It was disappointing to hear that we are no longer able to visit Mt Arden
station to see the Ostriches there, & this presented a challenge to add this
bird to my list. So I came up with a cunning plan. After much searching, I
found a small plane operator to fly me over the area. Tania Ireton & Ken Baker
accompanied me, & about 9am on 15th May, we took off from a small private
airstrip. We began a transect at about 500 feet, a height which did not disturb
the livestock below us, but we could easily identify the animals below us -
sheep, goats, red & eastern grey kangaroos. We saw flocks of Corellas & Galahs,
a few Ravens & Magpies & a pair of Emus before, after about an hour of flying,
Tania called "Ostrich". We looped around & saw a fine pair with 9 chicks, maybe
a month old. As we dipped lower for a better look, the adults raised their
wings in aggressive display, but soon seemed to accept we weren't an immediate
threat & we had great views. Although Ostriches are considered "plastics", they
are indeed impressive birds, & to see them in this way was particularly
exciting. The cost was surprisingly reasonable, & our pilot was keen to help us
achieve our goal, & imparted a great deal of knowledge on the history of the
local area.
Other birds of interest seen during our brief visit to South
Australia were a pair of Redthroats near Pichi Richi Pass & Mallefowl, Rock
Parrot, Osprey, Southern Scrub-Robin, Purple-gaped Honeyeater at Innes NP.
cheers
Brian Johnston
==============================www.birding-aus.org
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