Mallee Birding with Ethan_01

Last weekend Ethan, my grandson, Andrew, from UK via Warsaw, and I went on a 4D/3N Firetail Birding Tour tour to the Mallee with guide Simon Starr. Ethan was keen to see all of the 23 parrot species we could possibly see, Andrew had a big shopping list and I was along to keep the job in order. We had a fantastic time. Andrew got 40 or so life ticks and Ethan ticked about 60! I got 2 and Simon got nil!

After picking Andrew up at Tullamarine at 7am straight off his Warsaw to Melbourne flight, we headed to the southern section of Wyperfeld NP via ...

1. Castlemaine Botanic Gardens where Powerful Owl was almost the first official bird of the trip. It was spotted by Ethan within 30 seconds and he had never seen an owl before! This instantly elevated him to the position of "Chief Spotter" which he fulfilled admirably over the trip with some difficult birds. I was still starting an eBird list so I was assigned the position of Administrator to keep a tab on the birds we saw.
2. Mia Mia Track in the Muckleford State Forest where we heard and saw the first of many Pallid Cuckoos plus Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo, saw a Weebill nest in action, closeups of Buff-rumped Thornbills, seven species of Honeyeater [Ye-f, Ye-t, ReW, Fus, Wh-n, Br-h and Bl-ch*] and Grey Currawong.
3. Wedderburn where we viewed Musk Lorikeets, and
4. Hopetoun which appeared to have no residents at all on a Thursday afternoon. It was surmised an alien invasion had occurred.

Along the way we saw several Spotted Harriers and between Hopetoun and Yapeet, Ethan spotted one on a fence post by the road. Wyperfeld was excellent with Emu, one Major Mitchell Cockatoo, four more Honeyeaters [W-f C, Ta-c, Sp-c, Wh-e**]. The other three also saw a Shy Heathwren. On the way out at dusk we saw Spotted Nightjar and a Tawny Frogmouth.

We stayed overnight was in the motel units behind the Hopetoun Hotel. Andrew stayed vibrant until the end of the meal then crashed. It was a sterling effort to avoid jetlag. We ticked 88 species for the day. The trip was a bird WATCHING trip, not one for hunting down birds for photos so not that many photos were taken. Ethan is a bit of a keen bird photographer too so he had a spare 70-300 lens on his Canon 1100D. Here are some of our efforts.

Buff-rumped Thornbill Acanthiza reguloides

Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris

Musk Lorikeet Glossopsitta concinna

Powerful Owl Ninox strenua

Spotted Harrier Circus assimilis

Tawny Grogmouth Podargus strigoides  This is a headlight shot. He has something in his mouth. A mouse?

* Yellow-faced, Yellow-tufted, Red Wattlebird, Fuscous, White-naped, Brown-headed, Black-chinned

** White-faced Chat, Tawny-crowned, Spiny-cheeked, White-eared

Wandering Dutchman meets Australian Owlet-Nightjar during the day

The morning after the gannet-fest saw us in the You Yangs, north of Geelong. We went on a couple of walks and turned up some life ticks.

I kept saying to Robert as we walked past every tree with dead branches and hollows that it was ideal territory for an Australian Owlet-nightjar. My reasoning was that the Complete Compact Edition of Morcombe says, "especially in the arid interior ... even the smallest stand of trees seems to have its resident Owlet-nightjars." How could I lose? Well, we flushed one from a hollow and it allowed close-isn examination for five minutes or more. I think we were privileged to see one out in the open during the day. Robert -- lifetick.

This Common Bronzewing was nice. They are a very wary bird, usually zooting off at the first hint of trouble. This is a male.

Speckled Warbler [lifetick x 2] was next bird to be seen. He sat up very nicely for a photo-opportunity.

Right next to the Speckled Warbler was a Buff-rumped Thornbill. The buff rump is not obvious in the photo but we did see it fly a few times to view the "buff rump" and the colouring and white eye clinch the identification. Lifelike x 2.

Galahs are always a delight to see and this quintet contrasting against the greys of the eucs were lovely.

Next stop Werribee. The world-famous, "it has to be on my trip list" Western Treatment Plant.