Beginners Outing to Coolart and Balbirooroo Wetlands

25 February 2023

Leaders: Roger and Inta Needham

Species count: 54

 Nineteen members assembled in the car park at Coolart on a warm, overcast and windless day.

 Our first walk was to the Minsmire Bird Hide on Coolart’s Lake. Our group occupied most of the upper storey of the bird hide as bushes have grown up and interfere with the view from the lower storey. There were 16 species of waterbirds on the lake and we had especially good views of a male Blue-billed Duck and Hoary-headed Grebes. In the bush beside the bird hide the rattle of Superb Fairy-wrens could be heard. A few people caught sight of an Eastern Yellow Robin, which uncharacteristically, quickly hid itself away in the dense undergrowth.

Blue-billed Duck. Photo by Eleanor Dilley

Hoary-headed Grebe. Photo by Eleanor Dilley

 After 30 minutes at Coolart Lake, the next destination was the Antechinus Bird Hide reached via the track on the western side of the Observatory Wetlands. Most birds seen here had been seen earlier and only the Dusky Moorhen could be added to our list.

 Next along the Woodlands Track, Red and Little Wattlebirds were seen while Spotted Pardalote and Grey Shrike-thrush were heard calling. At the junction of two tracks a Grey Shrike-thrush was seen in a thicket, then another emerged and yet a third. Two were adult birds and the third a juvenile with a rufous eyebrow.

Red Wattlebird. Photo by Steve Hoptroff

Grey Shrike-thrush, juvenile. Photo by Steve Hoptroff

Past the garden dam, close to the Homestead was a hotspot of bush birds. Along with Grey Butcherbird and Red and Little Wattlebirds were Spotted Pardalotes, Grey Fantails, Brown Thornbills, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and  Eastern Spinebills.

An early lunch was taken in the shade on the lawns surrounding the Homestead and the birdcall for the morning totalled 45 species.

 After lunch we drove to Balbirooroo Wetland located close to Balnarring Primary School. The track and boardwalk to the wetland passed through Eucalypt bushland and Melaleuca swamp and came to a bird hide a situated on the edge of a lake. New Holland and White-plumed Honeyeaters, European Goldfinch, Australian Reed-Warbler and Tree Martins were seen along with a Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo which made a very brief appearance. Continuing around the lake a wooden platform on the right allowed views across a large wetland on the adjoining property.

Australian Reed Warbler. Photo by Steve Hoptroff

To our dismay this wetland had very recently been carved up by heavy machinery which was still in the area. A number of channels had been dug across the area and piles of mud lined the banks. Amazingly there were 40 White-faced Herons standing amongst the rubble – a large number that even the experienced among us had rarely seen before. Hopefully some wetland may remain on the site though the future does not look promising.

White-faced Herons. Photo by Eleanor Dilley

On the walk back to our cars a large bird flashed across the path at treetop height. It disappeared into the bush before emerging at a distance and was identified as a Brown Goshawk. At the end of the walk a count of birds seen at Balbirooroo totalled thirty-nine, nine of which were additional to those seen at Coolart making a total of fifty-four species for the day.

The weather was kind, the company amicable and a good day’s birding was enjoyed by all.

View bird list for the dayDownload

Roger Needham

Weekday outing to 100 Acres, Park Orchards

12 December 2022

Leader: Rob Grosvenor

It was lovely to see 15 hardy souls gather to birdwatch what could have been 100 acres of sodden bush. Quite a few donned their waterproof over pants in anticipation of a wet outing.  Mercifully, we had two and a half hours of scudding clouds, a little sunshine and only a few drops of rain.  The car park yielded a few species as we waited for everyone to arrive.  A couple of Wood Duck, some Welcome Swallow, Magpie-lark, and a flyover Australian White Ibis.  Little Raven and Noisy Miners were also present. 

Little Raven. Photograph by Steve Hoptroff

Little Raven. Photograph by Steve Hoptroff

Noisy Miner. Photograph by Eleanor Dilley

We thanked Diane for all her years organising the Midweek outings and welcomed Phillip into the role.

A prior recce of the site had established a few problems with fallen trees and extensive water over some paths. Our route through the woodland was tailored accordingly. After a slow start where sounds dominated, and sightings were restricted to glimpses we were presented with some lovely views of a rather tolerant male Common Bronzewing.

Common Bronzewing. Photograph by Eleanor Dilley

Common Bronzewing. Photograph by Steve Hoptroff

We proceeded past Green Dam and came across both Crimson and Eastern Rosella before being surprised by a beautiful Australian King-parrot. 

Crimson Rosella. Photograph by Steve Hoptroff

Australian King Parrot. Photograph by Eleanor Dilley

Australian King Parrot. Photograph by Steve Hoptroff

Rainbow Lorikeets and Noisy Miners were very active around here along with a Pied Currawong and a Laughing Kookaburra.  

