Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia

Yesterday we had another visit to the arboretum at Wellington in South Australia. I had been contacted via email by several birders nearby and one from interstate wanting directions to see the Spotted Nightjar roosting in the open.

Still There

The nightjar was still there and we were able to show a birding couple from Victor Harbor this amazing and cryptic bird. I also took along my wife and mother-in-law who also thought it was fascinating. My mother-in-law throught at first I was showing her a lizard, such was the camouflage of the feathers. It melded in beautifully with the sand, twigs, leaves and grass.

Other Birds

Although it had been a cold night and morning, by the time we arrived in the early afternoon the sun was shining, the clouds had cleared and the temperature had risen to a bearable 15 or 16 degrees. The sunshine also brought the birds out. I had good views of the male Red Capped Robin, a Grey Fantail, one Silvereye, many New Holland Honeyeaters, a small family of White Browed Babblers, Zebra Finches coming to a dripping tap to drink, Crested Pigeons sitting on the fence and powerlines nearby and a Whistling Kite soaring gracefully overhead. We also saw several hundred Straw Necked Ibis flying over a nearby farm and a single White Ibis as we left the arboretum.