Dungeness - in search of Striated Heron

Following a successful trip to Lucinda, we drove around the corner to Dungeness (see map) in search of the Striated Heron seen by the group who visited yesterday.

Striated Heron live and feed among mangroves so are usually difficult to see. The launching ramp and small jetty at the end of Dungeness Road provide good viewing access directly into the mangroves and it was not long before we found one of the elusive herons.

The usual view is through the tangle of mangrove roots and branches:

Striated Heron, Dungeness Qld

but, with some persistence, you can get good views of the bird.

Striated Heron, Dungeness Qld

An added bonus was the pair of White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike we found nesting in a tree in the picnic ground next to the boat ramp. Apparently unperturbed by the human activity below, the two birds took turns sitting on the nest.

White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Dungeness Qld

Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

I had to do a presentation in Wangaratta today so took the opportunity to drop by Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park. As I did not have much time I decided to concentrate on one area and the short walk around Cyanide Dam from the Honeyeater Picnic Area is usually good for a variety of bush birds but the first thing that hit me when I arrived here was the frog chorus:

The walk around the dam is only 500m but the surrounding forest provides plenty of opportunities for spotting birds. In forest environments, it's often best to find a good spot and just sit/stand and wait for the birds to come to you. However, forest bird photography has its own particular challenges: the birds are mostly in the canopy so they are a long way away, usually backlit by a bright sky and always seem to be behind a branch or foliage...but, hey, that's what makes bird photography fun...isn't it?

This afternoon was no exception, lots of backlit, obscured birds a long way from wherever I was resulted in a lot of very ordinary shots. These are the best of them and they are mostly cropped and heavily worked in Photoshop to make something half reasonable of them.

Brown Treecreeper, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

A pair of Golden Whistlers could be heard in the vicinity and it took me about 10 minutes to get the male isolated against the sky and clear of obscuring foliage. A fraction of a second before I hit the shutter, he turned his head away making this shot (the first in the sequence) the only (vaguely) usable one and then within a few seconds he flew away to call from the top of an adjacent tree, completely obscured from any viewpoint I could find. I did manage to find the female but she remained high in the treetop foliage.

Golden Whistler (male), Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

I tried for 15 minutes to get a shot of one or more of the handful of Noisy Friarbirds feeding in the treetops but this is the best I could get. What was interesting was that all the friarbirds were feeding from the flowers as well as catching insects from the leaves.

Noisy Friarbird, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

Two Spotted Pardalotes were singing and flitting around the under-storey in perpetual motion until one landed on a tree trunk close-by (albeit in heavy shadow) and started shredding strips of bark (almost identical to the one I saw at Anakie Gorge on Saturday).

Spotted Pardalote, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

Even the usually 'assertive' Willie Wagtails remained at a distance, except for the one that landed on the picnic table right next to me when I stopped for a drink (a bit hard to photograph with 600mm worth of lens at a distance of 1 metre)

Willie Wagtail, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

A small flock of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were feeding on eucalypt flowers but were in heavy shadow with bright sky in the background.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

Perhaps the most exciting encounter was this territorial dispute between a White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike and Yellow-tufted Honeyeater. It only lasted a few seconds, I managed to fire off a few shots but the whole thing occurred at a distance and behind branches.

White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

These Australasian Grebes were the only two birds on the whole dam. They spent most of their time just cruising around the dam with occasional spurts of synchronised swimming: circular 'dancing' followed by parallel gliding with loud chirping calls from both birds.

Australasian Grebe, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

The heavy shade over this section of the pond combined with the bright background reflections made exposure a bit of a challenge but they occasionally swam though sunnier patches of water.

Australasian Grebe, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

and for something completely different...I dropped by Woolshed Falls right on sunset. No birds but a beautiful place :-)

Woolshed Falls, Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

A long weekend in Northern Victoria

Managed to get out on Sunday and Monday on the long weekend to check out some forests and wetlands that have been revived in the last few months of rain.

I started at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat (view map), which this year is full for the first time in over 10 years and, with so much vegetation close to the shore, the birdlife is within easy viewing and photographic distance. Among the usual suspects: Pacific Black Duck, Mallard, Eurasian Coot, Black Swan, Hoary-headed Grebe, I found a female Musk Duck having a splash bath

Musk Duck, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

A White-faced Heron was feeding on frogs, apparently oblivious to walkers, joggers and cyclists passing just a few metres away

White-faced Heron, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

as was a family of Black Swan - 2 adults and 5 almost fully grown cygnets, feeding on the surface weed

Black Swan, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

I was intending to stop at Cairn Curran Reservoir but it started to bucket down with rain just as I arrived in Newstead so I opted for a pie and drink at the Newstead General Store (always try and contribute to the local economy...) and instead headed for Muckleford State Forest as at least driving slowly through the forest is more pleasant than highway driving in the rain. As I arrived at the Muckleford Nature Conservation Reserve at the north-western end of Pullans Road (near Gower - see map), the rain stopped and sun broke through so I was out of the car and into the forest only to immediately retreat to the car for the insect repellant to at least try to reduce the mosquito feeding frenzy.

Muckleford Nature Conservation Reserve

There were lots of birds calling in the canopy including Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Crimson Rosella, Galah but the tall trees and backlight made photography difficult. However, one Eastern Yellow Robin obliged by landing on a branch nearby

Eastern Yellow Robin, Muckleford NCR

and some persistence allowed me to get close enough for an ID shot of this White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike - heavily cropped but first time I have photographed this species :-)

White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Muckleford NCR

but the highlight of this stop was not a bird - this Yellow-footed Antechinus was climbing a tree trunk about 40 metres away (photographs again heavily cropped). It's highly unusual to see dasyurids during the daytime (though this species is supposed to be more diurnal than most) and I can't believe I spotted it - I suppose it helps when your eyes are tuned to detect movement.

Yellow-footed Antechinus, Muckleford NCR

...to be continued