Honeyeaters of Lowan Conservation Park
Lowan Conservation Park
Lowan Conservation Park is a reserve of remnant mallee scrub in the midst of wheat and sheep farms. It is several hundred hectares in size with a rainfall of probably about 300mm in an average year. It is about 120km east of Adelaide in South Australia.
When the mallee trees are in flower the honeyeaters abound. I have visited when there have been no trees flowering and consequently very few honeyeaters. On other occasions I haven’t know where to point my binoculars first, there are so many birds. On these exciting occasions the birding is simply wonderful. I have observed the following species in or near the park:
- Red Wattlebird – resident and common
- Singing Honeyeater – resident and common
- White Eared Honeyeater – resident and common
- Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater – probably resident
- Brown Headed Honeyeater – resident and common
- Yellow Plumed Honeyeater – probably resident
- Striped Honeyeater – regular visitor spring, summer
- White Fronted Honeyeater – possibly resident
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater
Other species which could occur when the conditions are right include:
- Purple Gaped Honeyeater
- Yellow Throated Miner
- White Plumed Honeyeater
- New Holland Honeyeater
- Black Honeyeater
- Tawny Crowned Honeyeater
Mallee Trees
In recent posts I have mentioned the word “mallee”. This is a particularly Australian word derived from the Aboriginal people of Australia. It specifically relates to a group of eucalypt tree species collectively known as “mallee trees.”
Mallee Scrub, Murray Bridge
“The Mallee”
Some areas of Australia are referred colloquially as “The Mallee“. These are areas where the mallee tree is the dominant species. The area where we live in Murray Bridge South Australia and areas to the east of here to the Victorian border are often referred to as the “Murray Mallee” because here the Murray River flows through the region where mallee trees are common. We have many mallee trees in our garden and the Murray River is but 5km from here.
Mallee birds
There are many bird and animal species whose preferred habitat is the mallee and its associations. Some species even have the word “mallee” as a part of their name eg Mallee Ringneck Parrot, Mallee Emu Wren and the Malleefowl.
For more information about the word mallee check out the Wikipedia entry here.
UPDATE October 2006: since writing this article I have added the photos that now appear on this page. Both were taken on our property and show typical mallee trees.
UPDATE March 2010: Further photos have been added below.
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Mallee Scrub, Murray Bridge
The following photos were taken elsewhere and show typical examples of mallee trees.
Mallee trees in Lowan Conservation Park, South Australia
Mallee trees in Lowan Conservation Park, South Australia
Murray-Sunset National Park, NW Victoria