Nice pose Silver Gull

Silver Gull, Pt Elliot, South Australia

Earlier this week my wife and I celebrated another anniversary. We usually try to do something special on this day and this year we decided to go for an all-day outing. After an early morning phone call from our grandchildren, we set off on a drive via Milang, less than an hour from home. Milang is on the northern shore of Lake Alexandrina here in South Australia. The longest river system in Australia, the Murray River, flows into this lake before heading out to the Southern Ocean.

At Milang we visited the local bakery to buy some Cornish pasties and a lamington for our lunch. We took our lunch down to the lawned area between the lake and the caravan park. While we ate and had a cuppa, we enjoyed watching a few children and dogs playing nearby. The birdlife was not particularly abundant, except for a large, noisy flock of Little Corella parrots in the nearby trees.

Later in the afternoon, we parked on top of a lookout hill above Horseshoe Bay in Pt Elliot. While we were having another cuppa and a few homemade biscuits, a Silver Gull landed on an interpretive sign just in front of our car. It obligingly posed for me while I took some photos. Silver Gulls are the most common species of gull in Australia. They can be found all around the coastline and along most major waterways, near lakes and swamps, even far inland. Even though many people just call them "Sea" gulls, they are frequently encountered far from the sea, but never far from water.

You can read more about Australian birds, and see many more photos of them on my other site Trevor's Birding here.

Silver Gull, Pt Elliot, South Australia

Silver Gull, Pt Elliot, South Australia

Silver Gull, Pt Elliot, South Australia

Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Duck

The Pacific Black Duck is one of the most common ducks in Australia. They are widespread throughout the country in suitable habitat. They can be seen small numbers - from one or two to about a dozen or so - through to loose flocks of many hundreds in one place. They are highly mobile and respond quickly to ideal conditions after heavy rain or flooding in different parts of the country.

For more reading about Australian Birds, check out my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Coot

Australia may be a very dry continent but we do have many wetlands, especially in the wetter parts of the country such as the tropical north, the eastern and southern coast and most of Tasmania. Wherever you get wetlands - creeks, rivers, swamps, lagoons, lakes and estuaries - you will find waterbirds.

One of the most common water birds in Australia is the Eurasian Coot, common in many other parts of the world as well. They can occur where there is suitable habitat: sometimes just a few individuals through to many thousands congregated loosely on a single body of water. They also frequent the shorelines, especially in grassy areas like that shown in the photo above.

For more about Australian Birds, go to my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Black-fronted Dotterel

The tiny Black-fronted Dotterel is found throughout most of Australia where there is suitable habitat. This species prefers shallow freshwater wetlands, swamps, edges of lakes, rivers and lagoons and sometimes brackish waters. They are usually encountered singly, in pairs and occasionally in small groups. They feed in very shallow water and along mudflats.

To read more about Australian birds click here.

Darter

The Darter is also called "Snake-bird" because of its long, snake-like neck. As it swims along the surface of the water you can often only see its neck out of the water, not unlike a snake swimming.

The Darter is a widespread water bird in many parts of Australia where there is suitable habitat. It frequents lakes, rivers, reservoirs, swamps, lagoons and estuaries but rarely the open sea. After swimming individuals can be seen perched on a bank, log or tree branch with wings outstretched drying out the feathers which are not water resistant.

To read more about Australian birds, and to see many more photos of them go to Trevor's Birding blog.

Silver Gulls, Victor Harbor, South Australia

This lovely shot of two Silver Gulls was taken on the beach near Yilki, Encounter Bay, Victor Harbor on the south coast of South Australia.

More photos and articles about about Australian birds here.