Trevor's Birding

A Visit to Monarto Zoo

3 Comments »12th June, 2006; Category: Birds, Zoos

We had my wife’s ten year old niece staying with us over the weekend. On the holiday Monday we decided to take her to the local open range zoo at Monarto. This zoo is about a ten minute drive from our home in Murray Bridge, South Australia.

Near the entrance gates I saw two Peaceful Doves sitting on a fence. Two Common Bronzewing Pigeons flew over the road a little further on. As we waited in line to pay at the gate I observed a Red Wattlebird and several Australian Magpies. Thoughout our visit I saw many more magpies. In the car park I saw two Grey Currawongs and Mallee Ringneck Parrot near the Meerkat enclosure.

We only had a ten minute wait before our tour bus left. Unlike some open range zoos where you drive yourself, this zoo has a regular guided bus tour through the park. On busy days like Monday the buses often leave every ten or fifteen minutes. The tour takes about 80 minutes and covers a large part of the zoo property.

During the tour I saw Galahs, Magpie Larks, Masked Lapwings, Willie Wagtails and Little Ravens. Several times we saw flocks of White Winged Choughs. Rocky Gully Creek flows through the middle of the park. For most of the year this is a dry creek bed but seeing we have had some rain recently sections of it have some pools at present. In the largest pool I saw Pacific Black Ducks, Wood Ducks and several Black Fronted Dotterels. Welcome Swallows swoooped low over the water.

After our bus tour we went for a walk along the self-guided walking trail called the Emu Trail. We saw no emus, but had good views of Yellow Rumped Thornbills and a Grey Fantail. Two Adelaide Rosellas flew quickly past and we had fleeting glimpses of a Singing Honeyeater.

There were three highlights of the visit as far as I was concerned. I saw a female Red Capped Robin, a species I hadn’t recorded before in the park. The second was seeing the 30+ playful Painted African Dogs cavorting happily all around the bus. The third highlight was the two new “baby” giraffes, one born two days ago and the other three days ago. At over two metres high at birth “baby” seems almost inappropriate.

John Gould’s Birds of Australia

1 Comment »11th June, 2006; Category: General

To buy the complete set of the seven volumes of the quintessential work on Australian birds would set one back many thousands of Australian dollars – if you can find copies for sale.

John Gould, 1804-1881, one of our earliest ornithologists and a brilliant artist, produced his amazing work called “The Birds of Australia” which has been unavailable to most people until recently. It was first published in 1848.

It is now available to view electronically here. This includes not only scanned copies of all of the text pages, but also all of his wonderful coloured plates. These are fine examples of the exquisite skills of this wonderful artist.

A noisy time

No Comments »10th June, 2006; Category: Birds, Murray Bridge

From time to time special events are held on or near the River Murray here at Murray Bridge, South Australia. This weekend is a long weekend with a public holiday on Monday to celebrate the birthday of Queen Elizabeth. That will seem strange to those who do not live in Australia – celebrating the birthday of someone who isn’t an Australian and who rarely visits – but I won’t get into politics on this blog. Stranger, however, is the fact that her birthday is actually in April.

Back to the birds.

Well, actually – back to fewer birds.

This weekend the Water Ski Racing Championships are being held on the river in the centre of town. Exit most of the birds. We live about 5km from the river and we can hear the noisy engines of the speed boats from here.

Oh well, it was too cloudy, cold and miserable to be out birding anyway.

Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia

No Comments »9th June, 2006; Category: General, Nocturnal birds

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.

It worked!

No Comments »9th June, 2006; Category: Garden birds

We had six special visitors in the garden this morning so my thoughts of yesterday worked. This morning my wife observed six Straw Necked Ibis walking purposefully up our driveway, as if they were paying us a visit. After my thoughts of yesterday’s posts – written in jest – I was delighted that they found their way back. I am assuming, of course, that the visitor from yesterday brought back some of his friends or family.

Still no Glossy Ibis though.

[Another big SIGH]