MURRAY BRIDGE IS NEARLY 300 KM IN “RIVER MILES” downstream from Waikerie. Despite its name in the singular, there are actually three bridges that span the river at Murray Bridge. Not as many as Madison County but we didn’t have to cross one until we were leaving town for good.
Merely ☆☆☆☆ "Very Nice"
We knew the escalation of AirBnBs couldn’t continue infinitely or we would run out of superlatives. The current place rates a mere “Very Good.” Nothing wrong per se—three bedrooms, a large kitchen, single bathroom with both tub and shower, good wifi and a covered patio—but the bar has been set pretty high recently.
Birding by the Numbers—latitude and longitude that is
Birdwatching as a hobby—some would call it a lifestyle—came into its own in the ‘40s when binoculars became accessible to the public. A pair of military surplus binos and a Roger Torrey Peterson Field Guide to the Birds were all one needed to become a full-fledged birder. Technology has changed all that.
Monarto Conservation Park
Red-Rumped Parrot
Digital photography and internet birding sites like eBird have made species identification even easier. Smartphones can record and playback the bird’s song and some apps like Merlin can even ID a bird by its call. A smartphone’s gps give birders the ability to report the location of sightings down to the meter and to share the information with others.
Shy Heathwren, with a thanks to Technology
Diamond Firetail, aka Diamond Finch
South Australia has miles and miles of habitat without a recognizable landmark so Connie has been using her iPhone and the most recently reported sightings of her targets on eBird to lead us to obscure stops on unmarked tracks far from main roads. And it has been working! Most recently -35.117001, 139.266998 resulted in a pair of Shy Heathwrens while nearby we saw a number of Diamond Firetails. John just happened upon this pair of White-plumed Honeyeaters—some old fashioned Good Luck!
Two Bridges, Murray Bridge SA
By the way, the coordinates for Murray Bridge’s “Two Bridges” are -35.116514, 139.280591.
