The princess parrot at Newhaven Reserve. (Peter Struik) They've only been seen a handful of times over the last 100 years.

But one of Australia's rarest birds, the princess parrot, has been sighted in among the spinifex on Newhaven Reserve, about 500 kilometres north west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

Bird enthusiasts from across the country are scrambling to get to Newhaven by any means possible, hoping for a glimpse of the arid-zone bird.

Little is known about the desert-dweller, named in honour of Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who eventually became the Queen of England in 1901.

The princess parrot perched. Photographer: Peter StruikThe parrot, usually about 40 centimetres in length, is nomadic, making it extremely difficult to find and study.

They're understood to inhabit only three main areas: near Ernabella in South Australia, along the ranges west of Alice Springs and in the western desert regions of Western Australia.

Toni Marsh and her partner Peter Struik were camping at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy-run reserve when the parrots were noticed by the property managers two weeks ago.

"We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"We were just out here camping for a week and the managers asked if we could stay on a bit to help them in case a lot of people wanted to come out and see the princess parrots.

"Obviously part of our aim is to protect the parrot and collect any information because there's so little known about them."

The birdwatching blackboard at Newhaven Reserve. Photographer: Caddie BrainMs Marsh says the parrots have been reliably seen at the secret location on Newhaven each morning for the last two weeks.

Numbers have varied from four through to 50 birds flying overhead and perching at one time.

But Mr Marsh says they don't know what's attracting the birds to this location.

"We don't even know what they're eating, whether they need water or why they're at this particular spot.

"They live in such remote areas, they're very hard to follow.

"They also fly very fast, as fast as a budgie, which is amazing because they're quite a big bird.

"They could cover more than 100 kilometres a day - we just don't know."

After weeks of early morning trips to observe the parrots, Ms Marsh says it's still a thrill.

"I do get pretty excited each morning.

"I also get a bit nervous because I know that one day the birds won't be there anymore, they'll have moved on."

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy says visitors wanting to see the birds are welcome, but a booking must be made in advance.