The Babbler

Number 46 March 2018

Occasional newsletter of Birdlife Australia Murray Goulburn Branch

Birdlife Murray Goulburn

President: Pat Feehan

Ph 0437 354088 Email: patfeehan1@gmail.com

Secretary: Denise Feehan

Ph 0484 195696 Email: denise.feehan@gmail.com

A big welcome to our new Birdlife Murray Goulburn

president Pat Feehan and secretary Denise Feehan,

who were unanimously voted to these positions at our

branch AGM in March 2018. We wish them both well,

and look forward to supporting them as they co-

ordinate the activities Birdlife Murray Goulburn.

Our retiring president Mike Kerr and secretary Val La

May have done a wonderful job over the last (nearly)

seven years. Our membership is growing and in recent

times our monthly outings have been attracting from

20 to 30 members. Heartfelt thanks to both of you.

Forthcoming activities for 2018

Sat 21 April 2018 9am. Euroa district. Meet in

Kirkland Ave, Euroa for a visit to private property, and

to Gooram Falls. Leader Judith Durston

Wed 2 May 2018 8.45am for a 9am start. Winton

Wetlands quarterly bird survey.

Sat 19 May 2018 10am. Killawarra Forest, Warby

Ovens National Park. Note later start time for our

winter activities.

Sat 16 June 2018 10am. Kinnairds Swamp,

Numurkah.

The full program was distributed to members in

November 2017, and is on the BLMG Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/birdlifemg/

Queries about our website and Facebook pages can be

emailed to Graham Boast graham@reckonhelp.com.au

BIRDING BY BICYCLE - BROOME TO PERTH

The following article was written by Len and Rae

Jeffers, who have joined our branch after moving to

Benalla from Merbein, where they were active

members of Birdlife Sunraysia. The Jeffers have done a

number of long distance cycling trips. This one was

completed in 2005. The 2500km from Broome to Perth

took them 35 days. Amazing.

The title is not really accurate. We didn’t go looking

for birds. They found us or we spotted them in

passing, as the main aim of the trip was to ride from

Broome to Perth. Seeing the birds was an added

bonus.

We arrived in Broome by plane on 7th August. It took

Len four hours to put our bikes together at the

Caravan Park, so then we went to explore Broome.

Laurie Jones, a Mildura Birdo, had told us where to see

Red-headed Honeyeaters, but despite looking we didn’t

find them - however we did see Brahminy Kites

wheeling over the mangroves as people tried to catch

little crabs.

The 9th

August we set off. Turning South from

Roebuck Roadhouse into the Great Sandy Desert we

were struck by the greenery and the numbers of birds.

The main birds we saw were Rufous Whistlers,

Mistletoe Birds, Rainbow Birds and large green parrots

Contents 1. New BLMG President and Secretary

1-4. Birding by bicycle – Broome to Perth

4-5. Puffins in Iceland

5-7 . Meet a member. Kathy Costello

7-8. Bird breeding events in our region

8-10 Reports of outings

mailto:patfeehan1@gmail.commailto:denise.feehan@gmail.comhttps://www.facebook.com/birdlifemg/mailto:graham@reckonhelp.com.au

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with red wings. Not having a bird guide we asked

people at the bush camp that evening what bird it was.

The only response we got was “I think it’s a parrot”!!!

Road into Barn Hill Station

At Barn Hill Station the next night, after seeing many

more of the parrots, a more knowledgeable person was

able to tell us Red-winged Parrot. Apparently the

much drier interior had brought them closer to the

greener coast where there had been good unseasonal

rain.

Leaving Barn Hill on the coast, we saw a flock of

Budgerigars plus 5 dead on the road - a sad sight.

Later that day a flock of about 30 Red-tailed Black

Cockatoos flew over us and we saw Yellow-throated

Miners at Bush Camp Stanley. Past Bush Camp

Stanley the landscape changed from trees and shrubs

to very low acacia. Many small reddish kangaroos

were dead along the road, and consequently we saw a

couple of Wedge-tailed Eagles. We also saw Brown

and Grey Falcons, Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike, White-

winged Fairy-wrens, Pipits and finches we couldn’t

identify - lots of finches.

