The midweek outing in October took us on a 2-day adventure into Southwestern Victoria. With an afternoon walk on day 1 there was plenty of time to make the journey down to Colac where we met up at 3pm to explore the area around the lake. Local expert Adam Fry was our guide for the afternoon, and he was just as pleased as we were to welcome the change in the weather. The sunshine reflected off the mostly calm waters of the lake. The gathering group were presented with excellent views of Whiskered Terns swooping and skimming the surface of the water.

After introducing Adam and giving a nod to the book on Colac Otway birds he has co-authored (see note at the end of the blog), we began our walk. The route took us over mostly flat and even ground across Barongarook Creek toward the Colac Bird Sanctuary. There was a short diversion to a raised viewing platform.  Then a return to the creek, exploring the Eastern bank before recrossing behind the caravan park and heading up into the Botanical Gardens. This provided several different types of environment: Open Water; Lakeside reeds and edges; Path side mixed vegetation; open grassland; The Sanctuary Wetland; Creekside trees and Shrubs; The larger trees and lawns of the gardens.

The experience began with a closer look at the Whiskered Terns perched on the old pier near the boat ramp. Such dainty birds with an expert agility over the water. These views were a harbinger of the remarkably good views we would get of the local birdlife. Adam’s bird knowledge and infectious enthusiasm for his local patch certainly sealed this as a very enjoyable afternoon. For a group of 22 people to somehow blend in and not scare off the birds was a real bonus. Walking between the caravan park and the lake we noticed other birds of the open water that included Eurasian Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorants, Silver Gulls, Black Swan, and on the foreshore, Masked Lapwing. In the caravan park a few Purple Swamphen and some Wood Duck loafed around. Whistling Kite glided overhead in the direction of the gardens where we had previously noticed a large raptor nest.

Whistling Kite (photos left and top right by Steve Hoptroff – left photo showing Whistling Kite with lunch; bottom right by Katmun Loh

Reaching the bridge over the creek we were treated to good views of roosting Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants, and a few Hoary-headed Grebes. About a dozen Freckled Duck with their lightly speckled feathers and peculiar peaked heads were quietly resting under the trees.

Freckled Duck (photos left top and middle by Clancy Benson; left bottom by Steve Hoptroff and top right and bottom by Katmun Loh)

This relatively rare duck has been at the lake since the middle of winter in varying numbers. White-plumed Honeyeaters could be heard and observed moving about in the larger trees. From here the path snaked away from the creek and alongside a largish ditch separating the path from a small island. This area was busy with Superb Fairy-wrens, Red-browed Finches, Australian Reed Warblers and Little Grassbirds. All except the latter were at times very obliging in perching and foraging at the base of the reeds or near the path.

Australian Reed Warbler. Photo by Steve Hoptroff

Dusky Moorhen pushed their way through the wet grass.  The open grassland on the other side of the path held upwards of 80 Purple Swamphen, interspersed with small numbers of Wood Duck, Black Duck and Moorhen. We crossed a muddy causeway (Beware!) and made for a raised platform on the island. This position gave excellent views of Great Crested Grebes in courtship behaviour and reminded us just how handsome these birds are. Their numbers were now up to 30…perhaps the high water levels in the lake were a plus for this species.

 Great Crested Grebe (photo at left by Clancy Benson; photo at right by Katmun Loh)

Great Crested Grebe. Photos by Steve Hoptroff

We were also able to observe the presence of White-faced Heron, Great Egret, Grey Teal, Pacific Black Duck, and Black Swan near the edges of the lake.

Heading back across the muddy causeway (Beware again!) we became aware of lots more Freckled Duck in the shallows near the edge of the lake and a small Crake that was skulking along a sparsely vegetated bank. This bird, a Spotted Crake, eventually came out into the open just long enough for most of us to get great views. 

Spotted Crake. Photos by Katmun Loh

Heading on toward the sanctuary the path side vegetation yielded Grey Fantail, Grey Shrike-thrush, European Greenfinch and New Holland Honeyeater. 

European Goldfinch (Photos by Katmun Loh (left) and Steve Hoptroff (right))

The wetland itself was not particularly busy but we added a Pelican, some Australian White Ibis, Welcome Swallows, and some lovely sunlit views of Greenfinch.

