Port Augusta Arid Lands Botanical Gardens

Visited: winter and spring

Recommendation: I love this area. It can be demanding to find wildlife across such a big site with different environs but if you are staying locally and can visit over a few days then you can maximise your chances of seeing some terrific animals.

I liked Port Augusta. I should qualify that as I only went between the caravan park and the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens (via the supermarket on occasion). But I liked both places and the rest of Port Augusta looked ok too. I had to pass the gardens on my way to the caravan park and so stopped there first. I was really impressed with the layout, the construction and the plants within it. And then there were the birds. Lots of birds, particularly in the  Eremophila Garden, which seemed stuffed full of plants to attract nectar feeders. I was very used to seeing Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters by this point and I thought the ones here looked enormous. Then I heard them call and realised they were Red Wattlebirds. Gorgeous huge honeyeaters with pale red wattles and a yellow belly. I tried over several visits to get a decent portrait of one and I did eventually. 

Once around the gardens and I headed to the visitor's centre, should have a map really! I heard squabbling noises and saw the back end of a pale bird flying out of sight hotly pursued by a smaller, angry bird. I wondered what a Barn Owl was doing it and promptly dismissed the thought as wishful thinking (still bristling from Agnes Creek). The commotion continued, however, and I skipped the visitor's centre to see what was going on. Lo and behold, there was a Barn Owl sitting in a tree being mobbed by very unhappy resident birds. There was no listing on eBird of the owl in the gardens, nor was it on their official list. Triumph. All I had to do now was get a decent photo. The smaller birds were persistent and it was forced to move several times with me in hot pursuit. Eventually it settled and despite the best efforts of the other birds, refused to move for a while. Got it. I photographed it several times over the next hour, even getting it sitting out in reasonable light. It was a real birding highlight.

On the heathy area surrounding the main garden there were Red Kangaroo. It was my first time seeing them and I couldn't get over how big they were. They eyed my warily from a distance while I photographed them. I felt like calling out to reassure them that I had no desire to get closer. It was only on my last visit that I saw some animals that looked really red. It was quite startling how vivid the shade of their fur was. The others I had seen only had a tinge of red. Not this guy!

I also came across some Wallaroo which actually came into the gardens and I saw them when I was there very early in the morning. This youngster was with an older female and must be the cutest marsupial I have seen this trip. Their dog-like expression and huge ears make them very distinctive from kangaroos or wallabies.

As I drove back to the caravan park one day I spotted some waders in water by the roadside. Thankfully I could pull up safely. They were a group of Banded Stilt and headed right towards me. Another first and they were beautiful.

Banded Stilt - Cladorhynchus leucocephalus

On the heath area of the park, there is a very well constructed bird hide with a dedicated, fenced area with water and a variety of plants and perching places. It all seems quiet when you first get here but you just need to sit and wait. At times, the wind howls through the hide and it is not terribly comfortable on the hot days either. But, if you are patient, you can be sure that birds will visit. My favourites are always the little bush birds that come to sing and bathe.