Victoria

First Days

We arrived in Australia after an uneventful flight keen to get started unfortunately it was raining, not at all what we had expected. Simon from Firetail Birding who was to be our guide for the week was waiting for us as we emerged from the airport at the agreed time telling us that a front had gone through overnight bringing with it heavy rain and strong winds, the rain had eased so we headed out to begin our Australian adventure. We headed the few kilometres to Woodlands Park where we could acquaint ourselves with some common birds, the Starlings, Myna's and House Sparrows around the airport were not what we were looking for but soon the first real Aussie birds, Aus Magpie, Magpie Lark and Little Raven began to show along with our first mammal an Eastern Grey Kangaroo. Galahs and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos gave a more Australian feel to the birdlife as we arrived at Woodlands. Soon we were adding what were mostly to be common birds to our list, Red-rumped Parrots, Striated and Spotted Pardalote, Silver-eye, Yellow and Brown Thornbills, Rufous and Golden Whistlers, Superb Fairy-wren, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Long-billed Corella and our first Laughing Kookaburras were soon noted, the calling Shining Bronze Cuckoo we tracked down though proved to be one of only two seen on our trip.

Time was tight and we soon had to leave and head inland stopping first for a coffee break and unsuccessful search for Powerful Owl at Castlemaine Botanic Gardens before heading on towards Inglewood. Red Wattlebird was our only new bird here.

Soon after leaving Castlemaine we left the main road and turned onto a unpaved road heading through woodland such as in the photo above. We had only travelled a short distance when we stopped to look at a Jackie Winter on the roadside fence, as often on these trips a stop for one bird soon produces many more. Simon heard some Honey-eaters calling and soon we found Fuscous and some very smart Black-chinned Honey-eaters in the flowering trees above us, a Whistling Kite and a Brown Goshawk passed over while we were watching the Honey-eaters and a party of White-winged Choughs wandered around the nearby field, both Eastern and Crimson Rosellas added some colour to the scene.
Travelling a little further we stopped for a Yellow-tufted Honey-eater which also produced Grey Shrike-thrush and Brown Treecreeper, the next stop by a pond containing Australian Grebe, Pacific Black Duck, Little Cormorant, Purple Swamp-hen and Coot also added Dusky Wood-swallow, a superb Crested Shrike-tit and White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike ( another good bird for Victoria though common around Cairns). Another impromptu stop found a mixed flock containing Buff-rumped and Striated Thornbills, Mistletoe-bird and White-browed Scrub-wren, Grey Currowong was seen along the road as we headed for Bell's Swamp, lunch and our first good look at some wetlands.
We were not to be disappointed as we were soon adding Australian Shoveler and Shelduck, Little Pied Cormorant, Pacific and White-faced Herons, Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterel, Aus Ibis, Yellow-faced Spoonbill and Dusky Moorhen to our growing list. A Swamp Harrier put in a brief appearance and a Black-tailed Native-hen seen scuttling across the road was tracked down for better views, as we left a Rufous Songlark displayed on the post in front of us. Continuing along the road we stopped to examine some of the many Corella flocks to get good views of both Long-billed and Little Corellas

Long-billed Corella

Little Corella ?

Every pond along the road seemed to have its own Maned Duck family in residence. Arriving in Inglewood we headed into a little park for a comfort break, a small flock of Common Bronzewing flew up from the ground but it was soon obvious that the flowering Yellow gum trees made this Honey-eater heaven. In a frantic half hour or so we located White-eared, Brown-headed,White-fronted and Yellow-plumed Honey-eaters as well as Weebill and previously seen Yellow-tufted and Fuscous Honey-eaters.

Moving on again another stop added Chestnut-rumped Thornbill,  Eastern Spinebill and New Holland Honey-eater before we arrived at the above spot . Now in mallee country we soon enticed our target bird, a Shy Heathwren into showing itself, a Little Eagle was flushed from the ground giving good views as it circled above the trees and a walk around the area produced a singing Western Gerygone, a stunning Hooded Robin and White-winged Triller. We had our first good looks at a pair of soaring Wedge-tailed Eagles and another Shining Bronze Cuckoo.

Mt Korong

Our final stop of this eventful first day was at Mt Korong a rocky outcrop in this otherwise flat country. A party of White-browed Babblers were our first new birds here but soon one of our targets Gilbert's Whistler was heard and soon tracked down for good views, a Southern White-face was spotted before our main quarry was enticed into showing itself, a pair of beautiful Painted Honey-eaters. With the light now failing there was still time to get our first Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater and another mammal Rock Wallaby.
We headed to our Motel at Wedderburn where despite our planned eating place being closed and ending up with take-away fish and chips back in the motel room we finished a very successful day with nearly 100 species already seen including some very good birds we would not encounter again.

