Friends’ Tips: Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary – Winaityinaityi Pangkara

Since its begin­nings in 2016, FAIBS has been help­ing restore coastal habi­tats through tree plant­i­ng, weed­ing and clean-ups — all while inspir­ing oth­ers to con­nect with nature. 

We caught up with the FAIBS group Pres­i­dent and bird enthu­si­ast, Mary-Ann, who caught us up on this fas­ci­nat­ing sanc­tu­ary, what makes it so spe­cial, top tips for vis­it­ing and what FAIBS is up to…

About the sanctuary

What is your favourite bird to see in the sanctuary? 

‘I real­ly like all migra­to­ry shore­birds, they have such an inter­est­ing sto­ry. Each species has its unique beau­ty. For the six months that they are on our shores they are con­stant­ly chang­ing. They arrive thin, deplet­ed of fat reserves after their long flights and through­out the months here they gain weight and many will change into very smart look­ing breed­ing plumage. Pri­or to their depar­ture for their north­ern hemi­sphere breed­ing grounds, they are quite unrecog­nis­able to the bird the arrived 6 months prior

I get excit­ed when I see a bird that has been flagged. If you can read the code on the flag you can report it and find out its his­to­ry of move­ment sight­ings and that can be super inter­est­ing. Many birds are flagged over­seas and it is so enthralling to get infor­ma­tion of the bird’s move­ments, it is a real­ly love­ly insight that affirms that these birds are amaz­ing world travellers.’

Vis­it­ing Tips

What is a great way to dis­cov­er the park for the first time?

‘I would sug­gest join­ing a group activ­i­ty, such as activ­i­ties that FAIBS con­ducts or oth­er envi­ron­men­tal groups in the area such as Birds SA, Con­ser­va­tion Vol­un­teers Aus­tralia. You will get much more val­ue by join­ing a group activ­i­ty if you are not famil­iar with the park. There are sev­er­al walk­ing trails in Thomp­son Beach which you can self-navigate.’

What can every­day vis­i­tors do to help pro­tect birds and their habi­tats while enjoy­ing the sanctuary?

‘Avoid dis­tur­bance of the shore­birds. It is best to keep your dogs away from the beach­es that shore­birds fre­quent, at the very least ensure that you keep your dog on a lead.’

About the Friends group

What are some key projects FAIBS has worked on that you are proud of? 

‘For the past four years we have been doing lots of habi­tat restora­tion. The group has put in many hours, result­ing in 1000’s of plants being put into the ground and weeds con­trolled. We have plant­ed spe­cif­ic plants to encour­age but­ter­flies and oth­ers that are pre­ferred plants for cer­tain bird species. Our project work is tai­lored to opti­mise habi­tat require­ments for iden­ti­fied species that require spe­cial atten­tion to ensure species sur­vival. It is very reward­ing work.’

Look­ing to the future

‘Our hope is that more South Aus­tralians will learn about the sanctuary’s sig­nif­i­cance and join us in pro­tect­ing it. It’s a cru­cial stopover for migra­to­ry birds — and a beau­ti­ful place to expe­ri­ence nature. If you’re inter­est­ed in join­ing FAIBS, con­tact us to get involved and learn more about this spe­cial part of South Australia.’

FAIBScon­tin­ues to work close­ly with park rangers, sci­en­tists and com­mu­ni­ty groups to pro­tect and restore habi­tats across the sanc­tu­ary. They hope to keep expand­ing their activ­i­ties and aware­ness cam­paigns so that more peo­ple can dis­cov­er this spe­cial place. Whether you’re an avid bird­er or sim­ply curi­ous to explore some­where new, the Ade­laide Inter­na­tion­al Bird Sanc­tu­ary – Winaity­i­naityi Pangkara is a fas­ci­nat­ing and peace­ful des­ti­na­tion just north of the city. Find out more and plan your vis­it at the park’s page.

Want to join your local Friends of Parks and Nature Group?

The Friends of Ade­laide Inter­na­tion­al Bird Sanc­tu­ary is one of 150+ Friends of Parks and Nature groups ded­i­cat­ed to pro­tect­ing var­i­ous areas with­in our beau­ti­ful state. With over 5,000 mem­bers, con­sist­ing of all ages and back­grounds, these groups care for native plants and ani­mals, main­tain walk­ing trails, restore habi­tats and help look after parks across the state. If you’d like to get involved with your com­mu­ni­ty, find your local Friends group here!

Park of the Month

Through­out Novem­ber, the Ade­laide Inter­na­tion­al Bird Sanc­tu­ary – Winaity­i­naityi Pangkara is being high­light­ed as the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice’s Park of the Month. Check out the free events hap­pen­ing here!

Stay in the know: Sign up to get updates from Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice or Friends of Parks and Nature Inc. straight to your inbox!