Paiwalla wetlands | Community organisation

Paiwalla wetlands

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25.01.2022 It is always interesting to watch the variety of birds that come through at different times. The dominant species in the wetland changes constantly. Today it was "cormorant party" at Paiwalla. Almost every available perch had cormorants on it ( little pied, little black and I think a few great cormorants). Number of photos not for quality but to show there were lots! And a mother pacific black duck with her ducklings just for cute and to show that breeding is ongoing in the wetlands.

24.01.2022 A few creatures spotted by Eric, a whiskered tern, rakali and skink- (maybe eastern water skink) and the myriophyllum is keeping on expanding, getting closer to the shed.

24.01.2022 Candy showing her joy at finding a new patch of Calostemma lilies.

24.01.2022 There have been a lot of musk ducks around the wetland recently, but Steve was only saying this morning that he had never seen a baby musk duck- but we saw one today! Plus an affectionate pair of sulphur crested cockatoos, one of the whistling kites that are always hanging around, and a glimpse of a collared sparrowhawk with prey watching us through the branches.

23.01.2022 Paiwalla people doing what they do- Eric on maintenance duty as is often the case, and Peter S scaling cliffs after woody weeds (pretending he is still young or making sure he stays as youthful as possible!)

23.01.2022 A bit of the bird action recently. A pair of Australian shelduck showing the difference between female (on left with white around the eye) and male. Fairy martin nests under the cliff. A darter drying wings. And a pair of ringnecks doing a bit of house hunting- they were checking out several possible holes, looking in, then getting in to check them out.

20.01.2022 This week we participated in 2 citizen science projects, the first of which was part of the 1 million turtles project. It is always sad to see the high rate of predation of turtles nests at Paiwalla at this time of year- see photo of a disturbed nest found yesterday. This is largely due to foxes, although Paiwalla was also the first site to show that echidnas also dig up turtle eggs. This survey uses artificial nests with chicken eggs and action cameras to look at predation activities in the area. Photos show us setting up the "nests". The link includes a video of how to do this. https://1millionturtles.com/national-predation-survey

20.01.2022 Like every organisation we have had to cancel events. Today was meant to be the canoe trail opening. So I thought I would take you on a virtual paddle. (Not all photos taken on the same day or time of day!)

20.01.2022 We had a visit from Mike Harper today. He met with us to discuss the options and his recommendations around water management for ecological outcomes of the wetland into the future. This is particularly focused on managing salinity as a long term threat to health of the Paiwalla ecosystem.

19.01.2022 The motion sensor camera has been capturing photos of some of our birds again, this time the yellow-billed spoonbills. And 45 mls of rain this week will have freshened things up!

19.01.2022 Interesting capture of a tree martin in flight from an automatic motion activated camera.

19.01.2022 Mist was hanging over the wetland again this morning, and this series of photos shows it clearing to blue sky over about an hour.

19.01.2022 For a slight change of theme, a bit of creativity at Paiwalla last week. Candy getting into using the foliage for her ephemeral art, and some home spun, dyed and knitted beanies from Judith were much appreciated in the cold!

16.01.2022 Beautiful spoonbill just hanging out!

15.01.2022 The last few weeks this bedraggled looking team has been back onto willow control. It is a big job, but has helped bring back biodiversity to the river side of the levee bank. Lots of laughs have been had, and a variety of techniques used, partly to get willow material out of the water to stop it re-sprouting.

15.01.2022 This weeks activities with the help of a few visitors- thanks!- Putting up some sturdy donated bat boxes on the levee bank and planting 120 more plants.

15.01.2022 For years there have been regular bird surveys at Paiwalla, supported by Kate Mason and her team. Yesterday, Claire was out early to do the survey, and I went along as scribe. It was great to see that amidst the large numbers of coots, grey teal and swans, there were also sighted some of the less common ducks- Pink eared, Australasian Shovellers, Musk and the beautiful and aptly named Blue-billed ducks! Also lots of a variety of cormorants, and a few of the larger birds-Yellow-billed spoonbill, White-faced heron, Australian white ibis, and this Great egret. And obviously exposed mud on the islands is prime real estate- as per the last photo (poor quality as long distance).

14.01.2022 Its planting season again. Greg and Ceris have been growing some seedlings from seed we have collected, as well as some grown through Ben at Goolwa. We should have 400 or so plants to go in this season- so hoping for relaxation of the gathering rules so we can get more volunteers outdoors to get them in.

