Danika's Big Year 2022

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dannyka6
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Vast improvement shot 143) Little Grassbird - very excited to catch this Grassbird out in the open after a couple of failed shots earlier in the day in another section of the WTP, and my very cropped, very pixellated shot from earlier in the year at WTP. 

dannyka6
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Also improvement shots of 121) White-bellied Sea-Eagle - adult and immature, since the last shot was heavily cropped!

Adult perched on a pole in Port Phillip Bay, and immature flying directly overhead - I'm still amazed this shot worked out as I was literally shooting straight up!!

dwatsonbb
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Some great improvements Danika, love the Little Grassbird, and eagles are always special.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

michaelrt71_1
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Congrats on the Red Knots, Danika, in flight too! Its comforting to hear someone else's focus bounces around so much on the little birds, but it looks like you nailed a couple in the end.

Agree with Dale, eagles are hard to ignore. Nice composure shooting straight up; its such an awkward position with a big lens.

sue818
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Great shots, Danika. Love that Little Grassbird shot!

AbbyGrace
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Wow Danika you have been having a great time! Red Knots and a Male Pink Robin!! Amazing. Awesome shots!

dannyka6
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Well I'm back, have been a bit quiet on the birding front lately, haven't been too well over the last little while but Abby inspired me to get out and about again after her very successful trips to Stockyard Point and The Gurdies recently!

I'm so glad I decided to go out to Stockyard Point today, despite the forecast of a 3.5m tide and 25-30kmph winds. I nearly left it too late to walk along the beach to the point, getting there 2.5 hours before high tide and the waves were still lapping at my feet and forcing me to do gymnastics over the beach trees! It's not for the faint-hearted, walking that narrow beach - it disappears quickly as the tide rises! And by the time the tide was high there was no beach at all, I had to commando roll under a fence and climb over a gate to take the paddock option home...ignoring the 'no trespassing' signs!! I've been told before that the farmer is ok with birders going that way, I hope that's true! I still felt a bit weird! It's a well worn track along the fence, so I'm definitely not the first to go that way. And Abby pre-informed me that the electric fence is off, so thanks for that!!

I was so so thrilled today to FINALLY nail a LIFER in the form of Terek Sandpipers!! I've been out to Stockyard before to try for this bird, but to be honest I now realise that I was looking for a much larger bird, and probably overlooked it amongst the other sandpipers. Thanks to Ian for making sure I saw them today, love helpful bird watchers!

192) Terek Sandpiper - despite being a mainly overcast, cloudy day the sun did burst out of the clouds for a brief 10 minutes shining a light on the birds in a beautiful way!! Our shutters just went off!!! Stunning! But I do like the shot of the Terek amongst the other tiny birds, reminding me that it really is pretty tiny! I need to stop looking for a Curlew-sized bird...the 5 Tereks that I saw seemed to prefer to stick right on the shore which was hard to get an angle on, over the sand dune. Thankfully as the water rose, all the birds took off en masse and when they landed they were a lot closer. Here's the juxtaposition of Curlew and Terek Sandpiper bills!

193) Double-banded Plover - have been looking for these all year, but I'm glad I didn't find them until now, because they were stunning in their full breeding plumage! I've never seen that before, incredible! There were a good 100 or so DBPs at Stockyard, amazing to see!

Quite a number of the birds today were banded, so I took as many ID photos as I could because I love reporting banded birds to https://vwsg.org.au/contact/sightings/ which is the Victorian Wader Study Group. After a couple of weeks, they send you back a report showing where the bird was originally banded, and all the places that it has been reported since...I find it fascinating! Do other states have a similar option?

I know there's a national group https://www.awe.gov.au/form/on-line-reporting-of-banded-bird/confirmatio... where you can report any banded bird or bat, but this is specifically for waders, which is cool. 

I tried out The Gurdies but had no luck today for robins or Blue-winged Parrots. It was very windy there too, but unlike at Stockyard Point this didn't work in my favour in the bush. Fortunately at Stockyard the wind forced all the birds to come in to land towards us, and to roost facing us!! It was a good day for photography there!

A bonus Red-capped Plover in its breeding glory. 

194) Gull-billed (Asian) Tern(ssp affinis - I still have to use the photos to tell the difference between these two, and it was so windy today that I could hardly hold my binos steady enough to see fine detail on the spot, and my eye was watering on the side of my head where the wind was hitting me! These birds are very graceful and beautiful, I love them!

195) Australian (Gull-billed) Tern ssp macrotarsa - no fact sheet

1st bird is an Asian/Gull-billed Tern - very straight bill, full breeding plumage

2nd bird is an Australian Tern - "drooping", slightly curved downward bill, immature

3rd bird is an Australian Tern - breeding adult

4th bird is an Asian/Gull-billed Tern - adult non-breeding I think, very straight bill

Correct me if you think I've misnamed any of these, they are my best efforts, not confirmed by experts. 

