Dear Reader:
I hear movement in the long grass. Fifty metres away a Western Grey Kangaroo twitches its ears and looks back at me before slowly hopping into the scrub.
Western Grey Kangaroo
I am exploring Meadows Creek from three roads that intersect the creek from Brookman Rd, which starts at the top of Willunga Hill and terminates at Meadows. The first is Adams Gully Road.
Adams Gully Road ford
Here, the creek’s bank is obscured by scrub and grass. I wade through the tangle of dry stalks and spot a Common Brown Butterfly amongst a mat of fallen grass.
Common Brown butterfly
Nearby, a leaf curling spider has strung its web between some bushes. I can just make out its spindly legs protruding from its specially constructed home.
Leaf Curling Spider with legs visible
Sometimes tracking a creek or river is a complex endeavour. Meadows Creek runs through farmland and only flows freely when it has rained. In drier months it is typical of many SA waterways, consisting of a series of shallow pools.
Typical summer pool along Meadows Creek
A few kilometres past Adams Gully Road is Tynan Road where there is a slightly larger more accessible pool. There are prickly blackberry stems (canes) close to the water providing a safe place for small birds to shelter. A Silvereye lands on a branch providing a nice camera angle. Then a Superb Fairy Wren puts in a brief appearance while an Adelaide Rosella perches high in one of the tall roadside eucalypts.
Tynan Road crossing
Silvereye
Adelaide Rosella
My final crossing point is on Wickham Hills Road where I walk along the dry creek bed towards a pool and spend a quiet ten minutes waiting to see what animals are in the area. Eventually a Grey Fantail alights on a nearby rock as it searches for insects near the water. Further along the creek I can hear Kookaburras calling and a pair of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos fly overhead.
Wickham Hills ford
Grey Fantail
Rather than drive back to Brookman Road and return to Adelaide via Meadows or Willunga, I continue along Wickham Hills Road and wind my way back to the city through some lovely rural areas. Rich pastures, stock, vineyards, barns and farmhouses provide some picturesque, rural scenes, making a wonderful ending to my creek exploring day.
Vines and open bushland
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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