Budgerigar, Adelaide Zoo
Budgerigar, Adelaide Zoo
After a recent medical appointment in Adelaide my wife and I spent a few hours at the Adelaide Zoo. Apart from being the only zoo in Australia to have Giant Pandas exhibited, our local zoo has an excellent collection of birds, especially Australian species. Some of these are in walk-through aviaries, making photography easy.
Some, however, are seen through wire mesh. I am quite pleased with the photo above because I managed to focus on the bird without too much blur from the netting. Budgerigars are one of Australia’s favourite birds being kept as a pet by many people. It is also a popular cage bird worldwide.
Superb Parrot near Wagga Wagga
Superb Parrot, Adelaide Zoo
We recently travelled by road from home in Murray Bridge, South Australia (near Adelaide) to visit family in Sydney. The road trip took two days of many hours of travelling because it is a journey of over 1300km. We didn’t have many opportunities to stop and do some birding, so I had to be content with the birds seen while travelling along at highway speeds – usually 95 – 105kph. That’s not conducive to good birding practices, nor does it allow bird photography.
While travelling between Narrandera and Wagga Wagga in central west NSW I saw a solitary Superb Parrot fly across the road in front of the car. This is only the second time I’ve seen this parrot outside of an aviary. This particular area is one of the regions where this species is relatively common. It is a spectacular bird, as shown in the photo above. I cheated with this photo; it was taken of a captive bird in one of the aviaries in the Adelaide Zoo. It’s not a great photo because it was taken through the wire netting of the aviary. One day I’ll see one in the wild, one which poses perfectly for my camera.
I’m in the wrong birding business
Ostrich, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
I’m in the wrong business – I shouldn’t be writing about birds I see in their natural environment, or in zoos. I should be breeding and selling Ostriches. Yesterday I had another request for the purchase of Ostriches, something which happens every few weeks. I could be making my fortune out of selling these interesting birds, mostly to buyers in India and Pakistan.
The reason I get so many requests of this nature is because I once wrote an article here about the Ostriches living near my home – in the nearby Monarto Zoo which is part of Adelaide Zoo. As a result – and despite having a disclaimer on the page – I still keep on getting orders for either eggs or chicks. I’ve even closed comments on the article – but they still keep on sending me orders via my contact page. Sigh.
One of the problems is that this web site is so popular, and searching online will bring the article up in the first few links. The curse of being popular, I guess.
Links:
- Ostriches in Australia – and near my home – the article causing me so much trouble.
- Monarto Zoo
- Adelaide Zoo
Buy Ostriches here:
I bet I still get plenty of orders!
Happy birding.
Lower Murray Bird Club
Last night I was the guest speaker at the Lower Murray Bird Club here in Murray Bridge, South Australia. I had previously showed bird photos and spoke about Australian birds to this group about 3 years ago. Thinking that the membership is probably fairly static over a relatively short period of time, I made up a completely new talk with more recent photos to show. Just as well, because quite a few remembered my talk from back then.
I’m not into keeping birds in cages or aviaries, preferring to see my birds in the natural state. All the same, it was good to speak to a group of people who are all bird lovers, no matter where one sees them. Out of the many thousands of bird photos I could draw on for my talk, I tended to focus on those I had taken in walk-through aviaries, especially those at Adelaide Zoo.
I was made to feel most welcome and the audience was very attentive to what I had to say. I think they also enjoyed the photos I had chosen. I only wish I had a small portion of their bird knowledge, especially in the care of birds. I could be so much more helpful to my many readers if I had a broader knowledge in this field. I am trying; recently I’ve added a few more books to my growing library which will help.
People living in South Australia have many bird clubs that they could join. While many of them do not have their own websites, there is a combined site listing names, localities and contact details. The site is the United Bird Societies of South Australia (Click to access).
If you are a member of a group which might like to have me as a guest speaker, don’t hesitate to contact me through my contact form at the top of this page, or click here.
Red Browed Finch
Flamingos, Adelaide Zoo
No Comments »31st March, 2011; Category: Adelaide Zoo, Birds, Non-Australian birds, Waterbirds, Zoos
Chilean Flamingo, Adelaide Zoo
Adelaide Zoo has only two flamingos, a Chilean Flamingo and a Greater Flamingo. They occupy the flamingo grotto built in in 1885, a specially made quiet corner of the zoo. Only a low fence separates them from the admiring public. They usually make excellent photo opportunities as they feed in their small pond.
You can read further information about these birds from the Adelaide Zoo website, including details of distribution, diet and other interesting facts. The pages include short videos of the birds:
Greater Flamingo, Adelaide Zoo