Australian Sea-lion – and a few birds
Australian Sea-lion, Granite Island
On our recent trip to Victor Harbor south of Adelaide I was able to do a little birding over the weekend. On the Saturday I went with two friends for a walk across the causeway to the nearby Granite Island. I only saw a few Silver Gulls and Pacific Gulls and Little Pied Cormorants. On the return walk I saw a Caspian Tern and several Crested Terns on the beach.
The walk to Granite Island is a very popular walk for locals and visitors alike. We were delighted to see a very relaxed Australian Sea-lion lolling around in the water near the jetty. The way it behaved it was almost as if it was showing off its swimming skills to all the humans watching only a few metres away. Perhaps someone had trained it to behave in this way.
Australian Sea-lion
Australian Sea-lions are relatively common along the southern and western coasts of Australia. It largely breeds on the many islands along these coasts and I know of only one mainland breeding colony near Streaky Bay in the far west of South Australia. This species rarely venture more than 20-30km from the coast while feeding. From the size and colour of this individual in was most probably a female. Females range from 1.3-1.8m in length; the males at 2-2.5m are considerably larger and paler around the head.
Reference: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia (by Menkhorst and Knight).
Australian Sea-lion
Birds at the Test Cricket in Adelaide
The current Test Cricket match between Australia and England is being played at the beautiful Adelaide Oval in South Australia. Since England won back the coveted Ashes Trophy last year in England there has been great interest in this current series. Usually my daughter and I attend at least one day of the Adelaide Test Match every year. Because of the intense interest in this series I, along with many tens of thousands of other cricket enthusiasts, was unable to get any tickets.
So I am confined to the comfort of watching the cricket from my favourite chair in the lounge room. That is no excuse for not doing some birding. The Adelaide Oval is well known for the hundreds of Silver Gulls that congregate on the grass during the match. The numbers seem to increase as the day progresses. I guess they come to help clean up the mess left by the crowd, things like dropped chips, meat pies, bits of rolls and other items of food from the fast food outlets.
Other species have noticed during the telecast of this test match are Welcome Swallows and Magpie Larks. On my various visits to the oval for cricket matches I have seen the following species:
- Silver Gull
- Pacific Black Duck (the River Torrens is just a few metres south of the oval)
- Rock Dove
- Spotted Turtle Dove
- Crested Pigeon
- Galah
- Rainbow Lorikeets
- Adelaide (Crimson) Rosella
- Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo
- Welcome Swallow
- Tree Martin
- Willie Wagtail
- White Plumed Honeyeater
- Red Wattlebird
- Noisy Miner
- Magpie Lark
- Australian Magpie
- Little Raven
- Common Starling
- House Sparrow
This certainly is a good list. Many more species could be added if I included the nearby River Torrens and the parklands. Watching the birds during slow periods of play maintains one’s interest, to be sure. The photo below was taken several years ago during and interstate match. The white patch on the grass centre right is a large flock of Silver Gulls.
Adelaide Oval, South Australia
Great Birding Moments # 24 Caspian Terns
Caspian Tern
A few days ago we were invited to the home of friends at Meningie, about an hour’s drive from here. Meningie is on the southern shore of Lake Albert and only a few kilometres from the world famous wetland, the Coorong. We decided to take a leisurely three hour alternative route and do some birding along the way.
This area has many dairy farms bordering the lake system. Swampy areas in this part of South Australia often have small lakes, lagoons and channels and this is a great place to see some of our water birds.
At one point we took a slight detour to a spot called Long Point in the Coorong National Park. This area is a favourite with those who like to go fishing in the Coorong and there is also a small camping area. No facilities other than toilets are present.
I was delighted to get some reasonable photos of a group of Caspian Terns resting on the beach. The wind was very blustery and bitterly cold, usually so for a few weeks from summer. Using my telescope was next to useless because of the vibration caused by the wind.
I normally see only one or two Caspian Terns at a time so it was a delight to see such a large group altogether in one spot. There were probably about twenty in all. There were also plenty of Whiskered Terns, Australian Pelicans, Silver Gulls and Sharp Tailed Sandpipers present but none of these were close enough to photograph.
Caspian Tern
Great Birding Moments # 18 Golden Headed Cisticola
9 Comments »4th November, 2006; Category: Great Birding Moments
Golden Headed Cisticola
Last Thursday we visited the Tolderol Game Reserve near Langhorne Creek, South Australia. It had been quite a time since my last visit and I was anticipating plenty of ducks, waders and other water birds to be present.
A Disappointing Day
It was a disappointing day. All the ponds were dry due mainly to the severe drought we are experiencing at present. It has been the driest winter, spring and October on record in this part of the state. The channels between the ponds contained some water but overall the birding was very disappointing. There were a few Black Swans, Whiskered Terns, Swamp Harriers, Masked Lapwings and White Fronted Chats. I saw a solitary Caspian Tern, several Little Black and Little Pied Cormorants and no Silver Gulls. Several White Ibis flew overhead as did a small flock of Straw Necked Ibis. A group of three Purple Swamphens skulked near one of the channels.
Feeling Despondent
As we were leaving I was feeling rather despondent. So few birds and nothing really special. I was wrong. A male Golden Headed Cisticola in breeding plumage emerged from the low scrubby bushes next to the rough track our vehicle was travelling on. He proceeded to sit out in the open and sing at volume, perched in a variety of poses for a good two to three minutes while I took a series of photos.
Range of the Golden Headed Cisticola
The Golden Headed Cisticola is not a species I have seen very often so this was an extra delight. The species is found throughout India, Nepal, SE Asia, Indonesia, Philippines and China. In Australia it is found in the northern, eastern and south eastern parts of the land, usually no more than 300km from the coast and only where suitable habitat exists.
Preferred Habitat
The Golden Headed Cisticola inhabits areas of tall grass, rushes, shrubby areas near wetlands, drains, sewage plants, irrigated paddocks and river flats. The Tolderol Game Reserve is part of the Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert regions near the mouth of the Murray River. This area is probably its stronghold in this part of the state.
So the birding overall may not have been great, but the day ended on a happy note.
Golden Headed Cisticola
A Short Lunch Time Break
Today we had some business to attend to in Murray Bridge. Our short journey took us past our favourite bakery, so we stopped to buy some lunch. We then drove down to the banks of the River Murray to eat our lunch. Although we only spent perhaps twenty minutes there, it is a very relaxing place to be.
All the usual birds were present:
Welcome Swallows, Silver Gulls, Eurasian Coots, Black Tailed Native Hens, Pacific Black Ducks, White Plumed Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds, Australian Magpie, Magpie Lark, Little Ravens and Willie Wagtail.
A lone Whistling Kite soared overhead.
As we ate our lunch a Little Egret steadily worked its way along the shallow water. It came to within five metres of the front of the car where we sat.
An ideal subject for my camera.
But the camera was at home in the office. A lost opportunity.
Next time perhaps.