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BirdLife Castlemaine District eNews February 2021

Tuesday, 26 January 2021

  • Estimated reading time 10 minutes

Welcome to Castlemaine District eNews!

Dear Supporter,

Welcome to our first eNews for 2021.

In this issue we’ve got a summary of our January walk, details of our much-loved ‘Breakfast With The Birds’ event coming up in February, the quiz, and more.

Bird Walk Summary – Deep Creek Streamside Reserve, Eganstown

Our 2021 walks program got off to a great start on Saturday 9 January.

Forty-two bird watchers, led by Tanya Loos, enjoyed a wonderful walk on a beautiful morning along the road by Maclachlan Creek through manna gum forest until we reached the reserve at the end of the road. We then wandered down to Deep Creek to visit the old spring. A walk through Messmate forest completed a terrific outing.

Approx. 25 species of bird were seen or heard with several highlights including firstly a female Satin Flycatcher and later a male of the species. A juvenile Brown Treecreeper was observed fluttering among tree trunks attempting to find insects, whilst a keen-eyed birder noticed a White-naped Honeyeater fly from its small open cup nest constructed of grass, bark and spider web, high up in a tree in the forest. Along the same forest track a Grey Fantail was observed sitting on a small compact cup nest, of fine grasses bound with spider webs, suspended from a dead tree fork, the bottom of the nest drawn out into a long stem.

Thanks to Tanya for suggesting this beautiful area for our first walk for 2021 and for sharing her wealth of bird knowledge with the group.

Photo of eager birdwatchers: Judy Hopley

February Bird Walk and Breakfast With The Birds – Saturday 6 February – Warburtons Bridge, Glenluce

The next BirdLife Castlemaine District Branch bird walk will be held on Saturday 6 February  at Warburtons Bridge, Glenluce. The walk will be preceded by ‘Breakfast With The Birds’ at the Warburtons Bridge picnic ground on the Loddon River. Please bring your own food and drinks, cutlery, etc. Breakfast will commence at 8:00am, followed by a walk of approx. 1 km.

Birds that may be seen include Brown Treecreeper, White-browed Scrubwren, Eastern Yellow Robin and various Honeyeaters. Unusual sightings at this area have included Brown Quail and Spotted Quail Thrush. Olive-backed Orioles and Eastern Koel have also been heard around the area and are a possibility. Our walk leaders are Peter and Rosemary Turner. All welcome!

Note there is a toilet at the site. To discover more about Warburtons Bridge Camping Area click here: https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/sites/warburtons-bridge-camping-area

Where: Warburtons Bridge is located on the Drummond-Vaughan Road, Glenluce. Coming from Castlemaine, travel to the destination via Chewton and Fryerstown on the Vaughan-Chewton Road. 3.1 kms past Fryerstown, turn left onto the Drummond-Vaughan Road. Warburtons Bridge is on the left, approximately 1.8 kms from this turnoff.

When: Meet at the Warburtons Bridge Camping Area at 8:00am.

Bring: As well as breakfast, please bring water, snacks, binoculars, sunscreen, hat, sturdy shoes. PLEASE NOTE: During snake season we strongly recommend wearing long trousers and covered-in shoes. Snakes are very much out and about, and you may be bitten without realising it straightaway, leading to a delay in receiving essential medical attention.

COVID requirements: You must always carry a face mask with you when you leave home unless you have a lawful reason not to. Wearing a face mask is strongly recommended whenever you can’t keep 1.5 metres distance from others.

More info: Jane Rusden, 0448 900 896, Judy Hopley 0425 768 559 or Bob Dawson 0417 621 691.

Please note that walks will be cancelled if severe weather warnings are in place, persistent rain is forecast, the temperature is forecast to be 35C or above during the walk period, and/or a Total Fire Ban is declared. Please check your email and our Facebook page the day before the event in case there is a cancellation.

Expressions of Interest – Proposed Weekend Mallee Camp

For our July outing this year we are looking at the possibility of doing a weekend camp at the Hattah – Kulkyne National Park in the Mallee. As there is a lot of planning for such an outing we need to know how many people would be interested, and have a firm number to then book an area with Parks Victoria by the end of April.

If you are interested, please advise Bob Dawson by email or text 0417 621 691.

Hattah – Kulkyne NP is approx. a four hour drive from Castlemaine. The camping facilities are excellent and the park has a diverse range of birds and other flora and fauna. Possible birding highlights are Apostlebirds, Regent Parrot, Mallee Emu-wren, Striated Grass-wren, Chestnut Quail-thrush and Malleefowl.

