An unexpected birding trip
2 Comments »2nd August, 2007; Category: General
I was busy doing some writing on one of my other blogs this morning when the phone rang. It was the boss of my friend Keith. I sometimes do relief driving for Keith on his courier round of Murray Bridge here in South Australia. His boss wanted me to do an emergency delivery from here in Murray Bridge to just north of Adelaide. I didn’t mind stopping my writing to do this job even though it would take out just over three hours of my day. I enjoy doing it because the company pays so well for me to have a lovely drive into the city and back.
Birds along the Freeway
I didn’t see all that many birds along the freeway in the city. The most common species appeared to be the Australian Magpies feeding on the grass verge of the road and in nearby fields. I was disturbed by the number of dead magpies; road kills are a real problem here in Australia. Little Ravens strutted across the road and along the fence lines and out in the fields. At one stage I thought I might collect a Willie Wagtail as it swooped across the road chasing an insect, but the bird flicked out of the way at the last moment. Several small flocks of Galahs crossed the road high above the freeway as we drove along.
Birds through the city
While driving through the city on the way to our destination I had to concentrate on the driving; it was only while waiting at the traffic lights that I was able to pay any attention to the birdlife. Small flocks of Rainbow Lorikeets seemed the most common species. I also noticed quite a few Noisy Miners flying between trees and bushes near the road. The introduced Spotted Turtle Dove appeared frequently on fences, footpaths and parklands, along with their native cousins, the Crested Pigeons. There also seemed to be many Australian Magpie Larks everywhere too.
Wetlands
As we approached our destination we passed an extensive area of wetlands. Storm water from nearby suburbs drains into these wetlands. We were driving too fast to see anything of note. In fact, a solitary flying Silver Gull was all I managed to see. I did ask my wife to produce a Glossy Ibis, a species I’ve not yet seen in the natural environment. She didn’t oblige.
Destination
At our destination I was not able to linger long in the extensive gardens surrounding the building where I delivered the parcel. I did see several Masked Lapwings feeding on the lawns, along with a large flock of House Sparrows. Along the road leading to the building I saw more Noisy Miners along with several Red Wattlebirds.
Return Journey
On our return journey I managed to add a Nankeen Kestrel to the list; this particular bird was being harassed by a very persistent magpie. Probably the highlight of the trip home was the Collared Sparrowhawk gliding low over the ground as it crossed the road less than twenty metres in front of the car. Another highlight was a single Sulphur Crested Cockatoo sitting on a light pole. This is always a delightful species to see.
Distressing sight
Perhaps the most distressing sight of the whole journey involved two species. An Adelaide Rosella had fallen victim to a passing car and was lying on the roadside. It is always sad to see this beautiful bird become a road kill. A Little Raven, however, was taking advantage of its misfortune and was steadily picking over the remains.
Conclusion:
It was a rushed trip we went on today. We didn’t stop anywhere to specifically go birding. Despite this I saw a long list of beautiful birds. It sort of made up for the lost writing time.
Related articles:
- Many of the birds mentioned in this article have separate articles about them – often with photos. Just click on the species name.
It was a dark and stormy day
Last week we went on a short five day holiday to the south east region of South Australia. I was accompanied by my wife, her mother and our adult daughter. It was our daughter who chose the destination: Robe on the Limestone Coast of southern South Australia.
Robe is a lovely seaside village with a very interesting history. Many original buildings from the middle of the 1800s are still in regular use. Oops – this is starting to sound like a travelogue – I’ll be writing more about that kind of thing on my travel blog here.
Back to the birding.
We left home in Murray Bridge mid-morning. The storm clouds had been gathering, along with a strengthening wind. By the time we reached Meningie it was time for lunch.
Lake Albert, Meningie, South Australia
It was useless trying to have a picnic lunch on the beautiful lawns on the shore of Lake Albert in the main street. I parked the Mazda Bravo directly into the prevailing wild wind, lowered the tailgate and tried to assist my wife preparing some lunch. Mother-in-law and daughter wisely stayed in the car. We had to hold onto the food – it was in danger of being blown into Victoria!
Lake Albert, Meningie, South Australia
White Caps:
Later we attempted to make a cup of tea. As we carried the mugs from the back of the car to the front to hand them through the window, white-caps appeared on the surface of the tea, splattering it all over the car. That’s wild wind. And it was bitterly cold.
I had to be content to do my birding from the driver’s seat in the car while I enjoyed my meal and cuppa. I didn’t take too many photos – there were very few birds to be seen. They’re not silly – they were probably sheltering somewhere sensible!
Camera trouble:
While trying to get a few shots of the scene I had some camera trouble. Actually the camera was fine – the batteries were flat, as were the next two sets of batteries I tried to use. It was one of those things I neglected to check before leaving home. Lesson learned. Fortunately I had a third set of batteries that kept me going during the short five day holiday. Just as well – I’d left the charger home.
A few hardy birds:
I did record a few hardy birds while we had our lunch. Several Australian Pelicans battled bravely with the wind out on the lake. A small flock of Silver Gulls huddled near some rocks, along with a solitary Dusky Moorhen. Two Little Pied Cormorants courageously sat atop a post on the jetty, defying the wind to blow them into the water. I also observed two Masked Lapwings on the roadside verge as we entered the town, along with several Australian Magpie Larks. Just out of town I saw a single White Faced Heron way out in a paddock – well away from the lake and the wildest of the wind. Two Crested Pigeons clung for dear life on a power line; I was amazed that they hadn’t been blown clear across the country. I think I saw several House Sparrows in bushes near the car, along with a Willie Wagtail and a Common Blackbird.
