale eye. This is the Chestnut-rumped Thornbill and I really enjoyed watching it sitting up and calling.

Chestnut-rumped Thornbill (acanthiza uropygialis)

It's neighbour was a rather more brightly coloured Red-capped Robin and it too was in calling mood. My camera struggled with the vibrance of the red.

Red-capped Robin (petroica goodenovii)

In one of the aviaries I could hear a reed warbler calling and stood patiently until it appeared. These birds give everything when they are calling, their whole body shakes. It is quite a sight.

Australian Reed Warbler (acrocephalus australis)

The surprising highlights of the exhibits were the incredible numbats. I'd never seen them before and I watched them for a while as they dug in the ground and chatted to each other. They are marsupials that feed on termites (hence the long nose I suppose). I really hope I get to see animals like this in the wild.

Numbat (myrmecobius fasciatus)

I have saved the best for last though. I have been on the road in Australia for 6 months now and I am always looking for buttonquail. Having visited lots of places where they have been seen and frequently thinking about where they might be, I had just about given up that they really existed. As ever, while wandering the park I had an eye out for them when, to my shock, I saw one scrabbling around in the dirt right next to the path I was on. It was tiny, cryptic and shy. Luckily there weren't other people around so I could watch it for a while. Difficult to photograph in the dark and as it moved around so fast, I was so pleased to get a couple of sharp(ish) shots.

Little Buttonquail (turnix velox)

Desert Park was an incredible birding location, no doubt!

eBird List
https://ebird.org/australia/checklist/S117303160