South Australia

• Birds Australia Gluepot Reserve

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  Birds Australia's Gluepot Reserve covers 50,000 ha large area of virgin mallee scrub and contains no less than 6 nationally endangered bird species and a unique flora and fauna adapted to the harsh conditions. Gluepot's easy accessibility means it is one of the few areas in Australia where birdwatchers can relatively easily observe otherwise hard-to-find species. Some of the nationally significant species breeding on the Reserve are Malleefowl and Red-lored Whistler. Regent Parrot breeds along the Murray River and occupies the reserve when not breeding, and there are regular sightings of Scarlet-chested Parrot. The area contains by far the largest remaining population of the endangered Black-eared Miner, one of Australia's rarest birds. Much of the field research and monitoring required in the species' Recovery Plan is centered on the Reserve. Black-eared Miners were once considered common within their mallee habitat. By the early 1990s, there were few records in Victoria and NSW, and in SA the species was considered nearly extinct. However, following sightings of hybrid miners in the Bookmark - Gluepot area, surveys conducted in 1996 resulted in over 80 sightings of miners. Over 200 colonies are now known from this area. Although many contain hybrids, over a third of colonies contain mainly phenotypically pure Black- eared Miners. The Black-eared Miner resembles its close relative the Yellow-throated Miner. [A comprehensive Identification Sheet has been developed by Rohan Clarke and the Black-eared Miner Recovery Team]. Gluepot Reserve is accessible as follows: take the Sturt Highway to Waikerie (2 hrs from Adelaide). Follow the information on the map. It's about 50 km or 1.5 hrs drive north of Waikerie on well-maintained dirt roads, suitable to conventional vehicles. For more detailed information see the Gluepot Reserve website

• Saltpans and other wetlands around Adelaide

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  In the direct vicinity of Adelaide are some interesting wetlands. The Penrice Saltfields are excellent for migratory waders, between October - April. Rarities often turn up here. Access is limited and is easiest through regular Birds SA outings, or get in touch with Adelaide birders who have a key through the national bird email newsgroup Birding-Aus. Nearby, the newly developed Greenfields Wetlands often have a surprise waiting for the persistent birder in the form of Australasian Bittern, Baillon's Crake, Long-toed Stint, Pectoral Sandpiper, Australian Pratincole and many others. Tolderol Game Reserve, on the shores of Lake Alexandrina, is an excellent little reserve containing a number of ponds with different water levels and vegetation cover. The ponds have resident populations of terns, ducks, crakes, rails, and the occasional Bittern, while migratory waders can be observed at close quarters and the odd vagrant turns up every so often.

• The outback from the Flinders Ranges northwards

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  The two species endemic to SA occur here. At a number of sites (for example Willow Springs, 15 km N of Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges) Short-tailed Grasswren can be found, a recent split from the Striated Grasswren. A bit further north, the southern stretch of the Strzelecki Track is where Banded Whiteface, Letter-winged Kite, Gibber Chat and Cinnamon Quail-thrush are regularly found. In the Lyndhurst-Marree area there are reliable sites for Chestnut-breasted Whiteface and Thick-billed Grasswren. Along the Birdsville Track from Marree to Birdsville and West to Kooncherie Waterhole and Pandie Burra bore, bird for Eyrean- and Grey Grasswren, Gibber-, Orange- and Yellow Chat, Flock Bronzewing, Grey Falcon, Letter-winged Kite, and Cinnamon Quail-thrush. When vast Lake Eyre irregularly fills, only a few times per century, it becomes an oasis in the desert with enormous numbers of breeding Banded Stilts and Australian Pelicans. From SA, access to Lake Eyre is through Marree. For the remote outback areas, where conditions can become unbearable for the ill-prepared birdwatcher, up-to-date information on both where to find key species as well as on the condition of tracks is of vital importance.

