Hi,
Philip Griffin and I did a trip from Adelaide down to Port MacDonnell in the
South east of South Australia on the weekend. The aim of the trip was to
join the Pelagic trip from Port MacDonnell on Sunday 9/5/04. The trip was
led by Colin Rogers and included the ?grandfather? of SA pelagic trips, John
Hatch. We set off on the morning of Saturday 8/5 and the best bird on the
trip from Adelaide to the South east was a Little Eagle near Tailem Bend.
At the suggestion of Colin Rogers, we stopped at Glen Roy Conservation Park
near Penola. There were no signs to the park but we found it by turning off
the Highway at the boundary of the Penola Hundred.
We drove about 50 metres up a sandy track in the North-western corner of the
park and stopped in a clearing for lunch. In the clearing we found Jacky
Winter (3), Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Red-rumped Parrot, Tree Martin, Willie
Wagtail, Variegated Fairy-wren, Spotted Pardalote, New Holland Honeyeater,
White-plumed Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, Restless Flycatcher (2), Eastern
Yellow Robin, Dusky Woodswallow (2), Welcome Swallow and Magpie. We then
walked down the track along the edge of the park and added Mistletoebird (2
males), Common Bronzewing, Eastern Rosella, Kookaburra, Crimson Rosella,
White-naped Honeyeater, Striated Pardalote, Galah, Grey Shrike-thrush,
Whistling Kite, White-browed Scrubwren, Grey Fantail, Forest Raven,
Shelduck, Magpie-lark, White-winged Chough, Long-billed Corella, Crested
Shrike-tit (a group of five or six), Brown Treecreeper (4), White-eared
Honeyeater, Wedge-tailed Eagle and Fan-tailed Cuckoo. I also had
unsatisfactory views of some Lorikeets flying through the canopy (presumably
Musk Lorikeets) and we heard but didn?t see at least one Whistler (probably
Golden).
We also stopped off at the Telford Scrub Conservation Park but it was
getting late and there were few birds around. We walked to the boardwalk and
back and found 13 species including Eastern Spinebill, Silvereye,
White-throated Treecreeper and Brown Thornbill.
The next morning (9/5) we headed for Port MacDonnell Harbour for the pelagic
trip. At the harbour we found Greenshank (1), Silver Gull, Pelican,
Hoary-headed Grebe (18), Pied Oystercatcher (4), White-faced Heron (4),
Pacific Gull, Black-faced Cormorant (5), Gannet, Mallard, Crested Tern
(200+), Pied Cormorant and Masked Lapwing (4).
On the boat (Remarkable) we headed out to the shelf at about 7am finding
Short-tailed Shearwater, White-faced Storm-petrel, Gannet, Fluttering
Shearwater, Fairy Prion, Yellow-nosed Albatross, Shy Albatross, Black-browed
Albatross, a Giant Petrel (seen at a distance and could not be identified)
and a Wilson?s Storm-petrel on the way.
On the shelf we started chumming at 38 26 03.8 /140 46 19.2 and added
Great-winged Petrel, Grey-backed Storm Petrel and Wandering Albatross (5 or
6 for the day). We also found more Wilson?s Storm Petrel, Shy Albatross,
Black-browed Albatross (mostly impavida), Yellow-nosed Albatross and Fairy
Prion. We moved on to another site 38 25 24.9/140 43 36.3 and spent the rest
of the trip moving up and down the slick at this point. Here we added Cape
Petrel (1), White-fronted Tern (1 juv), Gannet, Northern Giant Petrel (2 or
3), Crested Tern and the bird of the day, a Sooty Albatross, which made up
for its late arrival by flying up and down beside the boat and landing on
the water several times. This was a new bird for many on the boat including
me and Philip. Philip?s photographs of the Sooty Albatross are available on
the following website: www.geocities.com/lerista/PortMac20040509.html
On the way back we saw more Gannet, Fairy Prion, Crested Tern and another
White-fronted Tern. We got back to the harbour at about 2.30pm and added
Greenfinch before heading home. The best bird on the way back was Brown
Falcon, one near Mt Gambier and one near Penola.
_________________________________________________________________
What's your house worth? Click here to find out:
http://www.ninemsn.realestate.com.au
--------------------------------------------
Birding-Aus is now on the Web at
www.birding-aus.org
--------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message 'unsubscribe
birding-aus' (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
