Early morning on the River Murray, Mildura
No Comments »24th October, 2011; Category: Trip reports
River Murray, Mildura
Sydney Trip June 2011
On the last morning of our holiday earlier this year we were up early despite the cold conditions. It was nice to have good air conditioning in our cabin. After packing the car I had a few minutes to wander down the caravan park driveway to have a quick look at what birds there were along the River Murray. I tried to find a path down to the river’s edge but there was limited access to the river opposite the caravan park. I had to be content with views from the cliff top (see photos above and below).
There wasn’t much to get excited about and I only made a modest list of birds seen:
Red Wattlebird
Crested Pigeon
Magpie Lark
Noisy Miner
Australian Raven
Red Rumped Parrot
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Common Starling
Australian Magpie
Galah
Welcome Swallow
Rock Dove
Silver Gull
Singing Honeyeater
Striated Pardalote
Rainbow Lorikeet
River Murray, Mildura
Caravan park we stayed in, Mildura
A little bit of birding in Narrandera
No Comments »23rd September, 2011; Category: Trip reports
View from the balcony of our cabin in Narrandera
Sydney Trip report June 2011
On the first day of our journey home we stayed in a cabin in the Lake Talbot Tourist Park, the same park as on our way over. This time we were upgraded to a cabin with a spa. Nice added extra at no extra cost. We had a very nice spa before retiring for the night. Next morning when we opened the blinds we were pleased with the view from our cabin balcony. This overlooked Lake Talbot and I was able to make a very nice list of birds while we had breakfast and packed the car (see the list below). Before leaving we drove down to the boat launching ramp just below our cabin and I was able to add a few more species to a growing list.
Just after breakfast I noticed a few birds in the bushes near the balcony, including several Chestnut-rumped Thornbills. It flew off before I could get a good shot, so I apologise for the blurred image (below). You can see better photos here.
Blurred photo of a Chestnut-rumped Thornbill in flight
Birds seen in or near Lake Talbot Tourist Park, Narrandera:
- Black swan
- Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
- Galah
- Yellow Rosella
- Black cormorant
- White-necked Heron
- Yellow-billed Spoonbill
- Hoary Headed Grebe
- Great Crested Grebe
- Pacific Black Duck
- Grey Fantail
- Willie Wagtail
- Yellow-rumped Thornbill
- Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
- Weebill
- Magpie Lark
- Common Blackbird
- Rock Dove
- Crested Pigeon
- Australian Magpie
Some birds of the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Australian Magpie, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
On the first day of our journey home we stopped briefly in the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens for an afternoon cuppa and toilet break, a spot we’ve enjoyed on other occasions. The large rural city of Wagga Wagga is worth a longer stay than just a half hour or so. I’d really like to explore this lovely city and the region in more depth one day. We always seem to be in a rush somewhere when we go through this area. [Sigh]
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
One this occasion it was quite late in the afternoon, still cold and cloudy and we still had about an hour’s drive to our accommodation for the night in Narrandera further west. I didn’t have much time for birding nor photography, though I did get some nice shots of Australian Magpies and Grevilleas (native Australian plants).
Grevillea, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Other birds seen included:
- Pied Currawong,
- Rainbow Lorikeets,
- White-plumed Honeyeaters,
- Red Wattlebirds,
- Crested Pigeons,
- Galahs
Australian Magpie, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Juvenile Australian Magpie, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
There were no galahs at Galah
Galah, Murray Bridge, South Australia
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
When we take the most direct route from home in Murray Bridge to Sydney, we travel through a small locality known as Galah. There is no town there; only a few farm houses, a railway siding and a grain silo. I suspect it was originally called Galah because the parrot is common in the area.
There is a certain irony then in the fact that in all our drives through this area I have never seen a galah flying or perching in a tree or feeding on the grass. Mind you, one can maintain a speed of 100kph through the locality and that only gives me a minute of two to observe any birds that are present.
On this trip I only recorded 3 species:
- Nankeen Kestrel
- Little Raven
- Crested Pigeon
I’m sure if you spent an hour or two scouring the trees and farmland that list would grow considerably, but on most occasions we are on a tight schedule so we can either spend time with family in Sydney, or we are tired on our return and want to get home.
Masked Lapwings, Lake Roberts, Lameroo
Masked Lapwings, Lake Roberts, Lameroo, South Australia
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
As I wrote yesterday, we stopped at Lameroo on the first morning of our trip to Sydney earlier this year. Lake Roberts on the eastern edge of town is a good birding spot with a mixture of bush birds and water birds inhabiting this artificial wetland area. On most of my visits I have seen at least two Masked Lapwings. They feed on the grassed area around the lake and picnic area. Behind me where I took these photos is the small caravan park which is also a grassed area. Last year we saw several chicks in the caravan park, running after the adults.
We stayed at this spot for about 20 minutes while we had a cuppa and morning tea. The following is a list of birds observed during that time:
- Black-shouldered Kite
- Brown Falcon
- Nankeen Kestrel
- Little Pied Cormorant
- Muscovy Duck (introduced species)
- Masked Lapwing
- Rock Dove (introduced species)
- Crested Pigeon
- Galah
- Variegated Fairy-wren
- Red Wattlebird
- Magpie Lark
- Australian Magpie (both Black-backed and White-backed)
- Little Raven
- White-winged Chough
- Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Some of these were seen in the town or on the road leading into town and not at the lake.
Lake Roberts, Lameroo, South Australia
Masked Lapwings, Lake Roberts, Lameroo, South Australia
Masked Lapwings, Lake Roberts, Lameroo, South Australia