Theatened Birds of Australia
Regent Honeyeater, Cleland Wildlife Park
Today in the mail I received the latest newsletter of the Threatened Bird Network, a sub-group of Birds Australia.
I read the newsletter while finishing my lunch and having a cuppa.
I knew that large tracts of Australia have been cleared, but to have the stark facts in print in front of you comes as a shock. I quote:
‘With a third of Australia’s woodland vegetation cleared, and over 80% of the temperate woodlands converted into agricultural land, it comes as no surprise that one in five of our temperate woodland dependent birds are threatened. This equates to over 40 species, including the nationally endangered Swift Parrot and Regent Honeyeater.’
I haven’t yet had the pleasure of seeing a Swift Parrot in the wild and can’t recall seeing one in captivity. The only Regent Honeyeater I’ve seen is the one featured here on this page, and that was in a walk through aviary at Cleland Wildlife Park near Adelaide.
Such beautiful birds. Sad that their very existence is under threat.
Regent Honeyeater, Cleland Wildlife Park
A visit to Bendigo, Victoria
Long-billed Corella, Bendigo Botanic Gardens Zoo
While staying with our friends in Gisborne north of Melbourne last January we went for a drive to Castlemaine and then on to Bendigo. The main purpose of the trip was not to do any birding but rather as a social outing. The ladies in our group wanted to see an exhibition in the gallery so my friend and I spent the time shopping. We didn’t buy anything, which can be the best kind of shopping.
Before leaving I asked my friend to drive to the Bendigo Botanic Gardens. I wanted to check out the small zoo there and to get a few photos. I’m sorry I did. This very small zoo can hardly be called a zoo. Two rather disgusting aviaries with only a handful of birds and a small enclosure with three wallabies does not exactly inspire one to visit. The gardens are also in a very poor state. I guess the local authorities have the excuse of the continuing drought and severe water restrictions. I didn’t even bother making a list of birds living in the natural environment there as I was so upset. Visits here in the past have been so enjoyable in this beautiful city, but this time I felt very let down.
Little Penguins at Adelaide Zoo
Little Penguins, Adelaide Zoo
The Adelaide Zoo has been very much in the news lately. I refer to the recent attack on one of the Flamingos in the zoo. Fortunately the injured bird is well on the way to recovery and back on exhibit. The incident has created quite a stir in the media both here in South Australia and throughout the world I believe.
I try to get to visit the zoo several times a year, being a Life Member. I mainly go to see the excellent bird collection. I usually take my camera along too because there are many opportunities to get good close up photos of many species, some of which I would have trouble getting shots of in the wild.
Today I feature two photos taken on a visit last year. Little Penguins (also called Fairy Penguins) are a naturally occurring species here in South Australian waters, with several places where they regularly breed along our coast and on the islands near the coast.
Little Penguins, Adelaide Zoo
Flamingo bashed at Adelaide Zoo
Flamingo at Adelaide Zoo
I was quite horrified to hear the news this morning about a 78 year old Flamingo being bashed by four teenagers at the Adelaide Zoo. Why would someone do this? It seems incomprehensible. What is more, the bird is blind and is the oldest Flamingo in captivity. It came to our local zoo here in the 1930s.
I took the photo above only last Friday on my most recent visit to the zoo. I am a Life Member so I visit often, mainly to see the excellent collection of birds, especially in the walk through aviaries. Having the birds up close is also great for photography, especially of species I would be hard pressed to see in the wild, let alone photograph them.
The news today is that the bird is making a good recovery. The four culprits, however, have been detained by police and stand to be fined up to $50,000 or four years in prison.
For the full story, including a video of the bird and an interview with the director of the zoo, go to this link:
- Shock over Adelaide Zoo Flamingo bashing
For more news about zoos in Australia – and around the world – go to ZooChat, an on-line forum about zoos owned by my son. It covers over 450 zoos from over 50 countries and features news and discussions about zoos. The rapidly growing gallery has over 18,000 photos.
Darter
Darter, Cleland Wildlife Park
I took this photo several months ago at the Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills. The Darter is an interesting bird, widespread over much of Australia without being common anywhere. It is occasionally found in Tasmania and New Zealand. It is also present in Africa, southern Asia and Papua New Guinea.
Snake Bird
Another common name for the Darter is Snake Bird. If one approaches one sitting on a log or branch it will writhe its neck in a snake like manner. Like cormorants, the Darter needs to regularly leave the water and sit on a log, rock, branch or navigation piles in order to dry its wings. The one in the photograph above was sitting on a log on the side of the path, only two metres from me. Being a captive bird it was very used to having people quite close.
Habitat preferences:
The Darter can be found in or along rivers, creeks, lakes, swamps, lagoons, reservoirs and estuaries but rarely in open sea. It can be found in both salt and fresh water. In my home district it is found right along the River Murray and although widespread it is present in only small numbers, usually one or two.
For more information:
- Birds in Backyards – facts about the Darter.
- Australia Zoo – look for the down loadable PDF file on this species.