28 September 2019
Leaders: Hazel and Alan Veevers; Species count: 54
All photographs by Eleanor Dilley
There was a chaotic start to the excursion as members struggled to find a way to drive through the very poorly signed diversion off Plenty Road into the park. However, once in the carpark they were immediately rewarded with some good sightings. Vociferous Striated Pardalotes were checking out nest hollows in the old deciduous trees and lots of other species, including King Parrots, were easily seen.
There was a chaotic start to the excursion as members struggled to find a way to drive through the very poorly signed diversion off Plenty Road into the park. However, once in the carpark they were immediately rewarded with some good sightings. Vociferous Striated Pardalotes were checking out nest hollows in the old deciduous trees and lots of other species, including King Parrots, were easily seen.
Following the Wonga Walk track beside the Plenty River many small birds were seen, including Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Grey Fantails and an Eastern Yellow Robin. A Fan-tailed Cuckoo could be heard calling and a Brown Goshawk flew overhead. Many Sulphur-crested Cockatoos were flying around and a single Long-billed Corella was spotted perched in a tall tree. Returning via the homestead ponds, a turtle was seen swimming and bobbing its head out of the water. In the reeds, Australian Reed-warblers were singing lustily but were hard to locate.
After lunch most of the members drove to the northern end of the park to visit the wetland areas. Water was plentiful in the ponds but there were not as many ducks to be seen as in previous years.
A pair of Black-fronted Dotterels was spotted as well as Grey and Chestnut Teal. A beautiful Olive-backed Oriole was sighted perched in a tree by the lake and everyone got good views of it.
The highlight of the day occurred when a pair of White-winged Trillers was located perched on a dead tree amongst small wattles. The pair stayed around feeding in the bushes allowing everyone a good look. For many of the Beginners this was a new species while for everyone else it was a thrill to see this uncommon bird in shining breeding plumage.
This was followed by seeing a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles majestically soaring overhead.
A magical end to a great day’s birding at Hawkstowe, with 54 species recorded for the day. Our thanks go to John McKenzie for sharing his local knowledge and locating both the Oriole and the Trillers for us. Also, many thanks go to Eleanor Dilley who once again provided her splendid photographs for the report.
View complete bird list: BM Sep 2019 Bird List Hawkstowe Park
birdlifemelbourne 
How did you get in? A couple of us couldn’t find a way at all and went to the northern end for the morning.
Sorry you missed out on Saturday. There was a signed way to turn right off Plenty Road, through the bollards. It was difficult to notice and several passed by first time around. A few missed it second time round but then phoned our mobile and Alan drove out and brought them through in convoy. Many attendees did find their own way through. We do put our mobile number on the bottom of our Handout Programme Sheet each year. If you don’t have one (or an old one), email alanv3712@hotmail.com and one will be sent by return email. The situation on Saturday was beyond our control, however, be assured that we do everything we can within our control to avoid problems on the day.