The Cuckoo's Nest: Desperately Seeking Shrike-tit

The birder in me is a shameless opportunist as I believe all birders must be; and often this opportunism pays off. There are, after all, birds pretty much everywhere and potential lifers around every corner - especially in the country. So, on an overnight trip to Brookton this week, I found time for a spot of birding and allowed myself to hope for a sighting of my nemesis bird: the Crested Shrike-tit.

I arrived in the late afternoon and met up with my daughter who obligingly agreed to come for a drive in the last light of day. We spotted a young Nankeen Night-heron, plenty of Wood Ducks and a Black-fronted Dotterel in a couple of the dams in town. No lifers yet...

We continued around the outlying farmland and saw Rainbow Bee-eaters along with the ubiquitous species like Willy Wagtails and Welcome Swallows, as well as a pair of Black-faced Woodswallows. (If there was ever a bird equivalent of Grumpy Cat, these little Woodswallows would have to be contenders.) Still no lifers...

But then, in a patch of low scrub I spotted my first ever Brown Songlark. Hallelujah! It sat briefly for a photo before disappearing into the fading light. We immediately celebrated with a self-congratulatory counter meal and a beer.

In the early morning, I said goodbye to my lovely girl (who took the Welcome Swallow photo at the grain bins later that morning - see below) and began the drive back to Perth. Along the way is a small nature reserve. This reserve is not far from Boyagin Rock and sits between Dryandra and Flint State Forest on Brookton Highway. It is, rather predictably, called the Brookton Highway Nature Reserve. Based on its location, I thought this could be the the place to see the Crested Shrike-tit. I'd searched at both Flint and Dryandra for this elusive bird after some reported sightings without success and was eager to try again.

It had been raining and I drove slowly into the reserve past a pair of young Red-capped Parrots that looked very bedraggled. A short wander through the forest revealed a little group of uncharacteristically bold Blue-breasted Fairy-wrens as well as Western Gerygones, a Rufous Tree-creeper and a hollow log that was home to a marsupial of some description judging by the platelets around the entrance. Just the type of critters I'd expect to see alongside Crested Shrike-tits - but the canopy was high and devoid of their call, and I didn't have a lot of time before I had to be back in Perth for work. I admitted defeat - once again they eluded me.

Even so, one lifer and some very nice shots of the Fairy-wrens made for a happy birder.

And the quest for my nemesis continues...