Eagle View, Deb's Mom's, Cow Fields, Mount Barker, Jupiter Creek Gold Diggings and Bridge Hotel in Langhorne Creek, South Australia.

My last time out in the field, very sad to be leaving tomorrow.

Australia, Day Eighty Seven.

 

Petra and Deb at Jupiter Creek.

Deb and I headed out to feed and as I went round I started the day with Little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera), Galah's (Eolophus roseicapilla), Grey Shrikethrush (Colluricincla harmonica), Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus), Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) and New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) before we headed over to Renate's where I added Red-browed Firetail (Neochmia temporalis), Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata), Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) and Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys).

Mayfly Orchid (Nemacianthus caudatus).

Mayfly Orchid (Nemacianthus caudatus).

We returned to Eagle View, Ian and I then went up to check on the Cows with the Gator, as we checked thins we saw the resident Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax), Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae), Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera), Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) and Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus).

Leopard Orchid  (Diuris pardina).

Leopard Orchid  (Diuris pardina).

Once we got back to the farm Deb, Petra, Ian and I went up into Mount Barker to the Drive through Bottle Shop but as we weren't sure what we wanted we parked up and did some browsing and after a while we all came out with what we wanted and then headed south to Strathalbyn and had a nice wander around the Antique shops there.

Maroon Greenhood (Pterostylis pedunculata) ?

Maroon Greenhood (Pterostylis pedunculata) ?

Maroon Greenhood (Pterostylis pedunculata) ?

On the way round we saw Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Australian (Threskiornis molucca) and Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis), White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae), Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena), Little Raven (Corvus mellori), Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) and Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris).

Dwarf Snail Orchid (Pterostylis nana).

Dwarf Snail Orchid (Pterostylis nana).

We had some lunch at Eagle View and then headed out again to Jupiter Creek Gold Diggings where we were going to search for some new Orchids, we parked and walked through the woodlands and soon started to find lots of Mayfly Orchids (Nemacianthus caudatus), a few Spotted Donkey-orchid (Diuris pardina), Dwarf Snail Orchid (Pterostylis nana), Winter Gnat Orchid (Cyrtostylis robusta) and Others.

Winter Gnat Orchid (Cyrtostylis robusta).

Birds included White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos), Grey Currawong (Strepera versicolor), Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis), Striated Thornbill (Acanthiza lineata) and White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea).

Helmit Orchid species ?

We returned to Eagle View and sorted our selves out before picking Renate up and heading down to the Bridge Hotel in Laghorne Creek where we were going to have a meal and very nice it was too.

Eagle View, Gawla Road, Rocks Reserve area and Bald Hill Beach, South Australia.

Back to the North of Adelaide.

Australia, Day Eighty Six.

 

Australasian Bushlark (Mirafra javanica).

Deb and I did the feeding, I picked up New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae), Little Raven (Corvus mellori), Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), Galah's (Eolophus roseicapilla), Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans), Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) and a nice male Crescent Honeyeater (Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus) which took me a while to work out as I didn't recognize the call.

Australasian Bushlark (Mirafra javanica).

Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).

Later Deb, Ian and I headed North around Adelaide on out way to Gawla Road, as we travelled we saw Australian Ibis (Threskiornis molucca), Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata), Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae), Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa), Black Swan (Cygnus atratus), Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea), Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) and Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris).

Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) Immature.

Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) Immature.

Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) Adult.

We reached Gawla and drove the road out to the turning point at the far end and then back again, along this route we found Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys), Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides), Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Singing Honeyeater (Gavicalis virescens), Spotted Scrubwren (Sericornis maculatus), Little Black (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) and Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius), Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus), Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris), White-fronted Chat (Epthianura albifrons), Chestnut (Anas castanea) and Grey Teal (Anas gracilis), Brown Falcon (Falco berigora), White-winged Fairywren (Malurus leucopterus), Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula), Great White Egret (Ardea alba), White-faced Heron and Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis).

Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) and Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae).

Our next stop was out on the fields near to Balaklava where we were hoping to get better views of the Australasian Bushlark (Mirafra javanica), which we did and also saw Australasian Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae), Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae), Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus), Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus), Brown Songlark (Cincloramphus cruralis), Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis), Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata), Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) and a nice adult Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis).