Rainbow Lorikeet. Photograph by Steve Hoptroff

Laughing Kookaburra. Photograph by Eleanor Dilley

An Australian White Ibis was seen landing in a nearby garden, and an Australian Magpie was heard.  The parrot family though, was keen to make its presence felt with a flyover by 2 Galahs and a fly past by 2 Little Corellas, and just as we got near Brown Dam a flyover of 5 Sulphur Crested Cockatoos one of which presented for a photo.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. Photograph by Steve Hoptroff

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. Photograph by Eleanor Dilley

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike also turned up here, submitting to the photographer’s lens.  

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike. Photograph by Eleanor Dilley

Small birds were hard to find, and up to this point we’d managed 1 Brown Thornbill and a heard a few Spotted Pardalotes.  We continued along Ridge Track and heard Grey Fantail as well as spotting a secretive Superb Fairy-wren.  Bird Corner didn’t turn up much for us at the end of the group, but we did hear a Common Blackbird and a White-throated Treecreeper before descending the Northern Boundary Track.  

As we neared Chris’s Track the Red Wattlebirds, which had been evident by their calls, revealed themselves along with a few more Superb Fairy-wrens.  A Grey Butcherbird also made a brief appearance here.

Red Wattlebird. Photograph by Eleanor Dilley

Red Wattlebird. Photograph by Steve Hoptroff

Descending to Tadpole Dam more Red Wattlebirds became evident, a Grey Shrike-thrush was calling, and another Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike turned up.  The Olive-backed Oriole’s rolling call was heard again by some in the group, but it proved rather elusive. Tea Tree Track provided a brief spell of LBJ activity with 2 groups of Thornbills – Brown working the middle canopy and a flock of Striated up top.

We then headed back to the car park and doing a final check with the lead group we were able to add a few more species to the list…Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Spinebill, and Fan-tailed Cuckoo.  A quick walk over to the far side of the oval yielded some nice views of Eastern Rosellas and an Australian Magpie fossicking around in the grass.  No Water birds apart from the Wood Duck and no Whistlers.  On a more positive note, we didn’t record any Common Starlings or Common Mynas.

Pied Currawong. Photograph by Eleanor Dilley

32 Species all up was a very satisfactory total for the morning.

Photos kindly provided by Eleanor Dilley and Steve Hoptroff.

Phillip.

Weekdays outing to Bolin Bolin

12 May 2021

Photographs by Steve Hoptroff

Red Wattlebird

The early weather predictions sounded unfavourable but as the date approached the rain was to fall on either side of the 12^thand this certainly encouraged birdwatchers to turn out, be they new to the challenges or long-experienced. Twenty-four gathered in the car park between the archery field and the aero club where other enthusiasts followed their choice. Elsmaree Baxter led our group and commented how the day was less flooded than she had once experienced it, though a small dog of the archery group had to be lifted out of a too-deep wet ditch. Not many birds on the open grounds – the ‘usual suspects’, Australian Magpies, several Magpie-larks and a couple of Crested Pigeons used the grassed areas with visits from Galahs and a solitary Masked Lapwing.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Little Raven

Little Ravens perched on a near tree while Rainbow Lorikeets flew over. We headed into the bush area where the party became a long skein of watchful birdos. Common Bronzewings were a welcome sight and the piercing calls of Grey Currawongs were new for several people and were compared with the Pied calls.

Common Bronzewing (f)

Grey Currawong

A few Noisy Miners were detected near the edge of the bush and the tinkling calls of Bell Miners sounded round the water’s edges. Tiny calls from tiny birds marked the location of small groups of Silvereyes and Grey Fantails foraging acrobatically high in the foliage. Waterbirds were mostly noted as fly-overs – a Silver Gull, a female Australasian Darter, Australian White and Straw-necked Ibises – while a small pond yielded our only Pacific Black Duck and White-faced Heron.

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

Grey Fantail

No raptors were seen though the bill of a Grey Butcherbird looked formidable. By walk’s end we had a bird list for the group totaling 49 species and we thanked Elsmaree for all her preparation which had given such a satisfactory result for a site so close to the city .

Diane Tweeddale, Coordinator BirdLife Melbourne weekdays outings

Weekdays outing to Birrarung Park, Lower Templestowe

4 December 2018

The morning was cool and grey as 22 birdwatchers assembled in the car park. Our number included a couple of members from Western Australia on their way around a comprehensive tour of the eastern states. Lyn Easton led the walk and “initial suspects” in the car park included Noisy Miners, Australian Magpies, Rainbow Lorikeets and Spotted Doves.

Red Wattlebird. Photo by Katmun Loh

We slowly walked the circuit track, passing the now-dry billabong which did not refill after the recent heavy rains so is now probably a dry dip in the ground for the foreseeable future.

Bell Miner. Photo by Danika Sanderson

‘Tis the season to – breed – and we recorded a Magpie Lark’s mud nest with 2 well-grown young begging, gape-mouthed, from an adult. An unoccupied Tawny Frogmouth nest looked rather Spartan while a male Rufous Whistler was on incubation or brooding duty on its nest.

