Yellingbo bird walk

5 February 2023

It was pleasantly cool at the Depot car park as we all prepared for our morning walk, greeting others, trying to find car parks for the larger number of people who had arrived and enjoying the wonderful bird calls from the nearby trees and creek. Eastern Whipbird often call here and today was no exception. Smaller bird species graced the upper canopies of the gums. Olive-backed Oriole called from here later on in the day.

Eastern Spinebill. Photo courtesy of Clancy Benson

As we walked beside the creek, a few different frog species called from the adjacent swamp.

Australasian Grebe enjoying the peace of the swamp. Photo courtesy of Clancy Benson

Azure Kingfisher. Photo courtesy of Bill Ramsay

There was excitement from further up the track as one of our 34 bird watchers spied this gorgeous Azure Kingfisher which had flown off from somewhere along the creek line. Luckily it had perched in a nearby tree. The excitement didn’t end there when Rufuous Fantail and nest were discovered.

Rufous Fantail. Photo courtesy of Clancy Benson

There were the usual suspects at the dam we visit which backs onto Yellingbo Reserve from one of the small farms. As we headed north there were beautiful but loud calls from a couple of male Satin Flycatcher both vying for the attention of a female spotted close by.

Surely the day couldn’t get any better.

After enjoying a welcome break and lunch close to the depot, a few intrepid bird watchers decided to take a walk back along the same path we took earlier on in the day.

Wedge-tailed Eagle. Photo courtesy of Bill Ramsay

Those returning from the afternoon walk excitedly talked of amazing sights of Wedge-tailed Eagle, two, in a nearby tree. Azure Kingfisher was sighted again as well as Sacred Kingfisher which had not been seen or heard of earlier in the day.

Sacred Kingfisher. Photo courtesy of Lyn Abreu and Bill Ramsay

In the fifteen or so years I have been coordinating this bird walk, I don’t remember experiencing a better day as far as bird quality and number of enthusiastic bird watchers were concerned. We recorded 55 species on the day. Thanks so much for coming along everyone!

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Maryanne Anderson, Yellingbo Coordinator

Weekdays outing to Donnelly’s Weir

8 December 2021

Photographs by Danika Sanderson

Sacred Kingfisher

The weather forecast was not really reassuring, predicting late showers for Melbourne. This might mean wet weather in the mountains around Healesville but at least winds were not emphasized. Alan and Hazel Veevers led and had spent considerable time and analysis to prepare a well-received outing.

The weir

My main worry was the ford on the track into Donnelly’s. My car is a small sedan and I worried that its clearance might not be enough if I slowed or stopped in the water. As it was I was one of the few who gratefully accepted lifts from drivers with a higher wheel base and spare seats. Most drivers came through without a murmur.  I am just a wimp at bottom.

The group

There were 20 at the outing and even the car park yielded sightings of Eastern Yellow Robin, Crimson Rosella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

A Sacred Kingfisher proved very hard to locate and Australian King-Parrots moved through very quickly except for a calm male which remained perched near the track until most of our group had walked by.

Sacred Kingfisher

Another bird coping with our party was a female White-throated Treecreeper which stayed stationary on its tree trunk for so long we initially wondered if it might be ill – until we passed “it’s” tree during our return walk and saw that it had departed.

White-throated Treecreeper (female)

Birds heard without being seen included Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Spotted Pardalote. Only a few actually saw the Superb Fairy-wrens and Striated Pardalotes were also present while a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles briefly soared very high overhead.

Superb Fairy-wren (male)

Other elusive small birds were the White-browed Scrubwrens by the well-flowing aqueduct and a flock of Silvereyes briefly sighted as they foraged among dense bushes. It wasn’t totally birds. Plants included flowering spyridium as well as a small colony of hyacinth orchids.

Waterlilies

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

At morning’s end we drove around to the Maroondah Reservoir Park where we lunched in a rotunda even though rain hadn’t arrived yet. We were checked out by 3 Australian White Ibis, living up to their reputation.

Eastern Spinebill

Careful watchfulness meant that no one’s lunch was in jeopardy. A short walk around the base of the dam wall added Corellas, several Little and a single Long-billed Corella plus a few Australian Magpies.

Galah

Bird call revealed we’d noted 39 species which made a satisfactory total. Into the cars just as the long-expected rain started driving across the car park and feeling very grateful to both Veevers for all their planning. 

Grey Fantail

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Diane Tweeddale, coordinator BirdLife Melbourne weekdays outings

Weekdays outing in the Wonthaggi area

16 May 2018

The meeting point car park filled with cars as 24 assembled under cloudy skies in Wonthaggi. Rain storms had fallen the previous day so we were grateful for a cold but dry day. Nola Thorpe led the walk and warned us that her recent recce had yielded very few birds in the heathland. However we were a hopeful mix of Melbourne and Wonthaggi birders as we drove off in convoy – you never know with birding.

Eastern Spinebill in the heathlands. Photo by Bevan Hood

The heathlands car park was already occupied by a pair of horse riders, regulars, who wished us good birding as they set off. Initially Nola’s dire prediction looked accurate for we saw and heard little. Then there were Grey Shrike-thrush calls and glimpses of New Holland Honeyeaters. In more timbered country there were Spotted Pardalote, Grey Fantail and Grey Butcherbird. Near a small dam, five Australasian Shelducks flew overhead.

Walking the track. Photo by Diane Tweeddale

The dam, which birds frequent in summer, was uninhabited as recent rains had provided plenty of surface water elsewhere. A small flock of Red-browed Finches foraged on the ground and White-eared Honeyeaters called and perched on emergent boughs, seeming to take on the roles of Singing Honeyeaters elsewhere. A cool burn had been done about a month previously and it was interesting to see the growth of grass blades and of the Xanthorrhoea bases below the burn line.

The heathlands are a mosaic of different burnt zones which will hopefully provide habitat for many species. We searched unsuccessfully for the elusive Southern Emu-wren and the Striated Fieldwren before returning to the cars to drive to the desalination plant. The car park was under surveillance as we assembled – several Eastern Grey Kangaroos watched quietly from a bracken patch.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos watching the car park. Photo by Bevan Hood

We lunched at the picnic area of the desal plant before walking on the trails and checking the ponds. Here waterbirds predominated with large flocks of Pacific Black Ducks and Grey Teal. A few Eurasian Coots and fewer Chestnut Teal and Australasian Grebes were also present.

Pacific Black Ducks and Grey and Chestnut Teal on the desalination plant pond. Photo by Bevan Hood

Both White-faced and White-necked Herons used the ponds and Straw-necked Ibis flew over. Raptors here were Black-shouldered Kite, Nankeen Kestrel, Swamp Harrier and Peregrine Falcon while Welcome Swallows swooped across the ponds. As always, Superb Fairy-wrens were among the reed beds. Back to bird call and the group’s lists were 36 species in the heathlands, 39 species at the desalination plant and a gratifying total of 59 species for the day.

Heathland flowers. Photo by Diane Tweeddale

We thanked Nola for all her preparation which had produced such a great result for this cold season of the year.

Diane Tweeddale, Coordinator BirdLife Melbourne weekdays outings.