Hi All,
Spent 9-14 Jul on Kangaroo Island with my family. We experienced a bit of
wild weather with a couple of gales passing through (one bringing wind gusts
to 120 kph and 26 mm of rain). Recorded 79 species of birds including five
heard only (Little Penguin, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Banded Lapwing, Southern
Boobook, Striated Pardalote).
Some of the highlights were six views of Western Whipbirds at three
locations though never managed to get the bins on this desperately shy bird
as they were too close, a trio of Glossy Black Cockatoos at the Baudin CP
near Penneshaw on 14 Jul, Sacred Kingfisher at American River, Hooded Plover
at Destrees Bay, Beautiful Firetail, Southern Emu-wren, Horsfield's
Bronze-cuckoo, Dusky Woodswallows, several Tree Martins, Tawny-crowned and
many Purple-gaped Honeyeaters. One surprise sighting was a Wild Turkey-is
there an established feral population on KI? Some of the resident birds I
did not see were Little Wattlebird, Shy Heathwren and Bassian Thrush.
Following the first major gale I spent a bit of time seawatching at
Admiral's Arch but no Antarctic Terns. There were at least five Fairy Terns
and one White-fronted Tern on this day 11 Jul. Seabirds were quite sparse
overall but managed to see two Southern Skuas and on the return ferry single
Shy and Black-browed Albatrosses. The rain brought out the frogs with
spectacular choruses of Crinia signifera, Litoria ewingii and Neobatrachus
pictus-I had forty frogs in one sweep of the bins with my torch. Great to
see and hear. Rummaging under some tin at an abandoned demolished shack I
found Thick-tailed and Marbled Geckos and the four-toed fossorial skink
Hemiergis peronii, right at the bottom was a wonderful Pygmy Copperhead.
Headed to the Barossa for a bit of food and wine. Dropped by Sampson Road,
Elizabeth Vale and in the afternoon saw at least six Barbary Doves mixed in
with Crested Pigeons and Spotted Doves near number 30 on 15 Jul.
Dion
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