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| Swift Parrot |
On my Easter Break (which is university 'common week' here) we took a dash to Chiltern VIC. It is the largest remaining remnant of the Box-Ironbark forest in Victoria and one of the top birding sites in the state. It had just started to flower the week before we got there and we were wonderfully excited to see the Swift Parrots had arrived on the mainland after flying from clear down in Tasmania, where they spend their breeding season!
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| Scarlet Robin (M) |
Nancy was completely attuned to the robins - she could pick them out in the trees even while Dirk was driving 100kph on the highway! The dirt road system within Chiltern provides good leisurely access to most of the area and we had fine opportunities to see these guys more than a few times.
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| Scarlet Robin (F) |
Also in attendance were the female Scarlet Robins. Not as bold and brassy but much more accommodating of photographs.
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| Little Lorikeet |
The blossoms also attracted whole flights of Little Lorikeets. We normally only hear them as they pass by at just under super-sonic speeds but here they settled down to gnosh on flowers WAY up in the canopy....
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| Yellow-footed Antechinus |
The Yellow-footed Antechinus is a locally common marsupial (in)famous for its mating habits. The male becomes so frenzied that its immune system shuts down and males die before one year old. Not a good long-term survival strategy...
But they are wickedly cute and this one seemed quite happy to watch us from his brick pile in broad daylight.
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| Whistling Kite |
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| Koala |
Cruising one of the local ponds
It is fun to occasionally be reminded where we are - this ain't Kansas Toto!
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| Red-capped Robin (F) |
Red-capped Robins were also out and about and the female entertained us for some time while she was finding bugs on the ground and flying up to a low branch. She was quite happy to pose.
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| Red-capped Robin (M) |
The male Red-capped was keeping an eye out - either for his girl or maybe just for bugs...
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| Speckled Warbler |
Closely related to scrubwrens, these birds are "warblers" in name only (unrelated to Old World warblers) but are nevertheless a real treat to find. We have not seen them in NSW but they seem to like the habitat here in VIC. There were easy to find in Bartley's block - an old homestead now part of the park.
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| Superb Fairywren |
It's a confusing time of year - flowers blooming, really dry, not quite winter and not breeding season - he just can make up his mind what outfit to wear!
We are already plotting our return after a bit more rain - some of the habitat here is very attractive to a few species we have not yet seen. And hey - a six hour drive is no-big-deal for a weekend in OZ!