• Tony Russell

  | twitcher@senet.com.au

• Peter Waanders

  Birding South Australia | waanders.peter@gmail.com

  https://www.bellbirdtours.com/about-us/

• Number of bird species: 477

  State Bird - Australian Magpie nowadays known as the Piping Shrike Gymnorhina tibicen (telonocua)

• Mallee Bird Calls: South-Eastern Australia

  | By David Stewart | Nature Sound | 2004 | Audio CD | Runtime 74 mins | #173979 | ISBN: Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Regional Field Guide to Birds: South-East Coast and Ranges

  | By Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight | Harper Collins Australia | 2013 | paperback | 144 pages, colour photos, colour illustrations | ISBN: 9780732295356 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds South Australia

  Website
  Birds SA is a not-for-profit organisation for birds and birdwatchers in SA. Join us to support our endeavours, and to get into birdwatching!

Abbreviations Key

• *Abbreviations

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  Refer to the main Australia page, reserves section for abbreviations used

• BG Wittunga

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  Wittunga is home to a huge variety of bird and animal life that are attracted to the Gardens’ flora. Here's where you might find them. As you enter Wittunga Botanic Garden, you’ll instantly notice the calls of the amazing birds that call Wittunga home. Spend time spotting native birds, which are attracted by the sweet nectar and fruit produced by native Australian plants found in the Bird Garden. Eastern spinebills, New Holland honeyeaters and wattlebirds can be seen collecting nectar. In doing so they pollinate Australian Banksias, Hakeas and Grevilleas, as well as some South African Proteas...

• NP Winaityinaityi Pangkara (Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary)

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  The Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary has been created to help protect resident and migratory shorebirds that gather along the coast of Gulf St Vincent in the north-west of Adelaide and covers a 60 kilometre stretch of coast, from the Barker Inlet to the township of Port Parham. See also their Facebook Page

• NR Warrawong Sanctuary

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  Warrawong Earth Sanctuary offers a true Australian Wildlife Experience in the Adelaide Hills, only 25 minutes from the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. Watch the bush come alive on a tour with our experienced guides - there's no better way to see rare and endangered Australian animals in the wild…

• WR Gluepot

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  Welcome to Gluepot! Welcome to Gluepot Reserve, Birds Australia's first publicly funded Reserve. Located in the semi-arid South Australian mallee it is considered by many to be one of the crown jewels in the nation's reserve system. This 50,000 ha large area of virgin mallee scrub contains no less than 6 nationally endangered bird species and a unique flora and fauna adapted to the harsh conditions. Purchased in 1997, Gluepot is rapidly becoming a centre for scientific research. Its accessibility means it is one of the few areas in Australia where birdwatchers can relatively easily observe otherwise hard-to-find species.

• WR Hart Lagoon (Waikerie)

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  While being a haven for waterfowl and other birdlife, from an ecological perspective Hart Lagoon near Waikerie in the South Australian Riverland has long been a rather degraded, permanently inundated River Murray wetland. During 1996-99, the Riverland West Local Action Planning Association received three Natural Heritage Trust grants to rehabilitate the natural environment of this important wetland/floodplain area…

• WS Hanson Bay

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  The Hanson Bay Sanctuary is the best place on Kangaroo Island to see a sustainable population of Koalas in the wild.

• WS Yookamurra

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  Threatened fauna species include malleefowl, emu, southern hairy-nosed wombat, western grey kangaroo, red kangaroo, numbat, greater bilby, boodie, woylie and short-beaked echidna...

• WSS Arkaroola

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  The region abounds with towering granite peaks; razorback quartzite ridges, slashed by precipitous gorges; creeks with cool, deep waterholes framed by stately Australian gum trees that are centuries old; more than 160 species of colourful native birds; the rare Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby and other Australian marsupials…

• Australian Ornithological Services

  Tour Operator
  Philip Maher was born in Deniliquin, in south-western New South Wales in 1954. His interest in natural history was fostered by his parents from a young age. While Philip is an authority on Australian birds generally, his name is synonymous with the Plains-wanderer, a bird of the open plains in inland Australia. In 1980 Philip was with a party of local birders when they came across the Plains-wanderer. He went on to study the species extensively, banding about 600 birds and has shown the species to great numbers of Australian, American and European birders…

