Convener: Trevor Cowie - Phone (08) 8263 2531
The distance given in the trip heading is the approximate distance from Adelaide to the meeting point.
Sunday, 30 May 2010 - Winninowie CP (NW) (287km)
We meet at 8.30am at the junction to Chinamans Creek on Highway 1 to Port Augusta. Approx 18km north of the right hand turn into Mambray Creek C.P. (where Camping facilities are available contact the Rangers on 8634 7068 to make bookings). Winninowie has a wide and varied habitat. Camping in Chinamans Creek Township, also available but there are no facilities.
Saturday, 12 June 2010 - Narrinyeri Hills (MLR) (72km)
This site is part of the Monarto Forest old growth area. Birds SA have been given access to record sighting on their behalf as well as for ourselves. We will meet at 8.30am pulling off as much as possible along the road side, as no actual car park exists. To get there starting from the South Monarto cross roads on the (old) Princes Highway. Travel towards Murray Bridge for approx 5km. Turning left into Maurice Rd, less than 2 km along this road you will note the you are beside a railway line, approx 2km further from here on the right is where this site starts. If you miss the entry point you will see a lot of commercial buildings on your left. The entrance is not obvious unless on foot.
Thursday, 17 June 2010 - Kaiser Stuhl CP & Tanunda Ponds (MLR) (71km)
Meet at 8.30am on Bethany Road, Tanunda just east of rail crossing by the Lutheran church. We will spend the morning in the park, looking into the ponds later in the day.
Sunday, 27 June 2010 - Nurragi CP & Milang (MM) (80km) Meet at 8.30am at the western end of the water front park in Milang. We will look for birds on and near the lake before going onto Nurragi CP.
Saturday, 10 July 2010 - Jenkins Scrub (MLR) (61km) Meet at 9am. To get there, travel about 10km from Williamstown towards Springton, turn right onto Mount Rd, which is opposite Wirra Wirra Rd. We meet at the entrance to the scrub on the left opposite Murray Vale Rd.
Thursday, 15 July 2010 - Kenneth Stirling (Wotton Scrub) CP & Mt George CP (MLR) (27km)
Meet at 8.30am. Take the SE Freeway leaving it at the Bridgewater exit. Turn left towards Carey Gully, travel about 3km and turn right into Gum Flat Road. Travel about 1.6km to gate 2 on the right. Moving onto Mt George CP for Lunch.
Sunday, 1 August 2010 - Anstey Hill RP/CP (MLR) (18km)
Anstey Hill is a park of hill and gullies. It is close to the city so we can make an early start at 8am. We meet at Gate 3 on Perseverance Road, Tea Tree Gully (0.8km from the North East Road end).
Saturday, 14 August 2010 - Scott CP (MLR) (79km)
Meet at 8.30am at the right-hand turn-off into Gould Road (NOT Deep Creek Road). This is off the Strathalbyn /Ashbourne Road to Goolwa. If you reach the Canoe tree/railway crossing, you would have missed the turn–off by about 1.5km.
Thursday, 19 August 2010 - Browns Road, Monarto (MLR) (60km)
Meet at 8.30am at Browns Road, Monarto, just off the old Murray Bridge Road. Leave the SE Freeway at the Callington exit. Drive through Callington and turn right onto the old Murray Bridge road. The junction is on the left at the top of the hill.
20-22 August 2010 - Messent Conservation Park
Birds SA members have been invited to join birders from the Southeast at a Campout/Outing to Messent Conservation Park from the 20th to 22nd August 2010. This would be a good opportunity to not only meet some of our birding colleagues from the Mt Gambier district but also some from western Victoria. Messent (near Meningie) is an excellent location to find Malleefowl as well as other mallee birds. Please register your interest in this activity by contacting Bryan Haywood by phone on 8726 8112 or by
Sunday, 28 March 2010 - Dry Creek Salt Fields (AP) Well the last of the seasons trips into Dry Creek Salt Fields for this migration and it has been a pleasure to be back in to record the numbers of species and individuals (which appeared to be down for most species). The 17 in attendance did managed to record 64 species overall but! 1 x Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 x Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and 3 Curlew Sandpipers does leave a large gap of open ground. Also, Terns were missing with just 2 Caspian & 2 Crested being seen but 10 Fairy Terns were feeding well. Fourteen species were of just a single bird. However one of these was a Greater Sand Plover (a bonus). So with the big wet north it would be likely that they left here for better feeding areas. We await their return next summer. Trevor Cowie. see bird list