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica).

Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica).

Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica).

The weather was not looking too good so we made our way out to Bald Hill Beach where Deb and I spent some time looking for Waders and Ian did a bit of fishing, before the rain came we managed to see Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Pied Oystercatcher and 4x Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) on the wader front.

Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii).

Great Crested (Thalasseus bergii) and Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis).

Other species included Great Crested (Thalasseus bergii) and 2x Fairy Terns (Sternula nereis), Little Pied (Microcarbo melanoleucos), Little Black, and Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius) before the rain got too heavy and we retreated to the 4X4 and headed back.

Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis).

Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis).

Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis).

Bullock Hill CP near Ashbourne and Cape Jarvis, South Australia.

Out unsuccessfully looking for Quails and a Parrot.

Australia, Day Eighty Five.

Australian Admiral (Vanessa itea).

After feeding Deb, Ian and I headed down to a spot to the South of us near Ashbourne where Ian had been the evening before and where he had seen some Stubble Quail (Coturnix pectoralis), once there we first of all checked an area of woodland on the way in finding New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae), Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus), Rainbow (Trichoglossus moluccanus) and Purple-crowned Lorikeet (Parvipsitta porphyrocephala), Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis), Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata), Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) and later we searched a large area of grassy hillside but did not get any Quail.

Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi).

However we did see several Australasian Pipits (Anthus novaeseelandiae), Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) and Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) before we entered the Bullock Hill Conservation Park.

Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus).

As we walked up the central path we added Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans), Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula), White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos), Galah's (Eolophus roseicapilla), Elegant Parrot (Neophema elegans), Western Whistler (Pachycephala fuliginosa), Brown (Acanthiza pusilla) and Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa), Little Raven (Corvus mellori), Grey Shrikethrush (Colluricincla harmonica), Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera), Grey Currawong (Strepera versicolor), White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis), Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) and Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus).

platylobium obtusangulum.

Blue Fairy Orchid (Pheladenia deformis).

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Red Fox (Zorro / Vulpus vulpus) track.

Along the trails we also saw Scented (Drosera whittakeri) and Climbing Sundew (Drosera planchonii), Blue Fairy Orchid (Pheladenia deformis), Australian Admiral (Vanessa itea) and Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi).

Doughnut of the month from Port Elliot Bakery.

Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang).

Even though the weather started to deteriorate we decided to head down to Cape Jarvis to look for a reported Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami), on the way down we picked up Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea), Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris), Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata), Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles), Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) and Doughnut of the month from Port Elliot Bakery.

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus).

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus).

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus).

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus).

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus).

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus).

As we arrived in the Deep Creek area the weather closed in completely and we were unfortunately birding in thick fog at times and we did not find the Cockatoo.

Black-faced Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscescens).

Black-faced Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscescens).

Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius).

We did however see Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang), Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus), Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) and Western Grey Kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) before we dropped down out of the fog to the Ferry Port over to Kangaroo Island where we checked the Jetty and rocks finding both Pied (Phalacrocorax varius) and Black-faced Cormorants (Phalacrocorax fuscescens), Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii), Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) and Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys).

Blunt Greenhood (Pterostylis curta) ???

Blunt Greenhood (Pterostylis curta) ?????

Rough looking Maroon Greenhood (Pterostylis pedunculata) ?

We decided to have a coffee and then head back toward Eagle View but we checked the Orchids on Bald Hill Road and found a lot of  Greenhoods most I think were Blunt Greenhood (Pterostylis curta) but there was also a rather tatty looking plant which is possibly a Maroon Greenhood (Pterostylis pedunculata).

Fox Lake Bird Hide, Pub Lake and Beach Near Robe, Messent Conservation Park, Martin Washpool Conservation Park, Poltalloch Road, Ashville, Lake Alexandrina, South Australia

Heading back to Eagle View.

Australia, Day Eighty Four.

Ebird List for Fox Lake Bird Hide. 

Ebird List for Poltalloch Road, Ashville. 

Ebird List for 3273 Langhorne Creek Road, Mulgundawa.

 

From the hide.

