A Magpie comes to lunch
Australian Magpie near the Whispering Wall reservoir, South Australia
Yesterday I wrote about the birds I saw while having a picnic lunch on our way to a short holiday on Yorke Peninsula last week. We stopped at the Whispering Wall, the retaining dam of the Barossa Reservoir between Williamstown and Gawler in the Barossa Valley.While we were eating our lunch a male Australian Magpie came up quite close to us. I guess it was used to getting a free lunch from people using the picnic grounds. It was out of luck with us, however.
Australian Magpie near the Whispering Wall reservoir, South Australia
The Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
Birds at the Whispering Wall, Barossa Reservoir
Rock Dove at the Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
On our trip to the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia last week we stopped briefly to have lunch at the Whispering Wall. This popular name for the wall of the Barossa Reservoir between Williamstown and Gawler was built between 1899 and 1902. The retaining wall (see photo below) is parabolic in shape which has a unique property. Visitors can stand at one end of the wall, speak softly and can be heard quite clearly by others 140 metres away at the other end.
I was much more interested in the birds in the picnic ground, on the reservoir and in the nearby bushland. A large group of Eurasian Coots could be seen on the water but I didn’t see any other water birds (see photo below). A small number of Rock Doves were haning around the installation along the wall (see photo above) and dozens of Welcome Swallows swooped low over the water and came to rest on the railings. I tried to get close enough to photograph them but they flew off over the water again.
In the picnic area I recorded a number of bush birds, including:
- Red Wattlebird
- Noisy Miner
- Australian Magpie
- Rainbow and Musk Lorikeets
- Striated Pardalote
- Galah
- Adelaide Rosella
- Laughing Kookaburra
- White-plumed Honeyeater
- Willie wagtail
- Grey Fantail
- Magpie Lark
- Little Raven
This is not a long list, but we were only there for about 20 minutes and I didn’t search out other species in the surrounding bush. I was more interested in eating – and getting on with our journey.
Whispering Wall, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
Eurasian Coots on the Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
Hooded Plovers
Hooded Plover warning sign on beach at Victor Harbor, South Australia
Early last year I took this photo of a sign on the beach front at Victor Harbor, about an hour’s drive south of Adelaide in South Australia. The message of the sign is quite clear. This beach is one of the nesting places of the rare and endangered Hooded Plover. The beach also happens to be one of the busiest in the state during the summer holidays and is even popular at most other times of the year.
Hooded Plovers are confined to coastal areas of southern NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and parts of Western Australia. Nowhere is it common and, as the sign says, very few are left in places like the Fleurieu Peninsula south of Adelaide. The birds are small (about 19-23cm) and tubby, and their favoured habitat is broad sandy ocean beaches. The nest is a small shallow scrape in the sand where they lay 2-3 eggs.
If my memory is correct, this beach at Victor Harbor is the only place I’ve ever seen this species nesting. I was leading a large group of young children on camp when we came across a nest. Keeping 60 eager children away from the nest was a logistical nightmare. I’ve only ever seen this species on a handful of occasions, mainly on the Yorke Peninsula further west in South Australia. I have no photos of the Hooded Plover. I must try to get one when I visit the town again in about a week’s time.
Further reading:
The Magnificent Osprey
I don’t often get the chance to observe the magnificent Osprey. When I do, it is always a special moment. I guess most birders feel the same way about this wonderful bird.
Therefore it was with great delight that I saw a special article in today’s state wide newspaper here in South Australia – The Advertiser – about this lovely bird, complete with a great photograph.
For those who do not have access to our daily paper, the photo and accompanying article can be seen by clicking here. It’s worth a quick visit – even if you only take a look at the great photo. [UPDATE: sorry – this link no longer works. Nov 2013]
Happy birding.
Because the link to the photo I wrote about no longer works, I’ve included one I took some time ago while on a holiday on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. It’s not a great photo but it shows the Osprey in flight.
Osprey