BIRDER

BIRDER

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Lake Gilles Conservation Park

A weekend at Lake Gilles Conservation Park is always a good thing! A combinaton of mallee eucalyptus woodland, samphire, western birds, seclusion and perfect weather is fantastic!












This park provides a variety of habitats but I spent most of my time on the western side of the park towards the lake itself (which is still dry).












As I explored some old growth Mallee I stumbled across a pair of Western Yellow Robin. Always a treat! Over the weekend I came across 8 of these lovely birds and they were happy to pose for photos.














Saturday afternoon I drove into to Kimba which is only about 15 km away. As I got close to the town I I noticed a Galah sitting quietly on the side of the road up ahead.....


There was something different about this Galah,  it just didnt seem right somehow, so I pulled over.


I grabbed my camera and carefully opened the car door.






I gingerly climbed out........    It did not move.....








I walked a few steps towards it.......





still it did not move......





As I got closer I realised it really was much larger than I expected!







I took this photo......


























This morning I was up before dawn. A thick fog remained until about 7.30am while Australian Ravens, White-winged Chough, Currawongs, Crested Bellbirds, Striated Pardalotes, Weebills, White-eared Honeyeater, White-faced Honeyeater, Golden Whistlers, Singing and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters all joined in the dawn chorus this morning.

A great weekend escape Lake Gilles really is worth a visit.





















































Monday, April 23, 2012

Kangaroo Island birding






This weekend started with a night of Owling with my good mate Chris. It was a successful evening with ten Eastern Barn Owl, two Tawny Frogmouth and a Southern Boobook.


Eastern Barn Owl



Southern Boobook







Tawny Frogmouth





I then headed to Kangaroo Island for a couple of nights in order to photograph the Glossy Black-cockatoos.  The KI race of the Glossy, halmaturinus are Australia’s “rarest” cockatoo. These birds feed on the kernels inside the Sheoak seeds and sadly, due to land clearance these birds are now extinct on the mainland. Only a couple of flocks still occur in Kangaroo Island. Thankfully a breeding program is underway in an attempt to save this race. I believe there are about 250 left in the wild.


























The weekend was a washout – it rained continuously which made birding for the more elusive birds pretty much useless but I still did a bit of looking around.


Grey Currawong in the rain




Pacific Gull




Immature Pacific Gull







Flinders Chase Conservation Park is definitely worth a look. Seal Bay and Admiral Arch are stunning with great views of Australian Sea-lion and New Zealand Fur Seals.



Australian Sea-lion



















New Zealand Fur Seals breed at Admiral Arch


Seal Bay is home to the endangered Australian Sea-lion





Admiral Arch is the breeding ground of NZ Fur Seal



Kangaroo Island is a great place to visit. Just be prepared for the cost of the ferry, especially if you choose to take your car! Be sure to allow enough time as it is bigger than most people expect. It is a great place to view wildlife so ensure you stay a for a minimum of 2 or 3 nights.








Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Birdsville Track







A four day weekend is an opportunity to travel and I intended to make the most of it! Finishing work on Thursday I hit the road and headed north. As I travel alone I did my best to be prepared. Travelling in the outback you need to take extra precautions, considering there is no mobile phone reception. So, I carry a second spare wheel, 25 litres of fuel, plenty of water, fan belt and UHF radio.

I expected the Birdsville track to actually be well visited over Easter so I was pleasantly surprised that over the entire weekend I saw hardly anyone! In fact on Saturday I only saw 1 car and that belonged to a landowner!!

At Sunrise on Friday I was greeted by a herd of horses casually walking down the track in Lyndhurst.




Australian Raven



I spent 3 days exploring the Birdsville Track which is really green after all the floods.




What they do when there are no fence posts to climb!


I did not really have any specific target species but did hope to photograph some species that although I had seen before, had not managed to get photos of (or decent ones anyway).





Black (Fork-tailed) Kite


I checked every receiver tower between Leigh Creek and the Inner Track hoping to find the elusive Grey Falcon but none decided to show themselves. Nankeen Kestrels and Brown Falcon were both nesting and at one stage I witnessed an Australian Raven attempt to raid the Kestrel nest but the Kestrel was very protective attacking the Raven and sending it packing.

A brave Kestrel defends its nest.





Once I past Coopers Creek Flock Bronzewings became more numerous. At one stage I had a flock flying right along side me while I was driving. They were flying at exactly 80 km per hour!

Flock Bronzewing














I was pleasantly surprised when I found a camel standing in the middle of the track. I stopped the car as it chose not to get out of my way. It then proceeded to drop to the ground and roll on its back with it’s legs in the air scratching its back and giving itself a dust bath!  Only after I got out of the car and walked towards it with my camera did it decide to casually walk off into the dunes.










Orange Chats, Pipits and Gibberbirds were good numbers, darting across the track like bullets. On numerous occasion I’d hit the skids in an attempt to get a photo of the Gibberbird but they would always be that one step ahead. Eventually, in the late arvo I saw another Gibberbird dart off the track so I stopped for one last attempt. As I jumped out of the car, another vehicle (the first I’d seen all day) went past me sending dust flying. I thought “well that’s blown any  chance of finding it” so I just leant against the back of my car waiting for the cloud of dust to settle. Imagine my amazement when the bird came back out on to the track in front of me and proceeded to start pecking about seemingly oblivious to my presence!


I spent  a couple of nights at Mungerannie Roadhouse.



A comfortable place to stay, Pam and Phil were very welcoming and helpful. I’d recommend staying there to break up your journey and it is a great location for birding!





The wetland is beautiful and attracts a large variety of species!





Some species I saw here included: White-backed Swallow, White-breasted Woodswallow, Black-faced Woodswallow, Glossy Ibis, Bluebonnet, Great Egret, Brolga, Black (Fork-tailed) Kite, Black-fronted Dotterel, Diamond Dove, Flock Bronzewing, Budgies, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Zebra Finch, Little Grassbird, White-winged Fairy-wren, House Sparrow (ok, well I was surprised to see them here), Australian Raven, Little Crow, Grey Teal, Black Swan, Great-crested Grebe and Bustard.





I searched the surrounding dunes in order to get a photo of Eyrean Grasswren but had no luck. I hiked for hours and had a thoroughly enjoyable time but was unsuccessful.







I surprised a dingo who was doing it’s best to keep the rabbit numbers down.



I was even more surprised when a Bustard flew overhead!










After giving up on the Eyrean Grasswren photo I headed north.









I had some lovely birds including plenty of Flock Bronzewing, Black Kite, Brown Falcon, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Nankeen Kestrel, Black-shouldered Kite, Australian Raven,  Cockatiel, budgies, Zebra Finch, Spotted Harrier, Banded Lapwing, Cinnamon Quail-thrush, Orange Chat, Richard’s Pipit, Gibberbird, White-winged Fairy-wren, Rufous Songlark.









Standing on top of a sand dune near the Warburton Track turn off I watched a pair of Spotted Harriers fight over a bearded dragon.










On Sunday afternoon I headed back to Lyndhurst. I headed up the Strz and caught up with my friend Vik for a few hours of birding.





After enjoying a stunning sunset on the drive back into Lyndhurst we shared a meal at the pub.



A wonderful Easter weekend filled with birding, travel & adventure.