Greetings birders,
On Saturday 18th April I was in the grounds of Geranium Primary School in
the Murray Mallee of South Aust, some 90km east of Murray Bridge.
On the oval of the school I identified a Cattle Egret. This is a lifer for
me - I may have seen one before but this is the first time that I have
positively identified a Cattle egret.
It was white all over, 450-500mm high. black legs, bright yellow bill,
distinctive head bobbing while walking. It stayed feeding on the oval all
afternoon but had gone by next morning.
The mallee areas have been very dry since last Nov 1st. There had been a
good rain (30-40mm) the weekend before (Easter) in the district. The
township of Geranium is quite small (pop. 75-100???) and the adjacent land
is mostly wheat farming land with some sheep.
This was one species I did not expect to record during my stay in the town.
Happy birding,
Trevor Hampel
Murray Bridge
South Australia
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