1-6 April 2010 - Easter Campout at Wirrabara Forest (FR) We last camped at Wirrabara Forest in October 1988 so a re-visit was overdue. Most campers came for four to five days and a total of 19 attended. The weather was warm and still with cool nights until Monday evening when lightning struck all around us, the rain came and several trees were heard to fall nearby. The Ippinitchie Campground is in Grey Box-Blue Gum open Forest with Red Gums along the creek and occasional Sugar Gums on higher ground and an understorey of grasses and heavy litter. Purple-crowned Lorikeets were abundant and Dusky Woodswallows (with young) and Brown Treecreepers were best seen here. On Good Friday an appropriately subdued twelve Apostlebirds were seen at the King Tree in similar habitat with adjacent plantation areas of Pinus radiata. Beyond the Ranger Station and between the Old Nursery and the start of the Bluff Track the woodland had a more generous understorey of Dog Wattle, Bursaria, Exocarpus etc. that accounted for Variegated Fairy-wrens, Inland Thornbills, White-browed Babblers and Golden Whistlers, along with the local Spinebills whose calls included one reminiscent of a Gerygone in Fantail style. Perhaps the most interesting area was at higher elevation to the north in unmodified "heathy" sclerophyll woodland extending to the dividing ridge and boundary with Telowie Gorge CP. Elegant Parrots, Brush Bronzewings, Fantail Cuckoos and Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters were features, as were Scarlet and Red-capped Robin pairs in the one place. A Black Honeyeater, a Hooded Robin pair and a possible Crested Bellbird were all recorded near the crest, representing birds of drier habitats on the western slopes. Several observers had good views in a Callistemon-lined gully of the local Heathwren, Hylacola pyrrhopygia pedleri and may have noted distinctive features, a more extensive supercilium and a duller, less defined but more extensive rump patch compared with others of this species. From the forest area the 65 species with only three raptors and no wetland birds was a fair representation of its residents, summer visitors having mostly departed in cluding Bee-eaters only a few days earlier. We did not locate the Bassian Thrush, recorded in the region between 1968 (B Glover, S A Orn. 25: 58) and 1999 (D Harper, W Klau, S A Orn. 34: 147, L Pedler -DEH), or (except by calls) the Southern Scrub-robin. The DEH Biological Survey of November 1999 recorded a total of 45 species with an additional 13 from the NCS Survey of Beetaloo Valley in October 2001. Gepp and Fife S A Orn 27: 15-17) in a survey from Pines and native forests recorded 42 species in Wirrabara Forest. The total from all named sources is 80. Our additions were Rainbow Lorikeet, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Spiny-cheeked and Black Honeyeaters, Dusky Woodswallow, both Australian and Little Ravens and Apostlebird. Returning on the Tuesday Adelaide appeared fresh washed after 30-50 mm of rain had fallen on that morning. Andrew Black. see bird list
Saturday, 10 April 2010 - Porter Scrub CP (MLR) A wet morning with just 12 members defying the rain clouds (and basically succeeding) the species count was just 28 with Crimson Rosella being the most visible species (thanks to its size & colour) conditions were overcast and dull light. White-throated Treecreeper, Yellow-faced & Crescent Honeyeaters gave themselves away by calling and there were eight Red-capped Robin and numerous Grey Fantails throughout the park. At the car park we had 3 Fan-tailed Cuckoo and 2 Mistletoebirds. Lunch was taken with a little bit of sunshine. Trevor Cowie. see bird list
Thursday, 22 April 2010 - Sandy Creek CP (MLR) Martyn Price was leader of field trip, 18 members 43 species. Blossom was sparse and only a few lorikeets, Rainbow and Musk, and Honeyeaters were observed, including Red Wattlebird, Brown-headed and New Holland Honeyeaters. Only 3 White-plumed Honeyeater and 3 Eastern Spinebills, a Little Wattlebird was heard calling but eluded any attempt to observe it. Crimson Rosellas, White-winged Chough, Grey Currawong and White-browed Babblers were abundant, as were Grey Fantail (10) and Red-capped Robin (8). We had a pair of Hooded Robins. Several raptors were seen circling fairly high overhead, including Peregrine Falcon, Brown Goshawk and Whistling Kite. Yellow-rumped and Yellow Thornbills were common. After lunch a couple of us went for another stroll hoping to catch a glimpse of a Square-tailed Kite. However, luck was not with us. Martyn Price. see bird list
Sunday, 2 May 2010 - Altona CSR Landcare Reserve (MLR) A good mild day for a walk with 36 birders turning out, the group of course split into two groups at the tee junction by the shipping container with a few doing their own thing, checking out the more secluded areas that exist at this location, the rewards being 53 species being recorded, most of course the expected species but there were some interesting species still about such as a Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo and two Fan-tailed Cuckoo and 10 Eastern Spinebill. Also seen by most where Crested Shrike-tit always a delight to see. We recorded just 6 species of Honeyeater which included Yellow-faced & Brown-headed, other species included Red-capped & Hooded Robins, Dusky Woodswallow, Brown Treecreeper, Red-rumped Parrot, Golden & Rufous Whistler. The largest number of an individual species was 50 Striated Pardalote. Lunch and bird count was taken by the gate, the only space left without sitting in the middle of the road. A very good day in good company. Trevor Cowie. see bird list
This page was last updated on 21/05/2010