Last Monday (5th Jan) I visited the St Kilda Saltfields north of Adelaide
for the first time.
What a way to kickstart one's list for the year! I managed to add no less
than 5 to my life list, as well as see many species I do not normally get to
see.
The new species for me were:
Hudsonian Godwit,
Black Tailed Godwit,
Pectoral Sandpiper,
Spotted Crake
Double Banded Plover.
My friends who took me are regular visitors and were also pleased to see
these species and were especially pleased to add the plover to their list.
We were the first party to use the new system of signing in at the office
before obtaining a key. This new system may cause a few problems so everyone
should be aware of the limitations. Low tide was late afternoon, about 5pm.
We collected the key at 12:30 and left the main gate at 6:45. By then the
office was shut (about 4:30 I think) so we had arranged to drop the key back
the next morning. It was handy that my friends live only 15 minutes away -
not so convenient for someone coming greater distances eg southern suburbs
or country. Perhaps regular visitors may want to lobby for a safe key
deposit box near the main gate or some other arrangement (eg posting the key
back). The new system seems very inconvenient to me but then I'm a newbie to
this wonderful location.
Other highlights were:
Musk Duck c15
Australian Shelduck 30+
Hardhead 2
All 3 grebes including 100s of HH Grebes
Darter 1
Little, Intermediate and Great Egrets
Swamp Harrier
Red Necked Stint 1000s
Banded and Black winged stilts 100s
Avocets 100s
Grey Plover c20
Elegant Parrot 2
62 species in total.
Trevor Hampel
Murray Bridge
South Australia
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