Driving North to Coober Pedy, South Australia.

A long drive North for Deb with some good birding on the way.

Australia, Day Six.

 

Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) male.

After dropping Molly and Maddie the dogs off at Deb's Mom's we started the long drive north to Coober Pedy way up in the top end of South Australia, as we went to and around Adelaide we saw my first Spotted Doves (Spilopelia chinensis) which were plentiful all the way through the suburbs along with Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) and Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula).

Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides).

Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides).

To the North of the city I saw three Hardhead (Aythya australis) ducks on a small flooded area and as we drove towards Ball Hill beach we add Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus), Little Raven (Corvus mellori), 30+ Sulphur-crested Cockatoo's (Cacatua galerita), Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys), Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris), Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) and Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae).

Pied Cormorants (Phalacrocorax varius), Great Crested Terns (Thalasseus bergii) and Silver Gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae).

Just before our lunch stop at Port Wakefield bakery we stopped off at Bald Hill Beach, on the drive into the site we had a very smart pair of  Nankeen Kestrels (Falco cenchroides), a Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) and Singing Honeyeater (Gavicalis virescens).

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia).

Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii).

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia), Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) and Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis).

Once we were on the beach the species just kept coming, we had soon added Great Crested  (Thalasseus bergii) x50+, Caspian (Hydroprogne caspia) x15 and Fairy Terns (Sternula nereis) x3, Grey (Pluvialis squatarola) x1, Red-capped (Charadrius ruficapillus) x25 and Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus) x9, Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) x12, Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) x11, Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) x2, Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia), Great White (Ardea alba) and Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) and a calling but unseen Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis).

Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae).

Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia), Great White (Ardea alba) and Little Egret (Egretta garzetta).

On the drive out of the site we saw White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) and White-fronted Chat (Epthianura albifrons) before having a coffee and a Cornish Pasty for lunch.

Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus) male.

Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus) female.

Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus).

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis).

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia), Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) and Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica).

We continued North picking up Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) and Black Kite (Milvus migrans) and at our next rest stop we picked up Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus), Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) and a blue butterfly species which I still need to name but is possibly Southern Purple Azure (Ogyris genoveva).

Deb at Bald Hill Beach.

A Cornish Pasty ????? It tasted good.

Further north we made a brief stop at a flooded area which heald a few nice species including the stunning Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops), Pied Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus), Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus), Grey Teal (Anas gracilis), Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) and Black-tailed Nativehen (Tribonyx ventralis).

Butterfly species, possibly Southern Purple Azure (Ogyris genoveva).

On the way North.

Between this flood and Coober Pedy we had 4x Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) and in town we added Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea) which were roosting in a tree in the car park of the place we went to eat after unpacking the 4x4.