Birding Around Esperance

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Tara

Almost a year ago, I did a post on using Esperance as a gateway to the southern coast of Western Australia and Cape Arid National Park. A couple of months ago I finally had a chance to visit and try my luck at finding Rock Parrots. There are several places they are known to be found as shown on the map below. The Twilight Beach area is to the west of Esperance and a prime habitat. In the past, they have been seen near the pier right in town, but unfortunately at the time of my visit there was construction going on and the whole area was blocked for safety reasons. Then there is the Bandy Creek area to the east of Esperance which is the yellow highlighted section that has the red dot.

Esperance Rock Parrots

The scenery was gorgeous and we did see a few honey-eaters but no Rock Parrots. I had hoped the water around the windmill would have attracted some but no luck.

The next morning it was time to try Bandy Creek. This map has a bit more detail. You can see where the road ends, there is a car park there and a few trails heading off into the dunes that have the kind of bushes Rock Parrots would be attracted to.

This is a popular place for locals to go fishing and walk their dogs so there were a few people around. I went down to the beach, then walked back up to find a rock I could sit on and watch and listen. After about 20 minutes, I saw a flash of green as two small Rock Parrots (which I recognized as being similar in size to Elegant Parrots) shot out of a bush and flew over a sand dune. I attempted to follow but there is just no way I had the physical fitness to clamber up and down sand dunes and they escaped un-photographed much to my frustration! I waited a while longer hoping they would return but they didn’t. You can’t win ’em all!

Lifemiles Brings Back “The Best Promotion in the Americas”

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Tara

Remember, you should only buy miles if you will be using them very soon as there is always a risk they may devalue. Having said that, Lifemiles is now the cheapest source of Star Alliance miles since US Airways joined OneWorld if you can’t manufacture spend.

Read my review of Avianca Lifemiles program

Buy miles and receive the double!

Buy miles 2×1 is back! The promotion that has been recognized as the Best Promotion in the Americas at the 2014 Freddie Awards.

Between May 5^th and 30^th, for each block of 1,000 miles you buy, LifeMiles will give you a bonus of 100% more, that can be redeemed to fly to more than 1,300 destinations with Avianca, AeroGal, Star Alliance member airlines and other partner airlines. You can also enjoy your miles with the program’s extensive commercial partner network, between more than 100,000 hotels in 90 countries, for songs from the best Universal Music artists, Car Rentals, LifeMiles Catalog and much more.

Terms and Conditions

This promotion is available through Avianca Call Centers, LifeMiles.com and Avianca Information Centers, except Colombia where is available only through the Call Center and LifeMiles.com.

For residents of Venezuela, it is only available through LifeMiles.com.

This promotion is available between May 5th, and May 30th, 2014, as the last date of purchase.

Minimum of miles to buy per transaction: LM1,000.

Maximum miles to buy per transaction: LM75,000.

Maximum miles to buy during a calendar year: LM150,000 (including the bonus for promotional mile purchase).

Miles must be purchased in multiples of 1,000.

Maximum number of transactions: 1 transaction. At LifeMiles.com, the purchase can only be done through Earn/Buy LifeMiles.

Does not apply to the Flexible Redemption (miles + money) during the payment process of air ticket redemption.

Each package of 1,000 miles costs USD 35.40, including all taxes applicable to each country*.

For residents in Colombia, each pack of 1,000 miles has a cost of USD 30.

The values are settled in Colombian pesos at the TRM rate of the date of the transaction.

For residents in Peru, each pack of 1,000 miles has a cost of USD 35.4 or S/.99.1 including taxes.

Reference exchange rate to April 1 2014: S/.2.80 per 1 USD.

For residents in Costa Rica, each pack of 1,000 miles has a cost of USD 30.

The values are settled in the exchange rate of the date of the transaction.

Form of payment through Call Center and LifeMiles.com: International credit or debit card.

Cash payments are only allowed at Avianca Information Centers.

Other conditions: Applies only to members enrolled in the program prior to May 5th, 2014.

The miles purchase transaction receipt will show the total of miles credited to the customer’s account, including bonus, and the total amount charged for the transaction.

The miles bought and earned with this promotion do not apply to achieve Elite status.

The amount paid for the miles purchase is not refundable.

The miles are not endorsable.

Miles purchased, once accrued, can be redeemed in accordance with the conditions specified in the LifeMiles Program Terms and Conditions and the portfolio of products and services available for redemption.

LifeMiles Terms and Conditions apply.

* The price may be lower depending on the country of residence registered in the members account in the database.

Scottevests For Mom 30% Off Sale

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Tara

Travel clothing maker Scottevest has a large range of jackets and vests with their unique pocket systems. Maybe your Mother (or wife or sister or girlfriend) would like one of these. And don’t forget to add promo code MOM2014 for a 30% discount off 6 of their best ladies designs!

Scottevest for Mom!

This Kelly Jacket is fun and sporty looking and has 10 strategically placed pockets!

The links above are my affiliate link. It costs you nothing extra to use them and I do appreciate your support! Thank you!

Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang)

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Tara

The Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang) is a small Australian robin that reaches 13 cm in length. The male has a black head and upper parts, with a conspicuous white forehead patch, white wing stripes and white tail-edges. The male has a bright scarlet-red chest and a white belly. The female is pale brown, darker above, and has a dull reddish breast and whitish throat.

The Scarlet Robin is endemic to Australia, where it is found near the coast from southern Queensland to central South Australia, Tasmania and south west Western Australia. The species is mostly sedentary over most of its range, but some mainland populations undergo small local movements in the autumn and winter, either to more open habitats or lower elevations. The Scarlet Robin is most commonly found in eucalyptus woodland and forest from sea level to 1000 m, particularly the more open habitats with grassy and shrubby understories.

I saw them in several places – Dryandra Woodland, Stirling Range, Fitzgerald River, Kalbarri and Bruny Island. The bright red chest makes them stand out so they are easily spotted within their range.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SCARLET ROBINS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

NSW Environment & Heritage

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

Fitzgerald River National Park – Stunning Scenery But No Western Ground Parrots

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Tara

I knew it was a longshot but had to give it a go anyways. Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in Western Australia, 419 kilometres southeast of Perth. It was once one of the last two remaining habitats for Western Ground Parrots but recent surveys have failed to locate any here, leaving Cape Arid as the last remaining habitat.

FRNP can be approached via Albany and Bremer Bay in the west, Jerramungup and Ravensthorpe in the north and Hopetoun in the east. The only accommodation inside the actual park are campgrounds. If you want a roof over your head, you will need to stay in one of the towns just outside the park border. Most of the roads within the park are 4wd track only but the Hamersley Drive from Hopetoun is suitable for normal cars.

There is a nice picnic ground at Four Mile Beach with beautiful sea views. Culham Inlet is a good spot for water birds. A full bird list can be found here. Fees are payable at the unmanned entrance via an honesty box. You pay and tear off a receipt to display on your window.

The southern portion of Hamersley Drive is a sealed road that winds along a beautiful part of the coast between the park’s eastern boundary and Hamersley Inlet. This drive will take you to all the main recreation sites in the south-eastern corner of the park: Four Mile Beach, Barrens Beach, Barrens Lookout, East Mount Barren, East Mylies, Mylies Beach, Cave Point and West Beach. – See more at: http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/fitzgerald-river#sthash.GZi9Iv2e.dpuf

I didn’t get very many shots here but here’s a few!

SriLankan Airlines Joins Oneworld

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Tara

It’s official, Sri Lankan Airlines is the latest member of OneWorld, hot on the heels of US Airways and TAM! Depending on the routing rules of your OneWorld airline’s frequent flyer program, this can open up some great opportunities for mini-eco-tourism stops when flying between Europe & Asia. Have a look at the route map. I highlighted the destinations Sri Lankan serves with their own metal as code-shares usually can’t be booked as awards.

SPENDING A DAY LAYOVER IN COLOMBO, SRI LANKA

Most nationalities can transit Sri Lanka without a visa. This makes it very easy to do a day trip to Kithulgala for some amazing birding!

Transit visa

Transit visa up to 48 hours currently issued free of charge only at www.eta.gov.lk (travelers must have ETA reference number)

If there is any inquiry regarding ETA pleases contact:

Hotline: 0094 71 9967888
fax: 0094 11 2674631
email: eta@immigration.gov.lk

Now in actual practice, you will only get less than 24 hours if you are using a transit through Colombo as part of an award. This is still time to make a day trip to Kithulgala. I’ve blogged about my stay there last year. Even though we stayed the night, it’s close enough to the airport that you could hire a taxi for the day in the arrival hall to go there.

Lodge Review: Ravensthorpe Motel

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Tara

While it is actually a motel rather than a lodge, the Ravensthorpe Motel does enjoy a good location for birders visiting Fitzgerald River National Park. Since the park itself only offers camping, there are not a lot of choices if you prefer a roof over your head! It’s a typical friendly small town country motel and more attractive than most. Prices are very reasonable and they have some tourist information brochures in the lobby.

You park in front of your room. They have free Wifi but you need to be near the reception to catch the signal.

The rooms are simply furnished but still very clean and have everything you need for an overnight stay.

I was very happy with Ravensthorpe Motel for being near enough to Fitzgerald for an early morning birding trip. There are other birding opportunities near Ravensthorpe too.

1000 ~ Free AAdvantage Miles – Facebook Game

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Tara

Free miles are free miles and they all add up! This game has been out a few weeks but I forgot to post about it. There are still 3 weeks to go and you can knock over all the non-flying activities in around 15 minutes. I managed to get 1175 miles!

You just need to go to the Facebook app, log in, link your AAdvantage account and start doing the mini-quizzes.

How to play

From March 21, 2014 to May 23, 2014 American Airlines is making it even more fun to earn American Airlines AAdvantage® miles! The AAdvantage Passport Challenge has something for everyone – earn bonus miles for completing social activities and playing games, plus earn even more bonus miles when you earn AAdvantage miles while flying select routes or for beating a personal goal set just for you.

Learn & earn

Earn up to 600 bonus miles for successfully completing all games! Simply click to launch each game and follow the instructions. Bonus miles awarded depend on how well you play. A portion of these bonus miles will be credited to you when you share with your friends on Facebook or when you ‘Like’ some of our AAdvantage partners. Plus, complete all games and earn an additional 100 bonus miles.

Be social & earn

Earn 200 bonus miles for completing all social actions! Simply click to launch each social action and follow the instructions. Plus, complete all social actions and earn an additional 50 bonus miles.

Fly & earn

Earn 250 bonus miles for successfully completing the trivia questions for all five Fly & Earn stamps.

Earn an additional 450 bonus miles per stamp when you fly and earn AAdvantage miles on the types of flights required for each stamp. These bonus miles are in addition to miles you earn for flying on American Airlines, US Airways, oneworld® airlines, and other participating airlines. Beat your personal Elite Qualifying Points (EQP) goal and earn 2,500 bonus miles, in addition to any you normally earn for flying. Your personal goal will be displayed in your passport within a few days of providing your AAdvantage account number. During the promotional period, we’ll update your passport regularly to show you how many miles you’ve earned for each stamp. Plus, we’ll track your progress toward your EQP goal.

Plus, completing 3 flight activities (trivia + flying) earns 500 bonus miles, completing 4 activities earns 1,000 bonus miles, and completing 5 activities earns 4,500 bonus miles!

Click here for more information about Fly & Earn

Click here for complete Promotion Rules

Alert: Possible Savings On British Airways Flights For US Dividend Miles Going Away

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Tara

I have already blogged about US Airways leaving Star Alliance and joining OneWorld. This means that awards to certain destinations popular with eco-tourists now have to be booked with British Airways as they are the only OneWorld partner flying there. Typical routes affected would be:

Europe to Central/South America (you can use Iberia or LAN on some of these)
North America/Europe to Africa
Europe to Asia or Australia

British Airways adds exorbitant fuel surcharges to its awards. Up to now there has been a glitch in which the YQ fuel surcharge has not been added. Just this morning, a major US-based blogger (TPG) who is monitored by the airlines blogged about the glitch. It is now just a matter of time that US Airways will shut it down and start adding YQ charges. If you are planning an award that involves British Airways, NOW is the time to book it! Here is an example of what it looks like:

Search on Chicago to Johannesburg

The fuel surcharge on this ticket is highlighted in yellow.

Currently US Airways is not charging this YQ tax. You still have to pay the gov’t taxes regardless of how you buy the ticket.

If you want to go to South Africa and need to use British Airways, you can currently save the $500 – that buys a few days of safaris! Once the glitch is fixed, which most people think will happen within a day or two, you will have to pay the $500 even when redeeming an award.

Bottom line: If your dream award using US Dividend Miles involves British Airways, book now, don’t delay!

A Fortunate Call Of Nature In Jerramungup

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Tara

After leaving Two People’s Bay, we still had quite a ways to go, about 260 km until the stop for the night in Ravensthorpe. It was inevitable that we would have to answer the “call of nature” at some point. Luckily the point we chose was Jerramungup, just north of Fitzgerald River National Park!

After visiting the roadhouse, I heard a different sort of “call of nature” that I hadn’t heard before but it was vaguely similar to the Pygmy Parrots in Nimbokrang last year. Right across the street was a park full of flowering gum trees – perfect parrot food so my hopes were high!

Drawing closer and peering up into the branches, I was thrilled to see tiny little Purple-crowned Lorikeets! They had eluded us in Albany and Stirling Range so I was so grateful to finally find some!

We hung around the park just enjoying the antics of the cute little lorikeets when all of a sudden they took off en-masse, flew around the area a couple times so I could get a few photos in, then disappeared into the bush for their nightly roost. What a treat to see these little guys so unexpectedly!