Alysse's Travel and Birding Adventures: January 2019

Monday, 7 January 2019

Monarto and Laratinga Jan 2019

This morning my dad and I went for a drive to the woodlands on Browns Road at Monarto. We have been there several times before, with mixed results, but there is usually at least a few birds around that we don't get closer to home. We didn't get there until about 9am - after bird rush hour, but there was still a bit of bird activity, and I soon picked up Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Peaceful Dove, Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Brown Treecreeper, Grey Shrikethrush, Diamond Firetail and Purple-backed Fairy-wren (formerly Variegated - still getting used to this name!).

Rufous Whistler, Browns Road, Monarto, SA

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Browns Road, Monarto, SA

Diamond Firetail, Browns Road, Monarto, SA

We were there for over an hour, and still hadn't seen my favourite bird that I had hoped might be there, so we drove a bit further down the road to a creek where we have seen them previously. Luckily, we found a pair - of Rainbow Bee-eaters. This guy was particularly obliging and posed for a while. lunch in beak, and allowed me to snap away.

Rainbow Bee-eater, Frahns Farm Road, Monarto, SA

After spending a bit of time with the bee-eaters, we headed to Laratinga Wetlands at Mount Barker. There I spotted a few new ducks for the year - Pink-eared Duck, Australasian Shoveler, Chestnut Teal - as well as Australian (Spotted) and Baillon's Crakes.

Australian Reed Warbler, Laratinga Wetlands, Mount Barker, SA

Laratinga Wetlands, Mount Barker, SA

Several duck species were seen, including: Grey Teal, Hardhead, Pink-eared Duck, Australasian Shoveler, Pacific Black Duck and Chestnut Teal.

Assortment of ducks, Laratinga Wetlands, Mount Barker, SA

Chestnut Teal, Laratinga Wetlands, Mount Barker, SA

Baillon's Crake, Laratinga Wetlands, Mount Barker, SA

I think this one knew I was watching!

Australian Spotted Crake, Laratinga Wetlands, Mount Barker, SA

Sunday, 6 January 2019

The Birds of Byards Road Wetlands, Jan 2019

Last year was a good year for birding for me, with brief trips to Melbourne and Brisbane, and a longer trip through outback NSW, QLD and SA. I ended up seeing 170 species in SA, and 222 Australia-wide, including quite a few new species. This year is set to be an exciting one for me, with an upcoming trip to Sri Lanka in March (One place still remaining on my tour! - full details at http://craiggreer.com/sri-lanka-untamed-itinerary). I also plan to get out and about around SA as much as I can.

This is my first post for 2019, and also my first since getting my new camera! I now have a Canon 80D with a 100-400mm lens, and I am over the moon!

I have only been birding in one location so far this year - my local spot, Byards Road Wetland in Reynella East, SA. On the 2nd of Jan I spotted a Nankeen Night-Heron, and have seen it again each evening I have visited since. This species is now a regular summer visitor to our wetland, and last year a pair bred here, so it is exciting to see them return and hopefully they will breed again! As the name suggests, they come out fairly late - I don't think I've seen it any earlier than 8pm, but they can also be seen first thing in the morning.

Nankeen Night-Heron, Byards Road Wetland, SA

Nankeen Night-Heron, Byards Road Wetland, SA

Nankeen Night-Heron, Byards Road Wetlands, SA

On these visits I have also kept records of all the other birds there, and have seen 40 species so far this year. It has been great to see much larger numbers of Hardheads than ever before, and six Black-tailed Native-hens (last year we had four). My first addition for the year to my personal location list was a Great Cormorant. Below is a selection of recent Byards Wetland bird pics, highlighting just a few of the great species found here.