South of Sandfire Roadhouse there were few trees but

many different low bushes and plants, some in flower.

Birds were everywhere - birds such as Brown and

Rufous Songlarks and Black-faced Woodswallows.

We’d reached the 80 Mile Beach and so had a rest day

the next day. We were able to watch several Pied

Oystercatchers in the shallow water and Pied

Butcherbirds in the caravan park.

We set off for the Pardoo Roadhouse the next day and,

with a lovely tail wind, could appreciate the Little

Woodswallows, Black Kites, and Corellas we saw on

the way.

From Pardoo Roadhouse we crossed the Pardoo River,

which had red water and ghost gums. We continued

to De Grey River, which was a beautiful, wide stretch

of water. The Blue-winged Kookaburras arrived at

dusk and really amused us with their strange sounds.

De Grey River

Next morning, we left in fog for South Headland,

where we replenished our supplies, the next stop being

Yule River. We were fortunate to see two Letter-

winged Kites on our way. At the river itself were

Australasian Grebe, Black-winged Stilts, Eurasian Coot,

Fairy Martins and a Red-backed Kingfisher. The best

part of our stay at Yule River was the sound of Bush

Stone-curlews in the evening - a sound we hadn’t

heard since childhood in the Goulburn Valley.

Riding from Yule River to Whim Creek we heard many

Crested Bellbirds, saw Spinifex Pigeons and the first

Sturt Desert Peas. Len eagerly photographed the peas

not realizing that they were going to be with us for the

next few hundred kilometres!

Camp at Yule River

While we lunched on the side of the road we watched

two Banded Lapwings giving any Kite that came near a

very bad time, sending them off.

From Whim Creek to Roebourne we were flying along,

surrounded by purple hills, acres of red Sturt Desert

Pea, green grass, green spinifex, slopes of mauve

Mulla Mulla and purple wildflowers - so colourful and

with a great tail wind. It was cycling heaven!

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March 2018 3

Mulla Mulla

Two days later we were treated to a smorgasbord of

wildflowers riding from Karratha to Fortescue River.

We crossed many creeks and rivers and came across

two magnificent Brolgas, moving so gracefully a short

distance from the road. We stopped and watched for

some time.

The following day an Australian Bustard took to the air

and flew over us taking our minds off the hill we were

climbing. A Pacific Heron was wading on the edge of

Robe River when we arrived and the surrounding

bushes were full of Zebra Finches.

Riding from Robe River to Cane River there were

wildflowers everywhere, and undulating hills

punctuated by creeks and rivers. A flock of Cockatiels

and a similar number of Budgerigars flew across our

path. While lunching among some bushes on the side

of the road (we found any shade and protection from

the wind we could) we finally identified Painted

Finches.

As we neared Yannarie Roadhouse familiar Yellow-

rumped Thornbills, Red-capped Robins, and White-

winged Trillers were noted, as well as the first magpie

since the start of the ride. It was a white-backed

Magpie. In the evening, as we relaxed by the river

pool, Black-fronted Dotterels were wading and Port

Lincoln Parrots were in the trees around us.

Getting a bit remote

Two days later at Lyndon River, we awoke to birdsong

and were serenaded the whole day with hundreds of

the same birdsongs. The song was a chiming four

note descending call. It was very musical with so

many calling at once. We couldn’t locate one of the

birds with the binoculars because they always stopped

calling as we neared. Finally, we saw one calling, and

saw its crest, so positively identified the Chiming

Wedgebill. Shortly after we came across an Emu, a

silly bird! Instead of taking off in the opposite

direction it kept running just ahead of us. It kept

going for a few kilometres until it finally tired and

stopped.

Roadside wildflowers

We were now into sandhill country, crossing line after

line of sandhills. There were many flowering bushes

and paper daisies. It was along here, approaching

Carnarvon, that we saw a Black-shouldered Kite and a

kindly caravanner stopped us and gave us each a

deliciously cold can of soft drink.

Riding from Carnarvon there were masses of bright

pink, pale pink, purple, white, and yellow flowers with

a delightful perfume in the air. A Stubble Quail took

off from the roadside, but it quickly disappeared again.