14.01.2022 Yesterday we had a visit from Michelle (CEWH), Monique and Amber (MDBA) and Barb (PIRSA) who came to see what Paiwalla is doing. It was lovely showing them around and discussing issues about environmental water and habitat restoration. And just as an aside, the purple loosestrife in Sunnyside is in full bloom!

13.01.2022 Just letting people know that Paiwalla wetlands is closed to all visitors over Easter. Feral animal control will be underway.

10.01.2022 Five take a snooze in close quarters!

10.01.2022 Last week, Kate Mason brought a drone out to take photos of the wetland. The results are in the previous post.

10.01.2022 The bee-eaters have returned. Thanks Eric for the photo.

09.01.2022 A few creatures and flowers we found on the weekend at Paiwalla, many of the photos courtesy of Martin Stokes.

09.01.2022 Another of Eric's photos of rainbow bee-eaters- this time one showing the lovely orange in its wings.

08.01.2022 Well distanced planting is back on in full swing. This week the focus was the main gully above North Paiwalla. And it is looking like it could be a better year- fingers crossed!

08.01.2022 We enjoyed a visit from Biology Society members Adam and Colette yesterday together with Jasmine from Adelaide uni whose interest in phragmites diversity took her deep into the reeds to collect samples! We are hoping to develop some partnerships with them in the future.

08.01.2022 River red gums drop branches when stressed by drought etc. This one at Paiwalla near the shed did just that. Lucky no-one was parked there that day. Thanks to Eric for the first photo and the work to clear the car park area again.

08.01.2022 Paiwalla wetlands is an extraordinary spot for birding in SA. I was lucky to visit this haven a few weeks ago with Peter Moyo. I met up with Steven and Pete the...re. Some great work is being put into making sure this former farmland now remains a habitat for a lot of wildlife species apart from only birds. This spot thrives with a lot of native and special/uncommon species. If you want to visit, please go onto the website and make sure you contact Steve/Pete before you go. Also remember to leave a donation. Inbox me if you wish to get a concise bird list of my visit. #paiwallawetlands #friendsofpaiwalla #birdinginSA

06.01.2022 A few recent photos taken by Eric- a lizard enjoying the sunshine, possibly an Eastern water skink, a Reed warbler with lunch and some Fairy martins feeding in the shallows

06.01.2022 The spring fish survey took place this week thanks to Sam and Casey. It was great to see that the majority of species are native, although there are some carp back in the wetland. Several turtles were also caught and released. This data, along with salinity etc will be used to decide about the wetting and drying cycles of the wetland.

06.01.2022 How many kites can you get into one photo frame. There must have been 30 or so circling above the cliffs today. Mainly whistling kites and a few black kites. I think the most in one photo was 22!

05.01.2022 Annie has been working on the Islands for many years and recording the changes using photopoints. Here are a series of photos from 2011, 2014 and 2020 of Island 5 showing the changes. Improving the habitat!!

05.01.2022 Not sure that this post from Kate Mason's post has appeared on the page, so re-sharing. Our next post will show Kate and the drone in action!

05.01.2022 Summer is seed collecting time of year, and hot days are good times to sort seed and separate seed from pods, capsules etc- like with this Senna seed.

04.01.2022 Interesting short winged creature spotted at Paiwalla yesterday ( well done Alan). And here is the information about it that was supplied by Ethan Beaver on the SA Natureteers facebook page: "Very interesting sighting. This appears to be the female Endoxyla amphiplecta - a species in which the males have full length wings, while the females are brachypterous, and are far less frequently seen because of this. Nothing is known about their larval biology. The larvae of broadly similar species are always concealed feeders, so they will either bore into the trunks of trees or into plant roots underground - and likewise the female will either lay her eggs into cracks within the wood, or just under the soil surface." ??Perhaps we shouldn't burn this termite filled wood- it seems to be a whole ecosystem!

04.01.2022 A few things from Paiwalla today from a walk along under the cliffs- a mouse spider, fairly martin nests up close, a different view back to the shed, checking out the fossils in the cliffs and Steve and Ned looking at the remains of raptor/owl dinner!

03.01.2022 You may have heard some of us talking about Mexican Floating Lilly (Nymphaea mexicana) in Sunnyside, but if you haven't been out on the water you might not have seen it. If you were wondering, it does have a beautiful flower but unfortunately is one of our biggest weed problems.

01.01.2022 The morning started with a beautiful mist hanging over the river and wetland and turned into a stunning calm day.