Little Corellas at Mannum
Little Corella
A few weeks ago I was a guest speaker at the Mannum Garden Club. After the meeting I went down to the reserve by the river to have lunch. A small flock of about fifty Little Corellas was resting in the trees in the reserve. Several of them posed nicely for me.
Little Corellas can often be found in large flocks numbering in the hundreds. They can pose a threat to crops such as grain crops so they are sometimes not popular with farmers. Little Corellas are largely absent from the wetter eastern and southern coastal areas of Australia except where local feral populations have formed from aviary escapes. In the wild this species prefers the drier inland regions and they can be common to very abundant – even in pest numbers in some areas.
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Little Corella
Welcome to members of the Mannum Garden Club
Yesterday I had the privilege and delight to be the guest speaker at the meeting of the Mannum Garden Club. If you are visiting my blog as a result of that meeting – welcome. Mannum is a farming centre and tourist town on the River Murray about half an hour’s drive from my home in Murray Bridge, South Australia.
During my presentation I talked about the common birds of the Mannum district. I showed many photos of these birds, many of which have appeared on this blog and are in the photo gallery.
Several of the people present asked help with identification of a raptor feeding on the oval nearby. Several Black Kites were on the grass feeding on what I presume was grasshoppers. Later as I drove past the oval again on my way home, I noticed about 60 Black Kites feeding on the oval.
Black Kites on Mannum Oval
I think I mentioned this before: if anyone reading this blog would like me as a guest speaker about birds, I’d be more than happy to arrange a time providing it is not too far from my home in Murray Bridge – say up to an hour or two travel time. It would be best to use my contact form here to get in touch with me. I will even fly interstate if the ticket is provided!!
Black Kite at Mannum, South Australia
Birding brochure launched
The Mannum Bird Watching brochure I wrote
In my travels around Australia I often visit Information Centres. I usually look for pamphlets and maps about the local area, concentrating on places like national parks and reserves. We try to visit some of the places during our visit, especially those that promise good birding and an interesting array of native plants to keep my wife happy.
The Mannum Bird Watching brochure I wrote
On our many trips around the different states I particularly look for birding guides. We have come across a few, but these are not at all common. In South Australia I know of only two and both of those were published only this year. Now a third one is gracing the shelves of tourist information centres, one that I am the proud author of and which was launched in Mannum last week.
Earlier in the year I was approached by the Friends of Mannum Walking Trails to write and produce such a brochure. I readily agreed, not realising how much work was involved. Still, I am very pleased with the result and received many positive comments by the speakers at the launch and by people afterwards when we enjoyed morning tea.
The launch was reasonably informal, and was held on the banks of the River Murray at Mannum. All present were welcomed by representatives of the local Indigenous community, the Mayor and several other speakers. I was given an opportunity to also say a few words.
At the same time another brochure was launched. The second pamphlet is a guide to the walking trails around the town of Mannum. It highlights the cultural and historical heritage of the area with a particular focus on the rich paddle steamer history of the town.
The Mannum Bird Watching brochure I wrote
I took all the photos featured in the birding brochure and many of them have appeared on this blog over the last two years.
Click on the photos to enlarge the image.
Birds of the Mannum district, South Australia
Murray Princess, Mannum, South Australia
Over recent days I have written about several species of birds that I saw in Mannum. Mannum is a medium sized town on the River Murray about a half hour’s drive from my home in Murray Bridge, South Australia. It is a popular tourist destination. Many houseboats moored at Mannum are available for hire. The Murray Princess (see photo above) takes tourists on river cruises lasting three, four or seven days.
The birding in the Mannum district is interesting and quite diverse. There are the normal river birds such as Australian Pelicans, Silver Gulls, Australian Wood Ducks and Pacific Black Ducks. Sometimes there are large numbers of Grey Teal and Chestnut Teal. On this occasion I also recorded a large number of Chestnut-breasted Shelducks a little further upstream, but they were too far away to photograph.
Just north of the well patronised and well appointed caravan park there are extensive wetlands. At present this area has large areas of mud flats due to the low level of the river. Due to the drought the river is at least a metre lower than normal. On these mudflats I saw Straw-necked, White and Glossy Ibis, Red-kneed Dotterel, Eurasian Coots, Purple Swamphens and Dusky Moorhens. Several Yellow-billed Spoonbills were also seen feeding in the shallows.
The reeds lining these wetlands are suffering badly at present because of a lack of water. That didn’t prevent me recording the Little Grassbird and the Australian Reedwarbler. In the trees lining the wetlands I saw Red-rumped Parrots, Crested Pigeons, Galahs, Purple-crowned Lorikeets, Willie Wagtail and Grey Fantail. Also seen or heard were White-plumed Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds and a Peaceful Dove.
Sitting on the bank of the river here can be rewarding. This is one good way of observing a number of species flying past. In this way, together with a cup of tea at hand and lunch from the local bakery in my hand, I added Caspian Tern, Crested Tern, Whiskered Tern, Whistling Kite, Welcome Swallow, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Little Egret, Little Corella and Little Raven.
We drove along the river towards the small town of Bow Hill. Stopping at various points along the way I added Masked Lapwing, Black Swan, Blue Bonnet Parrot and White-faced Heron. In the trees lining the river I observed Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters and Singing Honeyeaters. A Grey Shrike Thrush added its beautiful song to the lovely morning. At one stage I heard a Sacred Kingfisher but I didn’t see it. I did manage to catch sight of a solitary Laughing Kookaburra flying near the river bank.
I also heard a small flock of Rainbow Bee-eaters and saw a family of White-browed Babblers near the side of the road as we drove along.
Overall it was a very satisfactory morning’s birding. The big bonus was adding Glossy Ibis to my list for the first time. Getting a “lifer” is always satisfying.