Great birding week in May!

It has been a while since my last post, as it hasn't been until the last week or two have I gotten the chance to go out birding! On Wednesday, since I finished work at 1pm and was closer than usual, I went out to Whites Rd Wetlands and Greenfields at Magazine Rd. Saw A LOT of ducks at Whites Rd, including my first Pink-eared ducks of the year, and quite a few common species. 

Superb Fairy-wren, Whites Rd Wetland

Galah, Whites Rd Wetland, Bolivar SA

Lots of pelicans at Greenfields Wetlands, and plenty of black swans, including one with a white neck (unfortunately didn't get a decent pic of that one!)

Black Swan, Greenfields Wetlands

The following day I took advantage of a morning off to visit Manning Fauna and Flora Reserve. Despite being quite overcast and windy, I still managed to see quite a few birds, including my first mistletoebird of the year, and 3 elegant parrots - a lifer for me. I actually do believe I have seen them before, however have never been able to get close enough to confirm that they are elegant and not blue-winged. This time I was able to get close enough to get a few photos!

Elegant Parrot, Manning Fauna and Flora Reserve

Friday was an excellent day of birding for me - I had a full day off work so I invited my dad to go with me, and we made the most of the day and headed south. And luckily the weather held out for us and we didn't see a drop of rain until we were on the way home. First was a stop at the Mount Compass Swamp to search for the elusive Southern Emu Wren, which unfortunately we didn't spot this time, but I believe we heard it!! We did see plenty of these rare birds ;-) I always like photographing them, their bright white eyes and markings, and show-off antics keep me watching.

New Holland Honeyeater, Mount Compass Swamp Boardwalk

Next was a visit to Nangawooka Flora Reserve, where I added Eastern Spinebill and Spotted Pardalote to my year list, but didn't get any remarkable photos. We also checked out the Goolwa Water Treatment Ponds and found plenty of Yellow Thornbills, but again, no good photos.

The next stop was the Murray Mouth lookout on Hindmarsh Island. I wanted to visit here to see oystercatchers, which I hadn't seen for a while due to taking the summer off from birding. We did see Pied Oystercatchers, but no Sooty, but I was more than happy with the visit here due to 2 lifers! First I was observing a group of silver gulls and whiskered terns diving for small fish and taking some action shots, when I noticed there were a few different birds in there too - gull-billed terns!

Silver Gulls and Gull-billed Terns, Hindmarsh Island, Murray Mouth

 After observing the terns for a while, we walked a bit further along to look at the pied oystercatchers where another birder was already standing, and he told me to look in the vegetation, as he had been watching a pair of Rock Parrots! I was lucky to see one of them quite well and even get a picture, and we saw the other later as some other people walked along and unknowingly flushed them out. 

Rock Parrot, Hindmarsh Island, Murray Mouth

We stopped at the Goolwa Barrages last, where we saw black-faced and little pied cormorants, hoary-headed grebe, and a few other common species. 

It has been a great week for me, with 3 lifers and quite a few additions to my year list!