201007_Sale and the Common

Our scout in Seaspray reported that the weather was "mizzling" whereby it was mist and drizzle and you needed wipers on your specs to make sense of anything. The outing venue was changed "on the run" to Lake Guyatt and, after that, Sale Common. We walked as far as we could heading south to the first flooded part beyond the Brick Watering Trough. Several sensible folk had opted to wait a week or so to do the Seaspray outing so we had a perfect 9 folks including Gabby (from USA) with Rod and Michele. We will be doing the Seaspray outing on the first Wednesday in November whilst the "opt-for-a-different-date"rs will do their visit shortly. This way we can be happy we are obeying the Covid social distancing and gathering thing.

Lake Guyatt came up the usual trumps with plenty of good species but the absolute highlight was the small gathering of Scarlet Honeyeaters in flowering eucs near and at the Rifle Butts. We had been a bit confused by the call for a while but then it suddenly clicked. Scarlet HEs are having a bit of an irruption across Gippsland atm. We first thought they were Mistletoebirds.

The birdcall for the day came up with 64 species, an excellent total for quite a social walk!

The first four images are John's and the others are Jack's.

New Holland Honeyeater

Superb Fairywren

Chestnut Teal

Royal Spoonbill

Black Swans

Dusky Moorhen

Hardhead

Red Wattlebird

Rufous Whistler, male

Scarlet Honeyeater

Australasian Darter

Australasian Swamphen

Australian King-Parrot

Australian Magpie

Australian Pelican

Australian Reed Warbler

Australian White Ibis

Australian Wood Duck

Black Swan

Black-faced Cuckooshrike

Brown Goshawk

Brown Thornbill

Cattle Egret

Chestnut Teal

Common Blackbird

Common Starling

Crimson Rosella

Dusky Moorhen

Eastern Spinebill

Eurasian Coot

European Goldfinch

Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Galah

Golden Whistler

Grey Butcherbird

Grey Fantail

Grey Shrikethrush

Grey Teal

Hardhead

House Sparrow

Latham's Snipe

Laughing Kookaburra

Little Black Cormorant

Little Pied Cormorant

Little Raven

Little Wattlebird

Magpie-lark

Masked Lapwing

Mistletoebird

New Holland Honeyeater

Olive-backed Oriole

Pacific Black Duck

Pied Currawong

Rainbow Lorikeet

Red Wattlebird

Royal Spoonbill

Rufous Whistler

Sacred Kingfisher

Scarlet Honeyeater

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo

Silvereye

Spotted Dove

Spotted Pardalote

Striated Pardalote

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Superb Fairywren

Swamp Harrier

Welcome Swallow

Whistling Kite

White-browed Scrubwren 

White-faced Heron 

White-necked Heron 

Yellow-billed Spoonbill 

Yellow-faced Honeyeater 

190807_Heyfield Wetlands and Glenmaggie FFR

With a general dearth of birds around, we finally settled on to visit the Heyfield Wetlands today; 10 attendees having a nice day with some changeable, but ultimately warmer, weather.

The wetlands are about to receive a gift of 10-16 megalitres of environmental water and Marg and John have been doing 2-3 surveys a week to get a “dry baseline” count ahead of the water going in next week. We’ll do 3-4 “wet baseline” counts to hopefully be able to tell GCMA that the water attracted birds.

With the dense plantings of scrubby trees and bushes, plus new water diversion drains in place, there is generally a good supply of birds larger and small. The water is very low though and quite dirty. Still, the waterbirds like it, especially a pair of Yellow-billed Spoonbills. We got 41 species in and around the established lagoons and paths. Lots of Superb Fairy Wrens, Red-browed Finches, Silvereyes (Tasmania variety with gorgeous buff shading) and a single Buff-banded Rail (which dashed along the path) were the highlights. I can’t see how you can get a printed list from Birdata so go to this link for the list.

Australian Wood Duck -- female

Chestnut Teal -- male

Silvereye  Zosterops lateralis lateralis (Tasmanian ssp)

Onto the newer lagoon area, the area to be filled next week. There are heaps of new bird boxes up, two with motion and sound-activated cameras. The area has been sparsely populated over the previous two counts but today we found 16 species; or maybe it was 10 pairs of eyes instead of two. Birdata list here.

After the usual leisurely morning tea, we wandered down to the Thomson River and along it to come out on Bessant St. The highlight here was a pair of Spotted Pardalotes cavorting on the opposite bank and close above our heads for quite a while. The lowlight was the dense spread of escaped Honeysuckle choking the small trees on the South bank of the river. Species count of 16 (list).

Striated Pardalotes checking a nest site

Striated Pardalote Pardalotus striatus ornatus (small red dot on wing)

Yellow Thornbill

Off to the Glenmaggie Flora and Fauna Reserve (map) for lunch. After lunch, we walked down the Eastern edge to Back Creek and return, for 9 species. Recent forays into the reserve had turned up exactly no birds.

Species count for the day was 51; not shabby by the current dry standards.

Next month, we will go to ….. WATCH THIS SPACE!

170802_Raymond Island

Twelve Heyfield Birdwatchers gathered at the Island side of the ferry and met with Robert Wright who guided us around some of the parts of the island he knows and loves so well. Our walk before morning tea was along the boardwalk from the ferry to the point where we had great excitement watching 50 or so Burranan Dolphins and several Australian Pied Oystercatchers. Then back via A'Beckett Park, a private house with Nankeen Night-Herons in their backyard and three Tawny Frogmouths. No-one spotted the TFs so Robert's Cherry Ripes were safe. After a cuppa we drove a short way to see a pair of Gang-gang Cockatoos then on to the old school site where we walked through the bush to Lake King. No Hardheads or Great-crested Grebes in the rafts of Hoary-headed Grebes so Robert's Cherry Ripes were still safe. We ate lunch seated by a paddock filled with Eastern Yellow Robins, Superb Fairy-wrens and nest-material-gathering Spotted Pardalotes with Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoos calling in the distance. We then walked around the Raymond Island Flora Reserve and then drove to the jetty at the end of Gravelly Point Road. The lake was flat as. Plenty of jellies in the water but no Hardheads, GCG or seahorses. Finally we headed back to the ferry via the north side of the island. The weather was about perfect with hardly any wind. Many thanks to Robert for a great day. Jim did win a Cherry Ripe for spotting the fourth Tawny Frogmouth before the rest of us. 53 species in all. A great day.


Koala Phascolartos cinereus
One of several seen during our visit.

Burranan Dolphin Tursiops australis
Robert commented that he often saw small groups of three or four. We saw at least 50! All in one pod. Sometimes all pretty close together and then spread out over 4-500 metres.

Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus
We had hoped to boat to Crescent Island and view the colony of breeding Peicans and see them in their breeding flush. The boat trip was a no-goer but we did have one pelican in breeding flush greet us as we drove off the ferry and started our walk.

Pacific Gull Larus pacificus
Two birds here. The first two images are the same bird. Yes, it does have a fish hook apparently caught in feathers but was behaving normally. It has the features of a second year bird. The second bird looks a bit older with more white starting on the front of the head but is still a second year bird.

Chestnut Teal Anas castanea

Common Bronzewing, males Phaps chalcoptera

Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis

Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae

Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides