birding-aus Birding at Holey Plains State Park

["Mules, Michael" <>]

Hi all,

I just thought I'd share my joy at seeing my first Spotted Quail-thrush on the weekend at Holey Plains State Park, near Rosedale in Gippsland, Victoria (about 40km west of Sale).  Yay!  It was a lovely male, that obligingly flew up and peered at us for around 1 1/2 minutes.

Other highlights of the morning's watching were a pair of Musk Duck on a small lake to the south-east edge of the park, a Beautiful Firetail in the reeds at the edge of the lake, a pair of Jacky Winters, and a flock of over 50 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos in the pines adjacent to the park.  All up, we saw 45 species in and around the park.  The complete bird list has been submitted to the Bird Atlassing project.

If anyone ever goes down to Tarra-Bulga National Park in Gippsland, I would strongly suggest making a detour (should be no more than ~45 minutes extra) to Holey Plains State Park, as it presents a very different range of habitats to most other parks and reserves in that part of Gippsland.  Tarra-Bulga is mountain ash forest, and Holey Plains is open stringybark and banksia woodland, interspersed with swamps and pine plantations.  And there can be marvellous birding in both places.

Cheers,  Michael.

Michael Mules
Science Curator
8th Floor, 108 Lonsdale Street
GPO Box 666E
Melbourne  Vic  3001

Ph:   9291 2119
Fax: 9291 2139
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