Painted Snipe at Whites Road Wetland

Late on Sunday news came out of four Painted Snipe (an uncommon summer visitor to South Australia) had been seen at Whites Road Wetland.  This is a bird I hadn't seen for many years, so I headed down this morning to try and find them. 

Eventually I spotted three Painted Snipe deep in a tangled sedge bed, got the telescope on them for about ten seconds and off they flew!  

I searched for a couple of hours, but no joy.   The consolation prize was a very confiding Laughing Kookaburra, showing just how well camouflaged this large bird can be.

On the way back to the car I saw a lone Black-fronted Dotterel and some Fairy Martins picking up mud for nest building.

I decided to give the Snipe another try this evening.  A repeat performance. Short views and then off they flew, only this time they settled on the far bank.  I walked round and found them bathing in the shallows, before they flew again this time across a small channel.  A bit of stalking and a few more pics. Success!  Not the greatest pics as I was shooting through grass and trees most of the time.

More from Belair National Park

On Monday I was up at Belair National Park, so had a look around for some more Orchids. The first thing I noticed was that there were a lot more Spider Orchids about. Lots of Purple Cockatoo Orchids as well. One new one for me was Common Pink Sun-orchid, that just seemed to be starting to flower. Whilst photographing flowers, I flushed this Laughing Kookaburra. I only had my 135mm on the camera, so started to stalk it. It didn't know whether to watch me, or look at the ground for prey. I managed a couple of decent shots, but oh I wish I had my 400mm lens with me! Back to the flowers, I also saw Rabbit Ears (another orchid), Milkmaids, Bulldogs (same family as donkey Orchid) and Finger Flower. There were lots of Cape Tulip, and I watched this busy bee collecting pollen from one. As usual, there were others that I am yet to identify.

Laughing Kookaburra

We are in the middle of our 1st heatwave for 2010. Today the forecast is for a high of 43C (109F). Much too hot to go birding. So I have pulled some more images from the archive. We have a number of iconic birds in Australia, and one that most visitors want to see is the Kookaburra. There are two Kookaburras in Australia. Blue-winged from Far North Queensland and the Northern Territory, and Laughing Kookaburra from the Eastern states round to South Australia. They are a member of the kingfisher family, but are not tied to water as they do not catch fish. They will drop from a perch, catching reptiles, insects and small birds. These photos are all of Laughing Kookaburra. Generally you will first hear their laughing calls, or spot them flying through open woodland. They will perch openly in ones and twos. When they are alarmed, they can raise their crest. They can be quite confiding, allowing a close approach.