Leeton and Griffith NSW
Leeton and Griffith in the NSW Riverina district are home to many water and migratory birds. They make use of the canals, ponds and swamps of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area that supplies this major agricultural area. Fivebough Wetlands at Leeton is a listed Ramsar site, of international importance. Campbells Swamp at Griffith is a very good site for waterbirds. Cocoparra National Park is refuge for many bush and dryland birds.
Link to “Birds of the MIA” for bird-watching sites.
Photo: Black-tailed Native Hens scatter at Fivebough Wetlands. They feed on plant material, seeds and insects at waters edge.
Sharp-tailed Sandpipers breed in Siberia then cross the Pacific to spend the summer at Australia's inland waterways. They feed on insects, molluscs and worms. Photographed at Fivebough Wetlands.
Australian Spotted Crake at Fivebough Wetlands, one of Australia's Ramsar (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) sites. The Australian Spotted Crake hides in the wetlands dense vegetation, searching for molluscs, insects and crustaceans.
Red-rumped Parrots take possession of valuable real estate for nesting, a vacant hollow in a dead tree. As land was cleared dead trees provided homes for parrots, but these trees have not been replaced for future generations. Red-rumped Parrots feed on seeds from the ground as well as seeds, fruits and flowers of trees.
Waterbirds like this Yellow-billed Spoonbill go fishing in the roadside irrigation channels. The areas irrigation channels and dams are home to a wide variety of waterbirds.
Beautiful Mulga Parrots fly down to drink at a waterhole in Cocoparra National Park. They inhabit the arid scrublands and lightly timbered grasslands in this area.
Many species of honeyeater drink at these waterholes, including this Striped Honeyeater. Striped Honeyeaters inhabit the forests and woodlands of inland eastern Australia.
Smaller bushbirds also gather around the waterhole. This Red-capped Robin is the most common of the Robin family here.
Double-barred Finches prefer dry grassy woodland and scrubland, feeding on seeds, but are never far from water. Again photographed at a waterhole in Cocoparra National Park.
Painted Honeyeaters are listed as a vulnerable species. Their favourite food, fruit of the grey Mistletoe, is in short supply. This bird was photographed on the verge of a country road in remnant bush.
The Variegated Fairy-wren lives across most of Australia. They move through the base of shrubs and grasses looking for insects.
An Emu looks on. A surprise visitor at the waterhole in Cocoparra National Park north of Leeton.