Bartley's Block, Chiltern

Bartley's Block is the site of a gold rush era brewery. While there is very little evidence of the old buildings remaining, the site is great for birdwatching as there are open grassy areas surrounded by mixed Acacia-Eucalypt forest with several dams and boggy areas providing water.

Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 @16mm, ISO 800, f/4, 1/640

Again, Superb Fairy-wrens seemed to be everywhere and I found this female collecting spider webs (presumably for nesting).

Superb Fairy-wren (female), Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/800

Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters and Noisy Friarbirds were in the trees right near the car park.

Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/1250

Noisy Friarbird, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/1600

Noisy Friarbird, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/1600

We spotted a Bronze Cuckoo perched among the foliage high in a tree near the back of the block and, following a lengthy discussion about whether the bars went all the way across the breast or not, we settled on Horsefield's Bronze Cuckoo.

Horsefield's Bronze Cuckoo, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/2500

We found another one (or maybe the same one) an hour or so later in a much better location for photographs

Horsefield's Bronze Cuckoo, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/400

along with a male Mistletoebird in the same tree.

Mistletoebird (male), Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/1600

Several species of birds were 'hanging out' in this wattle bush but only the Silvereye and White-eared Honeyeater were photographable.

Silvereye, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/5000

White-eared Honeyeater, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/4000

White-eared Honeyeater, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/4000

A tiny Weebill (Australia's smallest bird) was flitting about the foliage in this box tree. After I got this shot, we realised it was in and out of a nest so we left it alone

Weebill, Bartley's Block, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adapter), ISO 800, f/8, 1/5000

and headed back to Lake Anderson for some more evening shots.

Crake hunt at the WTP

There have been many reports of crakes and rails at the Western Treatment Plant in recent weeks (mostly while I was overseas). Today was my first opportunity to get there and see for myself. I arrived early at the bird hide (where most of the previous success had been) and watched and waited. Heard lots of crakish sounds (mostly Australian Spotted but one Spotless calling as I arrived) but only teasing glances as several Australian Spotted Crakes and Buff-banded Rails ran across the road or from one bush to another but did not stay still long enough for even a record shot. All was not lost though as there was lots of activity among the small saltmarsh birds:

White-browed Scrubwren, Bird Hide, Western Treatment Plant

Silvereye,  Bird Hide, Western Treatment Plant

Superb Fairy-wren, Bird Hide, Western Treatment Plant

Little Grassbird, Bird Hide, Western Treatment Plant

and some opportunities to practice my birds in flight:

Australian Pelican, Western Treatment Plant

Australian White Ibis, Western Treatment Plant

A very pleasant two hours but time to go and look for some wading birds. There have been reports of early arrivals of migratory waders at the new Western Lagoon so I headed back there via Paradise Road where there was a large flock of Red-necked Avocets feeding in the ponds just near Gate 8 and a few were quite close to the road. Unfortunately the sun was behind them and because they were so close I was shooting hand-held out of the car window through reeds but a reasonable record shot.

Red-necked Avocet, Western Treatment Plant

At Western Lagoon 4, I found many Red-necked Stints and Curlew Sandpipers, mostly too far away for any good photographs but this individual did cooperate for a few minutes.

Curlew Sandpiper, Western Lagoons, Western Treatment Plant

Bush birds by the beach, Ocean Grove

The Ocean Grove Spit is a 2 km long sand dune complex that separates Bass Strait from the Barwon River Estuary View Map. The dunes are covered in coastal scrub consisting mainly of Leptospermum, Kunzea and Acacia.

A short walk along the river side at lunchtime today revealed thornbills, silvereyes and fairy wrens highly active amongst the flowering Kunzea and Acacia bushes.

Silvereye, Ocean Grove

Brown Thornbill (juvenile), Ocean Grove