YELLOW-RUMPED THORNBILL The Yellow-rumped Thornbill is a small insect eating bird which ocassionally eats seeds. It associates in small flocks, often flying from small shrubs down onto the Field River and Glenthorne Farm ground to forage for food. When disturbed, these birds alight back into the shrubs, revealing their bright yellow rumps. Seen in the open fields along the Field River, these birds will adapt to living close to suburbs provided adequate open space is Bird List preserved for them. They live in woodlands but can happily survive around mown The local open space of the southern suburbs is an important corridor linking the Mount Lofty Ranges to the sea. fields if sufficient native habitat remains. They have been seen in reasonable The variety of landscapes within this area provides ideal habitat for the varying needs of many different birds numbers near Hugh Johnson Reserve, Sheidow Park and along the Southern and because of this the opportunity exists to see many Australian birds close to our suburban homes. Expressway near Trott Park. We hope that when you are out walking, this bird list may assist you to identify some of the birds you see. YELLOW-TAILED BLACK COCKATOO Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos are frequent visitors to the southern suburbs, looking for pine nuts in local trees after the breeding season has been completed elsewhere. These birds congregate in large flocks and are seen at certain times of the year in Reynella, in Sheidow Park and in 2007 about 200 appeared at Glenthorne Farm one Sunday morning as the Friends of Glenthorne were working. These birds are lovers of hakea and banksia seeds and are known to severely prune these trees when searching for seeds. When not available, pine nuts are eaten. Recent counts of these birds in the Fleureu Peninsular indicated that around 2,000 of these birds live in this area and they are distinctive with their large wingspan AUSTRALIAN SHOVELER and primative call. Also called the Blue Winged Shoveler, the Australian Shoveler is a rare visitor to the large dam of Glenthorne Farm. It has never been considered a very common bird and is identified by its large spatulate bill, blue-grey head with a vertical white cheek crescent COMMON BRONZEWING on the face. The male Australian Shoveler is the the only native duck to The Common Bronzewing is a plump, medium-sized pigeon Bird List have orange legs and this duck is one of only three ducks banned from with distinctive metallic bronze wing patches. It is a timid bird Australasian Grebe European Goldfinch (introduced) Pink-eared Duck duck shooters during the duck hunting season. and often seen fleeing walkers in local parks and has a deep, Australian Hobby Eurasian Coot Purple Swamphen resonant “whoom” call. It is becoming quite common in the Australian Magpie Galah Rainbow Lorrikeet BARN OWL O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park. It is known to eat saltbush Australian Pelican Golden Whistler Red-capped Plover The Barn Owl has been fruits and the seeds of local acacia species such as Acacia Australian White Ibis Great cormorant Red-rumped Parrot seen roosting in the trees pycnantha or the Golden Wattle. When driving on bush tracks Australian Shoveller Grey Currawong Red Wattlebird around the large dam of this bird is often slow to take off from the approaching vehicle. Australian Wood Duck Grey Fantail Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon) (introduced) Glenthorne Farm and Barn Owl Grey Shrike-thrush Skylark (introduced) has been seen around CRIMSON ROSELLA Blacktailed Native Hen Grey Teal Silvereye the local area including (Adelaide Rosella sub species) Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike Hardhead Singing Honeyeater the Worthing Mine site The Crimson Rosella is a common Black-faced Woodswallow House Sparrow (introduced) Spotted Turtle Dove (introduced) at Hallett Cove and in bird throughout south-eastern Black-fronted Dotterel Indian Ringneck (introduced) Stirated Pardalote backyards in Trott Park. Australian and there are half a Black-shouldered Kite Laughing Kookaburra Stubble Quail It is a pale, medium dozen sub species, ranging in colour Black Swan Brown Falcon Sulphur Crested Cockatoo sized owl and is very from bright red crimson to shades Brown Goshawk Little Corella Superd Fairy-wren widespread. of orange. Juvenile birds have Collared Sparrowhawk Little Pied Cormorant Southern Boobook predominantly green backs.Found Common Blackbird (introduced) Little Raven Tawny Frogmouth commonly throughout Adelaide and Common Bronzewing Long-billed Corella Tree Martin the Mount Lofty Ranges, including Chestnut Teal Mallard (introduced) Weebill the southern Clamorous Reed-Warbler Magpie Lark Welcome Swallow suburbs, this beautiful rosella Common Starling (introduced) Masked Lapwing Wedge-tailed Eagle can often be seen eating flowers Crested Pigeon Mistletoebird White Faced Heron and nuts in gum trees or seeding Crimson Rosella (Adelaide sub species) Musk Lorikeet White Plumed Honeyeater