A beautiful day
Sunday 19th March
Beautiful Morning
This morning the sun arose to a beautiful day. Bright sunshine, clear blue sky, gentle cooling breeze and the nearby sea of Encounter Bay, Victor Harbor a brilliant deep blue punctuated by stunning white waves breaking on rocks out in the bay. Perfect. After lunch we sat in front of the caravan and just watched the sea. How relaxing.
More Bird Sightings
Around the caravan park I observed about 30 different species without really trying. There were quite a few Little Ravens around, mostly flying overhead. Spotted Turtledoves and Feral Pigeons are also resident birds, as are Striated Pardalotes. I only saw a few Crested Pigeons nearby.
Parrots
Galahs were in evidence throughout the park and nearby gardens. In the tree in front of our caravan we watched two juvenile Galahs begging for food from their harried parents. They seemed old enough to fend for themselves; it must be easier to sponge off parents. In previous visits I have seen hundreds of Little Corellas; this year I only saw about three individuals. Adelaide Rosellas are also common in the area but I only heard two flying past the van. I have seen Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos in this area in the past but not this time.
Birds of Prey
The only bird of prey I observed was a Black Shouldered Kite. I saw one several times over the weekend, presumably the same individual. The first time I saw it traversing the banks of the Inman River, occassionally swooping down to catch its prey in the grass of the bank. Later I saw it hovering over the sedge grass on the sand banks along the beach front.
Mammal Sighting
While standing on the beach taking photos of the yachts at anchor and of Granite Island we were suddenly aware of several dolphins in the bay between us and the island, some two hundred metres from the beach. They were too far to positively identify or photograph them but they were probably common Bottle-Nosed Dolphins