Cockies and Robins

Spent the weekend at the in-laws' farm in central Victoria near Lake Eppalock and took an early walk this morning. Very quiet birdwise but did manage to find a few:

A small flock of Galahs spent most of their time feeding in the short grass

Galah, Lyal

but a few sat high in the trees on lookout

Galah, Lyal

This pair of Scarlet Robins proved very difficult to get close to as they flitted back and forth between trees and fence

Scarlet robin (male), Lyal

Scarlet Robin (female), Lyal

A pair of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos sat high in the trees outside the cabin

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Lyal

Just after I went inside, they came down to feed right in front of the cabin and allowed me to get some closeups through the window.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Lyal

Bruny Island

My wife and I had the delight to spend three wonderful days on Bruny Island in Tasmania, staying at the beautiful Inala, a 500 acre property on South Bruny Island. The property is owned and operated by biologist and wildlife tour operator Dr Tonia Cochrane and is the home to 94 species of birds including all of Tasmania's endemics (for more information see www.inalabruny.com.au). While our time there was not primarily aimed at birding, I did manage to sneak in a few hours on our first day.

In an hour walk around the property, I saw 24 species including 8 of the 12 endemics. Unfortunately, the windy conditions kept many of the small bush birds, including the Forty-spotted Pardalote (which I did see, so another lifer for me!), high in the canopy of a small patch of Eucalyptus viminalis out of range for any sensible photography. However, I did manage to capture a few birds:

Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Inala, Bruny Island

Tree Martin, Inala, Bruny Island

Scarlet Robin (female), Inala, Bruny Island

Also on the property are Bennett's Wallabies including the rare "albino" wallabies. They are not actually albinos but are almost pure white.

Red-necked (Bennett's) Wallaby, Inala, Bruny Island

Late in the afternoon I drove to Jetty Beach following the tip from Tim Dolby in his report of a recent trip to Tasmania. Tim is absolutely spot on - the campground at Jetty Beach is a fantastic place for birds. I stayed in the one location for about 30 minutes and saw more than 20 species of birds including these that made easy photographic subjects:

Dusky Robin, Jetty Beach, Bruny Island

Black-headed Honeyeater (immature), Jetty Beach, Bruny Island

Green Rosella, Jetty Beach, Bruny Island

Yellow-throated Honeyeater, Jetty Beach, Bruny Island

On the way back to Inala, I stopped at Cloudy Bay Lagoon

and found a Pacific Gull fishing in the offshore shallows

Pacific Gull, Cloudy Bay Lagoon, Bruny Island

I've seen other birds, particularly herons and egrets using this technique (flying low over the water flapping wings) to stir up fish but this was the first time I've seen a gull doing it.

Hot afternoon at the You Yangs

I visited the You Yangs Regional Park this afternoon and despite the heat (38C at 4:00 PM) the birding was good.

First stop was the visitor centre where the Tawny Frogmouths were in their usual spot doing their best to impersonate branches.

Tawny Frogmouth, You Yangs Regional Park

I then drove around the Great Circle Drive, stopping at my favourite spot on the corner of Branding Yard Road and immediately heard the familiar sound of a Rufous Whistler. It didn't take long to find him

Rufous Whistler (male), You Yangs Regional Park

and, a few minutes later, a female appeared nearby

Rufous Whistler (female), You Yangs Regional Park

along with this Eastern Yellow Robin.

Eastern Yellow Robin, You Yangs Regional Park

A little further along the drive, a flock of White-winged Choughs emerged along the road (this photo shot out of the car window).

White-winged Chough, You Yangs Regional Park

So, ever the optimist, I pulled over and tried to stalk them to get close enough for some reasonable shots. Unfortunately, this is what they usually look like, foraging among the leaf litter and managing to stay about 25 metres away no matter how slowly I approached.

White-winged Chough, You Yangs Regional Park

The same goes when they are perched in trees. The only time you can get close is when they are at the top of the tree.

White-winged Chough, You Yangs Regional Park

I did mange to get close enough to this one for a half reasonable shot but I missed it flying off, the only time you get to see the "white wings".

White-winged Chough, You Yangs Regional Park

An added bonus at the same location was a very cooperative (and very scruffy) Scarlet Robin. I suspect this is a young male just moulting into adult plumage. I love shooting male robins because they are inquisitive and assertive - they'll come up to you and stay around showing off.

Scarlet Robin, You Yangs Regional Park

Back at the visitor centre I found a Restless Flycatcher having a drink from the old iron lid under the tap on the toilet block wall. I missed catching a photograph of it there (too slow) but it landed in a tree close by

Restless Flycatcher, You Yangs Regional Park

and then moved even closer.

Restless Flycatcher, You Yangs Regional Park

Just as I was leaving a Red-browed Finch flew down to the water for a drink.

Red-browed Finch, You Yangs Regional Park

Brisbane Ranges National Park

Brisbane Ranges National Park is a haven for wildflowers and birds and is less than an hour's drive from Melbourne or Geelong (see map). The most popular visitor location in the park is Anakie Gorge but today I headed for the less frequented Fridays Camping & Picnic Ground where I managed to find 24 species in just over an hour without leaving the picnic ground.

Highlights were:

A lone White-naped Honeyeater spent much of its time dodging the multitude of New Holland Honeyeaters but did manage to get a feed for a few seconds before flying off (I presume to find a less competitive location...I wished it luck!)

White-naped Honeyeater, Brisbane Ranges National Park

This male Scarlet Robin remained in sight, patrolling the car park and surrounding picnic area, the whole time I was there. I caught a brief glimpse of a female but she remained too elusive for a photograph.

Scarlet Robin (male), Brisbane Ranges National Park

While photographing the Scarlet Robin, I heard the characteristic humming flight of one of my favourite birds behind me and turned to find this little beauty on the fence about 20 m away. I shifted very slightly to my left to get the bird isolated from the fence-post cap and snapped this shot and the bird was gone before I could move closer and further left for a better angle. I kept an eye and ear out for it to return but this was my only sighting of this species for the day.

Eastern Spinebill, Brisbane Ranges National Park

At least three species of thornbills (Brown, Striated and Yellow-rumped) seemed to be everywhere but constantly on the move. I tried several different angles on various trees but always seemed to get them backlit or hidden by foliage and the low light made it difficult to get a fast enough shutter speed (not to mention shutter finger) to capture anything even vaguely satisfactory through the long lens. I bumped the ISO up to 800 and followed a small group of yellow-rumps as they flitted from bush to bush and did manage to capture this one in flight to add to my growing collection of bad flight shots of small birds ;-)

Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Brisbane Ranges National Park

Passerine Paradise

I spent the weekend in central Victoria on a farm adjacent to Kimbolton State Forest near Lake Eppalock. An early morning walk among Grey Box trees revealed a wide range of small passerines. Here are a just a few...

Scarlet Robin, Lyal

Jacky Winter, Lyal

Willie Wagtail, Lyal

Rufous Whistler (female), Lyal

Spotted Pardalote, Lyal

Striated Pardalote, Lyal

Southern Whiteface, Lyal

Varied Sittella, Lyal

Oh, and a few non-avians attracted the camera also

Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Lyal