The Eastern side of the creek was another surprisingly productive spot. We got some clean vision of a Sacred Kingfisher perched quite high but out in the open.

Sacred Kingfisher (photos top left and right by Clancy Benson; photo bottom right by Katmun Loh and photo bottom left by Steve Hoptroff)

A Little Corella was using a feeder on a nearby dead stump. The lower branches of some trees that serve to blunt the intrusion of the local housing into the Creekside landscape became quite busy with Spotted Pardalote, Grey Fantail, Golden Whistler, and White-winged Triller.

Spotted Pardalote, female (left) and male (right). Photos by Clancy Benson

This latter bird, an uncommon sighting for the area, gave us nice views with 2 females and 1 male bird being present. 

White-winged Triller, female (Photos by Steve Hoptroff – top left; Clancy Benson – top right and bottom left; Katmun Loh – bottom right)

White-winged Triller, male (photos by Clancy Benson at top left, top right and bottom left; Steve Hoptroff at second left and middle right; Katmun Loh at third left and bottom right)

On the creek itself, amongst the waterhen and Wood Duck, we spotted a few Chestnut Teal. Recrossing the creek, a Silvereye showed briefly and a few more Red-browed Finches were seen around two nests built right in the open.

Heading up into the Botanic Gardens, two Crimson Rosella did a fly-by and we heard Gang-gang Cockatoos overhead … on their way somewhere else, but notable, nonetheless. Satin Bowerbird females played hide and seek in the lush green foliage before one briefly flew through a splash of sunlight providing a splendidly luminous display of its Green and Brown plumage.

King Parrots were eventually located foraging mid-story, and finally, 23 Rufous Night Herons roosting high in a Monterey Pine proved a challenge to find and count!

Nankeen Night-Heron. Photos by Katmun Loh

There will be some species that didn’t get a blog mention (they will, of course, be on the survey list) probably because they are rather commonplace, or their presence was less memorable. I have resisted naming a bird of the afternoon or even doing a special mention list. I confess to overhearing many exclamations of excitement and enchantment at the birds we were seeing, and it was clear that different observers have their own reasons to delight in the experiences these outings bring.

The bird records for the day can be found via the link below. Our total for the afternoon a very pleasing 55 species.

http://birdata.birdlife.org.au/survey?id=9400613&h=9f4726cb

Many thanks go to Adam for a great afternoon of birding.  More detail on the Birds of the area can be found in this great little book…

Colac Otway Birds, Ian Davies & Adam Fry, VICMARK Victorian Marketing Solutions Pty Ltd., 2019.

Day 2 saw us make the journey from Colac to Deans Marsh where we gathered at 9am for a morning walk on Private Property in the Otway foothills. Our host for the morning was owner James Maund who gave us a short introduction on his vision for the trees on his property and the importance of the creek rehabilitation work he has undertaken to the success of birdlife in the area. The planned walk took us on a circular route through key sections of the property combining bird observation with some detail on the planning and design philosophy behind James’s project to showcase trees of the world. Leadership today was a combined effort from the owner James, Josh, a keen young local birder, and Phillip. This worked well to serve the combined purpose and allowed us to split the group to avoid a more difficult creek crossing for some members.

The route comprised grass pathways, creek tracks, and fords with some uneven ground and gentle to moderate hills. The environment characteristics can be divided into two main types…Grassland interspersed with groves of trees and manmade structures, and a deep creek with substantial native vegetation along its length.

We had initially gathered on the deck overlooking the Northern aspect of the property. Although there are several dams on the property it was clear that waterbirds were not going to be around in the same numbers as the previous afternoon. Even so, initial observation as people were arriving, revealed a Little Pied Cormorant, Purple Swamphen, Grey Butcherbird, Crimson Rosella, and Welcome Swallows.

We commenced the walk by heading downhill from the deck and were almost immediately alerted by Josh to the presence of a Black-shouldered Kite perched in one of the groves. This bird and a possible mate were observed flying and interacting with each other several times during the morning. A harbinger for some good raptor sightings. We moved on down through an avenue of Olive trees to Cleopatra’s pool where we found ourselves looking back up the hill as the Black-shouldered Kite spent some energy harassing a Nankeen Kestrel. 

