May 2, 2005

Early on Monday, Vicky and I took the kids to Cleland Wildlife Park. It was FANTASTIC! We saw loads of great animals, and were able to hold a Koala, although in this entry I’ve journaled almost exclusively wild birds and animals that we saw in the park. New species for me included White-throated Treecreeper.

May 1, 2005
Afternoon

On Kevin’s last day in Australia, we visited a local recreation area, Belair National Park. It’s a lovely park with all sorts of things to do and different habitats. We spent most of our time at the children’s play area (which Eclipse loved), but Mark, Vicky, Arran and I also went for a nice walk along one of the trails into the heart of the park. We saw loads of birds and several Koala. New species included Common Brown butterfly and Red-browed Finch.

May 1, 2005
8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

Birds seen on a morning walk in Mark and Vicky’s neighborhood. One new species today: Yellow-faced Honeyeater.

April 30, 2005
Warm and dry (90° F)

On the way home from Renmark, we stopped to visit a Ramsar wetland complex called Banrock Station. I’d been looking forward to this hike throughout our the whole trip. It’s a beautiful location, but the weather was a bit too warm for my comfort during our long walk around the lake nearest to the café.

April 27 through 30, 2005

This morning marked the half-way point of our trip, which meant it was time to head west, back toward the Liba Liba base. Although we wouldn’t be going further upriver, we still had plenty of time left on the boat, and I knew we’d still have plenty of great things to see and do on the way back. Going back seemed to go more quickly (maybe it did, maybe it was just my imagination), but we did do some different things. We stopped at places we hadn’t visited before to go walking and looking for birds. And, of course, it just felt good to be on the boat, on the river, rolling along without a care in the world. Unsurprisingly, we mostly saw the same species that we’d seen on the way east, but there were a few surprises.

April 26, 2005

Today was the mid-point of our trip, and in the morning, we had to make a decision: should we keep going upriver and see new things? Or would we be better off turning back now, and then maybe going a ways past the Liba Liba base in the other direction? The area on the other side of the base was more developed – farmland, rather than wilderness, so we might see different birds . . . but definitely less chance of Emus, which were still at the top of my “to see” list. My companions left the choice up to me, and I decided that we should continue east for the rest of the day in favor of more wilderness. (Spoiler alert: this turned out to be a very good decision). 

April 26 and 27, 2005

In the early afternoon today, as we floated along, I spied through the trees a lake, separated from the river by just a narrow strip of land. Thinking that a lake might attract a somewhat different community of birds. So, we pulled the boat up to the river’s edge to get out and take a look. To be honest, I don’t know if it was even a public space; there was no signage or nature trails. After returning home, however, I was able to find it on a map and determine that it’s called Scottie’s Billabong.

April 25, 2005

Our third day on the river, we were still heading east. We spent the entire day floating through the Chowilla Game Reserve, mostly in South Australia, but toward the end of the day, we reached a point where the river was split right down the middle between Victoria (to the south) and South Australia (strangely, to the north). 

First thing in the morning, I saw a flock of Domestic Sheep who ran in the other direction when they saw me. Superb Fairy-wren were bopping around in the bushes, while Hooded Robin and Mallee Ringneck were up higher in the trees. Australasian Darter and Red-rumped Parrot were frequently seen along the river, and Welcome Swallow continued to swoop over the river alongside the boat.

April 24, 2005

I woke before dawn, as had become my habit in Australia, and went out for a solo walk right as the sun was coming up. Not only is this a great time to see birds, but I loved feeling like I was the only person awake for miles and miles. (And on this trip, I might have been the only person awake for miles and miles). This morning, my first bird of the day was an Australian Pelican swimming right near the boat, and during my walk I saw Yellow Rosella, Red-rumped Parrot, and Gray Fantail. Superb Fairy-wren and Striated Pardalote were foraging in bushes, and I heard a Laughing Kookaburra. I also enjoyed watching Black-faced Cuckooshrike playing and calling to one another very near the boat.

April 23, 2005

One of the highlights of our trip to Australia was a week spent on a houseboat on the Murray River. We started at the Liba Liba base in Renmark, South Australia, and headed east, which took us through a bit of New South Wales and Victoria, too. It was a WONDERFUL week, with nothing to do all day but relax on the boat and look at birds. I took a few photos, too (somewhere in the vicinity of 3,000).

April 22, 2005
Afternoon

Today was relatively quiet, but we did go for a short afternoon walk in the botanical garden near Vicky’s house. Not as grand as the garden in Sydney, but nice. Before our walk, we had lunch at Vicky and Mark’s church, where we did make one new friend – an enormous Cinnamon Huntsman that was clinging high up on the wall, right out in the open.

April 21, 2005

Our second day of the tour took us to more wildlife-friendly places. (YAY)! I did start the day, however, with a morning walk along the beach, like I’d done the previous day.

April 19, 2005
Morning

Before leaving for our trip to Kangaroo Island, I had a couple of free hours, so I spent the morning walking around Mark and Vicky’s neighborhood. I saw a nice variety of birds, including Grey Currawong, White-plumed Honeyeater, White-naped Honeyeater, and Crested Pigeon.

April 15, 2005
Early morning

Our primary destination for today was Rottnest Island, but before we got on the train to where we’d catch a ferry, we had breakfast with Helen and Daniel at Kings Park. Of course, I spent a few minutes wandering around outside looking for birds.