Watch out darter
Australian Darter
Yesterday I took my wife on a drive through the countryside here in South Australia. We had been to Adelaide for an early morning medical appointment so we decided to take an alternative route home and have lunch at Mannum which is a half hour drive north of our home in Murray Bridge. We drove from Burnside to Gumeracha via the Gorge Road, following the picturesque Torrens River Valley.
We stopped at the Big Rocking Horse at Gumeracha for a cup of tea and some lovely freshly baked scones. After our sojourn there we continued on through Birdwood and Tungkillo, heading for Mannum and lunch.
As we were coming down the hill into the small township of Palmer I suddenly had to brake and swerve to miss an Australian Darter sitting in the middle of the lane we were travelling in. I was also conscious of the car close behind me as well. Both of us missed the bird and on checking the rear view mirror I was relieved to see the bird flying off.
Darters are usually seen in or very near water. What on earth was it doing sitting in the middle of a road? This was about 16 km (10 miles) west of the river, but I know there are storage dams on nearby farms in this district. It’s just that I’ve never seen one on a road before.
Of course I didn’t have time to take a photo and there was no safe stopping area either. Besides, this was the first trip I had taken in many years where I totally forgot to take my camera.
The photo above was taken several years ago on the banks of the Murray River which flows through my home town of Murray Bridge in South Australia.
Preening his feathers
Purple Swamphen, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
On my visit to the Laratinga Wetlands last week I saw several Purple Swamphens.
The individual featured in today’s photos show one that was quite unafraid of me and allowed me to approach to within a few metres. These wetlands attract many visitors daily: walkers, cyclists, runners, picnickers, photographers and avid birders like myself. So, taking that into account the birds are quite used to the human traffic on the paths around the wetlands.
It the photo above the bird is busy doing his early morning preening. In the subsequent photo shown below the bird seems to be asking whether his feathers look okay. I love getting special bird poses like this one.
Good birding.
Purple Swamphen, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
Cold weather birding
No Comments »12th July, 2015; Category: Bird Behaviour, Bush birds, Garden birds, Honeyeaters, Magpies and Currawongs, Murray Bridge, Ravens and Crows, Wrens
I didn’t do much birding today.
Or yesterday.
I decided that the weather was far too cold. We are having a really cold winter’s snap here in South Australia with heavy rain, very cold temperatures, blustery winds and even snow. Snow in our state is such a rarity it receives plenty of coverage in the news. We average one snow fall every few years and it only lasts a few moments on the ground – if it reaches the ground. Nothing like the countries where some of my readers reside, I know, but then you don’t have to contend with our severe summers which we take in our stride. Or our snakes. Or spiders. Or sharks… you get the picture?
Despite the cold, inclement weather I was still able to be aware of the birds in and around our home and garden. The New Holland Honeyeaters and Red Wattlebirds were busily feeding on a few native plants and trees which are currently flowering. The Australian Magpies have stopped fussing about whether it is time to start building nests yet. A small party of White-browed Babblers scratched their way through the leaf litter a few days ago and the little family of Superb Fairy-wrens always seem to be happy to flit and hop around the garden, no matter what the weather dishes up.
Yesterday I noticed two Little Ravens scratching around in the grass I haven’t mowed recently. They seemed to be having a good feast. A few days ago I also heard several Grey Currawongs calling but they must have been just passing through our mallee scrub and not stopping. Earlier in the week I heard a Barn Owl screeching outside during the evening; we had visitors at the time so I didn’t go out searching for it.
Further reading:
- Just click on the name of any of the species mentioned in this post. A link will take you to photos and stories about each of the species mentioned. Reading those articles might help you to while away some poor weather in your part of the world.
Barn Owl, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney
An early Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo
1 Comment »10th July, 2015; Category: Bird Behaviour, Cuckoos, Garden birds, Migratory birds, Murray Bridge
Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo
I meant to write this post about two weeks ago. I have been distracted by other things; it happens.
First thing one morning just on two weeks ago I was on my way out and I heard the distinctive call of a Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo. I was running late for a meeting so I didn’t have time to track it down and get a photo but I know its call from years of hearing it around our home and garden. The photos I have shared today were taken some time ago and are not brilliant, but they give you a general idea of the appearance of this species.
What was interesting about this record is the early nature of the visit in late June. Most of the cuckoos we see and hear on our property are later in the year, especially around spring time when many species are nesting. I have also been reading quite a few reports online by other birders of various cuckoos appearing in southern Australia in recent weeks. One field guide I consulted claims that this species migrates to southern Australia and breeds from June to March, so it is not really all that early after all.
Sometimes I wonder if our birds actually read the field guides and follow the instructions therein.
Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo
Rosellas come to visit
No Comments »14th June, 2015; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Murray Bridge, Parrots and Lorikeets
Adelaide Rosella
This morning while we were having breakfast a small flock of four Adelaide Rosellas came to visit our garden. It was delightful to see them feeding on some of the flowers of our native plants such as eremophilas. This sighting is notable in so much as they are uncommon visitors to our garden here on the outskirts of Murray Bridge, some 80km south east of Adelaide, South Australia.
Adelaide Rosellas are a sub-species of the widespread Crimson Rosella, a common species in southern and eastern Australia. The Adelaide Rosella is largely confined to the Adelaide region through to the mid-north districts of the state. Until recent years I have not observed this sub-species so far east of the Mt Lofty Ranges, and they seem to be extending their range eastwards. We are now seeing them every few months in our garden.
Further reading:
Adelaide Rosella (immature)