For more information on Hattah – Kulkyne NP click here: https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/hattah—kulkyne-national-park

Photo of Hattah – Kulkyne National Park: Jane Rusden

Know Your Birds Quiz

Test your bird knowledge in this month’s quiz with the four questions below, then check the answers at the end of this eNews. Big thanks as always to quizmaster Ash Vigus.

Question 1 (Beginner): Multiple Choice

Australia is blessed with a great array of Herons, Egrets, Night-herons and Bitterns, many of which inhabit the Castlemaine district. From the four species listed below, which species is not found in the state of Victoria?

1. White-faced Heron
2. Nankeen Night-heron
3. Pied Heron
4. White-necked Heron

Question 2 (Intermediate): Spot the Feathers

All four species pictured below are either full time or seasonal residents in the Castlemaine district. What do you think these four birds are?

Question 3 (Advanced): Who am I?

• I’m a year-round resident in the Castlemaine district.

• I’m a small bird, approximately 9.5cm to 11cm in length, with a plump body and a short square ended tail.

• I’m found widely throughout mainland Australia, but I’m not found in Tasmania.

• I like to occupy a range of different woodland habitats, ranging from arid mulga to wet eucalypt forests as well as coastal regions.

• My nest consists of a pear-shaped purse, constructed from spiders’ webs, lichen and wattle blossom hung from a leafy twig.

• I’m sexually dimorphic. The male has black-blue upperparts, and a distinctive scarlet chin and upper breast, with a white/grey lower breast and belly. The female is mostly grey except for pink, red undertail coverts, and a darker grey on the wings and upper tail.

• My diet largely consists of the fruits of Mistletoe, but I will also feed on other fruits and nectar.

• I’m mainland Australia’s only species of Flowerpecker.

Bonus Question 4 (Obscure)

All of the four Honeyeater species listed below are residents in the Castlemaine district. Which of these species is not a member of the Melithreptus genus?

1.Brown-headed Honeyeater
2.Black-chinned Honeyeater
3.White-eared Honeyeater
4.White-naped Honeyeater

Bird of the Month – Rainbow Bee-eater

The drag queens of the Aussie bird world are the Rainbow Bee-eaters. Sporting Amy Winehouse thick black eye flicks, turquoise eyeliner and rainbow plumage they are seriously stunning birds, quite at home on their sky-blue stage, acrobatically performing astonishing feats on the wing catching dinner.

Click here to read more.

Photo of female Rainbow Bee-eater: Ash Vigus

Observations

Exciting news from Peter and Rosemary Turner:

On 6th January at Picnic Point, Cairn Curran, we saw six adult White-breasted Woodswallows, and one juvenile. Damian Kelly and Geoff Park both confirm that these beautiful birds are not seen often in the area.

On 20th January, during a walk around Barkers Creek Reservoir with our grandsons, Peter saw a Blue-billed Duck – last reported there on Birdata in 1988.

Photo of White-breasted Woodswallows: Peter and Rosemary Turner

Follow us on Facebook

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Become a Member

Membership of BirdLife Australia is a great way to support a bright future for Australia’s birds – and it would also make a great gift for a bird-lover! Learn more about membership or other ways to get involved here.

Kind regards,

The BirdLife Castlemaine Committee

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Quiz Answers

Question 1: Pied Heron – a small tropical heron only resident in northern Australia

Question 2: Clockwise from top left – Rainbow Bee-eater, Striated Pardalote, Australian Pelican, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater

Question 3: Mistletoebird

Question 4: The White-eared Honeyeater, a member of the Nesoptilotis genus. Along with the Yellow-throated Honeyeater it is a species endemic to Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands.

The Melithreptus genus consists of a group of seven small to medium short-billed Honeyeaters. All species have an olive green back, black or brown head, pale nape band, and a bare coloured patch of skin above and behind the eye.

White-naped Honeyeater – Melithreptus lunatus.
Black-chinned Honeyeater – Melithreptus gularis.
Brown-headed Honeyeater – Melithreptus brevirostris.
White-throated Honeyeater – Melithreptus albogularis
Gilbert’s Honeyeater – Melithreptus chloropsis
Black-headed Honeyeater – Melithreptus affinis
Strong-billed Honeyeater – Melithreptus validirostris

BirdLife Australia, BirdLife Victoria Group, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton, VIC 3053  | castlemaine@birdlife.org.au