181107_Morwell NP

Nine of us had an interesting (and wet at times) visit to the Morwell NP and Billy Creek. The NP seemed alive with Striated and Spotted Pardalotes, White-throated Treecreepers and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. No Brown Gerygones down by the creek though. An idle wish for a Rose Robin produced one almost immediately, followed literally a second later with a Rufous Fantail on the other side of the track. Where to look? Which one to photograph? Well, we saw both but got no decent pictures of either. Very nice though. Shortly thereafter, a pair of Golden Whistlers entertained us close by. A young female Superb Lyrebird gave us a close view for a minute as she tried to hide behind a bush. Grey Currawongs “clinked” around too. Somewhere though, our excitement at these sights offended the Gods who damped us down with a short shower.

After lunch, on to the Billy Creek walk for a kilometre or two. More showers then some hail; with the drought down here, we’d got out of the habit of wet weather gear, so gear and people got wet (well, the less well-prepared ones). Bulk excitement at the sight of THREE Rufous Fantails cavorting around in a Blackwood tree with lots of tail fanning. Same problem with pictures though; cloudy sky, dark trees, fast-moving birds, etc. A young Grey Shrike-thrush spied on us from the grass literally at our feet whilst Mum dive-bombed a couple of us.

Overall, 34 species sighted. Not high but a few goodies in there that made up for getting wet.

The December excursion will be in and around the Sale Environs on Wed 5^th, followed by a Xmas picnic in the Botanical Gardens.

MORWELL NP

Fan-tailed Cuckoo  4

Wedge-tailed Eagle  2

Laughing Kookaburra  3

Sacred Kingfisher  1

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo  1

Australian King-Parrot  2

Crimson Rosella  2

Superb Lyrebird  2

White-throated Treecreeper  5

Lewin's Honeyeater  1

Yellow-faced Honeyeater  5

Spotted Pardalote  1

Striated Pardalote  3

White-browed Scrubwren  1

Brown Thornbill  4

Yellow Thornbill  1

Eastern Whipbird  3

Pied Currawong  3

Grey Currawong  1

Grey Shrike-thrush  2

Golden Whistler  1

Rufous Whistler  1

Rufous Fantail  1

Gray Fantail  4

Rose Robin  1

Eastern Yellow Robin  2

Silver-eye  2

Common Blackbird  1

BILLY CREEK

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo  2

Fan-tailed Cuckoo  1

White-faced Heron  1

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo  2

Yellow-faced Honeyeater  2

Red Wattlebird  1

Spotted Pardalote  1

Striated Pardalote  1

White-browed Scrubwren  1

Eastern Whipbird  1

Dusky Woodswallow  1

Australian Magpie  2

Grey Shrike-thrush  2

Golden Whistler  1

Rufous Fantail  3

Restless Flycatcher  1

Common Blackbird  1

180905_Victoria Lagoon / Hollands Landing

Nine of us headed to Hollands Landing on a beautiful sunny day. 

First stop was the paddock a couple of km from Hollands Landing where we had, in 2017, spotted 17 Banded Lapwing. No such luck today but there were 180+ magpies spread out over 20-30 hectares.

Next onto the boat-ramp where the usual water bird suspects were present but not in great numbers. There were 4-8 Black-winged Stilts doing a fair amount of aggressive flying against each. Lots of good views of them in flight with the long legs trailing behind. Lots of calling from them too.

Morning tea at the boat-ramp threatened to extend all day until the whip was cracked. Some wading across the muddy ground to get a view of the lagoon behind the caravan park brought two Australian Shovelers plus more terns, swans, etc.

Down to Victoria Lagoon at the end of Ruckers Lane where an estimated 1,400 Grey Teal floated around with a few Pink-eared Ducks, Chestnut Teal and Shelducks amongst them.

Another short trip to the NE corner of Victoria Lagoon for some interesting birds amongst the usual suspects – Buff-banded Rail, Stubble Quail, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Australasian Pipit and a few Grey Currawongs. A quick trip into the Roseneath Caravan Park where we driven back by the hordes of mosquitoes by the beach. Still, a Great Egret and few more Crested Terns were there plus a couple of raptors on the access road.

We decamped to the Meerlieu oval for a leisurely lunch under the pines; no mozzies! A few of us detoured via The Knob Reserve in Stratford which was pretty quiet; a few cockies, galahs and a Striated Pardalote.

