The enigmatic grasswrens are usually high up on any birders most wanted list when they visit Australia, but they are always difficult birds to connect with, mainly because they usually inhabit very remote and hard to get to places. You can't just fly to Sydney and see them during a walk around the botanic gardens!
Not surprising therefore that I was delighted to see several western grasswrens at Monkey Mia today. Also today lots of waders including Terek sandpiper, great knot, red-necked stint and red-capped plover, and terns were again well represented, with at least 40 Caspian as well as a few each of crested and lesser crested and fairy terns, the latter being a new tern for the holiday list.
Not difficult to find, but they were a pain to photograph. They would land in full view for about 1 second before very quickly hopping off into the undergrowth. I barely had time to raise my camera before they were gone. In the end I was just happy with what I got and decided that my time was better spent just observing them! While I was watching them I also saw white-browed babblers and southern scrub robin, both of which I have seen before at Port Lincoln.
They are definately an early morning bird. In the heat of the afternoon, following our dugong tour, I could still hear them but I didn't see a single grasswren.
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