Tag Archives: South Australian birds

Wirrina Foreshore Reserve

25 Mar

Dear Reader:

The Western Grey Kangaroo stops feeding and looks at me, twitches its ears then hops deeper into the bushes where it is joined by a second roo.

Western Grey Kangaroo
Then there were two

I am driving along the access road to Wirrina Cove marina, where I will walk along the Wirrina Foreshore Reserve. It is a rather overcast day which adds a few extra photographic challenges.

Beginning of the walk

Like other parts of the Fleurieu the story told by the rock formations is fascinating. The areas geoheritage includes: deep sedimentary basins, massive plate tectonic collisions, glaciation and mountain formation.

Rock formations along the shoreline

At low tide the rocky foreshore is a maze of rockpools. Within each of these ecological niches lives a wonderful variety of marine organisms such as anemones, sponges, seasnails and crustaceans; to mention just a few.

Shore crab species on the edge of a rockpool
Turban Shell

Banks of seaweed cover some parts of the shoreline and I am amazed to see an Australian Magpie probing the weed. Closer observation suggests it might be gathering nesting material.

Australian Magpie in seaweed pile

After spending some time exploring the edges of the pools, I move back to the trail to capture a few images of the typical birdlife. There are White-faced herons stalking the shallows, Pied Cormorants and Masked Lapwings resting on the rocks and a pair of grebes further out to sea.

White-faced Heron

Having captured images of molluscs, birds, crustaceans and marsupials, I turn my attention to plants, insects and other life forms. Butterflies and native bees are feeding on flowering Scabia blooms, lichens coat the rock formations and Cushion Bushes colonise niches in the rock formations.  

The weather closes in and it is time to leave the walking trail. However, I am determined to return on a warmer, sunnier day with some snorkeling gear to further explore this fascinating area.

Cheers

Baz

Additional notes

The camera used for this post is a Nikon Coolpix P900

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors. It is dog friendly.

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

https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452/

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs/

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Bethany SA….. history and wildlife

5 Aug

Dear Reader:

Against a clear blue sky, a Nankeen Kestrel hovers above wheat stubble in search of rodents, lizards and other small animals.

Nankeen Kestrel

I am driving into the village of Bethany in the Barossa Valley about 70 kms from Adelaide. Founded in 1842 by German Lutheran settlers it was originally called Bethanian: German for Bethlehem. This charming hamlet has numerous points of historic interest starting with a Lutheran church constructed in 1883 and located on the site of an original mud, thatch church built in 1843.

Bethany, Lutheran Church

Further along the road, there is a local cemetery. I wander around reading the inscriptions which gives some perspective into the lives of our early settlers. Several Crested Pigeons are perched in one of the many trees and bushes that give the cemetery a garden-like quality.

Crested Pigeon

I take a few images of: homes incorporating original stonework, farm machinery, old fencing and other features that characterise this colonial village. In one front garden, a Monarch Butterfly perches on a shrub while Australian Magpies call (referred to as carolling and warbling) from nearby eucalypts.

Monarch butterfly, credit Debbie Simmonds

Near the town’s exit and heading further into the Barossa there is a ford crossing the Tanunda Creek. An unpaved pathway runs along the waterway. Massive Red River Gums tower above the creek and I spot: Galahs, Adelaide Rosellas and a lone Sulphur-crested Cockatoo high in the branches.

Galahs (Rose-breasted Cockatoos

Walking along the trail I meet a young couple exercising their dogs and ask them about the wildlife. They mention that Western Grey Kangaroos are common and the occasional Echidna.

Echidna, photographed in nearby woodland

Several of the biggest eucalypts have quite a lot of bark peeling off their trunks and I lift it carefully searching for: centipedes, roaches, gecko lizards and termites. All of which frequent this micro-habitat. I discover none of these. Instead, a myriad of half-grown Huntsman Spiders scatter in all directions. Instinctively, I jump back and fire off a couple of shots. I am not ­­­arachnophobic, but spiders are far from my favourite form of wildlife.

Juvenile Huntsmen Spiders head for cover

Close up of juvenile Huntsman to show features

After crossing the creek, I walk back towards my car which is parked near the ford. I will return to Bethany in the Spring and take a longer walk along the creek. However, today I’ll finish my day by visiting the nearby Bethany Winery and pick up a bottle or two to remember a good day exploring this iconic South Australian destination.

Bethany Winery

Cheers

Baz

Additional notes

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors with public toilets, shelter, barbecues, parking and other facilities nearby. It is dog friendly.

