Some Ibis on High
Straw Necked Ibis
Yesterday morning while having a cuppa out in my wife’s native plant nursery I observed a small flock of eleven Ibises flying high above us. The flock consisted of ten White Ibis and one Straw-Necked Ibis. I have frequently observed flocks of several hundreds of Ibises flying over or near the river here in Murray Bridge but we rarely get them flying over our place.
Most of the time they are Straw-Necked Ibis but occasionally there will be a few White Ibis fly over. The Straw-Necked seem to be the more common of the two species here in this part of Australia, in my experience anyway.
I haven’t any really good photos of either species yet which is a little surprising as they are very approachable and can be quite tame. In fact in some of the eastern states of Australia they are a pest species in parks and gardens. They will aggressively approach picnickers and steal food, a somewhat frightening experience for small children. (Some of our bird species can develop aggressive tendencies. For more comments click here.)
The above photo is the best I currently have. It is a special one because it was taken some time ago and is a record of the very first Straw Necked Ibis that we observed to land on our five acre block of land in over twenty years.
Updated Nov 2013.
Why do I need maps when I go birding?
This is #15 in a Series of frequently asked questions about birding.
Why do I need maps when birding?
- So you don’t get lost, or to find your way home if you do.
- Seriously, though, maps are an excellent way of finding good birding spots you may have otherwise missed.
- Look for lakes, rivers, dams and reservoirs; they are often great places to see waterbirds.
- Look for forested areas, national parks, gorges, and other areas not used for agriculture and where there is a great likelihood of plenty of natural vegetation.
- Botanic Gardens are another great place to observe birds. The flowers and plants are a bonus.
- Ocean beaches, estuaries, tidal mudflats and exposed sandbars are other great birding spots.
- Learn to read the signs on a map that indicate potential good birding areas, and always be prepared to be disappointed because some great spots can let you down from time to time. Sometimes the tide is in and there are few birds. Sometimes the wind is such that the birds have gone elsewhere for shelter.
- Have a backup plan, a site B and site C.
- No matter how poor the conditions, you shouldn’t dip completely. In 30 years of birding I have only once recorded zero birds. It was almost dark and raining heavily, but I did see a kangaroo and an echidna. You get that.
Happy birding.
Great Birding Moments #15 Long Billed Corellas
3 Comments »15th October, 2006; Category: Cockatoos and Corellas, Great Birding Moments, Parrots and Lorikeets
Long Billed Corellas
This great birding moment occured not in the field but at my computer. A few weeks ago we visited Laratinga Wetlands at Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was a calm and mild evening and we had a cuppa and a few biscuits while sitting on a log placed near the water’s edge. There was the usual squadron of ducks, grebes and coots swimming about – or headed in our direction hoping for a tasty handout. (Word must be out that my wife’s Anzac biscuits are superb).
Long Billed Corellas
A small flock of Corellas flew in and landed on a nearby tree. “Little Corellas” was my immediate thought and wrote that in my notebook. It was only when I downloaded the photos to my computer that night that I realised that they were actually Long Billed Corellas. Oops. Never assume anything – check them out carefully. It’s a good rule of thumb when birding. I had momentarily lapsed into thinking that they were Littles when in fact both species are common in our state.
Related articles:
- Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker – includes a bird list.
- Little Corellas – about calls to cull the large numbers of corellas in parts of South Australia.
Updated November 2013.
Favourite Birding Spot #7 Ferries McDonald Conservation Park
Ferries McDonald Conservation Park
Ferries-McDonald Conservation Park is one of the closest large parks of its kind near where I live. It is about 20 km south west of Murray Bridge and about 60 km south east of our state capital, Adelaide.
The park has easy access from two good dirt roads; one road bisects the park, the other follows the southern boundary. Update 2015: a new sealed road bisects the park in a north-south direction. There are several walking tracks through the interior of the park, including one established by the Friends Group a few years ago. There are no toilets or camping facilities within the park.
The park is predominantly mallee habitat. Many small native bushes flower in the spring time making it an attractive place for birds and a good place for birders to visit. I have recorded quite a variety of honeyeaters in the park, including
- Singing Honeyeater,
- White-plumed Honeyeater,
- Yellow-plumed Honeyeater,
- Purple-gaped Honeyeater,
- White-eared Honeyeater,
- Brown-headed Honeyeater and
- Red Wattlebirds.
Other birds I commonly see in the park include:
- Superb Fairy-wrens,
- Golden whistlers,
- Rufous whistlers
- Yellow-rumped thornbills,
- Bronzewing pigeons,
- Crested pigeon
- several kinds of robin and
- White-browed Babblers.
The parrots include:
- Purple-crowned lorikeets,
- Musk lorikeets
- Galahs and
- Mallee Ringnecks.
In all I have recorded over 60 different species.
Nest of a Mallee Fowl
This park is one of only a few local sites for the highly endangered species, the Mallee Fowl. I have only seen this bird once in the park but I have found several active nesting mounds (see photo above). For more information about this bird click on the link below or click here.
Related Articles:
- Birds of Monarto Conservation Park – this park is about 5km north of Ferries McDonald CP
- What Kind of Duck was that? An amusing encounter with a Mallee Fowl
- Mallee Fowl – the Incubator Bird – lots of information about the Mallee Fowl and its habits, including its amazing nest.
This article was last updated in July 2015.
Thieving Birds
A few days ago we had just pulled out of the driveway on our way to Adelaide when I realised that the windscreen was rather dirty. I activated the wipers and the resultant screeching brought me to a quick halt. My wife alighted and she discovered that the left hand wiper blade was missing!
On my return home I went to the spot where the car had been parked. Sure enough, there on the ground was the missing blade. The Little Ravens had been fussing around on the mirror adjacent the wiper for several days. They are my chief suspects at this point, but I have no conclusive evidence.
Over recent months I have observed the following species fussing around the cars, and the mirror in particular: Little Ravens, Australian Magpies, Grey Shrike-Thrush, Willie Wagtail, Magpie Lark and Red Wattlebird. All are suspects, but my money would be on the ravens.
How the bird in question got the rubber wiper blade out beats me. It was hard enough getting it on in the first place. (I replaced both blades a few months ago.)
And why didn’t the bird in question at least have the decency to use the blade in its nest?
UPDATE:
I posted this article this morning. I hadn’t used said vehicle for several days. Guess what? The blighters have done it again! Same wiper blade completely removed and left on the ground. The other wiper blade was part way out!
Related Articles: