Birds of the Mannum district, South Australia
Murray Princess, Mannum, South Australia
Over recent days I have written about several species of birds that I saw in Mannum. Mannum is a medium sized town on the River Murray about a half hour’s drive from my home in Murray Bridge, South Australia. It is a popular tourist destination. Many houseboats moored at Mannum are available for hire. The Murray Princess (see photo above) takes tourists on river cruises lasting three, four or seven days.
The birding in the Mannum district is interesting and quite diverse. There are the normal river birds such as Australian Pelicans, Silver Gulls, Australian Wood Ducks and Pacific Black Ducks. Sometimes there are large numbers of Grey Teal and Chestnut Teal. On this occasion I also recorded a large number of Chestnut-breasted Shelducks a little further upstream, but they were too far away to photograph.
Just north of the well patronised and well appointed caravan park there are extensive wetlands. At present this area has large areas of mud flats due to the low level of the river. Due to the drought the river is at least a metre lower than normal. On these mudflats I saw Straw-necked, White and Glossy Ibis, Red-kneed Dotterel, Eurasian Coots, Purple Swamphens and Dusky Moorhens. Several Yellow-billed Spoonbills were also seen feeding in the shallows.
The reeds lining these wetlands are suffering badly at present because of a lack of water. That didn’t prevent me recording the Little Grassbird and the Australian Reedwarbler. In the trees lining the wetlands I saw Red-rumped Parrots, Crested Pigeons, Galahs, Purple-crowned Lorikeets, Willie Wagtail and Grey Fantail. Also seen or heard were White-plumed Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds and a Peaceful Dove.
Sitting on the bank of the river here can be rewarding. This is one good way of observing a number of species flying past. In this way, together with a cup of tea at hand and lunch from the local bakery in my hand, I added Caspian Tern, Crested Tern, Whiskered Tern, Whistling Kite, Welcome Swallow, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Little Egret, Little Corella and Little Raven.
We drove along the river towards the small town of Bow Hill. Stopping at various points along the way I added Masked Lapwing, Black Swan, Blue Bonnet Parrot and White-faced Heron. In the trees lining the river I observed Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters and Singing Honeyeaters. A Grey Shrike Thrush added its beautiful song to the lovely morning. At one stage I heard a Sacred Kingfisher but I didn’t see it. I did manage to catch sight of a solitary Laughing Kookaburra flying near the river bank.
I also heard a small flock of Rainbow Bee-eaters and saw a family of White-browed Babblers near the side of the road as we drove along.
Overall it was a very satisfactory morning’s birding. The big bonus was adding Glossy Ibis to my list for the first time. Getting a “lifer” is always satisfying.
Birds of Lake Burley Griffin
1 Comment »17th October, 2007; Category: Trip reports
Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #3
On our first day in Canberra we found a lovely spot on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin for lunch. This artificial lake in the heart of Canberra is a magnificent setting for this beautiful city, our national capital. From our picnic spot we could see the giant fountain shooting water high into the air, the National Library building and the old and new Houses of Parliament. A little further along the shores of the lake we could both see and hear the National Carillon playing, the tunes drifting over the lake towards us as we ate our lunch.
I only had a limited time to watch birds while having lunch. My list is rather short as a result. Local birders will probably laugh at this very short list. I am sure that the lake is home to many more species. While we had lunch Red Wattlebirds and White-plumed Honeyeaters were noisy in the trees nearby. A Willie Wagtail and some Superb Fairy-wrens could be heard in nearby bushes and several Galahs flew overhead.
A Black Swan and several cygnets were swimming in the lake nearby along with a small group of Australian Wood Ducks. Two Pacific Black Ducks flew along the shore heading south. I could hear some Sulphur-crested Cockatoos screeching from nearby trees. Several Australian Magpies searched the extensive lawns for their lunch. Occasionally two or three Silver Gulls flew over the lake.
National Library of Australia, Canberra
I don’t have any photos of birds to show you today. All of the birds I saw while having lunch were too far away to photograph.
Lunch time by the beach
No Comments »13th October, 2007; Category: Flowers, Magpies and Currawongs, Thornbills, Trip reports
After our walk down Lady Carrington Drive we drove south through Royal National Park. This drive took us up to the top of the ranges in this part of the park. The change in vegetation over a very short distance was very interesting. From towering gum trees we suddenly found ourselves in gum trees not much more than head high with a very interesting under-story of low heath type plants. There were very few stopping points and my wife was disappointed we didn’t really have the time to spend exploring some of the walking tracks leading off the main road. We are already planning our next trip here.
Wattamoola, Royal National Park, Sydney
At one point along this road we took a detour to a locality known as Wattamoola. This road terminates at a picnic ground where we had a delightful lunch looking out over the beach below and the Pacific Ocean out to sea. I didn’t do much birding here but did check out the large number of Pied Currawongs fussing around in nearby bushes. There seemed to an unusual congregation of them, probably twenty or more and calling incessantly. I assume this could have been mating behaviour, but, being relatively unfamiliar with the species I’m not sure.
