The Musk Duck Volume 5 Number 19 September 2021 Pink-eared Ducks – Warren Palmer FigureCONVENOR’S 1Blue-billed REPORTDucks - Warren Palmer We now find ourselves heading into the wonders of springtime, having had limited opportunities in 2021 to enjoy our meetings and group outings. At home there appears to be a competition on how long can the White-throated Treecreeper and the Common Bronzewing call. Nesting has also started, with two boxes now home for pairs of Australian Wood Ducks and my family of Magpies already sitting. The local ABC radio are keen to have a broadcast from the shores of Lake Wendouree in early October, if it can go ahead, this will be a great opportunity to promote our local Birdlife and branch leading into the birds in backyard survey count. Stay safe. I hope to catch up with all in person soon. Have your bins focused on birds and your efforts support habitat conservation. Louise Humble Meetings & Reports Creswick ‘Winter Wonderland’ Outing, June 25th Leader: Roy Chester The multitude assembled outside the old post office in Creswick at 9:00 am, and cast pensive glances at the louring sky. The omens were not good. Nevertheless, we set off to the Landcare Centre and the Oak Gully, in search of Bassian Thrushes and, well, anything really. We didn’t see much until we had walked around the old nursery and along the Centre garden, when we came across Red-browed Finches, a Golden Whistler, a Grey Shrike-thrush and some Brown Thornbills. Little Raven – Doug Wilson There WERE birds in Creswick! However, continuing along the Landcare Trail and the lower Le Gerche Trail back to the cars only gave us White-browed Scrubwren and Crimson Rosellas. So we went to Newlyn Reservoir for morning tea, and started seeing more birds – Whistling Kite, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, ducks, cormorants, Pelicans, a Great Egret and some far off small specks that some confidently predicted were Black-fronted Dotterels. Those with less acute eyesight remained to be convinced, so we drove and trekked along the edge of the Little Pied Cormorant – Doug Wilson reservoir in dwindling numbers, but not before Goldfinches and a Golden-headed Cisticola were spotted. No Dotterels though. We returned to Creswick and Calambeen Park for lunch, and circled the lakes. A lone Australasian Swamphen revealed itself in, of all places, the swamp (usually falling over them much earlier than that) and then we headed up onto the woodland track (above the lake track) and found a small group of trees containing one Common Bronzewing and at least three species of Thornbill – Yellow, Striated and Brown. The views of the Yellow Thornbill were the best some of us have ever had. From there we followed the Ashtons to a place few of us have seen before – the Creswick Natural Features Reserve. The track in there was deeply rutted, but we pulled over, parked, and started to wander. By this time the sky had cleared, the sun was out, and it was very pleasant being out. Especially when we found at least three Fan-tailed Cuckoos (in JUNE?) a White-Eared Honeyeater and a Scarlet Robin. So it turned into a good day after all, with 14 attendees and 59 species seen or heard. The best birds were the Yellow Thornbills at Calambeen Lakes, and the Fan-tailed Cuckoos at the Creswick Natural Features Reserve. Scarlet Robin – Doug Wilson Fan-tailed Cuckoo – Doug Wilson Page 2. Meetings & Reports The Photography of Warren Palmer July 13, 2021 Warwick Remington After a lifetime of bird-related activities, Warren devoted himself to bird-watching and, particularly, bird-photography in his retirement. He travelled widely throughout the country, on general expeditions to key areas and, also, hunting out some specific rarity. With 60 years of friendship and shared avian interests, he and Warwick must have been a great team – a mutual “brains trust”, with one or other thinking of the next destination and then both enjoying the outcome. Close alliances were also formed with many other enthusiasts, nationwide, sharing good-natured rivalry and enjoyable times along the way. Of the 460 species seen, Warren managed to snap 400. His meticulous attention to the technicalities of the task, and wide knowledge of habitat and behaviour, resulted in extremely fine images of great clarity and detail. He Peregrine Falcon – Warren Palmer managed to capture the key features of a species in a natural pose. The Western Treatment Plant was their favourite destination (with around 140 visits over 8-10 years), and many of the images were taken there. These raised memories for those of us who have also enjoyed seeing the abundance of waterbirds