It was not an auspicious start to birding activities on my mini-holiday.
I’ll write about the rest of the week over the next few days.
Good bird photo site: Canberra Ornithologists Group
There are some wonderful bird photographers who are prepared to show off their photos to the world. One such group of photographers is the Canberra Ornithologists Group (COG) in our nation’s capital city.
It is well worth a visit.
Links:
- Canberra Ornithologists Group Photo Gallery
- Canberra Ornithologists Group – their home page
- Birds of Canberra Gardens – a useful guide
- Trevor’s Photo Gallery – don’t forget to visit my photo gallery – and I invite you to give the photos a rating.
Crested Pigeon
Just one of many hundreds of photos in my gallery.
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Top 5 Great Birding Moments
52 Comments »8th May, 2007; Category: Great Birding Moments
Red Capped Robin
Over the years I have had many occasions when I have experienced what I have called Great Birding Moments. These are reasonably frequent here in Australia because we have such a wonderful range of very colourful birds to observe. The above photo of the stunningly beautiful Red Capped Robin took quite a deal of effort to obtain. This male bird was quite happy flitting around in an orchard looking for his lunch. I tried for about twenty minutes to zoom in on where he was sitting. Actually, this species very rarely sits for very long; they are always very active. Eventually he became so curious about my antics that he took pity on me and landed – ever so briefly – on a branch no more than about two metres away. Patience was definitely a virtue that day – and it scored me a great photograph. (Click on the photo to enlarge the image).
Great Birding Moments
On this blog I have written a series of articles called Great Birding Moments, all of them similar to the one mentioned above. Some of them – most of them actually – resulted in some amazing photos. Others are examples of being in the right place at the right time and with a camera at the ready. Still other examples are as a result of patient waiting or a deliberate policy to seek out a particular bird.
For new readers of this blog I have selected what I consider my Top 5 Great Birding Moments:
Great Birding Moment #5 – Crested Pigeon (click to view)
Crested Pigeons are resident in our garden here in South Australia. At first glance they seem quite a dull grey colour, but up close the iridescent colours on their wings shines brilliantly in the sun light.
Great Birding Moment #6 – New Holland Honeyeater (click to view)
New Holland Honeyeaters are also a resident species in our garden. They are noisy, gregarious and can be bossy towards other bird species. We enjoy watching them bathing in the bird baths we have in the garden.
Great Birding Moment #10 Noisy Miners (click to view)
Noisy Miners are another Australian species of Honeyeaters. In some parts of the country they are very common but we rarely have them in our garden. The photo featured in this article was taken in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The photos illustrate that it was another case of being in the right place at the right time with a camera at the ready.
Great Birding Moments #13 Sulphur Crested Cockatoos (click to view)
This series of photos was as a result of a chance encounter with a small flock of Cockatoos in some street trees in suburban Adelaide. I had just left my wife in the nearby Burnside Hospital for an operation, drove around the corner and there they were. They made no attempt to fly away as I came to within a few metres of the tree they were in.
Great Birding Moments # 26 Red Browed Finch (click to view)
This birding moment was not hard to get. It was taken inside a walk-through aviary at the Cleland Wildlife Park near Adelaide, South Australia. What is special about this birding moment is the fact that the photo turned out so beautifully. It just illustrates one of the truly beautiful finches that we have here in Australia. Some people are lucky enough to have this species in their garden.
More Great Birding Moments
If you enjoyed looking at these articles you can access the whole list of Great Birding Moments here. To see more bird photos go to my photo gallery here.
Special Note: This article was written especially for the Top 5 Group Writing Project being conducted on ProBlogger being run by Darren Rowse.
UPDATE: I written two more articles inspired by Darren’s writing project. On my writing blog I have written an article called “Top 5 Writing Hints” and on my travel blog I have written about my “Top 5 Scenery Photos.”
Update: this photo above – and many other photos featured on this site – can now be purchased on a range of merchandise such as T-shirts, aprons, wall plaques, clocks and mugs. Go to my Trevor’s Photos site here.
The Birds of Granite Island, Victor Harbor
Granite Island, Victor Harbor
Granite Island lies a short distance off the coast from Victor Harbor, South Australia. The island is one of several in Encounter Bay. It is possible to walk the short distance from the town to the island via a wooden causeway. It is also possible to take a ride on the historic horse drawn tram that operates every twenty minutes every day.
Pacific Gull
When I checked my birding database I was surprised that I don’t have any records specifically confined to the island. This could just reflect the way I have the database set up. Being an island there are quite a few sea birds one can see on a visit to the island. Just a quick list of the sea birds I have seen – and this is from memory:
- Little Penguin
- Silver Gull
- Pacific Gull
- Little Pied Cormorant
- Little Black Cormorant
- Great Cormorant
- White-faced Heron
- Sooty Oystercatcher
- Pied Oystercatcher
- Caspian Tern
- Crested Tern
- Red-capped Plover
- Australian Pelican
A few other species of birds can be seen on the island itself. There are a few trees and large expanses of grass on the top of the island. Here I have seen:
- Australian Magpie
- Little Raven
- Masked Lapwing
- Crested Pigeon
- Galah
- Spotted Turtledove
- Welcome Swallow
- Willie Wagtail
- Singing Honeyeater
- Magpie Lark
- Common Starling
This is far from an exhaustive list and has been done from memory – a dangerous thing to do.
Little Pied Cormorants on Granite Island