Laratinga Wetlands

Today we had a quick walk around Laratinga Wetlands at Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills.

All the usual suspects were there. Most logs had ducks on them. This one had Maned Duck, Shoveler and Chestnut Teal on it.

The Pacific Black Ducks are not shy, and came too close at times!

The coots were all busy feeding, and there were lots of pairs of Shoveler here.

We had fun tracking down the Rosellas, but never quite got close enough for a good pic.  This one was almost straight into the sun, and so the colours are a bit odd.

There were also plenty of Turtles lounging in the sun, and, of course, The Australian Ibis' waiting to "mug" the picnickers!!

Windy Spring Morning

I'm on leave this week and was hoping for some good weather to get some birding in. No such luck as Monday starts with a severe weather warning for most of South Australia.  Still, I ventured out for a few hours, hoping to find somewhere sheltered

I headed northeast from Adelaide, and planned to call into a couple of different spots. First call, a small reserve near Roseworthy.  It was very windy, and no birds to be seen until the miners started with their alarm calls as a large raptor flew over.  It was silhouetted against the sky, but some post processing revealed an adult Spotted Harrier

Next call was Altona, still windy, but once I got below the ridge it wasn't too bad. I noticed that a few orchids were starting to show. Purple Cockatoo is very common.

The problem with looking at flowers while birding is that they are at opposite ends on the focusing range!  I missed a couple of shots that way.  Luckily this Grey Currawong was on a fallen branch that was too big to be blown around. Not so the White-naped Honeyeater. He was being blown all over the place. Not the best photo, but you can still make out his awesome red gape.

Then some more flowers. Not sure of the ID of the first two, but the rest are Common Donkey Orchid, Spreading Night-phlox and Pink Fairies

Then it's back to the birds with White-winged Chough, Red-capped Robin, (they seem to be everywhere this year) and astern Spinebill.

Finally, on the way home I saw a marker for a historic grave site, so I went to see who it was.  It was William Jacob, assistant to Colonel Light (who first surveyed Adelaide in the 1830's) and the founder of Jacob's Creek winery. Cheers William!!

Spotted Crake, Take 2!!

I headed back to Laratinga Wetlands early this morning to have a proper look for the Spotless Crake that had been seen recently.

I got there at dawn, and it was cold and foggy. As I got to the right spot, there was a small movement at the bottom of the reeds, I checked my camera and the shutter speed was only 1/5th of a second. Not good!!  I waited, and out popped a Spotted Crake.  So I cranked up the ISO to 3200, and took a couple of pics.

After about 45 minutes, another movement.  Little Grassbird this time. No photos as he stayed just inside the edge of the reeds.  Then right behind him was another movement.  This time it was the Spotless Crake, and I managed a few photos as he crossed from one side to the other, albeit a bit grainy due to the high ISO.

This is an odd time of year in Australia.  Some birds are in eclipse plumage, like this pair of Chestnut Teal. Others are in breeding plumage like this Royal Spoonbill

Once the sun burnt off some of the fog, birds started sunning themselves to warm up.  A group of Tree Martins used a clump of sedge, whilst Galahs and Little Correlas used a gum tree.

There were quite a few waterbirds around, including Common Coot, Pacific Black Duck, Pink-eared Duck and Australian Shoveler.

Overhead were good numbers of Dusky Woodswallows, and there were Superb Fairywrens everywhere mostly also in eclipse plumage. In this plumage, females can be told from males by their red lores and eyering.

Short walk at Laratinga Wetlands

As we were in Mount Barker today, we decided to have pop into Laratinga Wetlands for a short walk.  The water was high here too, but there were still plenty of birds around.

Purple Swamphens were everywhere, and the sun caught this Dusky Moorhen turning it purple too,......something I haven't seen before.

There were a few Australian Shovelers here and many White-faced Herons.

I was hoping to luck into a Spotless Crake that has been seen here, but it wasn't to be.  Only the spotted version was playing ball today.

On the way back I noticed a couple of Common Bronzewings scratching in the leaf litter, a lone Black-fronted Plover, and a co-operative Little Grassbird.

Laratinga Wetlands

This afternoon, Maryann and I popped into Laratinga Wetlands at Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills.

As we strolled around, there were plenty of birds to see.  First bird was a Yellow-billed Spoonbill, fast asleep in the sun. 

Water levels were low in some ponds, but the boardwalks helped get close to the birds.  Dusky Moorhens were everywhere, and a pair of "mixed up mallards" were keeping a close eye on their brood.

 Not so many Common Coots in the shallows, but there were plenty in the deeper water.  I counted over 20 Spotted Crakes, and some were very confiding.

The only parrot we saw were Adelaide Rosellas.   Another birder had mentioned he'd seen some Freckled Ducks, and we eventually found one on a log with a Grey Teal and a Hardhead for company.

The next pond held lots of birds, and we quickly ticked off Chestnut Teal and Australian Little Grebe.

A small movement in the reeds betrayed this Australian Reed Warbler, but the Hoary-headed Grebes were much more conspicuous against the dark water.

Then I flushed a small crake.  My immediate thought was a Baillon's, but it disappeared before I could see it properly.  On the way back, it was at the same spot, and I trod a little more carefully!!  ID confirmed, and duly photographed!! A Baillon's Crake.

On the way back to the car we passed this fluffed up White-faced Heron, some Purple Swamphen's and a single Hardhead.