Dear Reader:
David notices a pair of brightly coloured Mulga Ringneck parrots landing in a tree by the roadside. I pull the car over and power down the window to allow both of us to capture some images.
Mallee Ringneck
On this initial foray into the bushland around Frahns Farm, in the Monarto area, we are exploring the roads surrounding a fenced off region which is being revegetated. We have travelled north along Frahns Farm Road after leaving the old Princes Highway then headed west along Disher Hill Road before returning south to the highway along Wattle Road.
At the crossroads of Theile, Peach, Frahns Farm and Disher Hill Roads 1
At the crossroads of Theile, Peach, Frahns Farm and Disher Hill Roads 2
We stop several times on Disher Hill Road and walk along the roadside for a few hundred metres scanning the terrain for wildlife. There is a continual background noise from the aptly named babblers (White-browed Babblers). In addition, tiny Silvereyes, Diamond Firetail Finches and wren species flit through the bushes and canopy, adding their tweets and twitters to the avian symphony.
White-browed Babbler
Further along Disher Road we are lucky enough to spot and photograph a solitary Brown Treecreeper and a group of White-winged Choughs engaging in their entirely different feeding strategies. The treecreeper meticulously searches the branches for insects while the gang of omnivorous choughs rake their way through the leaf litter.
White-winged Choughs
Brown Treecreeper
As I turn to get back into the car, a movement in the scrub catches my eye. A pair of Western Grey Kangaroos are moving slowly through the trees on the other side of the road. I catch one in the viewfinder before they bound away.
Western Grey Kangaroo
There were a few insects in the area…..Monarch Butterfly feeding
The drive back along Wattle towards the old Princes Highway provides a mixture of scrub, pasture and crop fields. There are freshly shorn sheep in a holding paddock. Little Ravens and Australian Magpies perch in the trees and we catch sight of a lone bunny and a few more roos in the distance.
A little chilly without our coats on
As well as the wildlife along these roads there have been some interesting ruins and the more contemporary Mannum to Adelaide pipeline; both of which help provide some additional photographic perspectives to our drive.
The Mannum to Adelaide pipelines snakes through the scrub and rural landscape
Old farmhouse
The final stop on our day exploring Monarto’s backroads is an old service station in Callington, a small township just off the Princes Highway. We top up the car and enjoy a couple locally made pies while sitting on an old couch in front of the station.
Callington service station, post office and general store
Cheers
Baz
Additional notes
This is an easy drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors.
Please pass on this blog title and or contact information (URL) to any person or organisation with an interest in taking walks and enjoying wildlife in SA.
Click on these links and see more South Australian stories and pictures in my Weekend Notes articles as well as locating similar blogs on Feedspot’s top 20 Australian wildlife blogs
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