White-necked Heron
I was travelling from Meadows to Echunga in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia this morning when my well trained eyes spotted a rare bird. Well – rare for me, that is.
I came to a screeching halt at the side of the road – after checking the mirror of course. This road is often used by large trucks thundering along at break-neck speeds. What I didn’t want was one of them breaking my neck by plunging into the back of my vehicle.
In a swampy area some 80 metres from the road was a single White-necked Heron feeding in the water. This is a widespread species in Australia but one I have rarely seen. In fact I think I’ve only seen it three or four times in the last twenty years. I have obviously not been looking in the right places, or I need to get out birding more often.
I didn’t have my camera with me but that was no great loss as the bird was probably too far away for a good shot anyway. To see a photo of this species click here.
Other interesting species feeding in the swamp included Black Swans (with several cygnets), Eurasian Coots and Chestnut Teal. Dozens of Tree Martins were swooping low over the water.
My enforced five minute interlude from work (delivering parcels) was very rewarding.
A very obliging bird is the Reedwarbler
Clamorous Reed-Warbler, Canberra
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #5
In my experience the Clamorous Reedwarbler of Australia is not an easy bird to photograph. They tend to skulk around in the reeds on the edges of lakes, creeks, rivers, swamps and ponds. My usual experience with this species is to see them dart rapidly from one clump of reeds to another. When they do show themselves in the open, the pose is kept for about two seconds – if you are lucky.
I had previously obtained a really nice shot of this species at the Cleland Wildlife Park near Adelaide. That shot was of a captive bird in a walk-through aviary. It was used to hundreds of people within a metre or two every day of the year.
While we were enjoying an ice cream during our visit to Floriade 2007 in Canberra I heard a reedwarbler in the reeds nearby. I casually walked to the water’s edge, prepared the camera and waited about ten seconds. Out popped the bird, posed long enough for me to focus and then flew off.
I guess he was a little cheesed off with everyone taking thousands of photos of flowers.
He just wanted his moment of glory too.
Now if only I could get a photo of another secretive reed-dwelling bird, the Little Grassbird.
Floriade 2007, Canberra
Jerrabomberra Wetlands, Canberra
Purple Swamphen
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #1
One of the places I wanted to visiting to go birding while in Canberra was the Jerrabomberra Wetlands near the centre of Canberra and adjacent to Lake Burley Griffin. I’d heard quite a bit about these wetlands from the internet chat group Canberra Birds.
We were able to spend about two hours at these wetlands and although the birding was quiet and a little slow, I was able to make a pleasing list of species. An Australian Magpie was feeding two young in a nest in the car-park and this was a good start to the morning. I grabbed a cuppa and headed off to the first bird hide. There are a number of good hides scattered around the ponds.
One of the first sightings was a Black Swan with two cygnets. Later I saw a Pacific Black Duck with about half a dozen ducklings in tow. I also saw plenty of Eurasian Coots, Purple Swamphens, Dusky Moorhens, and Grey Teal. A single pair of Chestnut Teal was also present. Incredibly, I saw my first White-faced Heron for the trip, although we think we’d seen one earlier in the trip, but I hadn’t recorded it.
I heard both a Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo and a Laughing Kookaburra but failed to see either of them. Welcome Swallows swooped low over the water and a Clamorous Reedwarbler sang off and on from the reeds in the middle of the wetlands. As we left I stopped briefly at the Sewage Works on the opposite side of the road. Here I was able to add Australasian Grebe which looked as if it was in breeding plumage. I also added Blue-billed Duck on a tip-off from a local birder I met earlier at the wetlands. This latter is always a good species to add to a list, and it’s a lovely species to see anyway.
Jerrabomberra Wetlands, Canberra
Unusual cormorant behaviour
On my recent visit to Loxton in the Riverland region of South Australia I saw about 50 Little Black Cormorants. They were across the other side of the river. Every few seconds about 10-15 of the assembled birds would start madly flapping and splashing the water. They were not diving for fish and remained on the surface throughout the five to ten second splashing routine.
What were they doing?
I’ve never seen this behaviour in cormorants before. I’m at a loss to explain their behaviour. I invite readers to leave their explanations in the comments section below, or use the email contact form here.
Little Black Cormorants, River Murray, Loxton
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Apart from the bird on the far left, I didn’t manage to catch the splashing action on my camera. [Sigh]
Royal Spoonbills
Yesterday I wrote about my love of Yellow Billed Spoonbills. They are truly wonderful birds and certainly have a special place in my birding life.
I also delight in seeing their cousins the Royal Spoonbill with their distinctively coloured bills. Both species are to be found in my home district here in Murray Bridge, though not in large numbers – usually singles through to a half dozen or so.
So far I haven’t managed to get a good photo of the Royal Spoonbill but Snail on A Snail’s Eye View has several excellent photos here.
Both species of Spoonbills are widespread throughout northern, eastern and southern Australia where suitable habitat exists. Both are present in SW Western Australia, though the Yellow Billed Spoonbill is far more common there than the Royal. Their preferred habitats include wetlands, swamps, lakes, shallow waters, estuarine waters, dams and irrigated areas. Both species feed by moving steadily through shallow water, swishing the bill sideways to and fro searching for food.
For a great deal more information about their feeding and breeding habits go to the Birds in Backyards site here. This site also has a distribution map. More information about the Yellow Billed Spoonbill, including a distribution map, can be found here.