grasses on the ground. Identified Darter Nankeen Kestrel Willie Wagtail by the blue cheeks, wing shoulders Dusky Moorhen New Holland Honeyeater Yellow-rumped Thornbill and tail and varying amounts of rich Dusky Woodswallow Noisy Miner Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo crimson, the Adelaide sub species Eastern Rosella Pacific Black Duck has shades of orange around the European Greenfinch (introduced) Peregrine Falcon head and body. Acknowledgements: EASTERN ROSELLA Prepared by Alan Burns, Secretary/Treasurer for Friends of Glenthorne inc and Birds SA member. This rosella is readily identified as the ‘Rosella sauce” bird, www.friendsofglenthorne.org.au BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE easily identified by the white cheek patches and red head The Black-shouldered Kite is often seen hovering above the open fields and chest. Its stomach is yellow and its wing shoulders are along the Lonsdale Highway hunting for small rodents. It can also be seen blue. Often seen in streets and parks around suburbia, this sitting in dead trees enjoying the morning and afternoon sun. It is a bird is thought to have either migrated from the south-east of beautiful raptor, easily identified by its white head and body with black the State or originated from escaped aviary birds. Often seen eye-brows and grey back and wings with black shoulder patches. In recent foraging for seeds on the ground, this bird has adapted well to years it has nested in the paddock trees of Glenthorne Farm. the spread of housing. LAUGHING SUPERB FAIRY-WREN KOOKABURRA The Superb Fairy-wren is one of the The Laughing Kookaburra is Australia’s most popular of Australian birds. largest kingfisher and has now become These birds have been seen from established again at Glenthorne Farm Hallett Cove to the Field River, to and has been seen regularly in the O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park. Sheidow Park and the O’Halloran Hill Recently a pair was seen for the first Recreation Park. Thought to have time on Glenthorne Farm, amongst bred at the farm in recent years, this dense olives near farm buildings. species is yet to be seen at Hallett These delightful birds are small Cove. In September 2013 a Kookaburra insect eaters and require dense was seen flying over Glenthorne Farm vegetation in order to gain with either a young snake or a legless protection from hawks and kestrels lizard in its beak, indicating that the PINK-EARED DUCK and if we are to see more of these birds at Glenthorne we need to plant more low local open space is providing a variety The Pink-eared Duck is a regular visitor to the large dense shrubs for protection and as a source of insects. They are often heard before of natural food sources for these popular dam on Glenthorne Farm and is a very striking duck they are seen and their call is a high pitched chattering sound. The female, called a birds. when seen in the light either up close or with Jenny, is light brown with a red beak and the male is usually flamboyant black and binoculars. It is also called the Zebra Duck because GOLDEN WHISTLER blue with a dark bill. As they are poor flyers, look for these birds in our parks on the MISTLETOEBIRD of its stripes and has a small patch of pink on the side ground or in low bushes. The brilliant Golden Whistler male has been seen in the The Mistletoebird is an elusive bird of its head behind its dark eye patch. This duck had O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park and in backyards of Hallett Cove. which spends most of its time high up been seen a number of times at Glenthorne Farm and SOUTHERN At Glenthorne Farm the drabber female has been identified and in tree canopys. It feeds on the fruits is an uncommon duck although is ocassionally seen BOOBOOK its colouration is nothing like the flamboyant male plumage. The of the various parasitic Mistletoe plant in large number at places like the Coorong. Southern Boobooks are small hen is brownish-grey with chocolate brown and grey wing feathers. species and also insects. This bird owls which are This bird can be seen searching the bark of tree branches for spreads the Mistletoe plant by eating common across Australia. A Boo- grubs and insects. The Golden Whistler sings with a rich, the fruits and then depositing the seeds book was been seen high up in a melodious song often with a whipcracking ending “wi-wi-wi-whit!” onto the branches of host trees. These large pine tree at Glenthorne Farm seeds take root on the host tree and and these birds are night hunters, grow, thereby increasing the birds food like most owls. In the night they GREY FANTAIL source. This bird has been seen in are low flyers, which puts them at The Grey Fantail has been Sheidow Park and Mistletoe plants can risk from traffic when flying across seen locally from be seen in trees in Happy Valley and also roads and it is not uncommon to see these birds dead on roadsides of main Warriparinga (Laffers south of the large dam on arterial roads such as Main South Road.