Rufous Whistler (m), on nest. Photo by Katmun Loh

Late in the walk a pair of Noisy Miners was determinedly defending their territory from another bird which took some identification as it was unfamiliar to most of the small group of watchers. The ID was sorted out and several people were able to claim a “lifer” – a silent immature Olive-backed Oriole. These have been rarely reported as eating small birds’ nestlings so the miners may have been acting on the principle that no larger bird is to be tolerated.

The group, listening to the leader. Photo by Katmun Loh

Both Spotted and Striated Pardalotes were heard but not seen and the parrot list included a quickly flying Australian King-Parrot and a pair of Red-rumped Parrots obligingly perched visibly on a dead tree. The cockatoo list included Galahs and Little Corella.

Laughing Kookaburra. Photo by Danika Sanderson

A trip down to the river bank yielded a Sacred Kingfisher near what appeared to be a small tree hollow on the opposite bank. Platypus sightings were hoped for but didn’t eventuate and Laughing Kookaburra calls sounded derisively.

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike. Photo by Katmun Loh

The only waterbirds recorded were an overflying Little Pied Cormorant, a calling Dusky Moorhen, a foraging Straw-necked Ibis and a Masked Lapwing, while no raptors were noted. The dense understory was alive with Superb Fairy-wrens and several White-browed Scrubwrens were also listed while higher in the trees both Brown and Yellow Thornbills were recorded. Mistletoe grew in several places and a darting Mistletoebird was seen by only a few. Another species seen by some was Red-browed Finch while Eastern Yellow Robin was heard as it gave alarm calls as well as the more familiar call.

Grey Shrike-thrush. Photo by Katmun Loh

The introduced dove was joined by Common Blackbird calls and sighting s of Common Mynas. At lunch we were joined by a young Australian Magpie which didn’t achieve the quantity of food it may have been used to – birdwatchers feel that natural food is healthiest.

Common Bronzewing. Photo by Danika Sanderson

With the festive season just around the corner we decided to truncate the day and count our species.

Rainbow Lorikeet. Photo by Katmun Loh

 

Forty-one species were recorded by the group, a very satisfactory total considering the relatively small area we covered and we thanked Lyn for her preparation which allowed such a successful result.

Diane Tweeddale, Coordinator BirdLife Melbourne weekdays outings

 

You Yangs Birding and Boneseeding

3 September 2016

Written by Merrilyn Serong

Photos by Arthur Carew

On this mostly mild and calm, partly-sunny morning, the 13 participants who assembled at the usual meeting place at 10am managed wonderfully in my absence. A huge thank you to Denise for responding at short notice and collecting signatures, keeping the day well organised, and making clear and complete bird lists at each location. Further thanks to Arthur for providing excellent photos taken on the day. Welcome to the three newcomers and to one who made a return visit after about 16 years. Thanks also to all the regulars who always make the day so successful.

Spring was certainly noticeable with such species as Horsfield’s and Shining Bronze-cuckoos being recorded in two places while Fan-tailed Cuckoos were at all places where the group stopped.

Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Superb Fairy-wrens, Spotted Pardalotes, Red Wattlebirds, Grey Shrike-thrushes and Eastern Yellow Robins were also everywhere. Weebills, New Holland Honeyeaters and Brown-headed Honeyeaters were plentiful. Even Mistletoebirds were found in three places. In contrast, Purple-crowned Lorikeet was only recorded once, as were Kookaburra and Tree Martin. Surprising finds were Rainbow Bee-eater and Yellow-tufted Honeyeater. That was our first record of the latter. Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters occur in numbers at The Brisbane Ranges and would only have to fly 10 to 20 km to be in the You Yangs.

Red Wattlebird

The You Yangs area sits in a rain-shadow, largely due to the Brisbane Ranges blocking rain-bearing winds from the west. Brisbane Ranges habitat tends, therefore, to be wetter than that at the You Yangs. However, at present the You Yangs area is unusually green. The dams have water in them and some are dotted with clumps of white frog spawn. Pobblebonks, Spotted Marsh Frogs and Eastern Common Froglets share the soundscape at the dam above Fawcett’s gullly. Their calls are all quite different from one another, so are easy to distinguish.

Another sign of spring is the flowers, including those of the boneseed itself, of course. In the afternoon of the visit, the group removed one and a half hours’ worth of these flowering plants from a dense growth to the south of our official site. The springtime yellow of the brightly blooming wattles remains. These include Golden, Gold Dust and Hedge Wattles. Elsewhere Dwarf Greenhoods are growing in places that are boneseed-free and usually quite dry.

Willie Wagtail

The last BirdLife You Yangs birding and boneseeding visit for the year is planned for Saturday 3 December. That will be the last time I organise and lead the outings for at least a year. One participant has offered to organise next year’s outings and she and others are prepared to lead one or more, so the project will continue.

A bird list will be posted at http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/site-lists/YouYangs%202016.html