Dutchman wanders into NSW

Having exhausted ourselves with Victorian birds [highlights: Long-billed Corella, Cape Gannet, Brush Bronzewing, Wandering Tattler, Southern Emu-wren, Striated Heathwren, Beautiful Firetail, Ground Parrot of 160 species seen in Victoria over 9 days] we ventured over the border to Ben Boyd NP to the south of Eden where we camped for the night. Robert and I went to check for Ground Parrot at a likely spot we had seen earlier in the afternoon near Green Cape Lighthouse. We heard plenty but it was just too dark. We decided a good strategy would be to walk through the metre-high heath and flush them. That would wait for the morning but there were other things to do so ... next time. We camped at Bittangebee Bay. Heath and Robert did some swimming and snorkelling and even spearfishing but the equipment wasn't up to the task so it was chicken stir-fry with lots of vegetables for tea. This diet became a regular evening meal. Easy to prepare and cook with just a wok and three big bowls to wash up and a few items of cutlery.

Birds seen the next morning before we left were Wonga Pigeon [have to push them out of the way in the campground], Brown Thornbills, Superb Fairy-wrens and Golden-headed Cisiticola.

Brown Thornbill

Brown Thornbill

Wonga Pigeon

Wonga Pigeon - what a delightful vent

Superb Fairy-wren, female

Golden-headed Cisticola

We moved on to the boardwalk at Merimbula, well constructed with a couple of nice side gullies. A life tick for me was a Striated Heron. Australian Pied Oystercatchers were resting on oyster beds made from industrial strength car tyres and it was a lovely day.

White-faced Heron

Striated Heron

Striated Heron

Eastern Curlew

Australian Pied Oystercatcher

Sacred Kingfisher

Magic. f8 and be there!

HBW hits South Gippsland

Today three members of the Heyfield Bird Watchers fled west to meet Gouldiae at Drouin and then spend the dull, dismal but ultimately rain-free day birding three sites around Nyora. Marg, Jim and Jack travelled in Gouldiae's vehicular transport with the first stop being Lang Lang Reserve just a few kilometres out from the town on the Drouin Road. A new path had been constructed and we saw 24 species here. It was the site of an old primary school. Only the shelter shed remained. After stocking up Jim's larder in Lang Lang we moved on to Wuchatsch Reserve near Nyora where we walked a couple of kilometres of bush track with Brown Gerygone, Brown Goshawk, Varied Sitella and a mob of Silvereyes being seen amongst the 23 species there. Gouldiae blogged here.

Onwards to lunch in Nyora in the park by the railway station and a careful perusal of the 50 or so Rainbow Lorikeets and Red and Little Wattlebirds in three profusely flowering eucs revealed ... no Swift Parrots.

Our last port of call was the Henry Littledyke Reserve on the Nyora-Poowong Road. It contains the old railway reservoir that supplied water, powered by gravity, to steam engines at Nyora Station. Here we spotted a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles, a Brown Goshawk, Crimson Rosellas, Superb Fairy-wrens, White-naped Honeyeaters, Golden Whistlers, Eastern Yellow Robins, Eastern Spinebills and a lone male White-throated Treecreeper. The day was so uninspiring photographically that the only images I took were of a whirly-gig insect making a delightful pattern in the reservoir and the aforesaid WTTc.

That said we had a great day visiting some lesser unknown parts of Victoria, spotting all-in 40 species of bird and having a good laugh too. Thanks Pete.

Wandering Dutchman gets SE-wing

Our failure to see a live Ground Parrot prompted us to drive out to Shipwreck Creek early the following morning to another "Where to see ..." recommendation with the added chance of seeing Southern Emu-wren and Striated Heathwren.

The walking track heads west from Shipwreck Creek towards Seal Creek.

Image by Robert Middelveld

After traversing Shipwreck Creek and crossing the beach you quickly climb into a heathland that Robert described as "perfect". Time for the birds.

Image by Robert Middelveld

Although we didn't hear or see a Ground Parrot, we saw lots of other birds in the gorgeous early morning light during our walk of about 3 km return. An "accidental" life-tick was the Beautiful Firetail below identified only after we scrutinised the images of a bird we knew was a finch but couldn't discern properly because it was a silhouette almost directly into the rising sun. It has to be said that these days there are some fantastic aids to our birdwatching. Digital cameras and computer software.

Beautiful Firetail

Another great bird was a Varied Sitella gathering insects on the bark of a tree on the edge of the heath.

Varied Sitella

We had seen on Birdline that a Striated Heathwren was in the vicinity so sparked up the playback mode for two, yes, just two, calls and in he came.

"Just who is in MY territory? I'd better out-sing him"

But the main excitement at this site was caused by the Southern Emu-wren of which there were a plethora. We saw 20 or so birds in several, probably four, families on the approximately 19 hectares of heathland. No apologies for the following plethora of images of this lovely little bird. The only thing missing is an image of a male with his tail straight up in the air.