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Visited: winter
Recommendation: These ponds are a well maintained nature reserve complete with bird hide. They are definitely worth visiting at any time of year.
The Goolwa sewage ponds, now known as the Kessel Road Ponds, were originally built to treat wastewater in Goolwa, South Australia. By 2010, the ponds had transitioned into their current role as part of Goolwa's recycled stormwater system. Stormwater is collected during the year. It is filtered in the ponds and then irrigates the township during the dry summer months. This avoids drawing water from the Murray system. The pathways around the ponds are short but give great views of the area. There is also a hide over one of the ponds.
I visited the ponds on a cool, windy winter day and it was very quiet. Fairywren and honeyeaters still sang from the bushes and trees but the only ducks I could find were Pacific Blacks and lots of Eurasian Coots. There was a glimmer of hope when I saw a male Darter in spectacular breeding plumage. I don't think I have ever seen such striking white patches on the face and brilliant rufous on the neck.
Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae)
The highlights around the ponds were a Hoary-headed Grebe and a pair of Black-fronted Dotterel. While the grebe was pretty plain, the dotterel had fine plumage and the bright red eye ring was stunning.
Black-fronted Dotterel (Charadrius melanops)
Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus)
Sitting quietly on a wire on the western side of the ponds close to the electricity substation was a Fan-tailed Cuckoo. This was my first sighting of the season and I am hoping a harbinger of spring. This species of cuckoo generally migrates north from South Australia in the colder months so its return was most welcome.
Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)
As I returned to the car park, I heard the familiar and delicious wail of black cockatoo. I never tire of seeing them. In Queensland we see the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo and here in the south they are replaced by the yellow variety. The flocks I have seen in South Australia have been between 30 and 50 birds which is quite a sight. This flock sat briefly in the pine trees on the edge of the wetlands before taking off again. A brief (but sedate and safe) car chase later and I caught up with them again. A very satisfactory end to the visit.
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (Zanda funerea)
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