Unique species for the day was about 47.

The next outing is on Wednesday October 3rd, when Ian Wilson will be taking us birding the environs of Willung. Marg and I will be visiting our grand-daughter and checking out French Island this weekend for a possible group visit in a few weeks. Cheers. John.

180801_Jack Smith Lake

Nine birders went to Jack Smith Lake today. Although it was a bit windy and cool (cold), we had a good walk around the northern edge of the has-been-dry-for-quite-a-while lake and, after morning tea, the area around the permanent water at the southeast corner near the beach. Despite a good search for Blue-winged and Orange-bellied Parrots which we were unable to find, we saw 42 species for the day - not a bad total for mid-winter.  I reckon a pair of Beautiful Firetails was the standout species on land and we were able to see bit of a feeding frenzy of Australasian Gannets and shearwater species a few hundred metres offshore. The Flame Robin paddock had a dozen or so White-fronted Chats and a single female Flame Robin. So we didn't get to see our target birds but it was still a nice day out.

Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii

Little Wattlebird Anthochaera chrysoptera

 White-fronted Chat Epthianura albifrons

180704_Blores Hill/Lanigans Bridge/Dam Wall

Six of us met at the Mountain Bike Track at Blores Hill near Heyfield and drove around to Ostberg's Road on the north side of the reserve. We parked up at the eastern interface of the reserve with the farmland and walked the track along the edge. It was calm for starters then got pretty windy then calmed down again. The features of the day were many tens of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, lots of Eastern Spinebills acting like both fairy wrens and hummingbirds, Yellow and Brown Thornbills, a Wedge-tailed Eagle and two White-bellied Sea-eagles but the star was the late arrival of a single Crested Shrike-tit. We had lunch at the dam wall then dispersed homewards after a nice, relaxed day of birding.

Image by Ross Stothers and Jack Winterbottom

Crested Shrike-tit Falcunculus frontatus

Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris

180307_McKinnon's Point and Briagolong Red Gum Reserve

It was a great day for birding. Warm, not hot. Gentle breeze, not windy. Nice light, no glare. Ten people, great company. McKinnon's Point north of Blue Pool then the Red Gum Reserve south of Briag.

First birds were two emus on the road to Blue Pool. Second bird was a Spotted Quail-thrush. Third bird was a disappearing Peregrine Falcon at McKinnon's point. Choughs, robins, fantails, cuckoo shrike and shrike thrush. Butcherbirds, thornbills, parts and scrubbers. Six honeyeaters and wrens too. Bowerbird, lyrebird. Cockies and kooks. And a wedgie. And lots of weevils. A great morning.

Azure Kingfisher  Alcedo azurea

Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis

Pied Currawong Strepera granulina 

180207_Newry to Glenmaggie

Eleven members gathered at Newry for a steamy trip around the foothills nearby. The tiny dam and paddock just opposite the Post Office provided a nice snapshot of irrigated farmland to start with: Yellow-billed Spoonbill, White-faced Heron, Masked Lapwings, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Australian Wood Ducks, Willie Wagtails, Straw-necked and Australian Ibis, Crimson Rosellas, Kookaburra, etc – even a prowling Brown Goshawk.

Things got very quiet up in the hills with little life at either the Kentucky Road stockyards or the Nicholson Rocks walk. Still, it is always a pleasant walk through the casuarinas along the gorge and back.

Jim P had kindly invited us to visit via his property overlooking the cliffs and Lanigans Bridge, just downstream from the Glenmaggie Weir wall. Morning tea in the shade of his pool-house overlooking the river gorge and bush was most welcome. A pair of Brown Goshawks was spotted in the distance and they slowly drifted overhead at a low height, working a very weak thermal. Those with cameras thanked those who left theirs in the car for the close-up shots they got.

Jim and Heather have turned >100 acres of farmland, bush, river gorge and rock-faces into a reserve with some interesting bird-life found on the walk down to the river. Sacred Kingfisher, Spotted Pardalote, Silvereyes, Red-browed Finch, Mistletoe Bird and Whistling Kite were the standouts. A very impressive location.

Back at the pool, lunch here seemed a much better idea than going into Heyfield and the pool proved irresistible to Michele.

Total species count was 37.

Next month’s outing is around Briagolong – Blue Pool, McKinnon’s Point, etc. Organiser: Peter Goldstraw

Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus