Alysse's Travel and Birding Adventures: Monarto and Laratinga Jan 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.