I had a marvellous time in the wonderful tropical paradise of Cairns.
I counted 139 species of birds seen, including 21 new species for me, which happily took my Australian bird list to over 500 species.
The highlights were seeing a flock of sarus cranes (which look very much like brolgas, but they have more of the red plumage colouring on the head and neck), and a trip to Michaelmas Cay where I saw black noddies, brown boobies, sooty terns and a massive great frigatebird.
I had a lovely walk around the farm in Wallington where I conduct a bird count for the Birdlife Australia ‘birds on farms project’ four times a year, during every season. I was very sorry to hear that Bob, the owner of the farm, had passed away in August.
Bob was passionate about the environment, and he planted many trees on his farm to provide habitats for birds to thrive in.
Bob will be sadly missed. While walking around Bob’s farm I saw two shining-bronze cuckoos, three swamp harriers, a family of black swans, weebills, striated pardalotes, dusky woodswallows and a flock of cattle egrets.
I received an email from Andrew with a lovely image of a New Holland honeyeater feeding on a grass tree flower spike in the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve. New Holland honeyeaters are the most common honeyeater seen around the Bellarine, and they are so photogenic.
I also received an email from Nicole who has recently returned to Australia after living in the USA for 30 years.
Nicole described herself as an avid beginner birder and her 157th Australian bird was a migratory shorebird, namely a ear-tailed godwit at blue rocks beach (at the west the end of 13th Beach). Nicole found a pretty cool bird to be her 157th.
Godwits used to roost on the Barwon River Estuary at the end of Lelean Street in Ocean Grove for years but have not done so for around 10 years.
I received an email from wonderful birder Robin, who photographed a pair of pied oystercatchers in front of her house, and she reported the flag on one of the birds (C2).
She was informed that this bird was tagged at Westernport and is now 19 years of age.
I received an email from Carole, who is an integral member of the Bellarine Birdlife Group. This group has just been in Cohuna on the Murray River. The group explored bushland, Friends of Cohuna Indigenous Plants Garden and Kow Swamp, as well as farmland.
The caravan park at Cohuna was also favourable for exploring as there were waders, water birds, raptors and smaller birds.
Carole and the Bellarine Bird group also went to 13th Beach with wonderful Amelia Formby (Milly), who is flying an ultralight aircraft around Australia to raise awareness of the plight of migratory shorebirds.
Milly is a pilot, zoologist and illustrator and has a website which can be found at wingthreads.com.
She also has written a Children’s book ‘Wing Threads A Shorebird Flying Adventure’. They managed to see some migratory birds (although a limited number due to being a Saturday and the public wandering around the beach) including two Pacific golden plovers, the one bar-tailed godwit and 15 red-necked stints.
Carole has photographed the golden plovers at 13th Beach before and wondered if they are the same ones who return each year.