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

https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452/

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs

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Exploring Meadows Creek……an interesting drive

3 Mar

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

https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs

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Mount Barker’s Laratinga Wetland………Crakes and Warblers

16 Jan

Dear Reader:

A small bird with vivid spots and dashes paddles out from the reed bed. A Spotted Crake, the first one I have ever seen.

Spotted Crake feeding

 

For the next ten minutes I watch several of the striking birds as they dip into the water in search of aquatic plants and animals such as worms, crustaceans, molluscs, spiders and even small fish and tadpoles.

Spotted Crake habitat

Leaving the crakes I walk a further hundred metres to another pool before I hear the melodic call of a reed warbler. There are reeds, small bushes and a variety of grasses bordering the water. I can still hear a bird calling and scan the reeds for movement. Deep in the tangle of stems I locate the source of the call; an Australian Reed-warbler.

Australian Reed-warbler calling

Reed warbler habitat

My hunting ground is the Laratinga Wetlands near Mount Barker about a Forty five minute drive from the city. In the local ‘Peramangk’ language it approximates to “Flooding Land Creek.” This wetland serves numerous purposes including filtering waste water, providing habitats for a range of animals and the establishment of walking, running, and cycling trails.

Wetland entrance

Having achieved my primary goal of photographing Spotted Crakes and Australian Reed-warblers, I continue my stroll around these fascinating wetlands keeping an eye open for more interesting plant and animal life.

Channel between larger pools

Because my Nikon P900 with its 83X magnification doubles as a spotting scope, I am able to search the opposite bank of a broad pool. I notice several Grey Teal perched on a branch overhanging the water. But it is the Short-necked or Macquarie Turtle in the background that is my main focus.

Grey Teal, Eurasian Coot and Short-necked Turtle

The day has been overcast and the light is fading. I have encountered numerous bird species in addition to the crakes and reed warblers as well as two reptiles; the turtle and a gecko. Another animal group would complete my day’s excursion. I turn my attention to invertebrates searching the foliage and leaf litter.

Marbled Gecko……showing camouflage

I am in luck. Perfectly suspended in the branches of a Christmas Bush is a Leaf-curling spider. These little arachnids create a home by spinning their silk around a dead leaf slowly curving it until they form a cylindrical shelter to hide in.

Leaf-curling Spider in Christmas Bush

Leaf-curling spider…Image shot at another location to show the spider

Now it is time to leave this amazing wetland but I will return in the near future to search for more wildlife in its maze of waterways, reed beds and bushland.

Cheers

Baz

Additional notes

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors with public toilets, parking and other facilities nearby. It is dog friendly.

Please pass on this blog title and or contact information (URL) to any person or organisation with an interest in taking walks and enjoying SA wildlife.

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

https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452/

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs/

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Wildlife Around Chalk’s Campground

16 Dec

Dear Reader:

With the arrival of summer, grasses turn to gold with remnant shadings of green while pale gums add a subtle contrast to the landscape.

As the countryside flashes past on my way to the campground I notice a field of freshly baled hay. A flock of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos forages for any remaining seed heads.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos

My destination is Chalk’s Campground, just past the Warren Reservoir on the road between Williamstown and Gumeracha. I am not intending to camp here; however, the interface between human habitation, rural zones and wilderness areas is an excellent place to encounter wildlife.

Although the campsite is closed between December and March, due to the danger of bushfires, it is still accessible for walking and is a destination along the famed Heysen Trail. I drove through the area a few weeks ago on a sunny day and spotted a Shingleback lizard in the undergrowth.

Although it is summer, the weather is overcast and photography a little more challenging than on my previous visit. I use the powerful lens of my Sony RX10 to scan the trees, bushes and ground in search of wildlife.  Common Brown butterflies are the most common animals. They are flitting between the grass and leaf litter where their excellent camouflage is most apparent.

As I walk around the campsite zone, I notice a group of Adelaide Rosellas perched in a pine tree. The birds are wary and I only manage to fire off a couple of long range shots before they take flight.

Bark is peeling off many large River Gums and I probe under it in search of millipedes, spiders, roaches and other bugs. Spiders are not my favourite creatures and I have often come across multiple Huntsman species under the bark. However, today’s arachnid is a jet-black spider which resembles the common Black House Spider.

It is time to wind up this excursion and I backtrack along a little creek towards the car park. On my drive home I will take a break at the Gumeracha Bakery and enjoy a tasty chicken pie and an indulgent custard tart.