Day Two

An early start and we were heading towards Boort Lakes and more water birds were our first new birds of the day, Australian Pelican and our first Silver Gulls, recent rain thwarted any chance of any crakes, but soon we stopped for Simon to show us a nesting Tawny Frogmouth

Tawny Frogmouth

White-breasted Wood-swallow

 Noisy Miner, Blue-faced Honey-eater and this White-breasted Woodswallow were found around the lake before these Nankeen Night-Herons were found roosting in a large tree.

Nankeen Night-Heron

Musk Lorikeet

A fuel stop gave us time to find some Purple-crowned Lorikeets amongst the many Musk Lorikeets in the flowering tree before Kay spotted this Frogmouth sat in the same tree.
Nearby salt-pans produced some distant Pied Stilt and Red-necked Avocet although the Red-capped Plovers were a little closer. The strong winds were not making things easy for us and did not help us at our next stop Lake Tuchewop where White-fronted and Orange Chats did give reasonable scope views but the White-winged Fairy-wrens were keeping low and only brief views of a few female/immature birds were had. Hovering Brown Falcons and Australian Kites though were happier in the wind.
Another lake aptly named Round Lake for a lunch stop added another target bird for the trip the strange looking Musk Duck as well as our first Black Swans, distant Pink-eared Ducks and large flocks of Hoary-headed Grebes.

Goschen

After  lunch brought a change of habitat as we moved into the much drier country around Goschen National Reserve. Large flocks of Woodswallows lined the fences on the road to the reserve containing mostly White-browed but also some Masked as well, Yellow-eared Miners also started to appear instead of the commoner Noisy. In the park a pair of Blue-bonnets and a Cockatiel were unco-operative not allowing close approach unlike a Rainbow Bee-eater that posed in the sun. The hoped for Black Honey-eater called distantly but could not be found in the windy weather and Blue-winged Parrots eluded us altogether, although to be fair as after a warning of the presence of snakes I spent more time looking at the ground than the trees !

Rainbow Bee-eater

White-browed Woodswallow

Leaving Goschen we headed northwards with brief stops for Singing Honey-eater and  Mallee Ring-neck before arriving at Moss tank reserve where a pair of Mulga Parrots and some more confiding Blue-bonnets and Ring-necks. Moss tank proved to be a very successful stop with a stunning male Splendid Fairy-wren eventually showing well, a party of Chestnut-crowned Babblers and a superb Striped Honey-eater doing likewise

Splendid Fairy-wren

Moving on a stop for a raptor gave us good views of a Black Falcon one of 3 seen today and then in front of us on the side of the road was a Mallee-fowl one of the top target birds for the area and a sighting that would save us time searching for tomorrow, we had great views as it slowly made its way into cover.
We reached the Murray River and the NSW border just as the rain arrived which threatened to curtail our search for our next target but we need not have worried as it soon eased and I picked up our target bird first over the far side of the river but soon they moved across and we had good views of some beautiful Regent Parrots, a distant Sacred Kingfisher was our first and a Yellow race of Crimson Rosella proved to be our only sighting of the trip.
Wind again thwarted our chances of persuading both Mallee Emu-wren or Striated Grass-wren from showing themselves and a calling Crested Bellbird was far too distant to track down. Dinner in a pub in Ouyen meant arriving at our camp site in the Hattah-Kulkyne National park in the dark making an interesting tent erecting experience before we headed out for a spotlighting session. Although we quickly flushed a Spotted Nightjar from the road in front of us a perched Tawny Frogmouth and good views of some Brush-tailed Possum were all we could find before retiring to our tents.


Day 3

Waking up in the open was an amazing experience the air was full of bird calls, one of the first sounds heard was the Australian Magpies quickly followed by the Magpie-larks and Noisy Miners all of which were soon investigating the campsite looking for tit-bits. Looking around we soon saw our first Emus of the trip although they did not want to hang around for long, our first Apostlebirds arrived just after dawn and were hopping around close to the "dunny"allowing close approach. A walk round the area produced a couple of White-bellied Sea-Eagles perched up by the dried up lake, a group of Regent Parrots flew over while Western Grey Kangaroos had replaced their Eastern cousins.

