Whheeeeeeeee!!!!

We got back home late this afternoon, after having spent the morning in bird wonderland.

I can't emphasise enough how much the landscape has changed since the dreadful drought ended a couple of years ago. The birds have come back in enormous numbers, and even endangered species are making a very welcome return.

There is a barrage which stretches across the Coorong - one side is fresh water from the River Murray, and the other side is brackish from a mixture of tidal sea water and fresh water overflow. The birds congregate there for fishing opportunities, and there are huge number of cormorants (white, black and little), terns, (Crested, Antarctic, Fairy and others), pelicans, swans (black and white), and a myriad of other little birds taking advantage of the great source of food. And of course a colony of seals who have established themselves ready to take advantage of the fresh water fish swept down the river.

I took this image half way across the barrage, and I know it's a tern, but which one is a bit of a mystery. I think it's possibly a Fairy Tern (Sterna nereis) which was endangered during the drought. It is different from the bird known as the fairy tern in the northern hemisphere.