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Birding trip report Bruny Island and Hobart, Tasmania List of the 65 species seen (Excel Spreadsheet). We took the opportunity to spend 4 days at one of our favorite places. It is only a short flight from Melbourne to Hobart and a further hours drive to Kettering to catch the Bruny Island ferry. Bruny Island is made up of two islands joined by a narrow neck of sand. The neck is home to a large colony of penguins, with burrows lining the tall sand dunes. The viewing platform at the top gave excellent views of D’Entrecasteaux Channel to the east and Adventure Bay to the east. In the afternoon, we drove to Adventure Bay. The Blue Gums grew right to the edge of the lovely beach area. They were flowering and this attracted Yellow Wattlebirds, Green Rosellas and Swift Parrots. Tasmanian Scrubwrens were seen in the coastal bush land. We watched the sun set over the water from our verandah at Alonnah, and I was surprised to see a pair of Brown Quail fossicking around in the long grass of the back yard. A pair of Black-headed Honeyeaters perched nearby. On the next day we travelled south to the Bruny Island lighthouse. The lighthouse is located above spectacular cliffs and rocky islands. Beyond the shore lay the stormy Southern Ocean. Several seabirds were noted from the track below the lighthouse.
On the track to the nearby beach, a Tasmanian Thornbill was seen. The call was distinctly different to a Brown Thornbill and drew my attention to the bird. It had similar plumage, but lacked the streaking on the chest area. From here we drove to the Labillardiere Peninsula and completed a nice loop walk through the coastal heath land. Strong-billed Honeyeaters were in the trees near the car park. We had to leave for Hobart in the afternoon without fully exploring the island. At least 4 days would be needed to have a good look at all the features. It is a great place for birds and has good walking tracks. On Monday, I walked up the steep track to Mt Nelson. This is a great birding spot and it is within 5 Km of the centre of Hobart. The track gives great views over Hobart and the Derwent Estuary. The north face of the mountain is open woodland with dense vegetation along the creeks. From the top, the Truganini Reserve leads back towards Sandy Bay. This section of the walk includes masses of wildflowers and I saw Scarlet Robins, Yellow-throated Honeyeaters, Satin Flycatchers and a Pink Robin. The walk was so impressive I returned via the same route and saw a Beautiful Firetail in the valley near Churchill Avenue. Inspired by Mt Nelson, the next day I took the bus to Tree Fern and walked from there to the top of Mt Wellington. There were not a lot of birds about, but the views were stunning. The wind was ferocious and cold on the summit, but it was calm and pleasant on the lower slopes. I took the Pipeline Trail back to Hobart, completing a very pleasant walk. The only unusual bird sighting was the large numbers of Kelp Gulls at the Waterworks reservoirs. The loud calls reminded me of the seaside in England, although the birds over there were Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed gulls. Barry |
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