Pretty happy with today's work, it was awesome to be at the beach, lying in the sand, with tiny birds walking up to within a few metres!! The bliss of bird watching! Love it! 

sue818
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Another wonderful set, Danika. You can have both Gull-billed Tern and Australian (Gull-billed) Tern on your list so could you please adjust your numbering to include 195 for the Australian Tern? Well done distinguishing them as Terns are difficult at the best of times. Love the breeding plumage of the shorebirds.

dannyka6
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Thanks Sue, I didn't realise both terns were in the list, I'll definitely add that now :) It's amazing seeing the beautiful breeding plumage coming through!

dwatsonbb
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Wow, some great photos in there. Terek Sanpiper would be new, there was one recently here but was a good 21/2 hours drive for a maybe double there, didn't bother!

Love the Double-banded Plover with the orange bands. Those small birds can be a challenge to get close to, so you have done extremely well. You also have some nice photos of Red-caps there as well.

Can't offer any help with Tern ID, I haven't seen enough variety.

Also love the story around the effort to get those photos, thankfully.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

dannyka6
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Thanks Dale, I'm glad to finally pick up the Terek after seeing others photos for a few years. I agree, 2.5hours is a bit far for me too, although I know some birders who would definitely go the distance for a maybe!! Actually I think I'd call them twitchers...but I'm not so "passionate"/"dedicated"!

One more to add to my list...gradually getting to 200!

Abby introduced me to Bunyip State Park on Sunday arvo, and I loved it. She got a brief glimpse of the Southern Emu-wren but I missed it, was hoping for a better look than earlier in the year. Will have to keep persisting with that one! 

But I finally got to see a bird I've been hoping to see - 196) Crescent Honeyeater!

They were everywhere but it was challenging to see them in the dense bush, up high, with the afternoon light and they are so fast! When one finally sat for us, neither for us could get our cameras to focus through all the many many twigs and bits of grass...ah, frustrating! But in the end, I managed to get some shots I was happy with - yay!

We also had a great day out on Thursday looking for a Rose Robin...didn't find it, but found a terrific male Scarlet Robin, a male Golden Whistler that followed us up and down the track, and I got to upgrade my Musk Lorikeet photos.

Replacement 160) Musk Lorikeet, 59) Scarlet Robin, 152) male Golden Whistler (doesn't count as Golden Whistler cos I posted Western Whistler).

We also found a passionate birder who was meant to be working on some road repairs, but was checking out the local bird life! He told us about being involved in the annual Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo count at Edenhope...Abby and I immediately added Edenhope to our list of places to visit sometime in the future!! More than 2.5 hours Dale, so we'll have to incorporate it into some other travel haha. 

dannyka6
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Another question - does domestic goose count as a species? I know that we can count one species of domestic duck, but not sure about geese.

Thanks!

dwatsonbb
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Great photos again Danika.

Yes we can count 1 as a domestic goose species, so long as it is in the wild so to speak - not captive or contained. There are sadly heaps of dumped/escaped domestic species out there.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

dannyka6
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Perfect, thanks Dale :)

At lunch at the Studley Park Boathouse, we were joined at very close quarters by the local wild geese - never realised how blue their eyes are! They really are quite pretty, and quite huge.

197) Domestic Goose - no fact sheet

sue818
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Nice ones again, Danika. So pleased that you saw (and heard) the Crescent Honeyeaters... they were quite vocal in Tasmania. Love all the shots. You are finding some wonderful birds.

AbbyGrace
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Nice shots of the Crescent Honeyeater! Also I'm glad you had a great time down at Stockyard Point!

karentwemlow
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What a colourful set of birds, lovely photos. I really like the Musk Lorikeet.

dannyka6
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I've been on a little twitching bender myself, although I didn't drive 300km, Dale!! Just across the city.

I've been watching the Swift Parrot sightings on ebird, Facebook and Instagram for a while, and have taken a few trips to check out some different spots with no luck. But after a few days of sightings at Lysterfield Park, in a different spot to last year but only a few hundred metres away, I thought it was worth a drive. It was a FREEZING cold day, I've got a knot in my back from shivering while carrying the camera on that shoulder, but eventually it was worth it.

Swift Parrot is a totally apt name for this little buddies! They fly totally differently to Rainbow Lorikeets who have a very direct, purposeful path. Swift Parrots are like acrobats, with no notice they just dive and dart and completely change direction mid-flight making it very hard to track them! Also, they LOVE the very tops of trees so my neck is not in a great state either from craning to search for them but no pain, no gain!

I counted 5 parrots all up, possibly there were more but that was all I ever saw at one time. They were constantly on the move, even when I tracked where they'd landed, by the time I got there they would more than likely have taken off again! Frustrating, but satisfying when I finally got some shots. Not terribly great, but I got them!

198) Swift Parrot - excuse the multiple photos! I've tried to cut down to just a few!! I believe I saw juveniles as well as adults which is exciting! They are just as acrobatic in the trees, half of my shots are of them upside down or sideways! These are all extreme crops, thanks to DxO software for cleaning up the grainyness!

- - -

Unfortunately, our trip to WTP to check out the Orange-bellied Parrots was not such a success. That's a whole other story!!

Apparently "over-zealous" photographers have been pushing the ethical birdwatching boundaries, getting too close to birds and flushing them in an effort to take photos, speeding through the area where they are presently, trampling the marsh etc. 