Deb and I were up at the hide at Fox Pool early but the Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)did not want to play and were hidden or they were rushing for cover as soon as we got to the hide, however we did see Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles), Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops), Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa), Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos), Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis), Little Raven (Corvus mellori), Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena), Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula), Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia), White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), Grey Currawong (Strepera versicolor), Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) and 6 fly over Royal Spoonbills (Platalea regia) which we picked up on our way over to Pub Lake.

Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii).

Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii).

Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii).

Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii).

We viewed Pub Lake from a large gap in the Tamarisk type bushes and found a very smart looking well plumbed Great White Egret (Ardea alba) but nothing else so we walked back around Fox Lake and out towards the beach picking up Beautiful Firetail (Stagonopleura bella), European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris), Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis), White-fronted Chat (Epthianura albifrons), Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) and New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae).

View from the Hide.

Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops).

Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops).

Red-browed Firetail (Neochmia temporalis).

Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus).

Out towards the beach we added Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis), Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla), White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis), Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata), Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus), Red-browed Firetail (Neochmia temporalis) and Grey Currawong (Strepera versicolor).

Great White Egret (Ardea alba).

Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) Male.

Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) Male.

We crossed the bridge by the beach where the Lake drain goes out to sea where we saw a couple of White-faced Herons, a male Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea), Singing Honeyeater (Gavicalis virescens) and in the scrub we spent quite a while trying and failing to get pictures of a couple of Rufous Bristlebirds (Dasyornis broadbenti) which played hard to get.

Singing Honeyeater (Gavicalis virescens).

White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae).

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo's (Calyptorhynchus funereus).

On our way back to the car we picked up a small group of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus) before we moved on towards our next stop at Messent CP, on the way we picked up another Rufous Bristlebird and several Galah's (Eolophus roseicapilla).

Just through the gate.

Shy Heathwren (Hylacola cauta).

Shy Heathwren (Hylacola cauta).

Active Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) mound but no bird sightings.

We turned off at Salt Creek and drove out to the gate into Messent and the took the center track, on the way through to a spot Deb had been given where there was an active Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) mound we picked up Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax), Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis), Tawny-crowned Honeyeater (Gliciphila melanops), Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) and a couple of Shy Heathwren (Hylacola cauta).

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We parked along the track from the Malleefowl but we did not see any activity and when the weather looked like it was going to take a turn for the worst we did a runner off the sandy tracks and paid a visit to Martin's Washpool but not before finding a Shingleback Lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) right in the center of the track which didn't really want Deb's help to get to the far side but we wanted to make sure it was not flattened on the way.

Shingleback Lizard (Tiliqua rugosa).

Shingleback Lizard (Tiliqua rugosa).

After scanning the pool and picking up Great (Phalacrocorax carbo) and Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos), Musk Duck (Biziura lobata), Grey Teal (Anas gracilis), Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides), Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) and Silver Gulls we checked an area of scrub.

Black-tailed Nativehen (Tribonyx ventralis).

Beautiful Firetail (Stagonopleura bella).

In the scrub we found a couple of Beautiful Firetails, Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis), Black-tailed Nativehen (Tribonyx ventralis), Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) and another Rufous Bristlebird.

Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus).

As we walked back to the car we had a hunting Collared Sparrowhawk (Accipiter cirrocephalus) and down on the water weeds a couple of Dragon and Damselfly species but both need to be named still.

Australian Ibis (Threskiornis molucca).

Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus).

We started to make our way back North around Lake Alexandrina stopping to take a few shots of Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus) and Australian Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) and added Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida), Cape Barren Geese (Cereopsis novaehollandiae), Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans), Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris), Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) and Brown Falcon (Falco berigora).

Banded Stilts (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus).

Banded Stilts (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus) and Red-necked Avocets (Recurvirostra novaehollandiae).

Banded Stilts (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus).

Further on we came around a corner and were confronted by a great site when we found a huge flock of over 1200 Banded Stilts (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus) along with a 150 or so Red-necked Avocets (Recurvirostra novaehollandiae) and to finish the day we came across a flock of 19 Eastern Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus coromandus) which were a new species for my SA list.

Eastern Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus coromandus) x19.