|
Birding trip report Anglesea Heathland and Otway Ranges John was visiting from Florida and was keen to add more species to his list of Australian birds. He was well-travelled, having undertaken birding in Ecuador, New Zealand, Alaska, Europe and most of the USA. We spent all day discussing birds of the world and swapping birding yarns. The tour covered a range of habitats from wetlands and open farmland through to heathland, dry forest and wet forest. The farmland is a good spot to find birds such as Whitling kites and Brown Falcons. Other raptors seen included a Wedge-tailed eagle and a juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle at Lake Wurdi Boluc. In the dry forest, we were able to see many of the "bush birds" including honeyeaters and the Rufous Whistler that will shortly head north to winter in Queensland. Most birds have now finished breeding, but in the Otways a pair of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were still feeding chicks at the nest. These honeyeaters also head north for the winter. They are seen passing through Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsular in late April, travelling in flocks of up to 100 birds. It was good to see a large flock of White-throated Needletail wheeling over the Airey's Inlet township. We had good views as they soared along the clifftops near the lighthouse. One of the more memorable sights were the "birds" in skimpy bikinis at the Erskine Falls carpark. They were suitably dressed for the hot day. It was a lovely day and we finished up with a flock of nearly 1000 Banded Stilt before munching pizzas while we sat at the top of the hill overlooking Eastern Beach. Thanks for sharing a memorable day, John. Barry |
 |
|
Wyld By Design |