A very noisy Mallee Ringneck

Mallee Ringneck, Peterborough South Australia

On the first weekend of March earlier this year my wife and I travelled to Peterborough in the mid-north of South Australia. My wife was attending a quilting seminar and we stayed with family while there. While she was attending the seminar I did a few hours of birding around town before the day became too hot.

The first place I ventured to was the Greg Duggan Reserve on Lookout Hill on the northern outskirts of town. This lookout gives a great view in all directions over the adjacent farming country surrounding the town. This small reserve is also a fine retreat for some of the local birds with over 70 species having been recorded there over the years. I had a good look around and managed a few good photos of a Western Grey Kangaroo (see photo below).

As I was leaving the lookout, which has a good ramp with wheelchair access, I heard the unmistakable and noisy call of a Mallee Ringneck Parrot. With very little effort I tracked it down and managed a few good photos which I have shown above and below. Next thing this bird was joined in a noisy duet with another bird which was walking along the railing of the lookout (see photo below). This chorus continued for several minutes before both birds flew off towards the town.

On our property in Murray Bridge, we have a noisy family of Mallee Ringneck parrots which are a resident breeding species in our garden. We get a little annoyed with them when they nibble at our pears as they are ripening on the trees. Mallee Ringnecks are a widespread species in the drier mallee areas of Australia. The Mallee Ringnecks are a sub-species of the Australian Ringneck, a widespread species with several other sub-species.

For more about the fauna of the Greg Duggan Reserve in Peterborough read my article called The Wildlife in the Greg Duggan Nature Reserve.

Mallee Ringneck, Peterborough South Australia

Mallee Ringneck, Peterborough South Australia

From the lookout at Peterborough in South Australia

Western Grey Kangaroo near Peterborough