Black-shouldered Kite – Photos by Clancy Benson

Black-shoulderd Kite. Photos by Steve Hoptroff

We also kept an eye on a large dead Blue Gum that often serves as a perching spot and possible nesting site for hollow seekers. Striated Pardalote, Eastern Rosella and Yellow-faced Honeyeater were noted here.

The next major stop was the Ancestor’s Henge, and the first arrivals unwittingly flushed a Latham’s Snipe which some of us stragglers luckily got “in flight” views of. More Welcome Swallows were using the pool in the Henge and the call of a Shining Bronze Cuckoo was heard from the vicinity of the creek. The adjacent grassland was quite busy with European Goldfinch and a familiar buzzing call that indicated the presence of Golden-headed Cisticola. It took a while, but our keen bunch of observers soon located the bird. 

Flyovers are regular in this kind of environment, and we noticed Little Corella and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.

The next port of call was the Oak grove and here there was somewhat less of a variety than normally encountered but Grey Fantails, Silvereyes, European Goldfinch and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were noted. The path Northward led us up to the creek and more Grey Fantails and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were in evidence. About 30 Straw-necked Ibis were noted flying overhead.

Straw-necked Ibis. Photos by Clancy Benson

The creek, having been carved out by erosion in the past, is at the bottom of a deep gully. Here the environment is calmer and a little more humid. New Holland Honeyeaters were active in the trees lining the gully and White-browed Scrubwren were soon spotted in the undergrowth. Grey Fantails love it down here and seem to be around every corner.  The sound of Whistlers became more insistent as we crossed the creek and climbed to “the Land of the Giants”. Here there are groves of some of the world’s tallest tree species. The birds were very much still associated with the creek vegetation though, and we were able to note both Rufous and Golden Whistler. Grey Shrike Thrush were being heard regularly too, and eventually sightings were recorded. 

There are some large Eucalypts on the Eastern boundary that are often used as resting stops by raptors, Cockatoos, Ravens etc. The plan was to check these out before heading down into the creek again. On the way up we heard the call of a Horsefield’s Bronze Cuckoo, and a scope toting member got this bird centre lens…great views for everyone. Another bonus of being at a raised point in the landscape was the ability to take in the surrounding landscape. 

This revealed the presence of a small flock of Straw-necked Ibis, one Australian White Ibis, a White-faced Heron and an Australian Shelduck in a neighbouring paddock. It wasn’t long before a raptor showed distantly and approached close enough to identify as a Swamp Harrier … being harassed by a couple of Galahs. A short time after we had logged this quite large raptor, a somewhat smaller bird of prey turned up circling the nearby hill … a Brown Falcon which we were able to follow to a perching spot on a dead stump. Keen eyes … so important … and this is how we picked up Tree Martins hawking the hillside paddock … another good sighting.

Back down to the creek and some more supercharged bird activity from Grey Fantails, Brown Thornbill, Superb Fairy-wren, and White-naped honeyeaters. The latter were very active in chasing and harassing each other and anything else in the vicinity. Here, we split the group with a small group heading back along the top path on the Western edge of the creek and the remainder staying down on the creek path. We did all get the chance, however, to see a Grey Goshawk (White Phase) …a lifer for some members.

The top path revealed more Whistlers and a Striated Thornbill, while the creek walkers scored Eastern Yellow Robin, Red-browed Finch, Willie Wagtail, and an Azure Kingfisher…along with some Yellow-rumped Thornbill as they made their way out.

We all met up again at the Lookout up the top of the South Hill…not much more to report on the walk back to the deck but a few Noisy Miners and a White-necked Heron.

I have again resisted picking favourites…I’m sure you each have one. What a fabulous morning walk to conclude our 2 day visit.

The bird records for the day can be found via the link below. Our total for the morning a very pleasing 56 species.

http://birdata.birdlife.org.au/survey?id=9400619&h=40d3584d

Many thanks again to James for opening his property and sharing his knowledge with us, and to Josh for his local knowledge and enthusiasm. 

The joint bird list for the two days yielded 82 different species. Please note that a few sightings, although input, may not be visible to users who don’t own the data, probably due to Birdlife protocols. At this stage 2 birds from the Colac list (Rainbow Lorikeet and White-winged Triller) and 1 from the Deans Marsh list (Common Myna) are not visible or counted in the above links.

Photos kindly provided by Steve Hoptroff, Katmun Loh and Clancy Benson.

Phillip.