Birds of Encounter Bay, Victor Harbor
Silver Gulls, Victor Harbor
The Victor Harbor area is an excellent place to observe birds.
The beaches and islands and rocky outcrops along the coast afford good views of many species.
The river corridors leading through the town have a completely different set of birds while the hinterland areas of farming, scrublands and open woodlands reveal yet a different set of species.
Here I have featured photos of just three common species.
For more information about birds, and the birds of Victor Harbor in particular, go to my Birding Blog here. The posts include photos of many more species.
Further reading:
Sooty Oystercatcher, Victor Harbor
Australian Magpies, Victor Harbor
Birds of Mallacoota, Victoria
Bird life, Mallacoota, Victoria
On our walk around Mallacoota we followed the edge of the estuary. In the inlet and on sand bars and small islands we could see many water birds. I was kept busy taking photos, checking them out through my binoculars and jotting down the species’ names in my notebook. During our stay of about 18 hours I made quite a healthy list, mostly water birds. A stay of a week or more would undoubtedly add considerably to this list.
In the photo above I have captured Australian Pelicans, Yellow-billed Spoonbills, cormorants (not sure but probably Little Black) and Silver Gulls.
Black Swans, Mallacoota, Victoria
The photos above and below show the numerous Black Swans feeding in the shallows of the estuary.
Black Swans, Mallacoota, Victoria
Birds at the Sydney Fish Markets
Silver Gull, Sydney Fish Markets
Australians a quite used to having Silver Gulls watching them as they eat picnic lunches, especially if any seafood is on the menu. While we were eating our lunch in the picnic area on the wharf at the Sydney Fish Markets, several Silver Gulls kept a close eye on our food, especially the individual shown in the photo above.
He went hungry.
At least we didn’t feed him anything. Others in the vast crowd may have been more compassionate and shared their lunch.
A very bold White Ibis patrolled the footpath between the rows of tables where hundreds of people were eating. This species has become a pest in many picnic areas. They are not afraid of people and frequently hop on to picnic tables and grab food off your plate. Cheeky blighters.
Some people might think this behaviour as cute, or amusing. For a little child it can be very intimidating and downright frightening.
More docile were several hopeful Australian Pelicans cruising near the wharf.
Silver Gull, Sydney Fish Markets