Road Trip: Ouyen to Narrandera
Pied Butcherbird
Sydney Trip May 2010
On our recent road trip to Sydney to visit family we were very pressed for time on the journey over. Murray Bridge to Sydney is nearly 1400 km and can be achieved in two days of constant driving. My wife and I like to take journeys like this at a leisurely pace, enjoying the towns, national parks and interesting road side vegetation areas. This time we were on a tight schedule so there wasn’t much time for birding, nor photography.
So I had to be content to make lists of birds seen “on the run” as we drove along.
After stopping at Ouyen for lunch on our first day we continued east through Manangatang, Piangil and crossed the River Murray at Tooleybuc. From there we went on towards Balranald where we stopped briefly to refuel. About an hour later we stopped for a toilet break at the Ravensworth Rest Area, then on through Hay to Narrandera where we stayed in a motel for the night.
It was a rushed day but I still managed some interesting bird observations, listed below.
Black-shouldered Kites: these appeared to be in abundance along this stretch of road. I’d heard that some areas were experiencing a mouse plague, along with many locusts. Though we saw few of either of these pests, it could account for so many kites.
Nankeen Kestrels: these were also in abundance along this road.
Black Kites: only a few seen, though I can’t recall seeing them in this area on previous trips.
Wedge-tailed Eagles: only two seen during the whole day, though I’d expect to see more.
Australian Magpies: very common all along this route. It this area it is the Black-backed Magpie subspecies you see.
Australian Ravens: very common everywhere.
Pied Butcherbird: a saw several of these during the afternoon, either sitting in a tree on the side of the road, or flying over the road. (The photo above was taken on a different trip in this area.)
Parrots: small flocks of Galahs and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos were seen where there was suitable habitat. Major highlight was a small flock of Blue Bonnets. A major disappointment was not seeing any Major Mitchell Cockatoos.
Other species: most of these were seen in large numbers and are quite common where suitable habitat exists:
- various honeyeaters, with plenty of Noisy Miners
- Yellow-rumped Thornbills
- White-winged Choughs – very common
- Crested Pigeons – very common
Wedge-tailed Eagle
A bird in the hand
I had to laugh at a line in a regular column in our daily newspaper this morning.
‘A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead.’
I disagree.
Yes – sure – I’ve been pooped on from above on a number of occasions. The most memorable of these was twice in the space of a few minutes while exploring the streets of Kathmandu in Nepal.
But having a bird in the hand is no guarantee of safety. I’ve handled a few birds over the years, including in aviaries and birds in our garden stunned from flying into windows. I’ve been pooped on the hand more than once from nervous birds.
Most birds have rather sharp claws and small parrots have needle like bills. I have never handled a larger parrot, one such as a Galah, without some form of protection for my hands. I reckon that our large black cockatoos would do some serious damage to a finger given half a chance. I prefer not to test out that theory.
Being pooped upon is only one of the hazards of being around birds. Some birds are very cantankerous given the right circumstances. A few years ago I wrote a long article about dealing with aggressive bird behaviour. It has proved to be one of the most popular articles on this blog.
Happy birding.
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
Galahs in Tintinara
Galah, Tintinara, SE South Australia
On my recent visit to Tintinara in the upper south east region of South Australia I went for a drive around town checking out the local birds. At several points I stopped to take some photos. The shot above of a Galah perched in a gum tree lit by the early morning sunshine is rather pleasing to the eye. It’s almost as if it was posing for me.
I’m not sure if it is a male or female. Even enlarging the photo digitally I can’t see if the eye is brown (male) or red (female). Going by the rich colours of the breast feathers, I’d say it is probably a male. It also looks like it is perching near a hollow; perhaps it is where he and his mate nested during the recent breeding season. There was another Galah a little higher up in the tree.
Further reading:
- Possible Galah nesting attempt – in our garden
- Galahs nesting?
- Galah
Long-billed Corellas, Tintinara
1 Comment »26th February, 2010; Category: Cockatoos and Corellas, Murray Bridge, Parrots and Lorikeets
Long-billed Corellas, Tintinara, SE South Australia
On my recent visit to Tintinara in the upper SE of South Australia I took a drive around the streets. On every other visit to this town I had just driven through except once when we stopped for a toilet break. I occasionally do some deliveries for a local courier so I took this opportunity – after I’d delivered the urgent parcel for the veterinarian – to look around the town and see if I could spot any interesting birds, and perhaps get some good shots.
On the grassy verge of the main road near the oval I saw several Long-billed Corellas feeding on the grass. Several Galahs added to the number. I just pointed the camera out of the window and took the photos on this page. The photos are not very good as I shot them quite quickly. The corellas were a little flighty, and when I tried to get closer by getting out of the car, they flew away. I also saw a small flock feeding on the cones of a pine tree near the oval, but couldn’t get close enough to photograph them.
Long-billed Corellas are found throughout most of south-eastern South Australia, western Victoria and into the Riverina region of NSW. In some other areas there are feral flocks which established themselves via escapes from aviaries, or deliberate release.
I’ve personally not recorded this species here in Murray Bridge where we get large, noisy flocks of the very common Little Corella.
Long-billed Corellas, Tintinara, SE South Australia
Long-billed Corellas, Tintinara, SE South Australia
Further reading:
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.