Check my birding map for specific location.
The Botanic Gardens in Alice Springs is a most unusual place. Every other such garden I have been to is a lush, green place full of exotic plants and trees. In the Red Centre, it is very different. In my first visit I struggled to tell the difference between one dry, brown bush and the next. There is a walk you can follow around the back of the garden and a rocky hillside is the home of Black-footed Rock Wallabies. There are also more brown, dry bushes.
I was extremely excited, however, to immediately find the Western Bowerbird displaying at its bower. I have seen several species of bowerbird in Australia but this guy won the handsome competition hands down. What a stunning bird and when it displayed the lilac crest, it was amazing.
Western Bowerbird (chlamydera guttata)
On my second visit to the garden I realised there was a bird-attracting garden which I set out to find. Consisting of several flowering bushes, I could immediately hear the squeaky call of the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater. There were several of them feeding inside the bushes and I had to wait awhile before they peeked out.
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (acanthagenys rufogularis)
The other honeyeater buzzing around was the White-plumed Honeyeater. They are a common bird here and while exciting for me to see, the locals view them with some contempt for their noise.
White-plumed Honeyeater (ptilotula penicillata)
On the ground I found a group of Grey-crowned Babbler. I love these birds with their squabbling and chattering. They were investigating the leaf litter and I followed them to a nest where they were feeding young. For a dry semi-dead appearing landscape, it was certainly shaping up to be a haven for birdlife!
Grey-crowned Babbler (pomatostomus temporalis)
The high pitched pinging of the Port Lincoln Ringneck caught my attention close to the visitor centre and I found a group of them tearing off small figs from a tree. Unfortunately, I don't think they were ripe and the birds left them scattered on the ground. This bird was just double checking.
Port Lincoln Ringneck Parrot (barnaridus zonarius)
All in all I really liked this unusual park. The more time I spent there, the more I found out about desert wildlife and that looks can be deceiving.
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