A TRIP TO KANGAROO ISLAND

When I first visited Kangaroo Island in 2004, my main aim was to see a Western Whipbird (or White-bellied Whipbird as we called it in those days) and I didn't pay much attention to Kangaroo Island's subspecies. I saw the whipbird very easily, and enjoyed my stay on the island immensely. I was particularly impressed with the botany, the orchids were spectacular, and I remember a beautiful flowering Cup Gum, which was used as the logo for the resort where we were staying. So, in 2026, when I looked at the subspecies of Australian birds I still had to see, and there were seven on Kangaroo Island, the choice for my next adventure was easy. Kangaroo Island it was.

A quick look at my list of remaining subspecies revealed four I could see in my home state, Victoria, along the way and a further nine in South Australia, before I took the ferry to Kangaroo Island. I left home early on Monday morning and saw my first target at the Little Desert before lunchtime. It was a most cooperative Slender-billed Thornbill.

Having achieved my first target so easily, I had time to drive to Edenhope and admire my second: Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, one of my very favourite birds. I found them easily, and very beautiful they were too.

I had lunch at Lake Wallace in Edenhope, admiring Hoary-headed Grebe and Musk Ducks. There was good birding, too, at Lake Nhill that afternoon, and I saw a big flock of Black-tailed Nativehens at the sewerage ponds. Congratulating myself on my good fortune, I stayed at the Nhill Caravan Park overnight, then set off for Adelaide the next morning. At Monarta, I admired several Singing Bush Larks, which were more orange-coloured than the birds I usually see.

At Scott Creek Conservation Park in the Mt Lofty Ranges, I managed six targets in quick succession: first, there was a Striated Thornbill, then a Brown Thornbill, then a White-throated Treecreeper:

Then, quite easily, I saw a bird I had thought might have been difficult: a Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. This dear little bird has three subspecies, and I still have one to go: that's 'pedleri' in the Flinders Ranges.

The fifth bird in this remarkable succession was a White-browed Scrubwren and the final one, surprisingly, one I had thought might have been the easiest, was the Yellow-faced Honeyeater.

The weather was overcast and windy, making my next target exceptionally difficult. It was a Southern Emu-wren. I went to Mt Compass Area School Swamp and walked the boardwalk. I thought how lucky the students were to have such a swamp on their doorstep. It was cold and windy and there was little hope of seeing an emu-wren.

I decided to pursue my other (equally difficult) target: Beautiful Firetail. I went to Cox's Scrub, but I was greeted with a closed gate.

Stipiturus Conservation Park was also closed. I really couldn't complain, I was doing very well. The next day, I returned to Mt Compass Area School Swamp, and had the emu-wren before 6.30 a.m.! Then I turned my attention to the firetail. There are three races of Beautiful Firetail, and I'd only seen one (subspecies 'bella' which I'd seen in Victoria, Tasmania and Barren Grounds in New South Wales). The other two are both in South Australia: race 'samueli' which is found on Kangaroo Island and the adjacent mainland, and race 'interposita' which is found on the South Australian coast further south. Today I was looking for 'samueli.' I went to Deep Creek National Park, where the Crescent Honeyeaters were very vocal and the donkey and spider orchids were absolutely spectacular. Along Cove Hike, a Beautiful Firetail flew along the track in front of me at 8.20 a.m. I felt I should buy a tattslotto ticket I'd been so lucky. Other birdy highlights that day included an Australasian Grebe with cute stripey chicks, a very handsome Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, a gorgeous male Australian Golden Whistler and my first Weebill for the trip. The next day I took the ferry to Kangaroo Island, where I had five remaining targets (having already seen the Beautiful Firetail). The ferry trip was smooth and calm, and about the only birds I saw were Black-faced Cormorants and Silver Gulls. As soon as I was off the ferry, I went straight to Baudin Reserve and saw about 30 Glossy Black Cockatoos. On my last visit, I'd tried hard to see these birds and failed. I'd heard them, but, try as I might, I couldn't see them. And here they were, calling and flying and posing magnificently.

One down, four to go. At Dudley Conservation Reserve, I saw Purple-gaped Honeyeaters, which have more yellow in the gape than mainland birds.

I instructed myself to stop enjoying the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, and look at the Shy Heathwren, which was another target.

At D'Estress Bay, a Southern Emu-wren showed himself momentarily, well enough for me to tick him happily. Then, I had the best possible experience with a Western Whipbird. This wasn't one of my target species, as I'd seen him very well on my previous visit, but it was one of those memorable birdy moments. He sat up and sang his heart out. I had just one target left: the Kangaroo Island race of Australian Boobook, race 'halmaturina.' There are four races of Australian Boobook and I'd seen three of them. This one would complete the set. Dusk found me at Duck Lagoon, waiting for the familiar boobook call. Of course, with my run of good luck, it appeared right on cue. I also saw a most picturesque view of two young Eastern Barn Owls, peering out of their hole, waiting for mum and dad to return with dinner. Here's my boobook:

I'd seen all five of my Kangaroo Island targets on the day I arrived on the island! Extraordinary. I wasn't leaving the island until Friday, so I had a whole day of fun birding to enjoy, with no pressures and no targets. I remember on my previous visit looking for Antarctic Terns at Admirals Arch. They have not been recorded since 2006. I wanted to check the carpark at Remarkable Rocks, where I'd been told to look for Western Whipbirds on my first visit. At that time, I had seen them easily at the Wilderness Resort where we were staying, so was not concerned when I did not see them in the carpark at Remarkable Rocks. On this occasion, I heard them there, but did not see them. With a bit of effort, I'm sure they could be seen there still. I visited Flinders Chase and heard (but could not see) a Fan-tailed Cuckoo. The wildflowers, which had been so impressive on my first visit, were not noteworthy on this occasion. I saw an echidna, several kangaroos, lots of Tamar Wallabies and some Wild Turkeys, which I thought sounded hilarious. Just after dusk, I went to look for penguins at Emu Bay. I was tired and didn't want to wait for hours, but, luckily, I saw a couple of chicks under a bush waiting to be fed. My bird count for Kangaroo Island was 76. It had been 71 in 2004. The next morning, I left the island, still hoping for three more subspecies before I got home. I wanted race 'interposita' of the Beautiful Firetail, race 'bourneorum' of the Striated Fieldwren and race 'hesperus' of the Olive Whistler. At Salt Creek on the Coorong, at Martin Washpool Conservation Reserve, I barely had time to get out of the car, before a Beautiful Firetail was sitting in a dead bush, drawing attention to itself!

At 9 o'clock the next morning, I saw a Striated Fieldwren! It was windy, which I'd feared might make it difficult, but it sat up and sang beautifully.

I thought I'd done extremely well. If I had to go home without my Olive Whistler, I had no right to complain. The wind was dreadful. I was not confident of seeing any passerines at all. I sat at Donovans Pier with a cup of coffee, considering how very, very lucky I had been. Right behind me, an Olive Whistler appeared!

I don't think, in all my years of birding, that I've ever been on a trip and had 19 targets and seen them all. I doubt I'll ever do it again. It was a wonderful trip. The weather wasn't always perfect, but the birds made up for that!