Picnic at Swanport Reserve

Picnic
Today we spent a very relaxing day at a Church picnic. It was originally scheduled for Australia Day in January, but that was cancelled due to very hot weather. Last night the steady rain threatened to spoil our picnic yet again. This morning the sky was clear with not a cloud to be seen with a gentle breeze. Some clouds did appear around lunch time, but generally it was a great day.

Fishing and Canoeing
A good number of people attended the gathering on the lawns at Swanport Reserve. This reserve, a few kilometres south of Murray Bridge, is on the banks of the Murray River. The extensive lawned area has a scattering of large, shady trees throughout. A sandy beach lines the eastern edge of the reserve, perfect for casting a line or two. Optimistic anglers grace this small strip of beach from time to time. Friend Keith took the trouble to bring his canoe; various ones took turns canoeing the stretch of river near the reserve. I must take our canoe down there sometime as it’s been years since we’ve enjoyed the pleasures of sliding quietly through the water.

Birding

I usually am keen to visit this reserve as the birding can be very good with an interesting range of birds to be seen. The birding was rather slow today so my list was shorter than usual. A flock of some 60 to 100 Galahs kept a constant chorus of squawking, disturbing the peacefulness of the picnic. Their wheeling from tree to tree painted pink swirls against a bright blue sky in contrast with Jeff’s rainbow coloured kite fluttering in the breeze.