So Melbourne Water have closed all the roads in the area where the OBPs are for the next 8-12 weeks!!! Including the Little River bird hide, and all accessory roads that could possibly provide a back way into that area. And they are surveilling the parrots and the area. Yikes!! Unfortunately Abby got the email AFTER our trip, and I didn't get it at all so we went not knowing.

So there goes our shot of seeing the OBPs at the WTP this year - was hoping to add that lifer to my list but the chance has been taken away. I'm always hopeful that someone will see them elsewhere nearby; we'll see. Although I notice that there aren't any sightings on eBird...wondering if they are being screened??

dwatsonbb
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Swifties are grand little birds, and hard to find, unless you can find a decent food source for them. Have only seen them a couple of times, and not great photos. You have done well with them, some lovely shots there.

OBP - I sort of agree they need restrict access, as they are so vulnerable, and yes some birders don't give a crap. My philosophy is to try and "Take nothing but photos and memories, and leave nothing but footprints". One day you might get lucky, especially if the numbers continue to increase.

I can almost guarantee good sightings, BUT, you need to come to Tassie, either walk for 7-8 days (one way) or pay for an expensive day trip to Melalueca. You do have a chance of seeing them on the  West Coast (they do OBP surveys at Arthur River) once migration commences, but I guess you would need to be reallly lucky.

Your other option to see wild birds, is to volunteer for the OBP program, and you might get a free trip to observe the birds (I think you need between 2 and 4 weeks available or summer, but I think that is also hard to get into.

Sorry about the long comment, bit OBPs are dear to my heart, and subject to health and finances, I hope to visit them again in the future.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

sue818
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Wonderful shots, Danika. I have not seen Swift Parrots although they do visit the Sydney area. OBP also remain unsighted so another visit to Tassie at the right time might be a plan for the future.

dannyka6
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All good points Dale, and I agree - just disappointed we didn't get the chance to see them so close to home...but hey, gotta have a wish list :)

Thanks for the lovely comments, both of you!

dannyka6
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Well finally we snatched a little bit of travel interstate for a short break, not a birding trip you understand, but I can't go anywhere without the camera...even if I did have to leave the big lens at home. We were breaking in a new lens, Sony 24-105mm, not a great zoom range for birds (it's real purpose is portraits) but I managed to get a few additions to the list and finally cracked 200 birds photographed in a year after 3 years in the making!! YAY! Thanks Gold Coast, I have so many more plans for you but they'll have to wait.

199) We arrived at the hotel in Southport and wandered around the corner to grab some lunch. I sat down in the lovely sunshine, looked up at the blue sky and there, right across the road was not only an Osprey but it was perched on a small platform where it had built an enormous nest!! Later it flew off, did a round of the bay then returned. The next day I saw it eating a fish on its perch...wow, what incredible events!!

200) After lunch we were meeting a friend in Southwater Parklands to catch up, so we wandered through the park and immediately heard the strange call of a raven-type bird...quite different to the ones I'm used to in Victoria. Turns out it was a Torresian Crow! I've seen them before in QLD and NSW but not for 4-5years so it seemed all new. That distinctive call is heard all over the Gold Coast, and I managed to get some good shots eventually - the ones here are from the next day at The Gold Coast Botanical Gardens.

Similar to our ravens, the juveniles have a dark eye and the adult had a white eye ring. They are quite glossy. 

I also saw a couple of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets - not great shots but an ok flight shot.

Heavily cropped shots of course, but the quality of the camera impressed me this trip. Previously I guess I thought it was the long lens which was so impressive but the full frame compared to my old APS-C really comes through when cropping. 

dannyka6
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Alright, day 2 of the Gold Coast!

I was up super early for me, the sun was pouring in early and I just couldn't lie in, knowing there were birds out there!! My hubby had a cold and was happy sleeping in a bit, so I got up and had another walk through the Broadwater Parklands since that was the closest park to me. It's beautiful, all along the beach on the inlet, well kept and there are ponds and trees and grass for days.

Cracking into my next hundred...

201) Wandering along the park I heard the most beautiful song! I reminded me of the Grey Butcherbird, but it wasn't that...I followed the song and it turned out to be a Pied Butcherbird! I had a quick flight snap from earlier, but it wasn't that good so I was pleased to improve on it with this gorgeous bird perched up on top of a light. Tricky angle, but I really enjoyed the song

202) The next new bird for my list was a Figbird. I chased it all around the park!! It finally landed and stayed in a very annoying spot at the top of a tree, and I had to use manual focus to shoot through the twigs so not my favourite shot but its all I have. I got one shot later at the traffic lights (no I wasn't driving!), its at least a clear shot but far away

203) After hubby got up, we took a lovely walk down through Surfer's Paradise, then hired a car since it started to rain and went to The Spit for a look at the ocean. As soon as we arrived we could see Brush-Turkeys running around - they are hilarious! I always find it so funny to see birds running, don't know why, its just amusing :) These turkeys are just awesome, and they are very entertaining. I was super lucky with the 2nd shot, I was standing in the bush off the track and it walked straight towards me! I squatted down and got this close up, hardly even cropped. 