there. Thanks to Cheryl Palmer for allowing us the privilege of seeing her late husband’s photos. -Shirley Faull Swamp Harrier – Warren Palmer Page 3 Female Gang-Gang Cockatoo – Warren Palmer Meetings & Reports Birding with Warren Palmer I first met Warren way back in the 1960s when we were introduced by our mutual uncle Reg Palmer. Our boyhood hobby of bird’s egg collecting was the initial talking point. Since that first meeting, we kept in touch but didn’t begin birding together until our retirement days. Warren had poor hearing and my eyesight was not great so together we made a good bird watching pair. Over the last seven years Warren and I have had some wonderful trips together from far North Queensland to Tasmania in the south. There have been numerous trips to the Western Treatment Plant. Warren actually chalked up about 140 visits there, whereas my visits would be more like 40. On our trips down to Werribee, Warren would often ask at the halfway mark if I needed a coffee. That would be his code for “I need a smoke”. Capstan Roll your Own were his favourite. We normally took our own lunch and morning tea on our various outings. The competitive side of Warren and myself always came to the fore when we discussed the virtues of our thermos. Warren always said his kept the water hotter than mine. There are so many memories from the WTP but I will mention a few of the highlight birds. For Warren a couple stand out: Australian Painted-snipe, Stilt Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper and of course the Tufted Duck in January 2019. Warren’s photo of the Tufted Duck was subsequently published in the Birdlife Australia magazine. The rare and endangered Orange-bellied Parrot is also occasionally seen in the winter months at the WTP. Warren has photographed both wild birds as well as captive released birds at WTP. On two occasions we had the good fortune of guiding two international visitors through the WTP - one from the UK and another group from Texas. Simon from the UK enjoyed his day but the only new bird for his Australian list was the little Zebra Finch. He had seen all of the waders in the Northern Hemisphere and his Australian list was also was quite extensive as well. Warren who was a meat and three veg eater was shocked when I suggested we take Simon from the UK for dinner at an Indian Restaurant in Geelong. Surprisingly, at the end of the meal, Warren suggested that the meal was very nice. In April 2014, Warren and I visited North Queensland, travelling from the Daintree in the North down to Ingham. During this trip Warren sighted 99 new species and was also able to take some nice photos. Seeing the Golden Bowerbird on Mt Lewis was probably the highlight bird. Later that year we had the good fortune of travelling to Lake Tutchewap to see the wonderful (never been seen in Australia) Long-billed Dowitcher. Warren’s photo was a real stunner. After we had good looks at this beautiful bird, we stood back 100 mts from the shore and had a cuppa and a chat with fellow Long-billed Dowitcher – Warren Palmer birders. As we stood there a lady ran over to us, asking where to find the Dowitcher. She was literally shaking with excitement as we directed her to the shore line. It was following this event that I discussed the reason that bird watchers are often called Twitchers. Trust me she was twitching with excitement. Warren, Trevor Lumb and I paid a visit to Barham in 2014 to see Ostriches in the wild. Some say they are domestically released birds but to us they seemed to roam freely. A trip to Deniliquin in 2015 to see the Plains-wanderer with Phil Mahar was a successful evening outing. We also had the good fortune of spotting Inland Dotterels and the lovely Orange Chats. Page 4. Meetings & Reports A visit to Ouyen in late 2015 in search of the Major Mitchell Cockatoo was initially rather disappointing, as we travelled many miles in and around Ouyen without success. We returned to the Ouyen Caravan Park in the late afternoon for an overnight stay. After checking in to our rooms I heard the distinctive call of the Major Mitchell. That caused a mad dash outside where we saw a lovely pair drinking from a pool of water under the Caravan Park tap. We later learned that they were nesting in a nearby tree. Warren took 800 photos in the evening light and eventually was satisfied with a couple of his photos. It was on this trip that Warren was able to get a quick glimpse and a photo of a Mallee Fowl. In October 2016 Warren and I camped at Glue Pot Station in South Australia for 2 nights, where we were able to see a nesting pair of Scarlet-chested Parrots - one o f Australia’s real rarities.