Innamincka to Coongie Lakes, South Australia

Heading out North to the Desert Lakes.

Australia, Day Twenty Seven.

Native Orange (Capparis mitchellii).

After a very comfortable night in the Cooper Creek home stay (Recommended) and a good breakfast we headed off North to the Coongie Lakes Park, yesterday Deb had spent ages trying to sort Entry permits and Camping out on line but gave up in the end and rand the main office for the parks and a nice lady did the booking over the phone for us which was so much easier. 

Kudriemitchie Out Station.

Kudriemitchie Out Station Meat Shed.

White-necked Herons (Ardea pacifica) and Great White Egrets (Ardea alba).

Australian Pelicans (Pelecanus conspicillatus).

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus).

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus).

Cooper Creek Turtle (Emydura macquarie).

We crossed the Cooper and then headed out North, as we crossed the River we saw Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa), White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae), Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) and Cooper Creek Turtle (Emydura macquarie).

The start of the Park.

Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida).

Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius).

Not far along the road we stopped when Deb or Ian saw a flowering Native Orange (Capparis mitchellii), a stunning tree with beautiful flowers and as we continued on we added Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus), Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus), Yellow-throated Miner (Manorina flavigula), Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), Greater Bluebonnet (Northiella haematogaster), Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae), Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), Brown Falcon (Falco berigora), Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus), Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides), Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus), Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), Chirruping Wedgebill (Psophodes cristatus) and several Red Kangaroo's (Osphranter rufus).

Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus).

Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus).

Brolga's (Antigone rubicunda).

Brolga's (Antigone rubicunda).

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus).

As we drove on we saw signs for the Kudriemitchie Out Station and Waterhole so we turned and went for a look, down at the Waterhole we saw 17x White-necked Herons (Ardea pacifica), White-faced Heron, Great White Egret (Ardea alba) x3, Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) x1, Rainbow Bee-eater, Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) x4, Whistling Kite, Hardhead (Aythya australis), Pacific Black Duck, Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos), Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), Tree (Petrochelidon nigricans) and Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel), Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis), Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea), Grey Shrikethrush (Colluricincla harmonica) and Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata).

Nankeen Night-Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) adult in the roost.

Nankeen Night-Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) Immature arriving at the roost.

Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus).

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus).

We continued on towards the main Lake but checked out another stretch of the Cooper along the side of the Camp ground where we were going to spend the night, here we saw Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae), Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus), White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus), Little Corella, Hardhead x6, Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) x4, White-plumed Honeyeater (Ptilotula penicillata), Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis), Little Pied Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida), Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa), Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Australian Pelican, Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops), Nankeen Night-Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) and Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia).

Coongie Lakes Southern shoreline / Lunch stop.

A cupper after lunch.

Deb and Ian getting the Coffee ready.

Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans) nests in old tree.

Meadow Argus (Junonia villida).

Meadow Argus (Junonia villida).

We parked at the far end of the Camp Ground and walked out to the edge of the main lake, there was nothing out on the water but around the margins we found Black-fronted and Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles), Black-tailed Nativehen (Tribonyx ventralis), Glossy Ibis and Australian Ibis (Threskiornis molucca), Australasian Darter, Whistling Kite, Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis), Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis), Rainbow Bee-eater, Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi), Fairy Martin, Grey Shrikethrush, Whiskered Tern, Willie-wagtail and a pair of Brolga (Antigone rubicunda).

Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia).

Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia).

Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia).

Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia).

Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia).

We walked back to the car and checked the river there finding 15x Nankeen Night-Heron roosting in the trees on the far bank, Musk Duck (Biziura lobata), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia) and Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris).

Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia), Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes), Black-tailed Nativehen (Tribonyx ventralis), Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus) and Grey Teal (Anas gracilis).

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus).

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus).

Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis).

We then found the track which took us along the southern edge of the lake where we had some lunch before checking out several of the different bays down as far as a smaller lake on the right of the track, as we drove down we saw a single Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) mixed in with a flock of roosting Australian Pelicans, Musk Duck, Grey Teal (Anas gracilis), Eurasian Coot, Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata), Peaceful Dove (Geopelia placida), Glossy Ibis, Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) x3, Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus), 170+ Hardhead and both Royal (Platalea regia) and Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes).

Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum) Male.

Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum) Female.

On the small lake which was mostly dry but had patches of water and vegetation we found Red-necked Avocet (Recurvirostra novaehollandiae), Pied Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus), Masked Lapwing and more Glossy Ibis.

Caper Whites (Belenois aurota) Female.

Caper Whites (Belenois aurota) Male.

Meadow Argus (Junonia villida).

Lesser Wanderer (Danaus chrysippus).

Nearby on the main lake margin we found a secretive Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis) which took some working out, White-breasted Woodswallow, Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides), Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides), several Caper Whites (Belenois aurota), Meadow Argus (Junonia villida) and both male and female Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum).

Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis) Male.

???????????

We returned to the main camping area where we picked a pitch and set everything up and settled down in the shade as it was quite warm, as we sat there another Guy came passed and we had a chat and he told us of a few things he had seen bird wise and commented that he had seen thirty odd species in the few days he had been there, which we thought wasn't many so we decided to see how many we could get whilst sat in our chairs in the camping pitch and finished at dusk with a total of 44 which included Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius), Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius), Yellow-throated Miner (Manorina flavigula), Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), Red-capped Robin (Petroica goodenovii), Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris), Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), Barn Owl (Tyto alba) x2 and Australian Owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus).

Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides).

Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius) ssp barnardi????

We had some food and went down to chat with another couple who were just along the way that we had met in Innamincka to tell them what we had seen and after a couple of drinks we returned to our swags and slept well, totally undisturbed by calling Barking Owl (Ninox connivens) unfortunately.