Sunday, March 20, 2011

Brookfield and Morgan

No, its not a firm of lawyers, but two conservation parks in the Riverland north east of Adelaide. As I had a free day yesterday, I decided to go and try and photograph the Owlet-nightjar again. On the way was a lovely sunrise looking across the Barossa Valley. This time I fared worse than last time. There was no sign of it anywhere, despite searching for two hours. The only birds were a couple of Galahs that looked like they were laughing at me. There were a lot of nests around, including one that looked like it had almost fallen out of the tree, but the birds kept building it up. As I headed back to the car I heard a group of Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters squabbling in a tree. This one posed for a couple of photos. I love the Mallee habitat. It needs fire to promote regeneration and there is always a mix of dead and regenerating trees. This dead one strikes a beautiful silhouette against the blue sky. This is a typical Mallee tree, with multiple trunks coming from the same bole, which would have been burnt in the past. A little further on I spotted a couple of small birds flitting around. A quick twist of the Audubon Squeaker and this Willie Wagtail came almost too close to focus on. This shot has not been cropped. He was followed by the original birds I had seen. A Yellow-rumped Thornbill (also known as butter bum (butt)) and a Chestnut-rumped Thornbill. The thornbills are the ultimate LBJs! Nearby was a young male Splendid Fairywren. This chap will be totally blue in a couple of months time. I also wanted to see what impact the water flow in the Murray had had in Morgan Conservation Park. This shot shows a bend in the river taken from the Blanchetown to Morgan road. I have used this park to practice my four-wheel driving as it is usually a dust bowl. How it had changed!! Firstly a shot on the back road to Cadell, then the entry to the park. Hmmm don't think my trusty Subaru forester will make it down there. Lastly, a couple of Dragonflies, doing what dragonflies do!!

3 comments:

  1. Wondeful! I love seeing your birds.

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  2. What fun! I cannot believe the fanciful names of all those birds! I just love them! Nice shots you got there. So sorry you did not find what you went in pursuit of but it seems you did have a very good day!

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  3. Tony, what is an Audubon squeaker? and where does one get one???
    Great birdshots, the fantail in particular. They never sit still for me.

    Birdlife and animal life should be plentiful in the inland with all the rains this year. Have a great trip.

    We are going off to the high country of Victoria for a few weeks.

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