In a final attempt to find some different animals, I decide to turn over a few flattish rocks (which I carefully replace in their original position) in the hope of finding one of the elongated skinks that commonly shelter under them. To my surprise, it is a large and very and active Garden Centipede that I unearth. And, on that note, I bid Chalk’s Campground farewell.

Until our next adventure

Cheers

Baz

 Additional notes

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors. It is dog friendly.

 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

 https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452/

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs/

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Glacier Rock….Good food, Geology and Wildlife

30 Nov

A pair of New Holland Honeyeaters

Dear Reader:

There is white water swirling around the boulders in the river and a family of Pacific Black Ducks are huddling to one side where the water is calmer. Perched amongst the branches of an overhanging eucalyptus tree I make out the shape of several New Holland Honeyeaters and hear the distinctive call of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos as they fly overhead.

Breakfast at the Tearooms

I am sitting on the back decking of the Glacier Rock Tea Rooms  having just devoured a serve of the delicious waffles topped with berries, cream and ice cream; with a little maple syrup for good measure. The weather is overcast and not great for photography but I shall make the best of it.

Typical rural countryside along the Inman Valley

On the drive along the Inman Valley Road we spotted a mob of roos feeding just outside the little township of the same name. There were also  black headed sheep and numerous herds of dairy cattle grazing on the fertile grassland. Some really pleasant rural scenes to photograph.

Inman river and Tearooms

I take the track from the caffe down to the river passing an information board on the way which explains the geological processes that lead to the rock formations. They involved the scraping of surfaces by rocks embedded in an ancient glacier which carved out the valley millions of years ago.

White-naped Honeyeater

Grey Fantail

From the viewing point alongside the river I watch Welcome Swallows and Grey Fantails hawking for insects above the water. And, to my great delight, spot a bird I have never photographed before: a White-naped Honeyeater.  

Old bridge over the Inman River

Superb Fairy Wren

The Mt Alma Road runs alongside the café. I walk a short distance along the road to get a good view of a dilapidated, old bridge which crosses the river. Thick brush lines the first section of the road and I can hear the twittering of wrens in the thickets. There are both sheep and cattle in the paddock opposite.

Galahs in silhouette

Red Wattlebird

On the other side of the Inman Valley Road, a narrow, sealed track called Parsons Road climbs a small rise. In the field alongside the road, several Galahs are perched at the top a long dead tree. Nearby a group of Red Wattlebirds are feeding on flowering shrubs along the fence line.

Spider predation or devouring its own carapace after shedding????

However, my final wildlife encounter is on a much smaller scale. A little spider (species unknown) appears to have caught another spider in its web and is starting to wrap it in silk ready to devour later.

Sweet indulgence

My walk is over and I shall return to the tearooms and treat myself to a hot chocolate. An appropriate end to a rather successful walk in this lovely part of the Fleurieu Peninsula.  

Cheers

Baz

Additional notes

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors with public toilets, parking and other facilities nearby. It is dog friendly.

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

https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452/

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs/

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Port Vincent….. an afternoon walk

30 Oct

Australian Pelican and Silver Gulls

Dear Reader:

It has been a comfortable two and a half hour drive from Adelaide to Port Vincent. Although, with low cloud cover, I am not anticipating any worthwhile photography until tomorrow. How wrong can I be? As I pull up in the car park, an Australian Pelican lands on the grass verge near the cabins. And, no more than a hundred metres away, I can see a group of Pied Cormorants on the nearby breakwater.

Pied Cormorants

Cabins along the beach front

Apologetically leaving the others to unpack, I grab my Sony RX10 and wander down to the beach. To my surprise, two Bottlenose Dolphins are hunting in the shallows along with another Pelican; much to the consternation of a pair of fishermen who are trying to catch an evening meal themselves.

Pelican hunting solo

Dolphin taking a vertical dive

The dolphins are fascinating; turning, accelerating and diving constantly as they herd the school of fish they are feeding on. Not an easy animal to photograph from the beach as all you see are half a back and the occasional fin. Nevertheless, I continue to track them with the camera. Suddenly, one dives vertically with its tail held high. A nice moment.

Red-necked Stints

Crested Terns

Along the shoreline, where the waves lap against piled up seaweed, a mixed group of tiny waders; Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked stints, are foraging for tiny worms and crustaceans. Nearby, a Crested Tern is resting on the beach when a second bird flies down to join it, possibly a nesting pair.

