Birds near the Barossa Reservoir, South Austalia
Australian Magpie, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
On our short holiday on Yorke Peninsula last week we stopped briefly at the Barossa Reservoir for lunch. We had enough time for me to take a few photos of the dam and some of the birds seen in the picnic grounds and on the reservoir. I probably heard far more birds than I saw, and certainly didn’t have time to search out more birds.
The Australian Magpie in the photo above sat in the tree above us and sang to us but we didn’t give it a treat from our lunch as it probably expected. The Rock Dove in the photo below was one of several inhabiting the installation halfway around the dam wall. The last photo shows a large group of Eurasian Coots feeding in the shallows of the reservoir near where we had lunch. For a more comprehensive list of birds seen, go to Trevor’s Birding.
Rock Dove, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
Eurasian Coot, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
The Whispering Wall, Barossa Reservoir, South Australia
Whispering Wall at the Barossa Reservoir in South Australia
On our way to the Yorke Peninsula during our holiday last week we stopped for lunch in the picnic area of the Barossa Reservoir. This dam is between the towns of Williamstown and Gawler in the Barossa Valley wine region. This is a delightful spot to picnic and very popular with tourists and locals alike.
The dam wall was constructed between 1899 and 1902 in the shape of a parabola. After construction it was discovered that the dam had a unique acoustic effect, leading to its common name of “The Whispering Wall.” A visitor can stand at one side of the dam, speak softly towards the wall and can be heard quite clearly across the other side, about 140 metres away.
Barossa Reservoir in South Australia
Whispering Wall at the Barossa Reservoir in South Australia
Barossa Reservoir in South Australia