204) The reason I was down in the bush off the track was following another unfamiliar call - which turned out to be a Brown Honeyeater. These are super cute, about the size of an Eastern Spinebill to me, and very fast and agile. Luckily I had my hubby with me, his eyes were much faster than mine at picking it out! I was staring around and couldn't see a thing, even though it was calling loudly. So loud for a tiny bird! Very cute on the banksias.

205) Standing out on The Spit, I caught a couple of birds flying over that didn't fly like Silver Gulls or Terns...so I took a shot, zoomed in on the screen and there was a Gannet!! I haven't seen these this year, I was planning to check them out at Portland where there is the only mainland colony in Australia but this year they have nested offshore on the island and so there are very few birds at the usual viewing spot, according to Facebook sources. I waited and luckily one bird circled back towards us and I was able to take a few more shots. Still not great, heavily cropped, looks like an immature bird to me.

dannyka6
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That's all the additions I have for my Gold Coast trip. But I did see a few other fun things:

-Blue-faced Honeyeaters (no decent shots)

-a crow on the beach - somehow this tickled me fancy, just haven't seen it before

-replacement 191) Rock Dove: loved the first shot for the light in the eye, and the 2nd shot for the interstate variation in Rock Dove, something I first noticed when we went to NSW in Feb

We called in at the Botanical Gardens in the afternoon and took a short walk around, its really lovely! A beautiful lake and grasslands

-Black-backed Magpies...different to the White-backed Magpies we have here in Vic

-a Buff-Banded Rail out in the open! Not a replacement shot, its not really better than my other shot but it was at least not hiding under a bush

-a gorgeous Black Swan family...a young boy, maybe 11-12 heard us coming and held up his finger to his mouth telling us to be quiet, then let us know about the cygnets...he was so cute, he was like "I saw you had a good camera so I thought you'd like to know about them"!! Love a young one who appreciates nature! 

-then we saw a flying fox just flying around in the middle of the day!! I took a quick flight shot, not great but you get the idea. It was actually one of about 5 that we saw flying around that afternoon, maybe because it was overcast they thought it was dusk?? Not sure

dwatsonbb
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Congratulations on your double century. Most of those would be lifers for me. It is nice to explore some new territory with some birds different than what you normally see.

Some great photos. It is amazing the difference full frame makes, maybe you will be looking for another lens for the Sony?
 

My faves are the Rail and the Turkey, I think because they are both so different. Glad you enjoyed the trip.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

dannyka6
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Thanks Dale. I'm happy with my Sony 200-600mm lens, just that hubby thought for a "non-birding" holiday we could make do with the 24-105mm this time...I think next time I'll stick to my instincts and pack everything :)

An update on 190) Cattle Egret from the WTP with Abby just before our Gold Coast trip...love this shot!

dwatsonbb
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That's a great photo Danika, nice you caught liftoff. The colour contrast of white bird with the green background is cool.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

michaelrt71_1
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That osprey nest is astonishing! What is it really hiding up there? 

Also enjoyed the brush turkey waiting for a lift home.

Am I right in guessing you follow ebird for recent sightings of birds you are after, then hit that site? 

sue818
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Great shots, Danika, love that huge Osprey nest and the Cattle Egret. The camera has done well but the photographer has also done a good job. I must agree that the Pied Butcherbird has a wonderful song which is even more melodious than the Grey Butcherbird. Congrats on the double century.

dannyka6
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Thanks everyone! 

The Osprey nest really is something else, surely much larger than it actually needs for little eggs and babies! Or maybe its just a messy house keeper :)

Michael, yes I do follow ebird for tips on where to go birding when I'm away from home, as well as tips on where rarer birds have been found around my local area so that I can have a crack at chasing them down. I use the hotspots to give me a starting point, but ebird also gives you a list of targets - birds that you haven't seen in your state/area so you can track them specifically. It's actually a pretty amazing tool! But I combine that with a lot of Facebook birding groups and following bird photographers on Instagram...I try to keep abreast of the current birds :) lol

AbbyGrace
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Wow you managed to see a few birds in a short time! Love the Osprey. 

dannyka6
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So I went back to twitching...still don't like it, after I spent 2 hours driving around the WTP getting in and out of the car for icy gates looking for something I couldn't find I was ready to give it up forever but thankfully the last ebird location in the plant worked out beautifully. That's why I love ebird, other birders leave clues for me to follow and often it works out well, but of course birds can fly and move about freely so they don't aways stay exactly where the last person left them! 

Unfortunately though I'm at that point in my Melbourne-area annual bird list that I need to twitch to get on to something new and different. I get a daily ebird rare bird email for Victoria which is helpful, but this time it was a friend on Facebook who found Red-necked Avocets and a single Banded Stilt at WTP so I decided to head down there for a quick day trip.

I got down there just after dawn, but it was cloudy so it took a long time for the sun to really come out, meaning my early photos are pretty grainy and awful. Which is a big shame, because I photographed some amazing views of 2 Sea-eagles fishing in Little River...but I don't think they're useable. 

