The Golden Whistler

Volume 7 Number 6 June 2018

PRESIDENT'S REPORT NEXT OUTING Hello everyone. DATE: Saturday 28th July There is not a lot I can report on this month as I MET: Henriz Cafe, 224 Gray St, Hamilton have been away. Cairns and the Savannah were TIME: 12 noon for lunch and social get together wonderful, the weather warm and I saw lots of birds including six new ones for me. PLEASE RSVP: 23rd July The cold weather down here is a shock. Annie is CONTACT: Jane Hayes 0427 909 068 now up in the Gregory Downs region. Half her luck!

Sam has been working on a speaker for our July indoor meet. Will keep you posted. Keep warm CHANGE OF VENUE Charlotte Davis GUEST SPEAKER: Inka Veltheim, Movements and habitat use of Brolgas in south west

DATE: Saturday 25th August

MET: Hamilton Institute of Rural Learning, 333 North Boundary Rd TIME: 2pm for 2.15 start VENUE: Bandicoot Room BRING: afternoon tea CONTACT: Samantha Greiner 0428 395 773

Outings will be cancelled on days of Total Fire Ban, Extreme Heat and other Hazardous Weather condition

CONTENTS: 2. Outing Report 3. Local Bird Sightings

4. Quiz & Up Coming Events

5. Childrens Books

BirdLife Hamilton monthly newsletter, Editor Samantha Greiner 0428 395 773

Outing Report

NORTHERN GRAMPIANS

Meeting at Cherrypool, a slightly later start than Emu Yellow Thornbill normal saw 11 people turn out for the day’s outing. Australian Shelduck Yellow-rumped Thornbill It was wonderful to welcome new member Jo Tully Australian Wood Duck Brown Thornbill and potential member Sharon Rentsch from Pacific Black Duck Brown Thornbill Cavendish. Australasian Grebe Spotted Pardalote Australasian Darter Eastern Spinebill The weather was chilly and dull with not a drop of Great Cormorant Yellow-faced Honeyeater wind. A quick look around Cherrypool revealed Eastern Great Egret White-eared Honeyeater many Darters, Black Ducks, Yellow Robins, White-faced Heron White-plumed Honeyeater Treecreepers and an unexpected Night Heron flying Nankeen Night-Heron Noisy Miner through. It was surprising to see how low the water Yellow-billed Spoonbill New Holland Honeyeater level was with a large dry patch at the far end of Black-shouldered Kite White-browed Babbler Whistling Kite Golden Whistler the hole. Wedge-tailed Eagle Grey Shrike-thrush Morning tea was at Zumsteins where we were Purple Swamphen Australian Magpie turned back from the Fish Falls walk by a shower of Black-fronted Dotterel Pied Currawong rain. Once again we were treated to a delicious Masked Lapwing Grey Currawong Galah Grey Fantail morning snack made by Dot; passionfruit and Long-billed Corella Willie Wagtail lemon shortbread. A Scarlet Robin near the water Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Forest Raven got us scrambling and some Grey Currawongs on Crimson Rosella Little Raven nearby trees waited to clean up our crumbs. Eastern Rosella White-winged Chough We headed further north, past mobs of kangaroos Red-rumped Parrot Jacky Winter Laughing Kookaburra Scarlet Robin and a number of emus to Mt Stapylton White-throated Treecreeper Flame Robin Campground. This was an impressive campground Superb Fairy-wren Eastern Yellow Robin with a number of clear sites with fire pits, toilets White-browed Scrubwren Silvereye and bucket showers, surrounded by impressive rock Weebill Welcome Swallow escarpments, potential for a future birding camp! Striated Thornbill Red-browed Finch We did a short walk to Ngamadjidji Shelter, an Total 58 species impressive Aboriginal Rock art site where White- browed Babblers were heard and eventually spotted. After lunch here, a few people headed home while 3 cars headed to Brim Springs Picnic Ground. The drive there took us past some pretty country on the western edge of the Grampians; sheep farms then back into the national park on less travelled tracks. The highlight of the day was along one of these tracks when we stopped near a freshly worked paddock. What we thought was a couple of Flame Robins turned into 30 or more birds! The paddock seemed to be alive with the gorgeous colours of Flame Robins. A number of other birds were also foraging in this paddock and we had a bit of a ‘dream run’ for a while. Further down the Asses Ears Rd we came to Brim Springs. A Yellow Robin and Scarlet Robin greeted us at this isolated picnic spot but we were unable to find the actual springs as depicted on the information board. We said goodbye to Neil and

Christine Scott here and the Barrend’s, Sam and I Annie at The Serpintine, Henty April 2018 © R Logan braved a sandy track and downed trees on a shortcut back to the Henty Highway and homewards. We all agreed the Northern Grampians warrant further investigation in the future. Sally Purcell

