Invasion of South Australia 03

Days 06-08

Whyalla Conservation Park, Lake Gillies, Venus Bay, Middleback Road

After a second night of leaving money behind at the Lyndhurst Hotel, Motel, Caravan and Camping Park, we headed south through Port Augusta to the Whyalla Conservation Park and quickly found both Slender-billed Thornbill and Western Grasswren. The GW was "baled up" for a short time in a large, prickly acacia and gave excellent views but "reduced" photo opportunities.

Western Grasswren Amytornis textilis

From there we headed west to Lake Gilles near Kimba. The next morning we saw lots. Blue-breasted, Variegated and Splendid Fairy-wrens can be an identification challenge. To say the least. When the males are in eclipse plumage, these are best differentiated on the female plumage. There were several detailed conversations as to the ID of specific birds seen. The knowledge of Phil, Dan, Tim and Owen supplemented by Alison, Pete, David, Angus Brad and Matt was amazing to observe and was equivalent to having a portable new Australian Bird Guide by your elbow. Better actually, as the first four were a walking Shazam for Australian birds. I have no images of FWs, Light too dark; Birds too fast. Western Yellow Robin was another lifer bird for me. But no Copper-backed Quail-thrush.

Splendid Fairy-wren, female Malurus splendens

Western Yellow Robin Eopsaltria griseogularis

Restless Flycatcher Myiagra inquieta

After lunch, the group split as nine of us went further west for 200km to see Chuckles and the others went east to get home a tad early or look in other locations. Chuckles is much better dressed than on my previous visit. He is currently being "managed" by site 55 who gather fish off cuts from the cleaning benches and feed him, on the wing, when birders come. He is very well trained.

Laughing Gull, Chuckles Leucophaeus atricilla

There were plenty of other birds at Venus Bay including this South Australian form of the Pacific Gull, photographed on a caravan roof. It has a white eye and sharp lores.

Pacific Gull Larus pacificus georgii

After being hit by a Tawny Frogmouth on the way east, we camped somewhere in Middleback Range and then made our way first thing to search for the Copper-backed Quail-Thrush. Owen and David had seen a flock the previous day and gave us a GPS reference plus additional information including the fact that it was on a slight curve and they had left a rock on the top of posts on each side of the road and a V-can as well. As we approached the curve we saw the posts with rocks and slowed down further except Phil suddenly yells, "Bird. Bird. Copper-backed QT. There. By the post. Stop. Stop!!". And there they were. Exactly to the centimetre where the others said they would be. Amazing. A short chase into the bush found a family of 8 or so who soon settled down and let us have a really good look and take many photographs. Woo-hoo. My camera battery went flat. Boo-hoo.

Copper-backed Quail-thrush Cinclosoma clarum

Going South -- 05 -- Chuckles

In mid-July 2016, Bruce Robertson, a Pacific Gull tragic who has been banding PG chicks for more than 25 years, visited/stayed in the caravan park at Venus Bay in South Australia [not Victoria]. He reported a Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla and the twitching fraternity across Australia was instantly motivated. Why, you ask?

Laughing Gulls breed on the east coast of North America and California and migrate to northeastern Brazil and south along the Pacific coast to northern Chile Pizzey & Knight. Here was a non-breeding plumage LG who "should have turned right at Alberquerque" Walt Disney. P&K write about birds following ships across the Pacific and report two at the Esplanade in Cairns [2003, 2013] and one on Lord Howe Island [2010]. Morcombe describes birds in Tasmania and the Eyre Bird Observatory in WA. Slater says, "a rare visitor from North America likely on any beach or mudflat"! So we don't see them too often here in Australia.

The bird in breeding plumage is unmistakable.

Image from Google Images.

Images were placed on the Australian Twitchers Facebook page and it became obvious that the bird was staying put as plenty of people kept reporting him both on FB and eBird and he received a name bestowed on him by the staff of the caravan park as he was staying put in the park. Chuckles. Laughing Gull. He was still there in September as I headed south so a visit was in order. I rang ahead, booked a cabin and the twitch was on.

I arrived at about 4.30pm. I went into reception and booked in and heard the full story. Chuckles had been responsible, as at late September, for at least an additional 80 bookings of sites and cabins in the park as well as many more people who parked outside the park and came in to twitch him. Most of those people bought something from the park shop. The staff realised the full significance of Chuckles from early on [thanks probably to Bruce]. This is a great example of the usually unappreciated significance of a vagrant/rare bird on a local economy. Chuckles had settled on site 51 as his "home", possibly because there were semi-permanent residents in the van on that site who kept a water bowl clean and full for his personal use. Site 51 is also right next to the fish cleaning station. Evidently Chuckles was in full charge of his territory and boss of the Silver Gulls and Pelicans! I was given Cabin 4, right opposite site 51! I parked up, hopped out of the car, walked 20 metres with bins and camera and there he was. How easy is that!

Home of Chuckles

Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla

Also in the caravan park were the usual seaside, fish station scavengers. An Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicullatus flew in and landed with twenty of his mates but he had a fish on board which had not been swallowed and the tail was hanging out of the side of his mouth. A chase started.

Everyone for themselves here!

Other park inhabitants included Pacific Gull Larus pacificus

This is a juvenile Pacific Gull

Silver Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae Big name.
The genus part means "stained-head". Perhaps not that relevant to our gull.
They used to be in the genus Larus meaning ravenous. A good description
of their behaviour!