Red-capped Plover with eggs

One of the plovers is meandering higher up the beach and doesn’t move far as I approach. I watch it carefully and search the seaweed for a nest. Sure enough, there amongst the brown tangle of weed are two perfectly camouflaged eggs. I back off a dozen metres and wait. After a few minutes the bird returns to its eggs and sits carefully on them eyeing me defiantly. 

Port Jackson Shark egg casing. The spiral shape wedges under rocks.

Remains of a sponge showing silica skeleton

I move away from the little plover and hunt for any other life in the accumulated drifts of weed. My search is fruitful and I turn up a spiral shark egg. Probably from a Port Jackson Shark one of the oviparous (egg laying) species around our coast. Further along the beach I come across the skeletal remains of a sponge. Sponges, unlike nearly all life on earth, have a skeleton made of silica and the fine network of spicules is fascinating and easy to see.

My walk along the shorefront, right in front of our cabin, is coming to an end it is getting cool. Time to head on back and decide on lunch. Probably local seafood at a rather colourful shop on the shore closer to the town. It is easy walking distance and highly recommended by a local I met on my initial Port Vincent walk. 

Cheers

Baz

Additional notes

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors with public toilets, barbecues, parking and other facilities nearby. It is dog friendly.

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

https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452/

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs/

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Aldgate to Stirling…a short walk

24 Sep

Dear Reader:

It is still early Spring and the sun is out and I have often spotted a small copper headed skinks basking in the sun at this time of year. There are several logs on the northern facing aspect of the path and with a little patience and perseverance I manage to find one of the little lizards. Their correct name is the Common Garden Skink or Sun Skink.

Common Garden Skink

Following up on my previous post, which covered the area around the RSL Hall, on the edge of Aldgate, I am now walking the short path to Stirling. The trail follows the road and creek on one side and is heavily wooded on the other. There are numerous plants both native and introduced along the pathway including: Holly, tall pines, grevilleas, a few eucalyptus and acacia species as well as ferns and bracken.

Holly in the Hills

Grevillea species

After a fifteen-minute stroll along the pathway I reach the outskirts of Stirling. The town has an English country village feel about it with some lovely old homes and many small shops and businesses. Whenever I visit Stirling there always seems to be a welcoming committee of Little Ravens (often mistaken for Crows) in the area. Today is no exception as a group of the shiny black corvids trumpet their characteristic calls from a nearby garden.

Little Raven Stirling

I do not venture far into Stirling as it will be the subject of a later blog. I head back down the path to Aldgate. The dense vegetation, now to my right, is full of movement and the sounds of small birds in the undergrowth; probably wrens and finches. I scan the other side of the road and spot a Koala high in the branches. I take a couple of shots to demonstrate how difficult locating wildlife can be and how training your eyes to notice subtle changes and movement takes continual practice.

Koala at 100 metres

As I approach the outskirts of Aldgate I notice a track on the other side of the road near the township sign. Crossing over, I follow it a short way as it cuts along the hillside and into the scrub. This area is dominated by tall eucalypts and is a more typical hills bushland setting than the pathway.

The track near the entrance to Aldgate

Adelaide Rosella

Koala Aldgate

My detour is well worth the effort. Within a few minutes I have managed to photograph an Adelaide Rosella perched on an old, gnarled branch and a Koala at far closer range than before.

FRED……..Barista at work

FRED….Cosy place to dine

With the walk concluded I drive into Aldgate for lunch at Fred, a wonderful local eatery and another compelling reason to visit Aldgate. Over the years, I have had some wonderful meals in this iconic hills café and I’m sure today will be no exception. The only problem is one of choice with so many interesting dishes to choose from. After some serious deliberating, I end my day in Aldgate with a Croque Monsieur and a Chai Latte, selected from the ‘All Day Breakfast Menu’.    

Cheers Baz

Additional notes

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors with public toilets, parking and other facilities nearby. It is dog friendly.

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

https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452/

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs/

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Aldgate to Stirling 1……..around the RSL and church

26 Aug

Dear Reader:

There is a small stream running under the roadway which is overshadowed by tall Eucalyptus trees. I can hear the raucous calls of Galahs, Lorikeets and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos coming from high in the canopy. I swing the Nikon telephoto in a broad arc and eventually locate a lone Galah (Rose-breasted Cockatoo) gripping the trunk of a Stringy Bark Gum. On a grassy area near the playground, which is adjacent to the stream, a male and female Maned Duck are sitting close to each other some distance from the water.

