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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andrew Whitehouse" data-source="post: 1551798" data-attributes="member: 3550">Day Eight: June 26th, Two People's Bay, WAI was down in the Albany area to try and look for the three 'skulking endemics': Noisy Scrub Bird, Western Bristlebird and Western Whipbird.  All are somewhat legendary in their abilities to avoid being seen, and this made the following few days quite hard work.  The weather, which became increasingly windy, didn't help either but the morning of 26th was actually rather fine and calm.I arrived just after dawn at Two People's Bay and began at the Little Beach car park.  Following the advice on <a href="http://members.iinet.net.au/~foconnor/" target="_blank">Frank O'Connor's website,</a> I waited in the car for quite a while in the hope that a Western Bristlebird would scuttle across in the open.  It didn't, although I thought I might have heard one in the distance.  I went down to the shore and had very distant views of a Sooty Oystercatcher.  Later I saw three much closer.  A few Australasian Gannets were drifiting about offshore.  On the rocks I had some good views of a few hulking Pacific Gulls, both the dark tailed adults and the very dark brown immatures.After spending a bit of time getting lost, I eventually found O'Connor's recommended site for Noisy Scrub Bird, and soon heard one singing in the distance.  It was at this point that it became apparent exactly why this species is so hard to see.  The scrub was very dense and, assuming the bird stayed on the ground, it was going to be impossible to see unless it crossed the very narrow path.  I gave it a bit of time, but it wasn't getting any closer, so I thought I'd explore some of the other sites in the area.On returning to the car I heard some scuttling about in the undergrowth nearby.  On investigating I was rewarded with very close views of a lovely Southern Emuwren.  Unlike the fairywrens I'd been seeing this was a cracking blue and rufous male with its long feathery plume-like tail.  I then headed over to the visitor centre from where I watched a Wedge-tailed Eagle soaring across the hillside. I spent the next few hours exploring the Sinker Reef track, which leads from near the visitor centre down towards the sea.  It was livelier for birds than Little Beach, but wasn't too good for the skulking specials.  There were very large numbers of New Holland Honeyeaters - much the commonest bird of the heathland.  Some more interesting honeyeaters were a gabbling group of Western Wattlebirds, looking distinctly different to the Red Wattlebirds that I'd been getting used to seeing.  Also around were some Western Spinebills and a single Tawny-crowned Honeyeater.  I had quick views of two Brush Bronzewings flying up from the firebreak alongside of the track and there was also a party of Red-capped Parrots in the scrub.Nearer to the coast I began to see some small, green Rock Parrots flying up from the firebreak.  Unfortunately they were almost impossible to see on the ground.  While I was looking for them a couple of small birds hopped up into a bush and I was delighted to see that they were Red-eared Firetails - one of the trickier endemics and perhaps the most beautiful.  These are small, delicately spotted and barred finches with bright crimson on the ear coverts and the tail.  Really splendid birds. I spent a while at the clifftops looking out to sea and began to notice some cloudy spurts of water drifting up from the waves.  Soon I noticed that these were coming from at least four rather distant Humpback Whales that were drifting serenely across the bay.I returned to Little Beach for the rest of the afternoon.  It was good for raptors and I had regular sightings of at least a couple of Little Eagles and two or three White-bellied Sea-eagles hawking over the hillsides or the bay.  A few Crested Terns were quartering just offshore.  Our skulking friends were more difficult.  I heard another Scrub Bird and then returned to where I'd heard the first bird in the morning.  This was singing a bit closer to the track, but it didn't seem to be thinking of actually coming out into the open.  After some waiting the weather began to deteriorate and I made my way back to the car.  Clearly seeing these skulkers was going to be even more difficult than I'd initially thought.Here's a recording of the Noisy Scrub Bird, battling against the wind, and a couple of pictures from Sinker's Reef.</blockquote>

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