The RAAF Roulettes at last weekend's Parafield Airshow
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Parafield Airshow
Last weekend I went to the Parafield Airshow. It was the usual mix of planes old and new, and a slight change in the orientation of the show meant that the lighting was great.
The warbirds on display included a Yak-9, Harvard, Nanchang and Yak-52. I always enjoy seeing the brute force of the Trojan, and hearing the sweet roar of the Rolls Royce Merlin in the P-51 Mustang.
Aerobatics were ably represented by Chris Sperou in his Pitts "Super Stinker" and the amazing home built DR107. The glider from the soaring club at Gawler also put up a good show.
Of course, the RAAF Roulettes put on a great show in their Pilatus PC-9 trainers.
Aerobatics were ably represented by Chris Sperou in his Pitts "Super Stinker" and the amazing home built DR107. The glider from the soaring club at Gawler also put up a good show.
Of course, the RAAF Roulettes put on a great show in their Pilatus PC-9 trainers.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Onkaparinga River, Port Noarlunga
Last weekend we went for a walk at the mouth of the Onkaparinga River at Port Noarlunga, to the south of Adelaide. This lovely walk combines sand dunes and a wetland area, so can provide a good mix of birds.
This is the view looking North from the river mouth.
The birds are fairly distant for the first part, but still give good views across the river. There was nothing unusual along the river.
Australian White Ibis and White-headed Stilt
Masked Lapwings and Silver Gull
The return gets you a bit closer to the birds. I love herons, so cannot resist this White-faced Heron. Stilts are always great value as well, especially with a good reflection.
The river is also used for other pastimes, like fishing and canoeing. This Mud Crab managed to scurry away to cover, and these Paddle-boarders were heading up river towards the Onkaparinga River National Park.
The birds seem used to human activity and were not even spooked by this powered paraglider.
On the way home we called into Old Noarlunga to look at the Rufous Night-heron roost. There used to be up to ten Night-herons here, but since the Little Corellas have started roosting here their numbers have dwindled. While searching through the trees, I spotted this Long-billed Corella, before spotting one unphotographable adult and this juvenile Night-heron.
The birds are fairly distant for the first part, but still give good views across the river. There was nothing unusual along the river.
Australian White Ibis and White-headed Stilt
Masked Lapwings and Silver Gull
The return gets you a bit closer to the birds. I love herons, so cannot resist this White-faced Heron. Stilts are always great value as well, especially with a good reflection.
The river is also used for other pastimes, like fishing and canoeing. This Mud Crab managed to scurry away to cover, and these Paddle-boarders were heading up river towards the Onkaparinga River National Park.
The birds seem used to human activity and were not even spooked by this powered paraglider.
On the way home we called into Old Noarlunga to look at the Rufous Night-heron roost. There used to be up to ten Night-herons here, but since the Little Corellas have started roosting here their numbers have dwindled. While searching through the trees, I spotted this Long-billed Corella, before spotting one unphotographable adult and this juvenile Night-heron.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Birding around Adelaide
I have managed a couple of birding days in the last couple of weeks, but didn't get enough photos for a blog post. So here is an amalgamation of them.
A few weeks back, I took another trip to Laratinga Wetlands at Mount Barker to look for Spotless Crake that has been seen here. No luck with the crake, but there were lots of the usual suspects there.
Black-fronted Plover, Straw-necked Ibis, and Grey Teal were easy to spot.
There were three Yellow-billed Spoonbills here, with one aggressive one chasing the others off it's log.
The trees were full of Little Corellas, and at one point they all flew down to the water to drink, and they didn't flinch as this huge Pelican flew low over the water.
Another trip was to Morialta Conservation Park. This may steal first spot from Belair as my favourite spot for Koalas. We saw at least six on the short walk, but this one was particularly photogenic.
There were many Eucalyptus trees in blossom, so there were plenty of Lorikeets around. This is a Musk Lorikeet, A little further along, this Laughing Kookaburra was feeding on a side track.
Wherever I looked there were lots of Monarch butterflies around, but they didn't settle very much. This one was a fair way away so is heavily cropped. Also around were plenty of blackberries, reminding us that autumn is well and truly just around the corner.
Finally, a quick stop for lunch at Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens yielded this Eastern Spinebill.
There were three Yellow-billed Spoonbills here, with one aggressive one chasing the others off it's log.
The trees were full of Little Corellas, and at one point they all flew down to the water to drink, and they didn't flinch as this huge Pelican flew low over the water.
Another trip was to Morialta Conservation Park. This may steal first spot from Belair as my favourite spot for Koalas. We saw at least six on the short walk, but this one was particularly photogenic.
There were many Eucalyptus trees in blossom, so there were plenty of Lorikeets around. This is a Musk Lorikeet, A little further along, this Laughing Kookaburra was feeding on a side track.
Wherever I looked there were lots of Monarch butterflies around, but they didn't settle very much. This one was a fair way away so is heavily cropped. Also around were plenty of blackberries, reminding us that autumn is well and truly just around the corner.
Finally, a quick stop for lunch at Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens yielded this Eastern Spinebill.
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