• Bellbird Tours

  Website
  Bird guiding services in South Australia and beyond. With twelve years local experience and flexible options to suit your needs. Southern Australia is home to almost 500 species of birds. Habitats range from the dry red interior to lush, green eucalypt forests, and also include riverine wetlands and floodplains; mangroves and estuaries; the Murray River; vast expanses of the semi-arid mallee scrubland; and outback deserts with spectacular mountain ranges…

• Bird Tours SA

  Tour Operator
  Born and raised in South Australia, Steve always had a passion for the outdoors and took a keen interest in its wildlife. His first introduction to birding however, was during a three year stint as a teenager, while his parents worked in Malawi, Central Africa. ?He started guiding with small groups around the Zomba Plateau, and then expanded to the soon-to-be-opened Liwonde National Park. Since his return he has travelled extensively around Australia adding over 570 species from the mainland

• Jolly Goodfellows Birding

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  See endemic Mallee birds in their natural habitat, including some rare and endangered species. Come on one of our waterbird safaris where you'll see a huge range of waterfowl and many species of waders, some from their winter habitats in the Northern Hemisphere

Click on WAND to see Fatbirder’s Trip Report Repository…

• 2012 [10 October] - Dominic Couzens - Gluepot

  Report
  …Within a couple of hours we had located a dishy species known as a Chestnut Quailthrush, a singing Red-lored Whistler and even a fly-over Scarlet-chested Parrot. Also, by making an excursion into the spinifex grass – which grows in thick clumps and could be fairly described as razor-sharp straw (my trainers bore the brunt) – we managed to unearth a pair of Striated Grasswrens….

• 2017 [03 March] - Geoff Upton

  PDF Report
  ...We didn’t travel far today, although travelling in Kangaroo Island is slower than you’d think (it’s a much bigger island thanI’d appreciated, with little habitation, so the maps are deceptive). We tried Dudley Conservation Park first, but although we could hear interesting - sounding birds singing I only saw grey currawongs and a white-browed scrubwren. At Emu Bay on the north coast there was a Rosenberg’s goanna at the toilet block. Back at PelicanCottage in the afternoon a white-eared honeyeater and a purple-gaped honeyeater joined the other species at the birdbaths...

• 2017 [09 September] - Ian Reid & Paul Coddington - Birdsville Track

  PDF Report
  In the end we still had an excellent trip in which I picked up a number of SA ticks and even a few lifers (Short-tailed Grasswren and Crimson Chat in the Flinders, Blue-breasted Fairywren in Lake Gilles), and we dubbed the trip the “Two Grasswren Tour” forour success in locating both the Short-tailed and also Western at both Whyalla Conservation Park and on the Iron Knob road. But I had still to taste what arguably is thetrue outback, off the bitumen, into the desert, where life is on the edge and variousvery special birds live.

Click on WAND to see Fatbirder’s Trip Report Repository…

• Blue Wren Lodge

  Accommodation
  The Blue Wren Lodge is located on 20 acres of native gardens adjacent to a Wildlife Sanctuary at Mylor in the Adelaide Hills

• Kangaroo Island

  Accommodation
  We are pleased to offer an extensive range of accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets. The range includes hotel, motel, farm stay, quality bed & breakfast, self contained houses, backpacker hostels, caravan parks and camping grounds with a range of facilities and standards, you are advised to contact the establishment operator to ensure that facilities meet your requirements

• Kay Parkin Birding

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  I have a passion for conservation and am obsessed with birding. I gained my Bachelor of Conservation in 1995. I have worked for National Parks, The Investigator Science Centre, Adelaide Zoo and Uni SA's Environmental Science Dept. My passion is interpreting Conservation in order for people to understand and want to protect the environment.

• Trevor Hampel - Trevor’s Birding

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  In this blog I will be writing about birds I see or photograph in my garden or in the Murray Bridge district of South Australia (80km SE of Adelaide). I will also write about the birds I see and photograph as I travel around Australia on holidays