Western Woodlands Melbourne Dave Torr Aug 2009 Dave, Iian, Peter G and Annette along with the Landcare Group gathered at Pinkerton for the quarterly survey, along with regulars from other BOCA branches - and newcomers, a couple from Croydon and Alan from Bayswater, who was really keen to see Diamond Firetail - usually a fairly easy bird. The first of many Flame Robins appeared at the gate, and the journey down the track revealed a large white bird in a tree on the edge of the forest - a Sea-eagle. This was to prove to be the first of many sightings of the pair of eagles during the morning - they are certainly interested in the trees in the forest so hopefully they will nest there. Raptor excitement continued in the car park with a Kestrel buzzing a Brown Falcon and a very dark Falcon - could it be a Black? Scopes were produced and reluctantly we admitted it was just a very dark Brown Falcon. The forest provided its usual mix of birds - Brown Treecreepers, Zebra Finches, Jacky Winters - but no Firetails. Many Tree Martins were present - one of the first of the migrants to appear and a sign some animals think summer is coming! A new track and gate now links Pinkerton to Bush's Paddock, saving a long walk across the grasslands. The sewage ponds had the usual mix of ducks - Pink-eared and Blue-bills amongst them, although the wind was making the water rather choppy for good views. In general Bush's always has fewer birds than Pinkerton and today was no exception - and again no Firetails for Alan. A windy lunch in the new "car park" at the rear of Bush's was followed by the short drive to Eynesbury. Now a dilemma - last time I went into the toilets there a Black Falcon flew over. This time I did not miss anything exciting. The small pond had a good mix of ducks, including our first ever Shovellers for the property, and brief views of a Little Grassbird. The forest contains good numbers of Brown Tree-creepers and Jack Winters, and every branch seemed to have a Flame Robin - they clearly do not believe summer is coming, else they would be back to what is left of the High Country. A few people managed to see a Shrike-tit - I was not among them and others glimpsed a Hobby flashing past. No sign unfortunately of the Speckled Warblers we had last time or the Southern Whiteface that Peter saw a few weeks ago. And still no Diamond Firetails - although we usually see them in the car park. Finally we wrapped the day up with a satisfying total of 59 species - and on Monday Alan emailed me to say he went to the toilet block before the long drive to Bayswater and found a small group of Firetails. Next outing is Nov 8th, when hopefully we will see a few more migrants - although the robins will have gone by then. Western Woodlands Melbourne Dave Torr Feb 2010 On Feb 14th 12 members (from as far afield as Bayswater) and 2 visitors from the UK came for the quarterly survey of three private woodlands between Werribee and Melton. We usually lack the resources to do a full count of each species, but in the 6 years of running these trips have gained some useful information. We started as usual at Pinkerton Forest and whilst we opening the gate a Peregrine Falcon flew over. The drive in yielded a small flock of Zebra Finches, and in the forst we found a single Diamond Firetail - the first for about a year. We heard but could not see a Brown Treecreeper. Late last year Sea-eagles nested in the forest and raised one young - they have all left the forest now but this, added to the Wedge-tails which also raised a young the year before - shows the importance of this area. The understory was looking in much better condition after recent years. The other highlight of this part of the trip was our first ever Rufous Songlark, and our final bird was a female White-winged Triller. We also had a pair of Crested Shrike-tits. On to Bush's Paddock which as usual was fairly quiet, although we did get our first ever record of Red-browed Finch for the area. After lunch and on to Eynesbury, where the lake was a little high for crakes, although we had some Black-fronted Dotterels and great views of both Little Grassbird and Reed- warbler. In the forest we found a few small flocks of Diamond Firetails, good numbers of Brown Treecreepers and a pair of Crested Shrike-tits. Highlights were a flyover by a Little Eagle followed almost immediately by flushing a Boobook. Bird List for the day (65 species) Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata) Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) Grey Teal (Anas gracilis) Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes) White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) Little Eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles) Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops) Common Pigeon (Columba livia) Spotted Dove (Stigmatopelia chinensis) Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) Long-billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis) Southern Boobook (Ninox boobook) Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) White-plumed Honeyeater (Lichenostomus penicillatus) Brown-headed Honeyeater (Melithreptus brevirostris) Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) White-winged Triller (Lalage tricolor) Crested Shriketit (Falcunculus frontatus) Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) Magpielark (Grallina cyanoleuca) Little Raven (Corvus mellori) Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans) Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans) Little Grassbird (Megalurus gramineus) Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi) Australian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus australis) Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata) Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis) Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata) Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) Grey Teal (Anas gracilis) Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes) White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) Little Eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles) Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops) Common Pigeon (Columba livia) Spotted Dove (Stigmatopelia chinensis) Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) Long-billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis) Southern Boobook (Ninox boobook) Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) White-plumed Honeyeater (Lichenostomus penicillatus) Brown-headed Honeyeater (Melithreptus brevirostris) Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) White-winged Triller (Lalage tricolor) Crested Shriketit (Falcunculus frontatus) Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) Magpielark (Grallina cyanoleuca) Little Raven (Corvus mellori) Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans) Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) Tree Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans) Little Grassbird (Megalurus gramineus) Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi) Australian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus australis) Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata) Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis) Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) .