Purple Swamphen up close
Sailing on the River Murray at Goolwa, South Australia
On our recent boat trip on Lake Alexandrina and the River Murray we took a little detour into a new housing estate with water frontage. We had to slow right down from the 25mph we had been travelling at to a very modest 4 knots (7.4mph). We also had to navigate a narrow canal less than 10m wide so this gave me an ideal opportunity to do some close up birding.
Unfortunately there was very little to see, with the exception of the Purple Swamphen shown in today’s photos below. It seemed quite unconcerned by our presence as our captain manoeuvred our boat through a tricky passage before turning around and leaving the channel and back out to the river.
Purple Swamphen
Purple Swamphen
Australian Pelicans overhead
Australian Pelican in flight
One of the photography skills I am trying to perfect is taking shots of birds in flight. I don’t get all that many opportunities to practise, so when birds cooperate and fly slowly just over head I have a go – provided I have my camera at the ready.
On our recent trip across Lake Alexandrina (see previous two posts) several Australian Pelicans flew low over our boat, circling it several times before moving on elsewhere. I had the camera in my hand since I was taking photos of the nearby cliffs and it was ready to shoot.
I am quite pleased with the results.
Australian Pelican in flight
A day on the river
Rod’s boat
Last weekend we were invited by friends to take our caravan to Meningie on the shores of Lake Albert here in South Australia. Meningie is just an hour’s drive from home, so it wasn’t a long road trip. The weather forecast looked promising for a good long weekend.
As we drove down the main street of Meningie we noticed that the local Progress Association had arranged for a Food Fair on the lawns along the shore of the lake. After setting up our caravan we drove the short distance from the park to the fair. Our treat for dinner was a Coorong mullet sandwich.
As we were eating our friends Rod and Janet who live nearby joined us at our table. They asked us about our plans for the weekend, offering to take us out for a trip on their ski boat – not for skiing but for touring the nearby lakes and river. How could we refuse such a kind, generous offer?
We set off at 9 o’clock next morning, heading straight across Lake Alexandrina at 40kph; quite exhilarating. As we went along I noticed quite a few birds following the wake of the boat. Most of them were Silver Gulls. The following photos show some of them.
Silver Gulls following the boat
Silver Gulls following the boat
Spiny-cheeked honeyeater on a hot day
Spiny-cheeked honeyeater
On any given hot day in our garden there is a constant stream of birds coming in to drink from our various bird baths. Even on mild days we can be entertained for hours at a time watching the parade of birds as we sit in our sun room just a few metres from several of the bird baths. It is a wonderful distraction – but not so good when I have a writing deadline to meet.
About a half dozen honeyeater species come to the water on a regular daily basis, including the Spiny-cheeked honeyeater shown in today’s series of photos. The individual shown in the photos looks particularly stressed by the heat. We’ve had a record breaking series of hot days and heat waves this summer and the heat really takes its toll on our bird life.
I’ve said it on a number of occasions on this site before: the one really positive thing you can do to encourage birdlife in your garden is to provide fresh water for them to drink and bathe. Be sure to keep the container clean and topped up daily using fresh water. Forget feeding them; this is discouraged in Australia (for a whole range of reasons), but provide water and plenty of it.
There are several benefits:
- It helps the birds to survive on hot days.
- It attracts more birds to your garden.
- It helps you to observe them at close range and if seen through a window nearby, the birds are completely safe.
- The birds really do enjoy it.
Spiny-cheeked honeyeater
Spiny-cheeked honeyeater
Spiny-cheeked honeyeater
Make room for me
White-winged choughs
We have many different species come to visit our bird baths. They come either for a drink or for a bath – sometimes both. Many of these species are quite small, such as the thornbills and pardalotes. At the other end of the scale where size is considered would have to be the Little Ravens, Grey Currawongs and of course, the White-winged Choughs, featured in today’s photos.
This series of photos was taken during our recent heat wave in South Australia. Our capital city Adelaide saw a 117 year record broken: 13 days over 40C over the summer, previously 11 days. Here in Murray Bridge we certainly have more than that. During hot weather the birds flock to the water throughout the day. Refilling the baths is a daily task.
The White-winged Choughs all seem to crowd onto the one bird bath, each wanting a piece of the action. It is quite comical to witness the jostling and arguing over the prime positions. Sensible birds take up a position on one of the other bird baths nearby.
White-winged choughs
White-winged choughs