HEADING TO THE GRAMPIANS!

On these school holidays I will be going to the Grampians mountains in western Victoria. I am hoping to see yellow-faced honeyeaters, white-throated treecreepers, eastern spinebills, pied currawongs, eastern yellow robins, laughing kookaburras,long-billed corellas, western grey kangaroos, gang gangs and other interesting forest birds. Of these, the yellow-faced honeyeater, eastern spinebill and gang-gang would be lifers. I have seen a western grey kangaroo once in South Australia.
I will be staying at a special cottage. Expect a detailed report of my trip coming up soon.

A VISIT TO SERENDIP SANCTUARY

Today my sister, my father and I all decided to go to Serendip Sanctuary in Lara. While most of the wildlife is captive, a lot of interesting waterbirds can be found at Serendip. These include the magpie goose, Australian shelduck and yellow-billed spoonbill. It is also very educational. If you are a birder with kids, I recommend taking them to the sanctuary. If they aren't tired when they get out (and they are girls), you can take them to the nearby 'Fairy Adventure Park.'A visit to Serendip is a great day out for the whole family.
We started seeing wildlife as soon as we got out of the car in the carpark. New Holland honeyeaters, red wattlebirds, superb fairy-wrens, two Cape Barren geese and three emus in the distance let us know that it would be great. While walking to the Information Centre, to show my sister the various birds, we spotted a musk duck underneath a bridge.

A portrait of a Cape Barren goose

A male musk duck

At the information centre my sister Ishani learnt a bit about the wildlife that calls Australia home. She saw some captive spotted marsh frogs, looked underwater from the view of a duck and saw stuffed specimens of three of Victoria's nationally threatened birds- the brolga, the Australian bustard and the magpie goose. Then we went on to the wildlife walk.

An eastern grey kangaroo in the shade

At first the wildlife walk was not productive bird-wise. However, I did see an eastern grey kangaroo and found out that I could jump to the same height as a pademelon (a small kind of kangaroo). Then we neared the marshlands. From a bird hide I saw heaps of waterbirds! Pacific black ducks, chestnut teals, Australian white ibis, yellow-billed spoonbills, magpie geese- they were all in front of me! Just then I saw a small, plover-like bird land on the edge of the lake. I realized what it was- a black-fronted dotterel, a lifer for me! While welcome swallows swooped and caught insects in front of the hide, I photographed the dotterel and ended up with some good photos. On the other side of the lake, I noticed two emus and a flock of masked lapwings and Australian shelducks.

The black-fronted dotterel
As we continued on, a swamp wallaby hopped along the side of a fence. The aviary was nice, but had somehow become infested with house and Eurasian tree sparrows. If they were placed in there, they shouldn't be in the 'Bush Birds' area, they shouldn't be in Australia at all! If they got in there, something should be done about it. I wanted to show my sister the joys of ponding, but she didn't want to do it.
After about 2 hours, we finally decided to go home. I saw 3 black-shouldered kites on the way home.
LIFERS FOR ME- 1
LIFERS FOR MY SISTER- 6
LIFERS FOR MY DAD- 1
BEST BIRD FOR ME- Black-Fronted Dotterel
I enjoyed this trip. We had decided to explore the sanctuary, which I had heard about as being a good place to bird. Whoever said that was right. Next time we have visitors from overseas in our house, we should bring them to Serendip.

More on Mount Macedon

Gang-Gang cockatoos, kookaburras and wattlebirds are also apparently seen. Any more reliable information?

Birding Mount Macedon?

Is the Mount Macedon area in Melbourne still good for birds? If so, could you please give me information about birds in the area? Birds seen in the area (according to some reports) include Australian magpie, striated thornbill, crimson rosella, grey shrike-thrush, flame robin, white-throated treecreeper, pied currawong and yellow-faced honeyeater. The yellow-faced honeyeater would be a lifer. Are there any other birds I can expect to find? Please help. Thank you, Chanith.
P.S- Specifically at Hanging Rock

FLASHBACK- Grade 4 (2011) School Camp

This is a flashback of my school camp in Grade 4 on Phillip Island. Until I work out how to get to my old blog on Ultranet, I cannot give detailed trip reports. Here is a rough list from memory of birds I saw on the camp.
OUTSIDE THE CAMP AREA-
BIRDS
Australian Pelican
Silver Gull
MAMMALS
Ring-Tailed Possum

INSIDE THE CAMP AREA-
BIRDS
Cape Barren Goose
Pacific Black Duck
Purple Swamphen
House Sparrow
New Holland Honeyeater
Welcome Swallow
Owlet Nightjar (Possible, on night walk teachers reported seeing small bird)
White-Plumed Honeyeater

LIFERS- O (As expected)

BIRDS IN MY SCHOOL

I don't think I have posted on the birds of my school before. This is something I should have done long ago, so without waiting any longer, here it is.
Essendon North Primary School, also known as E.N.P.S, is a school in north Essendon. It is not very diverse in birds. However, 13 birds occur as residents, with more occuring as vagrants. The resident birds are-
LITTLE RAVEN
AUSTRALIAN MAGPIE
SPOTTED DOVE
CRESTED PIGEON
RAINBOW LORIKEET
MUSK LORIKEET
HOUSE SPARROW
WELCOME SWALLOW
NOISY MINER
RED WATTLEBIRD
WHITE-PLUMED HONEYEATER
COMMON BLACKBIRD
WILLIE WAGTAIL
Vagrants include-
SILVER GULL
PACIFIC BLACK DUCK (possibly)
FERAL PIGEON
COMMON MYNA (though birds are often seen just outside the school along Keilor Road, they usually don't come in the school)
COMMON STARLING
SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO
By far the commonest bird in the school is this, the crested pigeon. Almost every day birds can be seen perching on top of the school library. Crested pigeons are native to Australia. They eat small seeds and other vegetation.

A crested pigeon feeds near the school oval
On the school oval, the second-commonest bird is the Australian Magpie. 3 species of honeyeater can be found in the school, all in the Embankment- the white-plumed honeyeater, red wattlebird and noisy miner.
The Embankment is the most bird-rich area of the school. Of the 13 resident birds in E.N.P.S, 7 can be seen in the Embankment. The Embankment is a cliff-like area, with a few eucalyptus trees. These trees attract honeyeaters and lorikeets. The grass near the Embankment attracts crested pigeons. Little ravens can be seen flying overhead, but usually don't land in the Embankment area.
The school can be divided into two birding areas- the Rocky Ground and the Oval.
The Oval consists of the school oval and area around it. The Embankment is part of the Oval. 9 of the resident birds in E.N.P.S can be found in the Oval. It is the most productive area.
The Rocky Ground consists of the more rocky, hard area- Everything other than the Oval area. It is less productive than the Oval. 6 of the resident birds in E.N.P.S inhabit the Rocky Ground.

The most interesting bird in the school is the musk lorikeet. This nectar-drinking species can be found in both areas, but is most often seen in the Rocky Ground. It is often seen drinking nectar from the eucalyptus trees in the teacher's carpark, along with red wattlebirds and occasionally rainbow lorikeets.

A musk lorikeet
Well, that is pretty much it for the birds in my school.

WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT- A BIRDING QUIZ

What species of bird can you see in this flock of birds, found at the Western Treatment Plant!
There are no hints! For rules, go to my July Quizzes.

The mystery flock