Monday 19 March 2018

Blanchetown Weekender

With only 6 weeks to go until our 3 week Longreach trip, we needed to take our camper trailer on a test run. I had a three day break from work, so my dad and I headed up to Blanchetown for a couple of nights. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and the first thing to do was set up the trailer in the caravan park. Once that was done, we headed off for an afternoon drive around Brookfield Conservation Park. It was quite windy so there wasn't as much bird activity as I might've hoped, but I did manage to pick up a pair of Chestnut Quail-thrush, a lifer - and the first of any of the quail-thrushes I have seen! I didn't manage to get a decent photo, so I'll have to try again next time! I also found a few "year ticks" including Southern Whiteface (heaps of these around at the moment), Chestnut-crowned Babbler, White-fronted Honeyeater, Mulga Parrot and Emu. 

Western Grey Kangaroo, Brookfield CP, SA
White-fronted Honeyeater, Brookfield CP, SA
Our first night in our camper trailer was comfortable enough despite the weather - hot and windy at first, then cold in the middle of the night - and a noisy neighbour in the middle of the night. On Sunday morning we drove to Banrock Station to go for a walk around their wetland. Again it was quite windy and there wasn't a lot of bird activity, however I finally spotted a white-necked heron - a species I've only ever seen twice before and had been making a special effort to try to find at various spots for the last few months. I spotted it as it was taking flight from a nearby tree but by the time I realised what it was and got my camera up it had flown too far away for a photo! 

Black Swan, Banrock Station
 From Banrock we headed back towards Blanchetown, stopping at Waikerie for lunch. We went to our usual spot on the river front to eat, and I nearly dropped my pie when I spotted a pair of Apostlebirds grazing around on the grass and asphalt! Another species that I have only ever seen twice before, and both times were at Gluepot, so this was an exciting find for me.

Apostlebird, Waikerie, SA

Apostlebird, Waikerie, SA
 We spent another hour or so at Brookfield CP on Sunday afternoon, where we found a pair of Greater Bluebonnets, some more Mulga Parrots and Mallee Ringnecks. Back at our campsite we were barbecuing some chicken patties for our dinner when I noticed we were being watched from above by an inquisitive Pied Butcherbird, another year tick! Eventually some Noisy Miners chased it away, along with a Kookaburra they decided to harrass. The second night in the camper trailer was better as the weather was cooler and less windy, and our noisy neighbour had packed up and left!

Pied Butcherbird, Blanchetown, SA
 On Monday morning we got up early and packed up the trailer, and went for one last drive around Brookfield. Again it was pretty quiet, and didn't find much aside from a Red-capped Robin, Striated Pardalote and quite a few Brown Treecreepers. 

Hooded Robin, Brookfield CP, SA

Brown Treecreeper, Brookfield CP, SA
In total I added 19 species to my year list for South Australia, bringing me up to 158 species. Highlights were of course the Chestnut Quail-thrush pair, as well as the White-necked Heron, Apostlebirds and Pied Butcherbird. 

"Cheers", Blanchetown, SA

Thursday 8 March 2018

Port Clinton Shorebird Weekend

Last weekend my sister Erin and I travelled to Port Clinton on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia. I attended a Craig Greer Photography Workshop to get some instruction on shorebird photography. The session was a lot of fun, involving getting down and dirty in the wet sand to stealthily approach these birds. Craig explained the different settings used to get good quality photos, and I got a lot of practice, taking nearly 2,000 photos on continuous shooting mode! While we were on the beach an Osprey flew over - my first for the year and only my second sighting ever! There were good numbers of Curlew Sandpipers, Red-necked Stints, Red-capped Plovers, Pied Oystercatchers, and a couple of Sooty Oystercatchers, my first of the year. 

The next morning I walked back along the beach to where we did the workshop and spent a couple of hours photographing birds. There was also a couple there doing a Shorebird 2020 count. I spoke to them for a while and they helped to identify Greater Sand Plovers and Red Knots, two lifers for me! We saw a group of Bar-tailed Godwits. 

On the way back to Adelaide, Erin and I took some back roads to find some geocaches, and along the way I picked up my first Dusky Woodswallows and Tree Martins for the year. These sightings brought my SA 2018 total up to 139 species and Aus life total up to 305 species. 

Red-necked Stint, Port Clinton, SA

Pacific Gull, Port Clinton, SA

Crested Tern and Silver Gulls, Port Clinton, SA

Pied Oystercatchers, Port Clinton, SA

Ruddy Turnstone, Port Clinton, SA

Port Clinton, SA

Pied Oystercatcher, Port Clinton, SA

Red-necked Stint, Port Clinton, SA

Curlew Sandpiper, Port Clinton, SA

Curlew Sandpipers, Port Clinton, SA

Red-capped Plover, Port Clinton, SA

Red-capped Plover, Port Clinton, SA


Grey Plover, Port Clinton, SA

Greater Sand Plover, Port Clinton, SA

Greater Sand Plover, Port Clinton, SA

Greater Sand Plover, Port Clinton, SA

Bar-tailed Godwits, Port Clinton, SA

Red Knot,  Port Clinton, SA

Tree Martin,  Port Clinton, SA

Tree Martin,  Port Clinton, SA