Aidan Curtis
MEMBERS of Bird Life South East SA caught up over the weekend for a morning of social birding at Millicent’s Lake McIntyre.
Sunday’s early fog did little to deter the group, with over a dozen bird watchers whipping out the binoculars to see what species were about.
Bird Life SE SA convener Bob Green said the group spotted over 50 different species, which was well above the average number they normally found in the area.
“They were saying the average number of species here is around 44, so 55 species is exceptional,” Mr Green said.
“If you get 50-plus species at any outing in a morning, it’s a good day – and there were some pretty good birds in there, too.”
Mr Green said one of the highlights of the day was being able to spot birds that were usually pretty secretive, like a pair of Australian spotted crakes and a couple of snipes.
“The snipe, I think this year in the monitoring they were saying they’ve only seen the one here, so to see two was really good,” he said.
“And spotted crakes, they’re always around, but they’re usually pretty secretive and when you get an opportunity where they come out in the open a bit, it’s pretty special.
“They’re a cool bird to watch and most people don’t get a chance to view them very much – this wetland habitat is pretty thick and unless you get those edges where they come out and feed on the mud, you don’t normally see them.”
Aside from the excitement of spotting different species, Mr Green said it was just good to be out and about with a friendly group with shared interests.
“I just enjoy the social atmosphere and there are so many people with varied interests learning different things off different people on any given day,” he said.
“As we’re a fairly social group and don’t mind a bit of a chat along the way, it’s good.
“It’s a great opportunity to catch up and do what we all enjoy doing, which is being out in the bush and seeing what’s around.”
Bird Life Australia board member and avid bird watcher Hugh Possingham came down from Brisbane for a few weeks of bird watching in the South East and joined the group on the day.
He said it was great to see the local chapter of Bird Life going so strong.
“It’s good to meet other people and bird watchers in the region, the Bird Life club here is pretty active and they’ve been a strong club for a long period of time,” he said.
“I live in Brisbane, I come down here three or four times a year for a couple of weeks and do a lot of bird watching on my own, often walking six, seven, 10 hours counting stuff.
“If I didn’t get out bird watching at least once a week, I’d go stark raving crazy – it’s an important part of what makes me happy.”
