Hi, I'm Antoni, and I am a passionate birdwatcher who currently lives in Adelaide. I enjoy getting up early in the morning to look at birds and getting the correct ID on a particular bird. I also do some bird photography, but my camera is quite bad. Some of my favourite birdwatching haunts include the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary, Greenfields Wetlands, Morialta Conservation Park, Belair National Park, Apex Park, Hallet Cove and surrounds and many more. I want to join this site to share my experiences and help others get to know their local birds.
Cheers, Antoni.
Also, here's a butcherbird-
Welcome to the group Antoni.
Love your photo of a young Grey Butcherbird with that golden hour glow on him/her..
Look forward to seeing more of your pics.
Thanks!
I use the Sunset option on my camera to get the sunset/sunrise glow on the bird (if it is on defualt it just turns out without the glow). My camera is really sensitive to low light levels and has a really slow shutter speed. It is also automatic. Not the best for bird photography. Nonetheless, with the correct timing, knowledge and luck, I can get a good image. I'm hoping to get a better camera sometime soon.
You have some nice birdwatching haunts, Antoni. They're especially precious given the rapid expansion of Adelaide into what's left of the natural bushland & the strong tendency for the state government to want any space to be filled with ugly development.
I'm looking forward to seeing your photos & comments on birds & their habitats.
Yes, it's hard to find good places for birdwatching in Adelaide, most of the place is overrun by ferals and overabundant natives which drive out the few small native birds that hang on. Indeed, the only small birds that you are likely to see here are New Holland Honeyeater, Willie Wagtail and White-plumed Honeyeater (and all these species are constantly mobbed). The councils continually clear large spaces of native bush and turn them into bush bird ghost towns. In fact, the only place in the western suburbs that I know you can find Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail and Golden Whistler is Apex Park, a tiny patch of revegatated woodland and wetlands in the middle of the city. It makes me sad how we have pushed such charismatic and pleasnt creatures out of our lives.
However, it is not to late to turn back. This is why things like Birds in Backyards is so important. Hopefully, one day in the near future, all major cities, not just Adelaide, will be filled with a variety of birdsong once again.
There’s an interesting dynamic occurring - at least in Adelaide. An increasing population means the government is keen on “infill” so that an increasing number of people now live in apartments or new houses on tiny blocks of land. To compensate in small part for the destruction of natural bushland the government here & there has developed small parks some of which have native (often not indigenous) vegetation planted in them. However, these small parks are now over-run by young families seeking the space denied them by the developers of their new houses & Neighbourhoods. With lots of people populating these small parks any wildlife that is easily disturbed by noise & the ferreting of footballs from among the foliage is going to be deterred from using the parks. Biodiversity suffers severely & once again nature is paying the cost of our exuberant compulsion to outmuscle any nonhuman life forms that appear on our collective radar.
Actually that reminds me of something I saw earlier today, at Apex Park, which I meantioned earlier as an important habitat for small birds. Two people were walking their dogs, but the dogs were off leash. They crashed around in the reeds like it was nobody's business. And yet, there are reed warblers trying to breed in there. They have been competing noisily over the last few days, setting out territories and the like. I bet they are going to be discouraged by that. Then, the dogs go on to crash through the bushes around the lake. Birds are trying to nest in there. People really need to get their dogs on leashes in important wildlife habitat.
Antoni, have you contacted the local council about your concerns & with suggestions as to how this wildlife discouragement might be combatted?
Not yet, and to be honest I completely forgot about the council. I'm usually busy, but I'll see if I can find the time to send them a collection of complaints and suggestions.
Antoni, I’m trying to think where Apex Park is. Isn’t that the old Victoria Park racecourse which has had a makeover with council/state government trying to combine wildlife habitat with cycling tracks, football pitches & other human-centric amenities? Unfortunately, I think council/state government forgot to enable the humans using the park to become ecologically literate.
Also, if there are Superb Fairy-wrens there I would think that would be unique for Adelaide in this day & age since that species was driven out of the city & suburbs many years ago. Perhaps the corridor formed by the Torrens linear park has enabled them to travel down close to the CBD. I wonder if suburbs along the linear park have been recolonised by Superb Fairy-wrens. Probably not in view of most Adelaide suburbians having a strong aversion to natural habitats but it would be interesting to know.
https://birdssa.asn.au/location/apex-park/
Use this link. It's near West Beach.
As for the fairy-wrens, I believe they are reintroduced. The park was revegitated with the help of the SA Urban Forest Biodiversity Program. Other species present here but non-existant elsewhere include the Golden Whistler and Grey Fantail (note that the Golden Whistler is not included on the birdlist. It was my own observation). So far, I have not seen any of those three species in the suburbs, but I'll have a look when I can. Not than many of the gardens would be suitible anyway. They haven't spread along Linear Park as that area is not suitible (it's the area where they keep those horses and it's nearly completely cleared with just a line of shurbbery on the side of the path opposite to the river).
Thanks for the information, Antoni. I'll make a visit when I'm down that way again. I note that there's an Apex Park in nearly every Adelaide suburb!
A few years ago there was controversy over the horses agisted next to the River Torrens. It's disappointing that they're still there given the massive natural habitat clearance that's occurred over the Adelaide area.