Emus and breakfast at Hattah

Apostlebird

White-fronted Chat

Wyperfield

After breakfast it was time to move on we quickly packed the camping gear and were soon on our way, a stop along the Old Calder Rd for a White-fronted Chat also produced Mulga and Bluebonnet Parrots and Southern Whiteface. Simon heard an Owlet-nightjar calling but a search of the many likely trees scattered around drew a blank. We stopped in Ouyen for refreshments before heading out for our main location of the day the splendid Wyperfield National Park. Just out of Ouyen I spotted a raptor which turned out to be our first Spotted Harrier which gave good views as it quartered the nearby fields and search of the roadside flowering bushes failed to turn up any Black Honey-eaters just Singing and Spiny-cheeked.

Wyperfield NP

Mallee-fowl nest mound

Crimson Chat

Red-capped Robin

Galahs

As we drove into Wyperfield a second Spotted Harrier of the day showed briefly although our attention soon turned to watching a pair of Budgerigars that were nesting in one the trees lining the road, a male Red-capped Robin was also spotted so we left our vehicle and walked along the track to get better views when a second brightly coloured bird came into view this time a Crimson Chat with both in the same field of view at times, it was soon apparent that there were at least 3 Chats and a pair of Robins feeding a well grown youngster so some time was spent trying to get some decent pictures of both species but the Chats were very active and wary so kept their distance. Other birds of note here were a Wedge-tailed Eagle overhead , White-winged Triller, Rainbow Bee-eaters and White-browed Wood-swallows. Moving on to the picnic area for refreshments we were entertained by some nesting Galahs.

After a break we moved on again looking for our next target the splendid Major Mitchell's Cockatoo, Simon spotted what he suspected were some in flight so we stopped and headed off in their direction after several brief views we were able to get some much better views of 4 of these top target parrots

Pink ( Major Mitchell's ) Cockatoo

With our target safely in the bag we moved a little further before another stop. Almost immediately a Tree-creeper was heard calling and was quickly located this time it was a White-browed another much desired bird of the area.  It was now getting very hot and the flies were becoming extremely bothersome as we took a walk up into the thick bush but armed with our " twizzle" sticks we managed to keep some of them off of our faces ( I know now why corked hats are needed ). Simon took us through some very thick prickly scrub until we came across a huge Mallee-fowl mound although there was no sign of any attendant Mallee-fowl but as the pressure to find one was off after yesterdays chance encounter there was no need to spend time searching. An Inland Thornbill was located but we were not so lucky with the Scrub-robins although in that impenetrable terrain it was impossible to move around quietly. Returning to the vehicle a Black-eared Cuckoo was heard calling in the distance and after a little searching it was persuaded to come closer where we were able to get super views.

Black-eared Cuckoo

Black-eared Cuckoo

Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater

With most of the dry country targets now safely seen it was time to head back south again. As we passed through Horsham a flock of 50 or so large black birds were spotted heading slowly towards us as they got closer I could see they were in fact Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos a true magnificent sight. We were now in the Grampians and yet another change of habitat.

Flora in the Grampians

Tawny-crowned Honey-eater

New Holland Honey-eater.

A random stop brought dividends when both Tawny-crowned Honey-eater and Chestnut-rumped Heath-wrens both responded to a tape and gave good views while we also found some Donkey Orchids and added Red-necked Wallaby to our mammal list, as we headed on to our campsite for the night a Brush Bronzewing was flushed from the roadside, with Simon's preferred campsite closed we headed to another at Trooper's Creek which was busier than the previous nights as it was still a school holiday in Victoria.
Some evening spotlighting was again unsuccessful with only more Brush-tailed Possums seen but the Southern Boobook which called nearby in the night turned out to be the only encounter with an Owl in the whole of our trip.

Facilities at Trooper's Creek

Trooper's Creek camping

Next morning breakfast with the Red-necked Wallabies and Kookaburra was interrupted by the appearance of some noisy parrots which  turned out to be our only sightings of the splendid Gang-Gang Cockatoos another much hoped for bird unfortunately they didn't hang around for long unlike the Forest Raven which wandered around the campsite floor. The road out of the campsite took us through some spectacular scenery. There were lots of Emu along the roadside early morning and we were able to get some close views along with large numbers of Western Grey Kangaroos and Black Wallabies.

