TARDUN FLORA & FAUNA Part 5

FAUNA AROUND THE CLAYPAN.

Black-winged stilt (Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE, Himantopus himantopus)
The Aboriginal name of the Black-winged stilt is jagalgu. One of the first to arrive at the claypan when it starts to fill are the Black-winged stilts. In the first picture you can see them in flight over the water. In the second picture the Black-winged stilts are feeding at the edge of the water. They mainly feed on aquatic plants and animals. The third picture shows the nest of the Pied stilt as the bird is sometimes called. The pied stilt is common right across the continent.

 

Mountain duck (Family ANATIDAE, Tadorna tadornoides)
		The Aboriginal name of the Mountain duck is ngardu. The mountain ducks arrive at the claypan about the same time as the Black-winged stilts. The ducks breed here and raise there young in this territory. The mountain duck on the photo is a male. The mountain ducks’ pair binding together is long and probably for life.

 

Coot (Family RALLIDAE, Fulica atra australis)
The coots only come to the claypan if the water level reaches about one metre in the deepest part. That depends very much on the rainfall. The coots construct their nest just above the water line as you can see. In this nest are six eggs. The wild coots feed mainly on vegetable matter, on the leaves, shoots and stems of plants rather than the seeds of the plants.

 

Hoary-headed grebe (Family PODICIPENIDAE, Podiceps poliocephalus)
		In July, if there is enough water in the claypans, you can see a nest made by the Hoary-headed grebe it is made out of the local vegetation. The Hoary-headed grebes are common here at the claypans.

 

Grey teal (family ANATIDAE, Anas gibberifrons)
The Aboriginal name of the Grey teal is ngaruwa. The Grey teals are the most common of the ducks here at the claypan. Grey teals are highly nomadic. They eat the seeds of weeds, sedges and grasses. Their animal food consists mostly of insects including beetles, water boatmen and many others. The nest is constructed here in the fork of a melaleuca tree and covered with grey down. Take a way the grey down and you can see the eggs. The grey teal depends for its food supply on the flooding of inland rivers and on claypans like this.

 

White-necked heron (Family ARDEIDAE, Ardea pacifica)
		The White-necked heron, or as some people call them, the Pacific heron are regular visitors here in Tardun. Only in 1996 have I seen them breeding here at the claypan. You can see three young birds and one egg in the nest above the water. In the second photo you can see one of the young bird almost ready to fly. Its range is restricted to mainland Australia. It does appear in Tasmania and New Zealand some times.

 

Shoemaker frog (Family MYOBATRACHIDAE, Neobatrachus sutor)
The Aboriginal name for frogs is wan’gura. The Shoemaker frog belongs to the small to moderate, stout burrowing frogs. It is one of the common frogs found here. You can hear them at night around the claypan and other places were water is standing for a while. The frog is widely distributed throughout the southern half of W.A.

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