Archive for the 'General' Category

I recently had occasion to drive out to Karoonda, a small farming community in the Murray Mallee 65km north east of Murray Bridge. On the way one passes through wheat and sheep farming country with a little remnant vegetation on each side of the road. This mallee habitat is often surprisingly rich in birdlife.

The dominent species one observes along this road (and many others in the district) is the Australian Magpie. Little Ravens are also common as are Crested Pigeons. Flocks of Galahs are a common sight too, ranging in size from four or six through to hundreds.

Summer Road Toll
During summer, when the wheat trucks are carting freshly harvested grain, many Galahs are killed because they feed on the spilled grain on the side of the road. They gorge themselves on the bounty left by the trucks and are then sluggish in their attempts to fly out of the way. Because pairs bond for life, if one is accidently killed in this way, so, too, is the other of the pair eventually killed. The pair bonding is so strong that they stay with the dead one until they, too, fall victim to a passing truck or other vehicle.

Other Birds

Many other birds are encountered on this stretch of road. Mallee Ringneck Parrots cross the road like green and yellow arrows darting through the trees. Willie Wagtails flit to and fro catching the insects disturbed by passing vehicles. Welcome Swallows swoop across the road or skim the nearby paddocks looking for their meal. Red Wattlebirds and Singing Honeyeaters are observed checking out if any of the mallee trees (various eucalyptus species) are in flower. Sometimes one catches a glimpse of the bright yellow feathers of the Yellow Tailed Thornbills as they fly from one patch of vegetation to the next.

Larger Birds

From time to time one can see larger birds like the Little Eagle or the Wedge Tailed Eagle, or the smaller Nankeen Kestral and Black Shouldered Kite. Two other larger species in this area are the Grey Currawong and the White-winged Chough. This latter species is quite often seen walking along the side of the road or in the nearby scrubland. I have often been amused seeing them strutting along rather than flying.

Like many birders I can trace my interest in birds back to an early age. I lived on a wheat and sheep farm at Taplan in the Murray Mallee district of South Australia. This area is hot and dry and often dusty in the summer time and cool, frosty and sometimes wet in the winter time. Most times it just forgets to rain – and the farmers struggle to grow a crop or enough pasture for their sheep or cattle.

Common Farm Birds of the Murray Mallee

There were about ten acres of mallee scrub surrounding the house and sheds. This was a quite rich area for native Australian birds, especially when the mallee trees were in flower. There were always honeyeaters around, mainly Red Wattlebirds, Noisy Miners and Singing Honeyeaters. Australian Magpies, Australian Ravens, House Sparrows and Common Starlings were common around the house, garden and sheds. Thornbills, Weebills, Pardalotes, Willie Wagtails and Magpie Larks were common too. The Magpie Lark was locally called a Murray Magpie and I was always intrigued by their mud nests.

Raptors

There were many rabbits in the district and sometimes these breed into plague proportions. Mice were also a problem and mice plagues come and go as well. This smorgasbord of food maintains a healthy population of raptors. Nankeen Kestrals, Black Shouldered Kites and Collared Sparrowhawks were common, the latter not welcome when there were chickens in the chook yard. Wedge Tailed Eagles are majestic birds as they soar on high; unfortunately my father occasionally shot them if they strayed too near the lambing ewes. Brown Falcons, Spotted Harriers and Little Eagles are also found in the district.

Pigeons and Parrots

The Crested Pigeon was the dominent member of its family, and they can been seen sitting on fence wires and on telephone wires throughout the region. There are a few Common Bronzewing Pigeons where the habitat is suitable and the feral Rock Dove is growing in numbers. Peaceful Doves are a delight wherever they occur and are found in this area too.

Galahs are the dominent parrot but I have also seen the stunning Major Mitchell Cockatoo in the district. Its bright pink breast and yellow and red crest bring a splash of colour to the sometimes drab mallee environment. Other common species include the Cockatiel, Mulga Parrot, Mallee Ringneck. Blue Bonnet and Budgerigar.

Collectors

I never followed the hobby of my cousin Ron. He was an avid collector of bird’s eggs, in an era when this was not frowned upon; indeed, some praised him for his excellent collection. I was a little hesitant about heights – and still cautious nearly fifty years later – and birds eggs are usually found up in trees. Such a hobby never got off the ground for me. Instead, I played it safe and sound on the ground collecting bird’s feathers. Both activities are not only frowned upon these days but are probably illegal.

The feathers I identified from my brother’s field guide (Calley’s “What Bird is That”) and then I sticky taped the feathers in a spare exercise book, carefully annotated with species name, together with the date and place collected. Unknown to me at the time but I was preparing myself for a life-long passion about birds, keeping records and studying the natural environment.

I wonder what ever happened to my collection of feathers?

Last night I watched a program on ABC TV about some aspects of the nature of Ireland. It was called Ireland – Sculpted Isle. It featured some beautiful scenery of the island as well as some of the bird life.

There were some excellent shots of Gannets, Puffins, Redshanks, Curlews and Lapwings. They weren’t just quick takes to fill in between other shots; the camera lingered on the birds so that one got a really good look at them. This was particularly so of the Gannet shots, including the huge numbers at several nesting sites on some islands.

Loved the shots of the Puffins – such comical looking birds.