But the real event was

206) about 50 Red-necked Avocets feeding at the Lake Borrie treated water outlet into the bay...not where I'd choose to feed but the waders and shorebirds seem to love it! It must let out a lot of little fish or attract fish from the bay due to the rich poopy contents! It was difficult at first to pick the Avocets from the Pied Stilts at a distance, but zooming in their bills are very different, and their method of feeding is very different too, swishing from side to side, a bit like Spoonbills, rather than stabbing at the water/sand like the Stilts. The dull light doesn't do them justice, but they are beautiful. 

I scanned every stilt twice, but couldn't pick up the Banded Stilt...maybe another day. I also looked around for the Intermediate Egret reported recently but could only find Great and Little Egrets. 

207) After the WTP, I decided to check ebird to see if the Magpie Geese had been recorded back at Serendip Sanctuary, about 15min away. They come and go from there and I haven't yet seen one this year. They weren't recorded there but at another nearby spot, Lara Lake so I headed there and found about 50 birds roosting on a small island in the middle of the lake. Very cool, although if I lived nearby (its surrounded by a residential estate) I might get over the honking! 

Actually I got distracted from the Magpie Geese almost immediately by the cutest family of Cape Barren Geese! I haven't seen teeny tiny goslings for ages, and they are adorable! SO fuzzy that I can't even tell if some of the shots are in focus. So here's an update on Cape Barren Goose. A local birder said they saw the geese sitting on the nest only last week so they must be pretty new hatchlings. Apparently there were recently 5 pairs of nesting Cape Barren Geese which is pretty cool! 

dannyka6
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I thought that was it for the day, and I was pretty happy with my haul, especially as I also got some great bird of prey shots - a Whistling Kite, and a Brown Falcon sitting on fence posts in different areas as well as my Sea-Eagles.

But I had to go to the bank in Point Cook, and then get lunch, and then I remembered that the Skeleton Creek boardwalk was only 10min away...just had to go! I've previously seen a Common Sandpiper, and a Spotted Crake there on different occasions so I feel like you never know what might turn up. But the actual creek water level was very high this time, as was Lara Lake, I guess due to heavy rainfall recently, so no mud flats. So I ventured along the boardwalk towards Cheetham wetlands where there are always mud flats. The sides of the boardwalks are solid so you have to peep over the top to see the birds - I think this is because they are heavily used by walkers and bike riders and they don't want the birds to be startled all the time. But because of this, little birds get very close to the boardwalk and I surprised this darling darting and feeding along the water line. 

208) Red-Kneed Dotterel

These are the most epic views I've ever had, so close and the water was still, creating a terrific reflection. I had a great time watching it dart, and pause, and peck for food and wander around the edge of the water. Again the light was awful, but it was close enough that it didn't matter too much. 

I also improved on my previous Black-fronted Dotterel photos with very close views of not just one, but ELEVEN of these cuties darting around the edges.

And then at the end of the boardwalk, I surprised not just a Goldfinch, but also a Greenfinch right on the edge of the path feeding on weeds! Yes!! Unfortunately the Greenfinch flew up into a tree, but its still better than my previous efforts. 

Great location, must get back there more often!!

dwatsonbb
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Agh twitching, my new past time. Just need more time. EBird is a great resource, which honestly I need to use more often. Facebook groups provide me with some excellent leads.

Lovely photos of lovely birds. Still a few on that list that would be lifers for me.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

AbbyGrace
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Wow, stunning shots Danika! Looks like I need to visit that side. The Red-kneel Dotterel would be a lifer for me. 

sue818
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Weel done, Danika, great finds and shots. The Red-kneed Dotterels are beautiful but  the Avocets are always wonderful to see with that amazing bill. Congrats on the double century. More please.

dannyka6
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Well Sue, what can I do but provide more?? :) You ask, I answer haha! :)

Abby and her family took my husband and I on an absolutely beautiful tour through Northen Victoria, and I would go back to all of those places again in a heartbeat. Maybe not in a tent at the beginning of July necessarily...although we coped surprisingly well. Especially after hubby bought a hot water bottle in Mildura, and we discovered Abby's pocket warmers - 10 hours of heat on our coat pockets! Even better, stick on heat patches! There are a surprising number of ways to keep warm out in the frigid cold! 

But I can tell you it was amazing to see the wide blue sky every day and see the sun and enormous paddocks of green...Melbourne has been a grey, dreary place for a while now! 

Recommendation to you all: if you want to see the highlights of Northern Victoria, check in with Abby; she knows all the places to go!

We started with a night (in a cabin!) at Little Lake Boort, had breakfast at Wycheproof, via Lake Tyrell for lunch, went on to Hattah-Kulkyne NP for a night then on to Mildura/Buronga for 2 nights, a further couple of nights at Wyperfeld NP then home after waking to the most epic frost I've seen in years!! Our tent door actually froze! On the inside! 

But thanks to Abby's excellent guidance I managed 10 (TEN) lifers! Plus 2 sub-species that I haven't seen before. So an EPIC week out and about in the bush. 

Let's start at Little Lake Boort - a morning walk around the lake

Replacement Black Kite - finally a decent flight shot!

