Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Mount Ive and Mount Ive Station, South Australia.

Friday 3 November 2023

Mount Ive and Mount Ive Station, South Australia.

A lifer Grasswren day.

Australia, Day Fifty Seven.

Ebird List for Mt Ive.

The Summit of Mt Ive, our destination.

After a decent nights sleep we were up and around and soon getting ready for the accent of Mt Ive, all 309 meters of it but before we set off we saw Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena), Yellow-throated Miner (Manorina flavigula), Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis), White-browed Babbler (Pomatostomus superciliosus) and Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes).

My first views of the extreamly elusive Short-tailed Grasswren (Amytornis merrotsyi) through the Spinifex Tussocks it lives amongst.

Short-tailed Grasswren (Amytornis merrotsyi).

We drove to the halfway point and the started our search for the difficult to find Short-tailed Grasswren (Amytornis merrotsyi) and it was difficult but after some time Deb and then Ian started to hear a pair in the thick Spinifex grass tussocks below us so we spread out and watched.

Short-tailed Grasswren (Amytornis merrotsyi).

After a while a bird appeared in front of Ian and I got around to him in time to get tickable views before they went missing again but a little while later it reappeared and I managed to get some pictures through the tussocks and then for just a couple of seconds one of the two birds sat out for me, such a brilliant group of birds.

On our way up the hill.

Whilst we were searching we also saw Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis), Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides), Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus), Singing Honeyeater (Gavicalis virescens), Southern Whiteface (Aphelocephala leucopsis), Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) and Small White (Pieris rapae).

Deb and Ian at the Summit of Mt Ive.

Happy Grasswren birders.

As we walked back to the car we saw several Lizard species which I still need to get names for along with Euro / Common Wallaroo (Osphranter robustus), Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus), Little Raven (Corvus mellori), Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) and Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys).

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The view from where we parked.

Just about clinging to life.

Once we were back at the car we returned to the station and chilled for a while until things cooled down the later Deb and I headed out for a longish walk from the Station searching for the Western Grasswren (Amytornis textilis) but we didn't find it but did find Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans), Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), Little Buttonquail (Turnix velox), White-winged (Malurus leucopterus) and Splendid Fairywren (Malurus splendens), Redthroat (Pyrrholaemus brunneus), Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae), White-fronted Chat (Epthianura albifrons) and Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius ssp zonarius) the Port Lincoln ssp.