Us at Reid's Lookout

Unsurprisingly we were among the first to arrive at Reid's Lookout which was our intension as it was a popular tourist spot, here we could have a walk along the tracks before the hoards and as a result had good views of White-eared, Yellow-faced and Crescent Honey-eaters, Eastern Spinebill, Eastern Yellow Robin and Fan-tailed Cuckoo without too much disturbance. After breakfast we moved further along until we reached Silverband Falls were we added White-naped Honey-eater and White-throated Tree-creeper to our list as well as better views of Yellow Robin and Brush Bronzewing.

Track to Falls

Yellow Robin

White-browed Scrub-wren

Superb Fairy-wren

A further short stop gave me the opportunity to get close to this Fairy-wren.

Heading further towards the coast we stopped for a while at Lake Lithgrow which was teeming with ducks and Grebes, most were Pink-eared and  Pacific Black Ducks and Grey Teal but we able to find a few Freckled Duck and Hardheads as well as both Australian Shoveler and Shelduck. Australian Pipit, Pied Stilt and Red-capped Plover were along the shoreline while 2 Brown Falcon hunted nearby. 2 fly by parrots were IDed by Simon as Blue-winged but they were distant and brief.
Late afternoon we reached the coast and headed along the Great Ocean Road until we reached Lorne where a seawatch from the rocks found us our first Albatross with about 6 Shy ( White-capped) passing offshore as well as a few Australian Gannets, roosting at the end of the rocks were a couple of Pied Oystercatchers and some Crested Terns.
We stopped for the night at Wye Valley Campsite which Simon had said was a nice quiet site but as it was Friday and a school holiday this was not the case. Never the less it was fine and after dinner in the local pub we were off into the Otways for another spotlighting session. We had barely driven any distance when my spotlight picked up a pair of eyes and we had found our first Koala. We were able to find several more before we found another mammal this time a superb Yellow-bellied Glider which gave us close views before it disappeared out of sight.

Wye Valley Camping

Today was our last day with Simon and it promised to be a very busy day with lots still to see. Despite being busy the campsite was very birdy , several Satin Bowerbirds being the main interest,  a Little Wattlebird by the entrance was our first chance to get a close look. Leaving immediately after breakfast we made the short journey along to a nearby creek where a quick burst of tape brought a Rufous Bristlebird into view. This bird is restricted to this coastal strip although not difficult to find. A visit to last nights site hoping for a Koala in daylight proved unsuccessful although time was very limited so we did not search very far as we had hoped the first one we had seen the night before had not travelled far. A quick stop at Lorne for a sea watch produced the same birds as yesterday and another stop at a feeding station gave us our best views yet of several of the Parrots and Cockatoos.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Rufous Bristlebird

Singing Honey-eater

Another short hop along the Great Ocean to Airey's Inlet gave us chance for close views of another Rufous Bristlebird and a Singing Honey-eater. A short sea watch from a clifftop look-out added Short-tailed Shearwater and Pacific Gull with more Gannet and Albatross also passing by.

Hooded Plover

Next stop was at Anglesea Beach where we quickly found a pair of  Hooded Plover near the area fenced off to allow this attractive wader to breed as it is fast decreasing due to disturbance on its beach breeding areas. The nearby Anglesea Heath did not give up its special birds quite so easily and we had to work very hard tramping round the narrow tracks on the heath ever wary of the possible presence of snakes before we could add Striated Field-wren and Southern Emu-wren to the list. A Grey Butcherbird was also found nearby as we headed away from the  coastal heath into more heathland  nearby dominated by a huge open cast coal mine here while driving slowly along the track Simon amazingly picked up the little squeak of an Emu-wren and we were able to get much better views of a male bird this time without the long slog in the hot sun.

Striated Field-wren ( Simon's pic)

Now all our morning targets had been found it was time for break and Simon introduced us to a hot Australian meat pie which I have to admit became a regular occurrence for the rest of the trip. Now it was time to travel up the Great Ocean Road to the site I had been looking forward to visiting since I first read about it , the famous Werribee Water Treatment Works.