Rufous Songlarks joined the chorus of the Chiming

Wedgebills. We also saw some Black-tailed Native

Hens before we camped at a roadside stop where,

incidentally, the flies drove us crazy.

The scenery changed approaching Wooramel

Roadhouse. There were no significant bushes or trees,

just low shrubs. The wind was merciless. We did see

White-browed Babblers and Whistling Kites however.

As we rode towards Billabong Roadhouse we travelled

through Mallee trees, acacias, and wildflowers. The

wattles were blooming, and we found it very attractive

being among our familiar Mallee trees. We heard and

saw Striated Pardalotes.

Heading towards Murchison River, we saw a Scarlet

Robin, which, on checking our bird guide after arriving

home, we found was very close to the Northern limit of

its range. A huge flock of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

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were around a dam by the side of the road. With them

were two Carnaby Cockatoos. It was just past this

point that the red sand, that had been with us since

Broome, changed to yellow. With the change of soil so

the flora changed. We were on the eastern edge of

the Kalbarri National Park. Banksias, grevilleas, and

eremophilas were the main flora. When we paused for

a drink and some respite from our bike seats, we saw

two Elegant Parrots resting in a tree just 50 metres

from us. We had plenty of time to study and enjoy

them with the binoculars.

The Murchison River was a very popular camping spot.

There were 33 caravans that stopped for the night. It

is a lovely wide river, but unfortunately the water is

quite saline as Len discovered when he made a cup of

tea. It was undrinkable! Brown Honeyeaters abounded

among the river oaks, gums, acacias and cassias that

edged the river. We saw a Grey Butcherbird too. Next

morning we saw another Scarlet Robin and many

wrens but no males in breeding plumage.

Gets a bit windy near Greenough

We had a rest day in Geraldton, and then continued to

Port Denison. Banksias, acacias, and Geraldton wax

lined the roadside. We saw over 30 Carnaby

Cockatoos on the banksias and saw more the next day,

as well as New Holland Honeyeaters and Red

Wattlebirds. The brilliant blue of Leschenaultia was

scattered amongst the Geraldton wax.

While relaxing outside our cabin at Reagans Ford

Caravan Park, we were thrilled to see a beautiful little

bird come right up near us. It was a male Splendid

Wren. He had fluttered across the road from a

bushland reserve and he was so close we didn’t need

our binoculars. After hearing wrens most of the trip,

and seeing plenty of females and juveniles, it was

satisfying to see a male in full colour.

As we neared Gin Gin, only 56km from Perth, we were

in taller trees and along the roadsides we came across

kangaroo paws - brilliant red and green ones. The Gin

Gin cemetery was covered in them. It was here that

we saw Crimson Rosella and a Pallid Cuckoo as well as

Port Lincoln Parrots, Red-tailed Black Cockatoos and

New Holland Honeyeaters. The next day as we left Gin

Gin for Perth, we were farewelled by magpies attacking

us!

Chance meeting with Bill and Marj Wood from Benalla

We rode 2,500km from Broome to Perth. In all we

recorded 60 special species of birds of which 6 were

firsts - the Red-winged Parrot, Spinifex Pigeon,

Chiming Wedgebill, Banded Lapwing, Little

Woodswallow, and Elegant Parrot. There were of

course, some other obvious birds extra to this list such

as the Willy Wagtail and Little Crows. We saw plenty

of them but we didn’t record them. We only noted the

“special” ones each day as we came across them. As

well, there were many other birds which we saw so

briefly that we didn’t have a chance to get a good look

to identify them - especially the “little brown birds”.

The next cycle trip we made sure to carry a bird guide

despite the extra weight!

PUFFINS IN ICELAND

by Ann Kerr

In July 2017 Mike and I visited Scotland, Iceland and

Poland, travelling with another couple who are not bird

watchers, so it was not a bird watching focused trip.

However, one of our goals in Scotland or Iceland was

to see our first Puffins, the local species being the

Atlantic Puffin. Because of their amazing beaks,

Atlantic Puffins are also called the “sea parrot” or

“clowns of the sea”.

In Scotland we were fairly unsuccessful, seeing only

very distant, hazy, foggy or drizzly views of flying or

floating birds from coastal cliffs or from the ferry to the

Orkney Islands and we didn’t have the opportunity to

visit other more suitable areas.

Luckily in Iceland it turned out to be quite easy in the

right locations. We had our first sighting at Dyrhólaey,

the southernmost tip of the Icelandic mainland, as the

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March 2018 5

birds returned to their nest burrows on the cliffs above

the distinctive black beaches and others floated in rafts

just off the beach. This is a popular tourist spot for its

spectacular and dramatic coastal scenery but the

puffins were not shy and seemed quite unperturbed by

the many onlookers taking photos. So we had ticked

Atlantic Puffins off our wish list, but the experience

also made us want more.

Later, near the lovely little village of Bakkagerdi on the

Borgarfjördur Eystri in the East Fjords, we really hit

the jackpot. Here viewing platforms on a grassy cliff

behind the beautiful harbour gave excellent close-up

views of 100+ birds.

View of Puffin observation deck at Bakkagerd. Photo Ann

Kerr

Atlantic Puffin. Photo Ann Kerr

In glorious sunshine we watched and photographed

the Puffins coming and going or sunning themselves

and juveniles squabbling like naughty children. Even

our non-birdo travelling companions were impressed.

It was a wonderful and fulfilling experience.

Puffins near their nesting burrows. Photo Ann Kerr

MEET A MEMBER – Kathy Costello

by Lorna Ward

On a sunny day early in October 2017 I had the

pleasure of spending the afternoon with Kathy

Costello, our editor of The Babbler, out at Reef Hills

State Park near Benalla. A chorus of bird song greeted

us as we settled on our chairs, me with a notebook

and Kathy with the ever-present binoculars. I was

keen to learn about Kathy’s deep interest in birds. I

must say this was punctuated with Kathy’s

spontaneous comments such as, “That’s a Rainbow

Bee eater’s call. Where is he?” or “I can hear a

Painted Honeyeater, no, two. One is perched there.

Oh, there they go. Did you see them?” It was all very

exciting for a beginner birdo like me.

As a child Kathy took a passing interest in birds and

other wildlife, and especially enjoyed reading the

series of books written by Gerald Durrell on his travels

as an animal collector to different parts of the world.

Family visits to relatives on a farm in Western Victoria,

and having a brother who was interested in native

birds were also influential.

Later, in 1979, Kathy was reading The Age Weekend

Guide and decided to join a Bird Observers’ Club visit

to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. She joined

the club and started attending outings and eventually

camping trips run by the club, often on farms owned

by club members. Bird camps increased her interest in

identifying birds, learning their calls and her

enjoyment of being out in the country. This finally led

to Kathy’s decision to leave Melbourne and to live in

rural Victoria, and she was successful in obtaining

employment as a librarian at Dookie Agricultural

College.

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6 The Babbler

Her Dookie College home provided her with a great

bird learning experience. She saw her first Square-

tailed Kite in the Dookie Bushland Reserve there, an

uncommon raptor in Victoria. Mt Major, at the college,

was a spot where Kathy saw a Wedge-tailed Eagle fly

past below her. She saw Nankeen Kestrels and

Australian Hobbies perched up on the TV towers there.

On another occasion, when in the bush reserve at

Dookie, she watched a Brown Goshawk make a

ferocious diving attack into a small bush three metres

away, trying to catch a small bird that had fled there.

She was not sure of the outcome as the goshawk flew

off with its back to her but the speed and ferocity of

the attack amazed her. Kathy has continued to have a

special interest in raptors, and when driving with her

to the quarterly Winton Wetlands Bird Survey she is

always the first to see a raptor, I might add, even

while driving!

