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Visited: winter
Recommendation: This is a hidden gem that local birders know about. The open woodland and adjacent paddock can see you find Owlet Nighjars and Diamond Firetail sitting out in the open!
Monarto woodlands are a little west of Murray Bridge and I found them so wonderful that I forget even to take my obligatory scene photograph. The area has deep cultural significance for Indigenous Australians, with the Hundred of Monarto being named after "Queen Monarto," an Aboriginal woman who lived there. The park is relatively small, covering only 4.26 square kilometers but it protects important mallee woodland and dry heathland ecosystems. The park is home to diverse wildlife, including birds like the southern scrub-robin and heathwren. I found it to be a wonderful, peaceful place stuffed full of birds.
I first ventured up the Owlet track and it did not disappoint. With a little help from a local birder, we found 2 Owlet-Nightjars sitting in the sunshine. While one was sitting out further, it was the bird rich with grey and brown colouring that I thought was simply stunning.
Despite its name, this bird is not an owl. It belongs to the same family as nightjars, which are known for their large mouths, nocturnal habits, and a preference for insect prey. While it shares some physical similarities with owls, like large eyes, it has distinct characteristics that place it in the nightjar family. The round eyes and grey plumage are the most obvious of these features.
Australian Owlet-nightjar (egotheles cristatus)
The area was brimming with parrots. The noisiest were the Mallee Ringnecks. They chased the smaller parrots around and it seemed to me that it may be mid-winter but these birds were all looking for suitable nesting holes. The Galah rested in a huddle, the rosella whizzed about only stopping at holes intermittently and the ringneck just screeched and bullied everybody, determined to nab the best place.
Galah - Eolophus roseicapilla
Australian Ringneck (Mallee) - (Barnardius zonarius barnardi)
Also present but a lot less vocal and definitely more shy were the Red-rumped Parrots. These birds are always stunning but in the late afternoon light, they were even more gorgeous. While they are smaller and not as vocal as the ringnecks and rosella, they are just as entertaining and attractive.
Crimson Rosella (Adelaide) - (Platycercus elegans adelaidae)
Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus)
Searching for water in the green but dry area were Diamond Firetail. This place is one of the best in the area to find them, local birders tell me. While all the water sources were dry, the firetail were still active in the long grass and tracks. Both the male and female have startling, bright plumage. This attractive finch is small, stocky bird with vibrant colors. the head is grey and the back ash brown. The rump (usually seen as they fly away from you) is crimson red. Its breast is white with a black band across and the flanks are black with distinctive white spots, giving the bird its name.
Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata)
As well as the high pitched ping of the Diamond Firetail, there were other calls indicative of small bush birds. First up was the Purple-backed Fairywren. While I saw the male in full colour, he was a little camera shy. Also feeding in the grass were Southern Whiteface, which I have not seen for a long while. It took some time to get a lock on but eventually I got a decent shot of this unusual looking bird.
Southern Whiteface (Aphelocephala leucopsis)
Doing an impression of a small Pied Butcherbird was a Hooded Robin. I first saw it sitting on a low branch obviously scanning the ground for prey. It jumped down and then onto a smaller branch on the ground. And repeat. The female was around as well, much plainer and more brown than the male.
Hooded Robin (Melanodryas cucullata)
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