Tasmania was all too brief but I had to keep moving. I flew to Adelaide to stage my next journey, focusing on the Scarlet-chested Parrot. I did a lot of hand-wringing and pacing on this one. Several aussie birders warned me that this was no easy species to find and I thought it unlikely I would see one.
Far in the remote outback desert of South Australia, I was following the directions of an old sight record and made a crucial error. I took a left when I should have turned right. Realizing I had gone the wrong direction I back-tracked and parked my truck. Then miraculously I spotted a flash of color in the mulga scrub. A scarlet chested male feeding!
I had that surreal, this-just-cant-be-happening feeling as I watched this fantastic little parrot. I tore myself away to run back to the vehicle for a tripod. When I returned he was gone. I was exasperated! However I decided to circle around in the area and Bingo! There he was again. This time I was ready!
I traveled back to the area every day for 5 days to see if I could relocate the Scarlet-chest. I wasnt disapointed. My final day of filming was the best ever even though the hottest. However I took precautions as this day was 47 deg. C. The flies were so bad at one point it looked like I had a black watch-band on my wrist. They were gathered at my shirtsleeve for the sweat and moisture. A head-net was mandatory to keep sane as I filmed.
On my last day there a male came flying in out of nowhere. Then another male came in! There was a brief scuffle as they fought for this favored shady spot. Having won the battle he dug down into the sand in the shade of a clump of Mulga to keep cool. I filmed and watched him for a total of about 3 hours! What an amazing opportunity and this trip was second only to my Princess adventure!
June 28, 2009 at 6:47 pm |
Hello Sir,
Can I have your story about the scarlet chested on my hobby site, I find the story very interessant.Sorry but my English is not so good, I `m from the netherlands in Europe.
cheers Ruud
June 28, 2009 at 11:08 pm |
Hi Ruud:
So glad you enjoyed the story about Scarlet-chested parrots. They are amazing birds! This was one of the most amazing parts of my whole journey and I simply assumed I would never encounter such a hard-to-find species.
Yes you may publish my story about the Scarlet-chest on your site if you are so kind to create a link to my wordpress blog here at polytemis.wordpress.com. I will send you details in a private email. Again welcome to the blog and so glad you enjoyed the Scarlet-chest adventure!
Don
May 5, 2010 at 2:45 am |
Hallo Don,
You did very well to see Scarlet-chests and Princess parrots – had very good fortune, too! We lived in Alice Springs for 6 years and spent a lot of time looking for these birds, including at Tobin and Serpentine Lakes, Lake Amadeus, Canegrass and Gluepot, where they are seen. We always missed out! I assume you saw the Princess round the Tobin Lake area. Can you tell me where you saw the Scarlets? I know they are very mobile, but am always interested in where they have been seen. Incidentally, we once had a good close-up look at Swift parrots from the deck of our house in Merimbula, NSW, which is adjacent to a narrow belt of State forest. We sometimes see Gang-gangs and Glossy cockatoos from here too. We have also seen Ground parrots in a nearby area.