On the weekend she moved to Dookie College in 1992,

Kathy attended an outing of the Murray-Goulburn

BOCA group at Dargile Forest, and has been an active

member of the branch (now called BirdLife Murray

Goulburn) ever since. An outing was organised to the

Bushland Reserve at Dookie College in those early

days and soon Kathy was a committee member

supporting the group’s activities. 1995 was a special

year for bird sightings in the reserve, although she

didn’t realise it at the time. In April 1995 there was a

massive flowering of Grey Box which attracted birds

from far and wide. She saw flocks of Swift Parrots,

Little Friarbirds, Fuscous and White-naped

Honeyeaters and smaller numbers of Noisy Friarbirds,

Yellow-faced, Black-chinned and Yellow-tufted

Honeyeaters. Usually the reserve is dominated by the

resident White-plumed Honeyeaters. On 30 April 1995

she recorded a male Gilbert’s Whistler there, a rare

bird in north east Victoria. In September that year

there were flocks of Budgerigar and Cockatiels in the

reserve, both unusual visitors.

As an aside regarding hearing bird-calls, Kathy shared

her thoughts on learning bird-calls. She commented

that friends might ask her what was the bird they

could hear, and she began to take a lot of interest in

each call, eventually through repetition and

reinforcement, to being able to identify many of the

calls of birds found in the area. She commented on

other club members who have a wonderful ear for bird

calls and postulated that perhaps having a musical ear

might help in learning bird calls.

In 1995 Kathy became the inaugural editor of The

Babbler, and has remained in this position ever since.

The first edition was in black and white and was two

pages long! The newsletter started as a way of

communicating with members in addition to the annual

mail out of a one page list of branch activities for the

coming year. What changes we have seen both in the

delivery and in the production of newsletters with the

now wonderful colour photos of special birds by many

members, embellishing the articles being written.

Members now receive The Babbler by email and it is

also posted on Birdlife Murray Goulburn’s Facebook

page. It was never intended as a historic record of the

branch, but after 23 years it does fulfil that function.

There have been numerous references made to

previous editions when researching details of people,

birds and places.

Photo Lorna Ward

Kathy remains an avid camper and has many

memories of camps over the years. A memorable

Murray Goulburn branch weekend camp at Terrick

Terrick National Park in October 1999 was special

because she and others saw Black Honeyeaters. One

of the members, Roger Standen, a patient birder,

found a pair nesting. Other highlights were Gilbert’s

Whistler near the camp, a Spotted Harrier nesting,

communal nests of Diamond Firetails, a small flock of

Cockatiels, a Black-eared Cuckoo near the camp and

the campers found the first group of Chestnut-crowned

Babblers recorded in the park. This information,

incidentally, was recorded in Babbler No.8, Nov. 1999.

And so, the listening and sightings went on…Buff-

rumped Thornbills, a Yellow Thornbill, 2 Western

Gerygones, 4 Rufous Whistlers, 2 Grey Fantails, 2

Leaden Flycatchers and an Eastern Yellow Robin. Over

2 hours and 15 minutes 28 species were seen or

heard. It was a wonderful experience made all the

more interesting by Kathy’s conversation in between.

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March 2018 7

She is such a passionate birdo with a sensitive interest

in nature, finding the peace of the bush relaxing, and

enjoying the beauty of the tiny orchids, bush plants

and our Australian trees.

Kathy’s advice to beginner birders is to note each new

bird you see or hear as soon as you join a bird group

or as soon as you begin to take an interest in bird

watching, recording the date, where and when. If your

interest develops, you will then have the data for a life

bird list. Club stalwart Don Roberts has 50 years of

bird records. Kathy didn’t make any consistent records

of her early sightings and now regrets it. She also

advises to purchase the best binoculars you can afford

as they are invaluable in your learning. And, like Don

Roberts, to purchase a current Field Guide, whether

printed or electronic. Kathy finished by saying that, in

her opinion, learning from other birdos is the most

enjoyable part of being a birder. It is the social aspect

of her birding that is truly rewarding. For those of us

who tag after her, and our other experienced birders,

at club outings I am sure we agree. It is truly

rewarding.

BIRD BREEDING EVENTS IN OUR REGION

Buff-banded Rails at Gemmill’s Swamp,

Mooroopna

Long-time BLMG member Don Roberts has been

recording birds at Gemmill’s Swamp for the past 50

years. Heavy rain from the Strathbogie Ranges in

December 2017 caused an overland flood to the west,

with some of that water eventually filling Gemmill’s

Swamp. This made conditions for waterbird breeding

very good early in 2018.

