I’ve spent the last few weeks worrying about duck shooting, dogs on the beach, dogs in the bush (after seeing people walking a German shepherd off lead at Anakie Gorge), road kill, and the possibility of a nuclear war in North Korea where migratory shorebirds will be currently resting.
I’ve also worried about loss of habitats, Indian coal mines being developed near the Great Barrier Reef, the poisoning of corellas in Geelong, and deforestation. I was getting so worried that I told myself that I had to be more positive, so now I’m positive that I’m really worried.
On a happier note I’ve had some lovely mornings exploring Anakie Gorge. My daughter’s boyfriend lives in Corio, which is close to Anakie Gorge, so I can drop her off at Corio and then proceed to the gorge.
Before Easter there was a lot of water in the creek that runs through the gorge, but in a few short weeks the torrent has turned into a trickle.
The autumn bird life has been just beautiful, with golden whistlers, scarlet robins, white-eared honeyeaters, white-naped honeyeaters, yellow-faced honeyeaters, brown thornbills, eastern yellow robins and grey shrike-thrush all plentiful.
I also saw a few koalas.
I’ve been trying to spot a rose robin (as I have never seen one), as well as an Australian owlet nightjar. Alas I have so far been unsuccessful, but I will never give up.
Along with many others I have also walked around the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve a few times over the past few weeks. It’s amazing how full dams can attract birdlife, and it’s great to see so much water in the reserve. I’ve seen similar birds to those at Anakie Gorge – white-naped honeyeaters, white-plumed honeyeaters, flame robins and eastern yellow robins. It’s well worth a visit at the moment.
On my way home from night shift over Easter I thought I’d drive down the Point Henry Road to see if there were any raptors around (as a raptor a day keeps the doctor away as we all know). I fortunately saw several species of raptor in about a 10-minute time frame, including a brown falcon, a whistling kite, a pair of peregrine falcons, and a pair of nankeen kestrel. I think a detour to Point Henry might become a common occurrence after night shift.
If you would like to partake in some organised bird watching activities, you can check out the activities organised by the Bellarine Birdlife Group at www.birdlife.org.au/locations/birdlife-bellarine-peninsula
– Jen Carr, jennifer.carr6@bigpond.com
