Down to the south coast of Victoria
2 Comments »11th December, 2007; Category: Trip reports
2007 Victorian trip report #1
Yesterday I described how we left Canberra and headed south on our way to Melbourne. From the point where the road crossed the Great Dividing Range we began a long steady descent to sea level. We began driving through increasingly dense rainforest which was in complete contrast with the barren area on the top of the ranges. Soon we crossed from New South Wales into Victoria.
Picnic lunch spot in Coopracambra National Park
We stopped for a picnic lunch at a likely looking parking bay in the Coopracambra National Park. It showered lightly while we ate and the air was still very cold. We found several beautiful wildflowers to photograph, but the birds were very quiet and inconspicuous. I saw a single Australian Raven, about a dozen Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and two Pied Currawongs. Several Striated Pardalotes called from the tree-tops somewhere nearby. A Laughing Kookaburra called briefly and I think I heard a Grey Fantail calling from down in the gully somewhere. In all it was a disappointing lunch from a birding viewpoint.
After lunch we drove further south towards Cann River and then west through Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale, Sale and Traralgon. The only interesting sighting during this long part of the journey was a male King Parrot sitting by the side of the road. We stopped briefly at Lakes Entrance to refuel both the car and ourselves, again sitting in the car because of the bitter wind. I did manage to add Pacific Gull to the list and I was very interested in seeing White-backed Magpies in this area.
Correa flower in Coopracambra National Park, Victoria
We travelled rapidly through this area without investigating any of the national parks and the many rivers, lakes and inlets along the way. We plan an extended holiday in this area sometime in the next year or so. The region deserves our attention for several weeks at least. This was just a small taste of what it has to offer.
A major downside of the day was to see three dead wombats on the roadside.
An interesting feature of the last section of our journey that day was seeing Ben Cruachan in the distance. This is the mountain featured at the top of Duncan’s blog of the same name. I was disappointed that we didn’t have time for a detour in to meet up with Duncan. Perhaps on our next trip over that way? (Keep the billy on, Duncan.) And thanks to Duncan for confirming my wife’s identification of the wildflower shown below.
Nodding Blue Lily (Stypandra glauca)
Birding on the way south of Canberra
No Comments »10th December, 2007; Category: Trip reports
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report # 15
On our final morning in Canberra, we packed the car and left earlier than we normally do. We had a long day of travelling ahead of us. I had planned for us to travel due south from Canberra, through Cooma, Cann River, Orbost, Bairnsdale, Sale and Traralgon heading towards Melbourne.
We like stopping frequently along the way to look for birds and native wildflowers. Unfortunately we were not able to do this today because we needed to get as close to Melbourne as possible. This was because we needed extra time on the following day for the activities I’d planned for that day. More about that in a future post. In all we covered 560 kilometres which is quite enough for one day.
We left Canberra in fine but cloudy conditions. As we motored south the weather deteriorated rapidly. Heavy clouds threatened poor conditions ahead. Snow was forecast for the highlands and the biting wind indicated that this was indeed happening.
The road south was unexciting from a bird watching point of view. Australian Magpies were seen frequently in the farming country we were passing through. Less common were the Australian Ravens and Galahs. We saw the occasional small flock of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos feeding in the paddocks. Wherever there was a dam or creek we would see the occasional small flock of Australian Wood Ducks.
Australian Wood Duck (male)
We made a short stop at the small village of Nimitabel for a cuppa and morning tea. We stopped at the picnic ground by an artificial lake on the southern edge of town. We set up at a picnic table but soon retired back into the car. The wind – sorry, gale – was bitterly cold. Highlight of this delightful but cold spot was a pair of Blue-billed Ducks.
As we drove further south I was able to add Dusky Woodswallow to the trip list and I saw a Richard’s Pipit for only the second time during this holiday. We continued to travel through Cooma and on south towards the south coast. At one point we crossed the Great Dividing Range at 1100 metres. No wonder it was cold. Fortunately we only had a few showers along the way so driving was easy.
Dusky Woodswallow
Rescue of the ten little ducklings
3 Comments »9th December, 2007; Category: Baby birds, Bird Behaviour, Ducks Geese and Swans, Garden birds
Pacific Black Duck with ten ducklings
From time to time we have Pacific Black Ducks visiting our swimming pool. Sometimes a solitary bird, more often two and sometimes three. They might hang around for a few days and then we won’t see them for weeks or months.
Several years ago we had a mother duck bring about five or six ducklings to the pool. On that occasion we found the ducklings too late. Because they had been in the water and couldn’t get out, they all died, even though we tried to care for them. They probably were far too exhausted or possibly became too cold.
On Friday we had another family of ducks visit the pool. We are in severe water restrictions due to the drought at present and I’ve been reluctant to fill the pool, so the water level was down quite a long way compared to its normal level. I haven’t bothered to begin cleaning it for summer either, but that is another story. Once again I was fearful of losing all ten little ducklings.
My dear wife came to the rescue with a brilliant device for rescuing the ducklings. She found a length of chicken netting with a wooden frame around it. It was about a square metre in size. This was placed like a ramp from the water to the edge of the pool. She then draped an old towel over the netting and anchored the whole thing with several bricks. Within the hour the whole family found the ramp and they were on their way, hopefully down to the river. Now the River Murray is about four kilometres away, so that is a long march for a family of little ducklings. A search of the property later found not sign of them, so I am assuming they are well on their way to safety on the river.
Pacific Black Duck with ten ducklings
Further reading:
Great Birding Moments #32: my first Powerful Owl sighting
13 Comments »8th December, 2007; Category: Great Birding Moments, Nocturnal birds, Owls Frogmouths and Nightjars
Powerful Owl
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #14
During the weeks before departing on our holiday in the eastern states in September, I had read of reports of various birds present in the Canberra region. I had subscribed to the local birding newsgroup, Canberra Birds, on the internet. One of the birds that interested me was a Powerful Owl in the Australian National Botanic Gardens. I also knew that this was one of the places we were definitely planning to visit. As the day approached I had a great deal of excited anticipation. You see, I’d never seen a Powerful Owl ever before. Everyone was saying how easy it was to see this individual roosting in one of the trees near the Visitor Centre of the gardens.
Powerful Owl
I was determined to find this bird all by myself; a foolish notion in retrospect. The gardens are extensive and there are literally thousands of suitable trees or bushes where this bird might have decided to roost. Finding it was probably right up there with the proverbial needle. Pride does funny things to you. It also prevents you from seeing some really interesting birds.
Near the end of our visit my wife struck up a conversation with one of the volunteers doing some weeding. When I came around the corner with my binoculars at the ready he instantly, in a flash of recognition, realised I was a birder. “Have you seen the Powerful Owl?” he immediately interrogated. When I replied in the negative he gave me some simple instructions as to where to find said bird. It was less than 50 metres from where we stood. I found it easily. Another “lifer.”
I do not think my pride suffered any major dents that afternoon.
When in doubt – ask.
Lesson learned.
Related Articles:
- Great Birding Moments – my archives of other great birding moments.
Birding in Sri Lanka
I have never been birding in Sri Lanka but if I ever get the opportunity to go there, I will certainly take it.
In the meantime, I can still enjoy photos of the birds of that country by going to the birding blog of Amila Salgado. It’s called Gallicissa – a birder in an endemic hotspot. Amila has more than a passing interest in birds, he is also into bird photography, showing off many of his photos on his blog. As a bonus, he also features photos of frogs, insects and reptiles. It’s well worth a visit.
Link: