This cluster of communal foliage spider nests can be seen in the car park at Aroona Dam in the Northern Flinders Ranges.
Communal spider nests
Birds of Farina
Farina is located between Lyndhurst and Marree in the Great Artesian Basin. Thanks to Farina Station for providing this extensive list of sighted birds. The beautiful campground at Farina Station is the perfect base for bird watching and at certain times of the year you can even get a feed from the historic underground woodfired bakery while you are there.
Emu, bustard, brolga, wedge-tailed eagle, little eagle, black-breasted kite, whistling kite, black kite, black-shouldered kite, letter wing kite, brown falcon, Nankeen kestrel, brown goshawk, Australian raven, little crow, boobook owl, tawny frogmouth, owlet nightjar, Australian magpie, magpie lark, galah, little corella, budgerigar, cockatiel, red-rumped parrot, Australian ringneck, mulga parrot, scarlet-breasted parrot, blue bonnet, crested pigeon, diamond dove, feral pigeon, peaceful dove, masked plover, Richard’s pipit, Australian pratincole, Australian dotterel, black fronted dotterel, cinnamon quailthrush, welcome swallow, white backed swallow, tree martin, fairy martin, black faced woodswallow, masked woodswallow, dusky woodswallow, white-breasted woodswallow, house sparrow, willie wagtail, variegated fairy-wren, white-winged fairy-wren, splendid fairy-wren, fieldwren, red-capped robin, hooded robin, rufous whistler, white winged triller, grey fantail, chirruping wedgebill, white browed babbler, restless flycatcher, satin flycatcher, brown songlark, rufous songlark, yellow rumped thornbill, southern whiteface, chestnut breasted whiteface, crimson chat, orange chat, red browed pardalote, striated pardalote, zebra finch, mistletoe bird, white-plumed honeyeater, singing honeyeater, spiny-cheeked honeyeater, black honeyeater, pied honeyeater, yellow throated miner, pallid cuckoo, rufous-tailed bronze cuckoo, black-faced cuckoo-shrike, rainbow bee-eater, red-backed kingfisher, black-tailed native hen, Nankeen night heron, white-faced heron, Pacific (white-necked) heron, large egret, white ibis, silver gull, gull-billed tern, red-necked avocet, Australian pelican, black swan, great black cormorant, little black cormorant, hoary headed grebe, Australasian little grebe, grey teal, Pacific black duck, pink-eared duck, white-eared duck, wood duck.
Reprieve from the drought: Copley Retention Dam
After 3 years of drought, the thriving bird haven of the Copley Retention Dam had almost completely evaporated. Flooding summer rains in the Northern Flinders Ranges replenished the dam overnight.
Throughout the flood / drought cycle, Copley Retention Dam is supporting over 70 recorded bird species, many of which are profiled on the Flinders Ranges Field Naturalists site including birds classified as Rare by the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act, such as
- Musk Duck
- Blue-billed Duck
- Australasian Darter
- Elegant Parrot
- Great Crested Grebe.
Nankeen Night Heron
A rare glimpse of a Nankeen Night Heron in the Northern Flinders Ranges. Not usually seen in arid inland areas, these elusive nomads follow the rains. This adult flew into Copley from the south in the early evening for a brief transit stop. A distinct call signaled the arrival of a further three Nankeen Night Herons to the location around sunset. They were well hidden in the high foliage of a eucalyptus tree and are not generally sighted during the daylight hours. Arriving just days after a flood summer throughout the Flinders Ranges, Nankeen Night Herons feed on crustaceans, fish, amphibians, and insects in shallow waters such as the nearby Retention Dam.
Central Bearded Dragon sheltering from the flood
Central Bearded Dragon, Pogona vitticeps, sighted preparing underground shelter immediately prior to a deluge in the Flinders Ranges.
Hours later, when the heavy rains had passed, the burrow was filled in and covered up.
Dust Devil
Also known as Willy Willies, Dust Devils are a common site around the Flinders Ranges. The Bureau of Meteorology define the phenomena as
A localised dust filled vortex similar in shape to a tornado but of much less strength. They differ from dust storms in that they are a more localised and short-lived event. They form due to intense heating at the surface causing a rapid upward movement of parcel of air. This displacement of the surface air causes an inward movement of surrounding air, creating the common spiral shape of the dust devil. Dust devils are generally small in size compared with tornadoes, being about 3-100m in diameter and up to 300m high. Wind speeds inside the vortex reach a maximum of 100km/hr.
Old Man’s Beard
This woody climber is a native Clematis. The ‘bearded’ Clematis is a female as seen flowering in mid November near Rawnsley Bluff in the central Flinders Ranges.
Seeds of South Australia database
The Seeds of South Australia database is actively being grown.
The goal is to provide images and data for South Australia’s approximately 3,500 native plant species.
Bristly Sea-heath
Also known as the Clustered Sea-heath, Frankenia serpyllifolia grows about 30cm in heavy clays and gibber plains, seen here flowering in October near Copley in the northern Flinders Ranges.
Flinders Ranges from the air