Now Mount Wycheproof - apparently the smallest mountain in the world!

Replacement Singing Honeyeater - we had the most awesome views and got to listen to their beautiful singing while standing on top of this tiny mountain looking over the district. I'm am so proud of this shot and a few others like it...I finally nailed the settings and this it totally unedited apart from cropping! If only I could do this more often...

Then Lake Tyrell - what an incredible landscape! This is definitely one of those places you have to visit once. Not least of all for the birds...although few and far between, they are truly superb when you find them.

209) Rufous Fieldwren: lifer! I went hunting for a beautiful song not long after getting out of the car and everntually this little beauty popped up out of the low shrubs and posed for us so nicely! We ended up seeing a few of these delightful birds around the viewing platform area, what a treat! No fact sheet

210) White-winged Fairywren: lifer! We hunted around for these guys and followed them around for a while before they came out into the open. I may/may not have thrown a hissy fit after my focus wasn't working very well and I kept fudging shots of the male beauty...threw the camera to my hubby and sulked off, and he came out with the gold, some absolutely smashing shots!! Very proud of him, a bit ashamed of myself, but these are my shots...I hope he publishes his own shots someday, they are awesome. Turns out the shots weren't as bad as I first thought, and I robbed myself of the chance to get some more...typical! Lesson learnt.

I thought that was the end of Lake Tyrell, but Abby had more up her sleeve. 

211) Yellow-throated Miner - I've only seen these in South Australia during our Flinders Ranges in 2019. So I was pretty happy to catch up with these beauties again

212) Blue Bonnet: lifer! As we were driving along the road out to the highway, there was an unholy shriek and these birds appeared. Not terrific shots like Abby's but still a once so far in this lifetime experience! Not a super accurate name, the blue seems more like a mask than a bonnet but nevermind

After that we were off to Lake Hattah camp ground where these very cool birds swooped down on us to check if we were any chance of a feed :)

213) Apostlebird - so engaging and adorable, loved having them around the camp. Disappointingly there were only ever 11 in a group, not 12...but I'm very happy with this 1st shot too, no cropping, no editing

Replacement Hoary-headed Grebe - very moody, no cropping, no editing

And a bit of night time spotlighting - found a Sugar Glider! 

Day One!! Not bad!

dannyka6
dannyka6's picture

Hattah-Hulkyne National Park - a beautiful place, so many birds that I've never seen before, so little time!! Day Two

A morning walk along Bugle Ridge track near Lake Hattah camp ground was super productive!

214) Regent Parrot: lifer! Not the best photos, but I enjoyed seeing these beautiful parrots in the flesh. Notice the colour difference between the male and female, spectacular

215) Australian Ringneck - Mallee Ringneck subspecies: lifer! I've seen the Port Lincoln Parrot (SA) and Twenty-eight Parrot (WA) sub-species before but not this one so it was very exciting to see a new sub-species and this is the first time I've seen the Ringneck this year

Additional Crimson Rosella - yellow subspecies, extremely beautiful

216) Splendid Fairy-Wren: lifer! A beautiful female fairy-wren, so stunning

217) Hooded Robin pair - haven't seen these robins for a long time so this was lovely. We chased them through the bush alongside Konardin Track for these shots, had much better views of the female and an immature male and only glimpsed the male briefly

218) Gilbert's Whistler: lifer! Tripped over these while hunting the Hooded Robin. A nice-ish shot of the female, she wasn't overly co-operative, but the male was even less so - for me at least. We chased around for a while then gave it up for lunch. No fact sheet

dannyka6
dannyka6's picture

Mildura-Buronga - Day Three and Four

A beautiful caravan park on the Murray River and a look around Lake Ranfurly, another couple of lovely days.

Some more beautiful Yellow Rosellas.

219) Caspian Tern - stuffed up the settings on this flight shot, had to make up for it the next day but they were right over the other side of the lake

Additional Australian Reed-Warbler

Additional Red-Necked Avocet

Then into the surprising Wyperfeld NP

220) Southern Whiteface - I've only seen these tiny little birds once before at Terrick Terrick NP, it was great to run into them again. Not great shots but it was lovely seeing them buzz around in the grass

221) Mulga Parrot: lifer! The most beautiful parrot I have ever seen! Both the female and male are just so lovely

222) Inland Thornbill. This was a total accident, and total surprise! I thought I had a Brown Thornbill...but ebird said they were rare in this area. My ebird "mentor" (read: corrector) tells me its an Inland Thornbill!

Additional Blue Bonnet

dannyka6
dannyka6's picture

Wyperfeld NP - I've sorted of covered day four, now Day Five and Six

Casuarina camp ground: managed to clock up 25 species around the camp, very impressive for a small area

223) Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater - I've been sitting on a dodgy photo of one of these since January hoping for an improvement, and as soon as we pulled into the camp we could hear their odd cackling and finally the next day they came out into the open

Gilbert's Whistler male - what a surprise when he turned up in our camp site!! What a beauty! So lucky to see this guy

Replacement Yellow Thornbill

224) Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo - we went for a drive around a dry lake and turned up this gorgeous darling sitting right by the track on a burnt stump

225) Crested Bellbird: lifer! - at the same time we stopped for the cuckoo, I saw another bird on a different tree and took a few shots. I had no idea what it was, so I asked for help from the ABID Facebook group and they tell me its a Crested Bellbird, which is, surprise, a lifer!! 

