Photographic study of pelicans
Australian Pelican, Narrung, South Australia
One of the advantages of travelling on the River Murray by boat is that occasionally the birds allow the viewers to approach quite close.
The photos of Australian Pelicans shown on today’s post were taken a few months ago at Narrung near the ferry crossing. This crossing is part of the River Murray system linking Lakes Alexandrina and Albert, not all that far from the mouth of the Murray.
Many of my photos – like those shown here today – are now available from my product store TrevorsPhotos including T shirts, caps, mugs, cards and many more items.
Australian Pelican, Narrung, South Australia
Australian Pelican, Narrung, South Australia
Australian Pelican, Narrung, South Australia
I can’t swim that fast
Little Black Cormorant, Narrung, South Australia
I took this photo at the very end of our boat trip earlier this year. We had travelled across Lake Alexandrina, along the River Murray past Goolwa to the Murray Mouth and through the Coorong.
As we approached the boat ramp next to the Narrung ferry (SE of Adelaide) this lone Little Black Cormorant was waiting for my camera while deciding whether he needed to fly away from our boat, or not. Looking at the mess on the signs, it is obvious that this is a common resting spot for many birds.
Look at all those pelicans
Australian Pelicans
A few weeks ago I wrote about a trip I went on via boat through the Coorong south of Adelaide in South Australia. The Coorong is a natural lakes system near the mouth of the River Murray and is acknowledged as one of the major bird habitats in the world.
Just after leaving the river mouth our boat passed the sand bar shown in the photo above. I won’t even attempt to estimate how many Australian Pelicans were sitting there. All I can say is: there must a few fish in the lakes and river system, and this was just one of many large gatherings of this species we saw on the day.
Coorong National Park, South Australia
Birds on the Barrages at Goolwa
Pelicans on the Barrages at Goolwa
On our boat trip on the River Murray a few weeks ago we went through the lock in the barrages at Goolwa. This allowed us to pass through from the River Murray into the Coorong and travel by boat towards the mouth of the river. Today’s photos show many birds lined up along the top of the barrages.
In the photo above you can see a number of Australian Pelicans, while below is a large gathering of cormorants. Although I’m not absolutely certain, I think that they are probably Little Black Cormorants. They don’t seem to be big enough for the larger Great Cormorant.
Cormorants on the Barrages at Goolwa
Purple Swamphen up close
Sailing on the River Murray at Goolwa, South Australia
On our recent boat trip on Lake Alexandrina and the River Murray we took a little detour into a new housing estate with water frontage. We had to slow right down from the 25mph we had been travelling at to a very modest 4 knots (7.4mph). We also had to navigate a narrow canal less than 10m wide so this gave me an ideal opportunity to do some close up birding.
Unfortunately there was very little to see, with the exception of the Purple Swamphen shown in today’s photos below. It seemed quite unconcerned by our presence as our captain manoeuvred our boat through a tricky passage before turning around and leaving the channel and back out to the river.
Purple Swamphen
Purple Swamphen