Werribee did not disappoint, it is a huge area which you could easily spend all day exploring without covering everything. It is quite possible to find over 100 species here and has a wide variety of habitat ranging from open sea to water filled lagoons,  muddy scrapes, reed beds, coastal heath, scrubland and open grassland. If this reserve was in Britain it would be teeming with people here even on a Saturday afternoon we saw 2 other vehicles during our afternoon here. With limited time our plan was to target the species we had yet to see and one of the reasons we had left it to the final day as we could have spent a lot of time here looking at common birds we see often again.
We entered the reserve near Avalon airport unsuccessfully looking for the pair of Banded Lapwings that were reportedly present, but did find some displaying Singing Bushlark and more familiar Skylark, moving on to an area of lagoon and scrapes a Collared Sparrowhawk glided across the road, on one scrape  full of waders were Pied Stilt, Red-necked Avocet, Marsh and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 100's of Red-necked Stint and several Greenshank. At a nearby reedy scrape a Baillon's Crake crept into view before disappearing into cover again. Werribee is known for its raptors and many were seen during the afternoon, Swamp Harriers were on constant view also seen were Whistling , Black and Australian Kites and a Little Eagle. An exchange of information with another couple birding pointed us in the right direction for one of our targets a pair of Brolga,  a close Yellow-billed Spoonbill was nearby and a finch flock spotted on the track contained both Red-browed and Zebra Finches. Spectacular numbers of Whiskered Terns hawked up and down the lagoons and on one 8 Fairy Terns joined them.

Sharpie

Brolga

Yellow-billed Spoonbill

Australian Kite

With a little patience we were able to get some views of some of the more skulking species found at Werribee, Little Grassbird, Striated Field-wren and Australian Reed Warbler. A Golden-headed Cisticola was more forthcoming giving a sustained display in the open while we enjoyed a welcome cuppa. Strong winds were keeping many of the ducks under cover but we did manage to find at least a female Blue-billed Duck amongst the commoner Pink-eared Ducks, Hardheads, Black Ducks and Chestnut and Grey Teals. Offshore numerous were numerous Black Swans and Pied Cormorants while Fairy Terns joined the Whiskered on a sandbar. Further stops at lagoons near the sea contained more waders although only Curlew Sandpiper and Red kneed Dotterel were different but main prize here was an Australian Spotted Crake which dashed across the open mud while we watched. A group of Black-tailed Native-hen were spotted feeding in a quiet corner between the lagoons. We moved down to Kirk's Point where a Pacific Gull joined the many Silver Gulls and Pacific Golden Plovers joined Pied Oystercatchers on the rocks.

Red-necked Stint

Aust. Pelican

Aust Crake

Pied Oystercatcher

Pacific Golden Plover

Time was now getting on and we reluctantly had to leave, Werribee warrants more time than we could give it but we had managed most of our targets only Banded Lapwing and Cape Barren Goose had eluded us but with only a pair or so of each present at the time  and such a huge area to cover  that was not unexpected. We had also had our first encounter  with a huge Tiger Snake basking on the track and a peculiar Blue-tongued Lizard. We headed back through Melbourne and up to our hotel near the airport where we said goodbye to Simon and tired from an exciting day settled into the hotel.

I can't thank Simon enough for the success of this first leg of our Australian Tour not only was he excellent company throughout but his organisation and attention to detail was perfect. He keep us on time always knowing when we needed to move on so that we were never short of time anywhere. He was always conscious of our needs making sure we could take regular comfort breaks and that food and drinks were always available. We had opted to camp with him so we could minimise time wasted in hotels and maximise time in the field, there was no better experience than waking up with nature in remote areas and he gave us the confidence to camp more remotely later in our journey when we had our camper van. He provided all the camping gear we could need at no extra expense for which we are grateful.
As a guide Simon was first class knowing all the sites and habitats so that on many ocaissions we would stop at seemingly impromptu places along the road only to find our target species quickly. As with all trips we did not connect with everything but that was not through want of effort on Simon's part. We were not helped in the early part of the trip by strong winds which kept many of the smaller species in deep cover. As with most good guides his hearing and ability to recognise calls was excellent and frequently we would be walking along the trail only for Simon to stop and point out a previously unseen bird he had heard call, as some-one who struggled with calls it is always a skill I am greatly envious of. So for anyone looking for a guide in this part of Australia I cannot recommend Simon of Firetail Birding enough.

Sunday was to be a rest day and a chance to look round Melbourne so after a very expensive breakfast we caught the shuttle down into the city and then found the free tram which gave us a brief insight of Melbourne. Jumping off near the Botanic Gardens we had a wander round there. The Botanic Gardens and nearby parks were quite busy being a sunny Sunday afternoon but there were still many birds to be seen mostly commoner stuff but the Bell Miner colony in the Botanic Gardens meant we had seen something new for the day.

Bell Miner

Dusky Moorhen

Pacific Black Duck

Chestnut Teal

Melbourne

After dinner in the square near the visitor centre and the rain now arriving it was time to make our way across Melbourne and back to the hotel ready for an early start and the next part of our adventure in Tasmania.

Melbourne