226) Wedge-tailed Eagle - I thought this was a replacement shot, but it turns out I haven't posted a wedgie this year! I was very happy with this beauty! Looks like an old bird to me soaring across the lookout checking out the beautiful view

Splendid Fairy-wren - we did our best to turn up a fully fledged male, but couldn't do it. Of course a couple of days after we got home some other smart alec turned up a male in full breeding plumage in Wyperfeld!! Just rude! Sometimes it doesn't pay to look at Instagram!

227) Major Mitchell's Cockatoo:lifer! - after 5 fabulous days I was actually happy with my haul and happy to be heading home the next day, when on the way back to the camp a Major Mitchell flew across our path! Emergency stop!

dannyka6
dannyka6's picture

228) Chestnut-rumped Thornbill: lifer! A little cutie, I confused it for a Buff-rumped Thornbill to start with but turns out they are pretty rare in this area. If you don't see the rump, they look pretty similar. 

Then on the way home, another surprise! 

229) Spotted Harrier: lifer! Floated over the road and I thought, that doesn't look familiar...so jumped out to take some shots! 

Replacement Pied Butcherbird

AbbyGrace
AbbyGrace's picture

What a week we had! Glad you got so many lifers. Stunning shots too. Love your Black Kite and your Spotted Harrier shots, amazing!

sue818
sue818's picture

Wow, what a wonderful and successsful trip. So pleased that you heeded my words and offered more! Keep it up please.

I think the Gilbert's Whistler and the Regent Parrot would be my favourites but the Major Mitchells are stunners and the Mulga Parrots are little jewels.

Perhaps you need to get some possum wool socks like I use as no doubt Abby has some. I also pack a pair of tights for under the jeans on freexing mornings. I've been in Mudgee scraping ice off the windscreen before setting out for my birding spot. 

dwatsonbb
dwatsonbb's picture

Wow another great range of birds, and some amazing photos.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

michaelrt71_1
michaelrt71_1's picture

An inspiring trip and quantity of birds! So many unknowns for me; all the parrots I have only ever seen in books.

dannyka6
dannyka6's picture

Sorry for the long absence!! I've been locked out of birdlife again by their crazy password system! But I'm back, and hopefully by next week I'll have an update as I have an interstate conference coming up this weekend! Looking forward to catching up on all your activity

TommyGee
TommyGee's picture

Argh, I only just congratulated Abby on breaking through 200 and finding the Terek Sandpipers.. and now you've done them both too! :)

That's what happens when I go missing for so long myself. Some wonderful photos and birds there Danika, I really love the Swifties. No luck for me with them this year so far!

dannyka6
dannyka6's picture

Thanks Tommy, I'm very happy to have hit both of those records :) It's been a good year for birding for me! Although the long wet winter has slowed me down a lot, with the exception of our northern Vic trip. I'm very excited to see some sunny days peeking through at last.

But, I made it out of the state to Tassie finally!! It was too quick, but I experienced a lovely taste of the beautiful city of Hobart and some of the south-east of the state up to Orford and Triabunna. I would go back in a heartbeat! I can definitely understand why so many people think of retiring to Tassie: the lifestyle, the beauty, the food! 

And I can recommend the medical care: unfortunately I logged a trip to ED and a few hours in the assessment unit on Saturday, then an overnight stay a day later!! Not ideal for a work/birding trip, but I can highly recommend the Royal Hobart Hospital, everyone was so wonderful to me! All good now and thankful to be back home safely!!

Back to birding...

Thursday 1st Sept

230) I flew into Hobart at lunchtime into teeming rain which didn't seem like a good omen but I was mistaken. I had a delicious seafood lunch and gelato at Mures on the harbour and enjoyed watching so so many Kelp Gulls flying around in the rain...I've been looking all year for a Kelp Gull in Victoria and NSW, and here in Hobart they are just flying around all over the city and the state!!! Amazing how different the distribution of birds can be in different environments! I find it fascinating!

I turned on my camera to take some shots, and realised that several weeks of inactivity, and poor trip preparation had left my battery at 6%! Very bad start! I managed to get a few shots, but a very low battery didn't render the flying shots very clear. Thankfully because the Kelp Gulls are everywhere I had plenty of other opportunities!

After checking into my hotel at Sandy Bay (stunning!) and attempting a quick battery recharge I took advantage of a brief easing of rain to hit up Waterworks reserve. This is a place well worth visiting whether you are chasing birds, animals, scenery, hiking or just relaxation! So beautiful!!

Immediately I could hear calls that I don't usually hear in Victoria which was exciting, most I didn't identify until the next day after spending some time with a couple of my apps. I usually use Birds of Australia to play calls at home to try to learn them, but I recently also bought David Stewart's Australian Bird Calls. Birds of Australia is good because it has different subspecies, I'm still learning Australian Bird Calls. What do other people use if they are trying to ID a bird call?

I got the Forest Raven (167) in the car park, I've already logged that for this year in Victoria but good to see it in Tassie. 

231) I managed to clock up Tasmanian Native Hen 10 steps through the gate, these birds are real dinosaurs! The gorgeous red eyes, yellow-green bill and massive long feet are all so odd! 

I spied some Superb Fairyrens, and when I was looking at the photos later I noticed something odd on some of their feet...from my rudimentary Google search, maybe some kind of Avian Pox?? Not sure, Dale any ideas of local bird disease?

I also quickly found Brown/Tasmanian Thornbills - pretty sure I got the Tasmanian but I'm still going over my photos with a fine tooth comb and a magnifying glass! I heard the call of the Tasmanian species but did I get a photo of one? Time will tell. Might need some tips from Dale here.

I heard the Tasmanian Scrubwren but couldn't get eyes on it. And I thought I saw a Pied Currawong, but realised when I went to enter it into my ebird list that its not possible...so intro the (165) Grey Currawong, darker Tasmanian sub-species!! Same clinking call, but looks to me like a Pied. I also heard the raucous Black Currawong but couldn't get eyes on it. 

Other birds I enjoyed were a Blackbird sitting up high and mimicking other calls, I don't believe I've heard them do that before. And catching glimpses of a Grey fantail, Tasmanian subspecies. Later I realised that I had heard Yellow Wattlebird, Black-headed Honeyeater and Crescent Honeyeater

I also enjoyed an intro to Tassie macropods - the Rufous-Bellied Pademelon and the Bennett's Wallaby, I think. Happy to take corrections :)

But ultimately my camera died, I was getting pretty soaked through from the constant rain, and the light was failing so I headed for the hotel! Unfortunately I found a beautiful pair of Scarlet Robins on my way out...disappointing I couldn't get a photo! 

dannyka6
dannyka6's picture

Friday 2nd September

A whole free day ahead of me! I woke at 6am to a beautiful clear day, sun rising and a stunning view over the bay. I've never before looked out my bedroom window to see (83) Black-faced Cormorants, Kelp Gulls and (32) Pied Oystercatchers!!! Incredible! So some improvement photos...I also spied a swimming Tasmanian Native-Hen, the only time I saw that!

232) I took a walk around the hotel, very crisp air after a heavy frost but brilliant sunshine, warm too. I caught my first glimpse of the Yellow Wattlebird!! Such a hilarious bird with those dangling side pieces! 

Then I headed back to Waterworks Reserve for another look around...more to come!

dannyka6
dannyka6's picture

Waterworks Reserve in the morning sunshine!! A delight! 

233) I had learned the call of the Black-headed Honeyeater the night before and heard them calling before I left the car park!! They seem to like that area, they were there when I got back too. I didn't get the clearest shot, but I'm happy to have added them to my list :)

I'm also happy to have seen so many macropods the night before, today I heard the flat-footed crashing of the pademelons when I startled them in the bush, but hardly saw them!

I get a lot of views of the Yellow Wattlebird and plentiful Forest Ravens flying overhead and stalking around. 

234) Then I heard the beautiful call of the Green Rosella...honestly to me it looks a lot like the Yellow subspecies of the Crimson Rosella, but I know they don't occur in Tassie. Some definitely looked greener than others, but this is the one that flew in close to me.

So many Laughing Kookaburras around Tassie, I saw multiple birds every day! Here's my favourite shot.

Another bird that I got massive improvement with was the (196) Crescent Honeyeaters, I also found they were abundant everywhere I went. Considering I had to hunt half a year to get one sighting in Victoria, and an average photo, this was extremely exciting!! I took so many shots and relished hearing them calling all over the place. Here I managed to get the female and male! 

235) On the upper reservoir trail I managed to track down the Black Currawongs that I could hear calling from over there the afternoon before. With their enormous Toucan-like beak and loud trumpeting call, they are quite the character...but I still use the rump to determine which Currawong is which for sure, white for Grey Currawong, black for Black Currawong.

236) Then my luck really kicked in, my previous sighting of 2 Tasmanian Scrubwrens resulted in no photos and I was a bit sad about that, but then I came around the corner and bumped into these 2 beauties!! What a great comparison of the immature and adult!  

I enjoyed checking out the Tassie sub-species, I know they don't count as separate species but the (14) Silvereyes ssp lateralis are significantly darker on the sides compared to the Victoria ssp . I couldn't get a decent shot of the Grey Fantail ssp albicauda sadly. 

I'm still sitting on my thornbills for the time being.

An additional Forest Raven full body shot - it flew in when I parked near the picnic tables, I think it might be used to handouts!

A very kind local told me where to go to find Pink Robin and Dusky Robin the day before, he walks in the park most days. I didn't find the Pink Robin, and had brief but obscure views of a Dusky Robin...but sadly no photo!! Even on manual I couldn't focus in before it flew off! 

And then it was time for lunch with friends so goodbye to this beautiful spot! I'd highly recommend it! Beautiful mix of park, bush, reservoirs, creek (or rivulet in Tassie) and rainforesty jungle, only 10min from the city.

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