Birds and Beasts
The two of us decided to go for some self-distancing exercise on Thursday 2nd April, by walking to the River Torrens from North Adelaide on a beautiful sunny calm day, hoping to see a few birds along the way. We walked across the University playing fields, where there was an assortment of birds including 2 Masked Lapwing, who didn’t seem to be disturbed by our presence, as well as a number of Magpies, Magpie Lark & Rock Dove. In the tall trees Rainbow Lorikeets & ‘Adelaide’ Rosellas were seen & heard. Crossing over War Memorial Drive we walked along the footpath overlooking the upstream reaches of the Torrens to the Albert Bridge, by the Adelaide Zoo. (Karrawirra Parri, meaning “river of the red gum forests” is the official Kuarna name for the Torrens, whose source is near Mt. Pleasant in the Adelaide Hills.) We walked towards the bridge, dodging the odd cyclist, & disturbing at least 30 Crested Pigeons, while admiring the beautiful reflections on the river. Swimming in the water were 6 Australian Wood Duck, both male & female, an Australasian Grebe in breeding plumage, while a colourful Dusky Moorhen emerged from the reeds lining the river bank. Nearing the ornate Albert Bridge, there is a beautiful view of the city, including the University of Adelaide. By now you might be wondering about the word Beasts in this title. Just as we were about to return home, a giraffe popped its head over the fence of its enclosure in the zoo to the accompaniment of the roar of a lion.
4 Comments
Rosemary
16/4/2020 02:24:35 pm
A lovely piece Margie. It's good to focus on local birds and it was funny to see the picture of the giraffe looking across at you.
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Margaret Tiller
17/4/2020 04:21:02 pm
Thanks Rosemary. Every day or so we walk along the path alongside the river upstream from this bridge, doing it in stages, while the weather holds. There are quite a few cyclists, so you have to keep your wits about you, as they don't always stick to their side of the path, & ride flat out!
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Marianne Wakelin
18/4/2020 08:50:23 am
Apparently the giraffe at Adelaide Zoo, being an animal with great curiosity, is missing seeing the normal visitors and has been taking great interest in a construction crew working on a nearby building, so it isn't just we humans who find isolation tedious.
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Margaret Tiller
23/4/2020 12:29:31 pm
Reminds me of the kangaroo recently seen here in Victoria Square !
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