Don found at least 4 pairs of Buff-banded Rails at

Gemmill’s over summer. His best sighting was of 2

adult birds with an unusually large brood of 8 small

black chicks walking around the edge of the water on

23 January 2018. He also recorded another pair of

Buff-banded Rails with 4 chicks. On 1 February he saw

3 adults and 5 juveniles, possibly from 2 groups, and

his last sighting was on 9 February 2018, by which

time the water in the swamp was receding rapidly. Don

has only ever seen rails at Gemmill’s when there has

been water in the swamp, so they are birds that

sometimes need to cover large distances.

The Sacred Kingfisher in our garden

Pat Feehan

Juvenile Sacred Kingfisher. Photo Pat Feehan

I took this shot when the bird was sitting on our

clothes line. I was pretty happy with the way the photo

turned out - the camera (Canon SX60) seems to be a

bit hit and miss (probably due to the operator’s lack of

skill).

We live about one kilometre from the Goulburn River

and a Sacred Kingfisher is not a bird I would have

expected to see in a suburban back yard, although we

have had some interesting visitors this year (e.g.

Scarlet Honeyeater). At the moment the birds are

dominated by Common Mynahs, House Sparrows and

Crested Pigeons (plus the Corellas in the park over the

road).

This is the first time we've seen a Sacred Kingfisher in

our backyard (it could be that we had never seen one

before!). It was on its own and seemed to be feeding

on dragonflies.

We saw it for 4 or 5 days running, but when Val was

here for lunch it turned on a pretty good show sitting on

the clothesline, the pool fence and on the ground. Val

thought it was juvenile bird, confirmed by a look at our

Australian Bird Guide.

I did see it once on a Eucalypt in our front yard, but it

mostly showed up in the backyard for brief visits

around 8 am or about 5 pm. We haven't seen it for a

few days so I assume it has moved on. I listed it a

couple of times in eBird.

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Masked Lapwing breeding in central

Seymour

Val La May

Last year, at least two pairs of Masked Lapwings raised

their young inside fenced-off vacant blocks in central

Seymour. A smart choice for a breeding site, as the

young birds were protected from dogs, foxes and

people. Cats would have been able to climb the chain-

link fence enclosure; but perhaps the adults could see

a cat off.

The first pair raised at least 2 chicks in a block on Oak

Street. I first spotted the adults with 3 small chicks on

the 20 September. By mid-October there were 2

nearly full-grown young with the adults. The second

pair had 4 small chicks in a vacant block next to

Burtons Store on ANZAC Avenue. I first noticed this

family on the 3 November. By 28 November there

were 3 nearly full-grown young with the pair of adults.

I assume it was two pairs of Lapwings, i.e. one pair

nesting at each site. If it was only one pair, they were

very prolific, producing offspring by October and then

another batch in November. The woman who runs the

pet shop next to the vacant block in ANZAC Avenue

said Lapwings have produced young there for several

years. The only drawback, as far as she was

concerned, was that she had to ensure that the block

wasn’t mown until the young birds were big enough to

get away from the mower.

Young birds in my garden

Kathy Costello

I’ve learnt quite a lot watching birds coming to bird

baths in my garden over the years. For example, it has

been a great way to learn how to identify Brown,

Yellow and Striated Thornbills. Late in 2017 I noticed a

Crested Pigeon resting for several days in the shade

under a shrub near the bird bath. Not an unusual sight

around my place, but when I saw another Crested

Pigeon arrive and start feeding this bird, I suddenly

registered it was a juvenile. Then I had a proper look,

and checked my field guide. The young bird lacked

iridescent markings in its wings, lacked a white edge to

the tail and had plainer brown plumage than the adult.

Always something new to learn, even with common

garden birds.

Other young birds I’ve seen over the summer.

A family group of Brown-headed Honeyeaters coming

in for a drink, at least 2 of them juvenile birds with

duller markings than the adults and yellow bills. They

are uncommon visitors to my garden. Two adult Willie

Wagtails and two juveniles, with a brown tinge to their

plumage and a fainter white eyebrow. Several groups

of Red-browed Finches, including a number of

juveniles. They have a red rump like the adults, but

the bill is black, not red, and they lack the red eyebrow

of the adult birds.

