Princess Parrots!

                   

Princess Parrots. The name itself is magical to me. They are the parrots Sean Dooley decided not to try for in the Big Twitch because they live “…about as far from anywhere as you can go and still be on Earth.” But as he also said, “they are as beautiful as they are rare.” I have referred to them as ‘pastel parrot porn.’ The subtle shades of blue and pink and green are stunning, heart stopping, breathtaking. They are slender birds with a very long tapering tail that give them an elegant profile. Even seen only in silhouette they are unmistakable. And we saw them! I am still trying to get that into my brain.

The trip had been being planned for a year by Bernie O’Keefe. I became a part of it through my dear friend, Robert Shore. He began suggesting that he and I join this expedition months ago. And I am very, very glad that he did. Sometimes I need a bit of a push. My issues with anxiety are something I have been open about and have dealt with all my life. On occasion, I really have to force myself to do what I ‘know’ I want to do. I am extremely grateful when I am able to do that. I will not let my comfort zones become shackles.
     

Bernie had done a lot of research and planning. He is a teacher and he is organized. I love that. We had itineraries, we had phone numbers, we had permits to transit Aboriginal Lands and we had checklists of supplies and equipment. He had also been in touch with Ian May who was generous with his copious knowledge. He has probably seen more Princess Parrots, more consistently, than any other birder.

 

I spoke with John Weigel about his sightings in that area and got his thoughts on how to pursue these avian treasures. I also spoke with Mark Carter and pretty much they both said the same thing. Look and listen early in the morning along the dunes through which the road passes. If the birds are present, they can be heard and seen moving about and feeding. Seemingly they are only active in the morning, although indeed a flock could fly-by any time of day (more about that later).

The Thunderbird Princess Parrot Expedition team consisted of: Bernie O’Keefe, Glen Pacey, Robert Shore, Bill Twiss and David Adam and me. Bernie had come up with the name Thunderbirds and yes, it’s cool. We were in four vehicles: Robert and I in our troopies, Bernie and Glen in Bernie’s Triton 4WD Ute, and Bill and David in Bill’s Prado.

(photo by Bernie O'Keefe)

I will not go into the details of the trip up or out. On 24 September we left Alice Springs. It is a long drive mostly on an unsealed road that is often very rough, and sometimes has spots with soft sand. It is not an easy drive, but certainly not ‘bad.’ We bush camped just past Papunya and then carried on to Jupiter Well the next day.

   

There are even portions where one can safely roll along at 80+ kph. After our last possible fuel stop in the aboriginal community of Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia we had 136 more kilometres to Jupiter Well. After that, there were some long stretches of soft sand that were better in 4WD. But all in all, I was never uncomfortable about the road. Troopi was definitely in her element.

       

We had a look around John Weigel’s site about 46 kilometres east of the well and then continued on to set up camp. We were there. We were at Jupiter Well. I loved it, really loved it.

Dawn breaking at Jupiter Well. This is life.

The first thing the next morning we decided to check out the areas we had heard about to the west of the well. We did and they were underwhelming in habitat. We headed back to the eastern areas with more desert oak and marbled gum trees. As we rolled slowly along about 17 kilometres east of the camp, Glen and I saw a small flock of parrots flying ahead of us. Robert and Bernie had already stopped and jumped out of the ute. As we caught up to them, we were looking at the small flock as it wheeled and crossed the road up ahead. Bernie had his thumbs up and said, “It’s them! Princess Parrots!” He and Robert had been closer and had gotten better views, but we did indeed see them! The birds were very backlit, but unmistakable. The little flock of 8-10 birds flew south, disappearing into the trees. Bill and David had been further back and had not seen them at all. So the team headed into the bush searching and searching for the flock, but without success. 

Princess Parrots!! (Photo by Bernie O'Keefe)

Glen and my Lifer Selfie for Princess Parrots! But there were more to come...

Back at camp I called and checked in with Lynn as best as I could on the satellite phone (at times the reception was poor). I managed to tell her the parrots had been seen on our first morning! Then the group had a quiet afternoon as the heat had begun building out there. We did a bit of looking for lizards and we found a few.
   

(photo by Robert Shore)

The next day we had Bill and David take the front since they had not seen the parrots yet. We did not see any that morning, but we did check out a large dam where some members of the team decided to stay and sit and watch. Bernie, Glen and I did a bit more driving and checking along the roadsides then headed back to camp about noon as the temperatures began to climb. I had a wondrously refreshing ‘bath’ under the bore pump and then I settled into my camp chair in the shade. 

     

Glen and I were conversing under the desert oaks and then… I looked up and shouted, “What the F***!” (sadly, that is an exact quote). About 25 to 30 Princess Parrots few directly over us at tree top height in formation like a pastel bomber squadron. Glen yelled, “PRINCESS PARROTS!” Bernie popped up from where he was napping in the shade, but missed them. Then another flock of 10 to 15 flew over just behind us only moments later. This was around 1:30pm in the heat of the arvo. They seemed to be on their way somewhere. For the next couple of hours we searched the areas in the direction they were traveling, but we did not refind them.

The next morning we again headed out east. We knew there were parrots around; we just needed for the whole team to see them. About seven kilometres from camp the lead car stopped. There were six Princess Parrots literally posing in a small dead tree on the top of the dune line. YES! 

(Photo by David Adam)

They flew, but they went down behind the dune and we soon relocated them feeding in a small bush. We took photos and we rejoiced. However, Robert had gone over to that large dam and was not with us. Bernie tore down there to tell him. Soon he was back and had excellent views of these birds as well. Brace yourselves, here come the photos...

       

Glen looking at the bush where the parrots had been.

So there you have it! The Thunderbird Princess Parrot Expedition was a complete success. The parrots were seen by some of the team every day and that was beyond our expectations. Bernie O’keefe did a wonderful job planning and organising the expedition. He wrote an excellent trip report which I will add at the end of this blog entry when I can figure out how to do it (no luck yet...).

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