Galah (Rose-breasted Cockatoo)

Male and female Maned Ducks or Wood Ducks

In another tree, I spot an Adelaide Rosella perched amongst the branches and leaves and nearby a second bird  is feeding on the buds of a non-native tree.  In the last few minutes I have identified four species of parrots , two by sight and two by sound. A nice start to my walk between the Aldgate RSL club and the outskirts of Stirling in the Adelaide Hills.

Adelaide Rosella

Adelaide Rosella feeding

Before I take my intended walk back to Stirling along the roadside pathway, I decide to explore the immediate area as I have been surprised by the diversity of birdlife here. A short stone stairway leads up to the Soldiers Memorial and a clearing with some garden seats. I sit for a while contemplating lives lost and the sacrifices made by families to ensure our way of life.

Soldiers Memorial

Golden Whistler

While I am sitting near the Memorial a Golden Whistler lands in the bushes close to me. This truly beautiful bird is not common and I feel privileged to watch it hopping between branches.

Superb Fairy Wren (Male)

Anglican Church of the Ascension

On the other side of the main road there an Anglican Church. It is shaded by trees and appears to have a range of flowers and flowering trees and shrubs in the grounds; always a good sign when one is searching for wildlife. I have heard the twittering call of wrens while walking up to the church and, as if on cue, I notice a male and female Superb Fairy Wren fossicking in the gravel beneath the Church Noticeboard.

Pair of Laughing Kookaburras

The church’s pretty wrens and flowers seem to have rounded off the first part of my walk around the Aldgate RSL but I am left with one more divine offering. A pair of Kookaburras, that I have not noticed, start to call from a branch in the largest eucalypt overlooking the church. There has been so many species in this small area that I have decided to cover the actual walk back to Stirling in my next post.

Cheers

Baz

Additional notes

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors with public toilets, parking and other facilities nearby. It is dog friendly.

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

https://www.weekendnotes.com/adelaide/writer/452/

https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs/

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Warren Reservoir…drained for maintenance

14 Jul

Dear Reader:

From Tea Tree Gully, the road climbs into the foothills then snakes past Chain of Ponds Reservoir before it forks to the left towards Williamstown. Just before the town there are often mobs of Western Grey Kangaroos on the hillside to the right. Today, I spot a small group on the opposite side near a layby where I can safely pull off the road to take a few photographs.

Western Grey Kangaroos near Williamstown

I am exploring the Northern section of the Warren Reservoir which is around 10 kms past Williamstown towards Gumeracha on the Warren Road. The sky is a little overcast with a hint of rain in the air which makes photography challenging but in the winter months one takes any opportunity on offer to venture out into the bush. This is my second visit to the Warren and of particular interest because the reservoir has been emptied for dam wall maintenance and comparing it to my last visit, when it was full, is a rare opportunity.

Reservoir full

Reservoir drained and with some improvements to the public car park area

Usually there are numerous duck species as well as cormorants, Australian Pelicans and Anhingas (Snakebirds) around the edge of the reservoir. Today there is just a solitary Pacific Black Duck paddling along a narrow channel. Way off to the north, I can just make out a pair of kites catching thermals above the surrounding scrub.

Anhinga

Grey Fantail

However, all is not lost. For some reason the number of smaller birds seems to have increased around the periphery of the reservoir. Using the full extension of my Nikon P900 Camera lens, I am able to spot Silvereyes, Superb Fairy Wrens, a thornbill species, Grey Fantails and New Holland honeyeaters. Perhaps a lack of predatory species could account for this or maybe there are insects among the leaves and on the smaller branches.

Adelaide Rosella

I finish my loop walk back at the car parking area where a pair of Adelaide Rosellas are feeding on the ground. They are some distance away and as I approach all but one fly into the canopy. The lone bird perches on a wiry grass stem where it appears to be picking out seeds. I take a shot from distance just before it flies off disturbed by a couple of Little Ravens flying into a nearby eucalypt.

Australian Magpie foraging on reservoir floor

It has been a relatively productive morning’s work and I pack up my gear and head back towards Williamstown and lunch at the local bakery which, by the way, makes one of the best custard tarts I have tasted in a long time.

Snack time

Cheers

Baz

Additional notes

This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors with public toilets, barbecues, parking and information boards nearby.

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 the links below to 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

Weekend Notes

Feedspots top 20 Wildlife Blogs

 

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