One day I watched a procession of Superb Fairy-wrens

hopping across my patio – one brown adult, followed

by one short-tailed begging youngster and another

brown adult. A minute later an adult blue male, then 2

begging short-tailed youngsters and finally a brown

adult. I was so pleased they’d bred successfully, as I

think I’d disturbed a breeding pair in the garden a few

weeks earlier. I’d been weeding some long grass in a

shrubby part of the garden, prior to watering the

shrubs, and the male wren perched near me,

chattering loudly. A week later I found an empty nest.

Oh dear. But they are remarkably resilient little birds,

despite their tiny size.

REPORTS OF OUTINGS

Victoria Park Lake, Shepparton

Saturday 9 December 2017

Little Pied Cormorant. Photo Catarina Gregson

Well, our planned outing to Gemmill's Swamp

underwent several plan changes on Saturday and not

all the changes were due to elevated water levels.....

Water levels were high, which necessitated a convoy

relocation to the eastern, forested side of the swamp.

However, there was really only one location in the

forested area where we could fit our largish convoy but

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March 2018 9

the site was already occupied by a lone "fisherman".

We soon realised that this individual was experiencing

some sort of psychotic episode and wished to vent his

anger on us, meaning that the vehicles could not be

left there either. Consequently, a further relocation

was made, this time to Victoria Park Lake in

Shepparton, where we were at last able to enjoy the

marvellous weather in relative peace and quiet -

whew!

We birded the quiet side of the lake until lunchtime

and then did a short stroll westward to the Goulburn

River/Broken River junction after enjoying lunch on the

lawn below the red gums - a relaxing way to spend the

day after our harrowing start. Separate lists have been

generated for the pre and post lunchtime sessions and

this month my better half, Annie, did the eBird data

entry work.

Nothing startling to report but of note was the large

number (at least 40) of Reed Warblers to be seen

around the boatshed end of the lake. We even

witnessed them feeding on insects on the lawn and in

the red gums. It is always pleasing to see new season

family groups and many young birds were seen with

their parents, including Purple Swamphens, Dusky

Moorhens and Wood Ducks.

Dusky Moorhen family. Photo Catarina Gregson

Tawny Frogmouth family. Photo Catarina Gregson

I know that a highlight for many was the three Tawny

Frogmouths spotted not 1 metre off the ground in the

forest by our sharp-eyed leader, Don Roberts.

Thanks Don for another great day of birding.

by Mike Kerr

Cussen Park, Tatura

Saturday 17 February 2018

Twenty two people attended our outing at Cussen

Park, Tatura. We birded around the wetland in the

morning, then held our Annual General Meeting during

lunch in the rotunda.

The wetlands had plenty of water, in contrast to many

of the other wetlands in the region, which seem to be

dry or close to dry.

Some highlights:

the flying fox colony and an impromptu lecture

from local batologist Terry Court

homemade cakes provided by Ann and Kathy J

award winning vanilla slices from the Tatura

Bakery (thanks Kathy C and Lorna)

Lorna, Judith, Val, Rae and Henry at Cussen Park. Photo Pat

Feehan

Amongst the bird highlights were:

glimpses of raptors

several Latham’s Snipe along the edge of the

wetland

good views of several Spotless Crakes

The Babbler

10 The Babbler

Juvenile Spotless Crake at Cussen Park. Photo Marg Clarke

Two juvenile White-breasted Woodswallows with adult. Photo

Marg Clarke

Other birds of interest were several Black-winged Stilt,

Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Darter and good numbers of

Red-rumped Parrots.

We saw a total of 49 bird species, and one large Tiger

Snake (at a safe distance).

by Pat Feehan

Nankeen Night-heron. Photo Pat Feehan

Office Bearers elected for 2018

President - Pat Feehan

Secretary – Denise Feehan

Treasurer – Judith Durston

Committee - Karen Balfour, Lorna Ward, Kathy

Costello, Debbie Hill, Mike Kerr, Val La May

Web master - Graham Boast

Conservation officer - Don Roberts

Newsletter – Kathy Costello

Once again, many thanks to our generous

contributors to this newsletter.

Kathy Costello,

Editor