2 June 2018 Sightings

Rod Bird Steve Clark 80 Double-banded Plovers & 13 Red-capped 3 Southern Whiteface, Claude Austin State Forest, Plovers at Green Swamp, Glenthompson (NGT Rockland Reserve, 03.06.18 restored this 100 ha wetland a couple of years ago) 2 Banded Lapwing, Pastoral Research Station, Mt 19.06.18 Napier Rd, Hamilton, 04.06.18 40 Double-banded Plovers on Soldiers Swamp, 2 Painted Buttonquail, Cooks Road, Dunkeld, Croxton East (West Boundary Rd) 29.06.18 16.06.18 650 Freckled Duck and 920 Blue-billed Duck, Lake 1 Spotted Harrier, Lake Linlithgow, Croxton East, Linlithgow, Croxton East, 29.06.18 16.06.18

Bird, Clark, Greiner & Mason 1 White-bellied Sea Eagle, Brady Swamp Wildlife Reserve, Glenthompson, 30.06.18 1 Letter-winged Kite east of , 01.07.18

Samantha Greiner Annie Carmichael 10 Straw-necked Ibis roosting/sunning in pine trees on boundary of Arborline Nursery, Hamilton, 22.06.18

Murray Gunn 250 Freckled Duck, 12 Grey Teal & 20 Red-necked Avocets, Lake Linlithgow, 01.07.18

Greg Kerr 1 male Gilberts Whistler at Dunkeld Arboretum, 01.07.18

Greiner & Mason 20 Flame Robins & 25 White-fronted Chats plus other foraging birds in ploughed paddock, Schmidt's Rd, , 01.07.18 30 Major Mitchell Cockatoo & Striped Honeyeater, Pooncarie, 20.06.18 Susan & Neville Mason Superb Parrots, Eastern and Yellow Rosellas, Azure Kingfisher, Brown Treecreeper, Spotted Pardalote and other riverland species, Deniliquin, 21.06.18

150 Caspian Terns, Menindee lakes 21.06.18

3 Pied Currawongs, in backyard around Bree Rd, Hamilton, 27.06.18

Jo Tully Golden Whistler on the Cavendish Coleraine Rd on our morning walks, also a Wedge-tail Eagle has been dining on road kill on Dundas Gap Rd, Cavendish, end June

June 2018 3 Quiz & Up Coming Outings

BRAIN TEASER OF THE MONTH LOCAL CALENDERS THIS MONTH’S QUESTION: Here is the next BIRDLIFE HAMILTON picture in my second set of can you guess what August bird this is? Saturday 25th GUEST SPEAKER Inka Veltheim BALMORAL WOODLANDS Samantha Greiner

SEPTEMBER Saturday 22nd PALLISTERS RESERVE, Orford Julia Schlapp BirdLife CROSS BORDER CAMP 29th - 1st October Little Desert Lodge, Nhill

BIRDLIFE WARRNAMBOOL August Saturday 4th DUNKELD Meet outside Visitor Information Centre at 10am Graham & Helen Dixon 0457 434 692

SEPTEMBER THIS MONTH’S ANSWER: A now extint species: Saturday 1st Parrot of Norfolk Island (Norfolk Kaka, Nestor PORT CAMPBELL NATIONAL PARK productus) John Hunter 1790? Sourced from A Meet at amenities block Irvine Street, Peterborough Brush with Birds Australian Bird Art from the at 10am National Library of Australia 2008 Graeme & Heather Saunders 0409 166 384

BIRDLIFE HORSHAM August Sunday 5th WYPERFELD SOUTH we have decided to leave from the Horsham library at 7.30am, instead of the usual 8.30am; to allow more time to enjoy the day

SEPTEMBER Sunday 2nd LITTLE DESERT

Please contact Deidre Andrews on 0402 317 142 Please bring morning tea and lunch, binoculars and wear appropriate outdoor gear. Please note subject to change due to seasonal variability

4 June 2018 Birds in Childrens Books

I am an ex-Coleraine resident (1997) who is now President of Birdlife Mackay and editor of The Wren newsletter. You may have seen my story in the Hamilton Spectator on Thursday July 5th 2018. I have published four books in the series of Crazy Bird Stories in my attempt to introduce birds to young children. The aim of this book is to introduce children to birds through entertainment and education. Having fun with birds in these twelve humorous, catchy and 'crazy' short stories will hopefully cement an impression in the mind of each child that will remain with them as they develop and grow. I have observed that reading to small children is most important and that it can sow a seed for the future. When children are older and can read for themselves they can then enjoy the 'crazy' stories and discover some interesting facts about a 'real' bird that is related to the fictitious one. This introduction to birds will hopefully encourage children and parent alike to seek and discover more about the large range of bird species that Australia and this planet of ours, have to offer. If any of your members are interested in spreading the word by purchasing copies I would appreciate their support. Copies are $15.00 per copy or get all 4 for $50.00 (plus postage). The target age for Books 1 and 3 is 0 to 8 y.o. whilst Books 2 and 4 are for the 6 to 16 age bracket. I am just finishing animating Book 2 with Book 4 to be next. Please contact me on 0438 134 738 or at [email protected] Daryl Barnes

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