Our birding trips: House Sparrow

Marina East 11Feb23

From KH

I went with Danny to Marina East today. Starting at the grassland, it was munia galore.

Chestnut Munia. White-headed Munia

"Can we share?" "Sure!"

Scaly-breasted Munias feeding

Red-wattled Lapwing couple with 3 chicks in a grass patch.

Immature Barn Swallow hawking for insects.

Juvenile Peregrine Falcon on the prowl.

Purple Heron caught a huge Sunda Swamp Eel for breakfast.

At the breakwater, it was plover galore.

Resident Malaysian Plover couple: "Honey, will you join me at the beach?" "Get up here, baby."

And migrant plovers:

White-faced Plover

Kentish Plover

Tibetan Sand-Plover

Smooth Otter caught a White-patch Tuskfish.

Large-billed Crow came to see if there's any scraps to be had.

Then the whole gang of Smooth Otters went to the breakwater and pooed in good company of House Crows.

Brown anole getting more common here.

As we were leaving, this female House Sparrow suddenly appeared and caught us off guard.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow: This patch is mine!

Adelaide 13-16Dec08

My wife and I went on a package tour in Adelaide from 13-16 Dec. As this was not a birding trip, we only saw 54 birds species, 10 mammal species and 1 reptile species.

Day 1

The first day was spent in the Barossa region and the City Centre. As expected mainly the common urban and garden birds were encountered. However, our coach did pass by some wetlands and there were spoonbills, ibises and ducks in them. The greatest surprise of the day was two wild Koalas on the Eucalyptus trees by the roadside.

Day 2

On Day 2, we went to Mt Lofty Summit and a small wallaby hopped right past me! Other than that Day 2 was mainly spent in the Victor Harbour-Granite Island region. Bottlenose Dolphins could be seen off the shore of the island.

There was also a seal or sealion hanging around. The only reptile I encountered in this whole trip was a Shingleback (aka Stump-tailed Skink).

Bird-wise, it was a pleasant surprise to encounter birds on the Singapore checklist:
- 1 Caspian Tern, which flew right above me
- Several Crested Terns, also known as Great Crested Tern
- 1 Common Sandpiper, which is not common in Australia!

Caspian Tern

Common Sandpiper

The not-so-common endemics seen here were 1 Sooty Oystercatcher and 1 Pacific Gull.

Sooty Oystercatcher

Pacific Gull

Although quite common, it is still well worth mentioning the Australian Kestrel on the island. It is always pleasant to see a raptor! This bird was going on with its business, hunting and staying almost stationary in the wind. At a point in time, it was gliding right above me!

Australian Kestrel

As night fell, we were fortunate to see an elusive Water Rat, thanks to the sharp eyes of the island tour guide. The Stripe-tailed Possums started to stir as well. The highlight here, however, was the Little Penguins, which returned to the rookery on Granite Island during dusk. As we were not allowed to use flash photography, this is the best I can manage with the torchlight of the guide.

Little Penguin

Day 3

Day 3 was on Kangaroo Island. On the ferry to the island I was keeping a look out for seabirds, but only a single Flesh-footed Shearwater showed up.

Flesh-footed Shearwater

The highlights of Kangaroo Island were the mammals of course. There were colonies of New Zealand Fur Seals and Australian Sealions on different parts of the coast. Crested Terns were abundant and they seemed to co-exist well with the marine mammals.

New Zealand Fur Seals

Australian Sealion

Further inland, there were Kangaroo Island Kangaroos and Tammar Wallabies foraging in the bush.

Kangaroo Island Kangaroos

Tammar Wallaby

The best mammal for me, however, was a single Short-beaked Echidna crossing the road. Fortunately, our sharp-eyed driver-cum-guide spotted it before it could become roadkill.

Short-beaked Echidna

Day 4

Day 4 was morning shopping, and afternoon walk in the Botanic Garden. The only mammal today was a rat running for cover. The birds here were friendly, especially the Australian Woodducks. Even the chicks were parading out in the open!