Photographic study of Silver Gulls 2
Silver Gull, Victor Harbor, South Australia
I took this photo last weekend on the beach at Yilki. This is along Encounter Bay in Victor Harbor on the coast south of Adelaide, South Australia.
A gathering of magpies
Australian Magpie, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Last weekend we went to Victor Harbor on the south coast of Fleurieu Peninsula, about an hour’s drive south of Adelaide and just over an hour from home here in Murray Bridge. we took the caravan and stayed with a group of friends in one of the lovely caravan parks in the town.
On the Sunday afternoon my friend Rod, who lives in Victor Harbor, took us on a cruise in his 1928 A model Ford. It was a great – though little breezy – drive. He and his wife Jan took a picnic basket and we had a wonderful cuppa and nibbles part way up The Bluff. as we were having our cuppa a family of Australian Magpies joined us. They were probably expected some tasty handouts from us picnickers. Sadly, they went without a tidbit.
One of the interesting things was the presence of several juveniles, still in their downy plumage and still very much in begging mode as the parents tried to satisfy their needs. The breeding season is well and truly over, but the juveniles will continue to beg for food for many months after leaving the nest.
Australian Magpie (juvenile), Victor Harbor, South Australia
Australian Magpies, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Australian Magpies, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Encounter Bay, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Hooded Plovers
Hooded Plover warning sign on beach at Victor Harbor, South Australia
Early last year I took this photo of a sign on the beach front at Victor Harbor, about an hour’s drive south of Adelaide in South Australia. The message of the sign is quite clear. This beach is one of the nesting places of the rare and endangered Hooded Plover. The beach also happens to be one of the busiest in the state during the summer holidays and is even popular at most other times of the year.
Hooded Plovers are confined to coastal areas of southern NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and parts of Western Australia. Nowhere is it common and, as the sign says, very few are left in places like the Fleurieu Peninsula south of Adelaide. The birds are small (about 19-23cm) and tubby, and their favoured habitat is broad sandy ocean beaches. The nest is a small shallow scrape in the sand where they lay 2-3 eggs.
If my memory is correct, this beach at Victor Harbor is the only place I’ve ever seen this species nesting. I was leading a large group of young children on camp when we came across a nest. Keeping 60 eager children away from the nest was a logistical nightmare. I’ve only ever seen this species on a handful of occasions, mainly on the Yorke Peninsula further west in South Australia. I have no photos of the Hooded Plover. I must try to get one when I visit the town again in about a week’s time.
Further reading:
Crescent Honeyeater
Crescent Honeyeater
On a recent visit to Newland Head Conservation Park near Victor Harbor in South Australia we stopped in the picnic ground for morning tea. Near the picnic table there was a tap. Someone – probably the park ranger – had constructed a small concrete bowl under the tap. This tap provided a vital water source for the local birds. As I had my cuppa I watched expectantly for any birds to use this drinking spot.
I was not disappointed. After only a few minutes a Crescent Honeyeater came to drink from the water. This species of honeyeater is locally abundant in some parts of its range. It is not normally found in the drier areas like at home in Murray Bridge. It seems reasonably common in the Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia. It is also found throughout coastal SE Australia, the islands of Bass Strait and throughout Tasmania.
It was a pleasant surprise to see this species, one that I have not had regular sightings of anywhere.
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Related articles:
- Picnic at Newland Head Conservation Park – from my travel blog.
This post was updated in July 2015.