Wattamoola, Royal National Park, Sydney
Several Australian Magpies paraded the picnic grounds and about eight Silver Gulls were on the beach. No other water or sea birds were seen which is disappointing. I really haven’t concentrated on sea birds at all this trip because views of the sea have been very infrequent. As we left a Crested Pigeon flew past.
Black-backed Magpie, Royal National Park
On the road back out I did make a concession to my plant loving wife. We stopped in a safe roadside spot fro ten minutes to photograph some of the wildflowers. The only extra species added to this locality during the stop was a single New Holland Honeyeater.
Wildflowers at Royal National Park, Sydney
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
2 Comments »10th October, 2007; Category: Trip reports
2007 New South Wales trip report #27
One of our favourite places to visit in Sydney is the Royal Botanic Gardens right in the heart of the city. We caught the train from the nearby station and alighted at Circular Quay station. It is then only a short ten minute walk to the gardens.
On arrival we found a seat to use while eating our lunch. After lunch we spent the afternoon wandering the gardens. My wife was pleased to find a few Australian native plants in flower and these occupied her and her camera for quite a while.
White Ibis nesting, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
The bird life in the gardens is abundant in numbers without being over abundant in the number of species. Numerous White Ibis dominated the scene, many making quite a noise as the squabbled over nesting sites in the trees. Many were seen carrying nesting materials. Noisy Miners were also common and I think some were feeding young in the nest. I saw several Australian Magpies and Australian Ravens and one Pied Currawong. Welcome Swallows swooped over head while Rock Doves strutted amongst the crowds gathered to enjoy the gardens and the sunny weather.
In the middle of the park there are several shallow ponds. I saw several Little Black Cormorants there, as well as Pacific Black Ducks, several strange hybridized ducks, a number of Dusky Moorhens and several Silver Gulls over the adjacent bay. As we were leaving I saw a single Masked Lapwing.
Probably the highlight of the afternoon was the photos I was able to take of a Buff-banded Rail on one of the footpaths. This usually shy and secretive species has adapted well to the hoards of people who come through the park daily. It showed no nervousness as it wandered around my feet as I photographed it. Last year I was very upset that the batteries in my camera failed only minutes before seeing this species. Now I have several good shots of it.
Buff-banded Rail, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
The second highlight was seeing a small flock of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos feeding on the lawns. I was able to get good shots of this species as they wandered around only two metres from me. A group of German tourists ignored the signs encouraging people not to feed the birds. One paid the price and was bitten on the arm.
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
On our return to the railway station via the Sydney Opera House precinct I was able to get some good shots of the setting sun lighting up both the opera house and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was a pleasing conclusion to a relaxing holiday in this beautiful city.
Tomorrow we head off to the nation’s capital, Canberra.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Flat Rock Creeek to Middle Harbour, Sydney
2007 New South Wales trip report #25
While we were staying with our son in Sydney he decided to take an afternoon off from work (he works at home) and take us on a walk from Artarmon along Flat Rock Creek to Middle Harbour. This harbour is a small part of the greater Sydney Harbour.
The walking track took us through nearby suburbs and we enjoyed looking over people’s back fences into their gardens. The track also took us under several major roads and a freeway. Most of the first part was a sealed or concrete walking path shared with cyclists. This first part didn’t yield many interesting birds but it was a very enjoyable walk anyway.
Flat Rock Creek, Northbridge, Sydney
The track then changes to a narrow dirt track and plunges quickly 50 or 60 metres down into Flat Rock Creek. When we reached the creek bed the path then follows the creek along to the harbour. I was not surprised to see Laughing Kookaburras along this part, and observed on flying in a hollow. This could indicate nesting but the hollow was too far away over the creek to investigate further. Pied Currawongs were seen and heard frequently as were Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. Superb Fairy-wrens flitted in and out of the bushes along the path, but never stopping long enough for a photo.
At one stage I saw several Red-whiskered Bulbuls but couldn’t get a clear shot of one. I did manage to get a nice shot on the return walk. This was a new bird for the trip list and a nice one to see despite it being an introduced species. I’ve only ever seen it about three times in total.
Red-whiskered Bulbul
I was also delighted to see two Chestnut Teal, a male and a female, swimming in the creek which at that point seemed rather polluted. Nearby several Red-browed Finches caught our attention and White-browed Scrubwrens called from nearby bushes. Noisy Miners were everywhere and we heard several Striated Pardalotes, a Grey Butcherbird, several Australian Magpies and the occasional Australian Raven flew overhead.
I haven’t seen too many pigeons and doves in this part of Sydney, but on our walk I saw Crested Pigeons, Rock Doves and Spotted Turtledoves. Thankfully not too many Indian Mynas were seen in this part of the city. I saw no House Sparrows; they seem to be absent from around here. At the harbour we saw Welcome Swallows and Silver Gulls.
Rock Doves, Northbridge, Sydney
On the return walk I only added Common Koel to the list. As this was another “lifer” for the trip I was pleased. This species has just arrived from its spring migration south. The whole walk took just a few minutes short of four hours, the return part being largely uphill with some very steep parts. We were pleased that we achieved this as both of us are not as fit as we should be. Our son thought it was just a pleasant stroll, but then he walks the area nearly every day.