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This is a somewhat belated trip report from two
weekends ago. During a visit to Seymour I thought I might make a day trip
over to Bendigo and this explore Kamarooka State Park, with it's remnant
mallee habitat, I gather about as far east as mallee can be found in
Victoria. I'd initially planned on spending some time in Whipstick as well
but had such a wonderful time, I hardly got there.
The forest was absolutely teeming with birds,
flowering eucalypts had many different species of honeyeater. In one 20
minute atlas site I recorded Brown-headed, Yellow-plumed, White-plumed,
White-eared, Fuscous and Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters and Red Wattlebirds.
This open woodland was teeming with White-browed Woodswallows, Rainbow
Bee-eaters, Jacky Winters (I can't remember last time I saw so many) and I
finally saw a Red-capped Robin, a family of three no less, I couldn't get over
how small they were.
In the mallee area of the park the dawn chorus was
nothing but frustration, not being used to these calls at all. I did
manage to track down Gilbert's Whistler, Shy Heathwren, Inland Thornbill, Brown
Quail, Variegated Fairy-wren, White-browed Babbler and Purple-gaped Honeyeaters
were one of the most common species there, I hadn't expected to see them so
easily this far east. Unfortunately I dipped on Southern Scrub-robin and
Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, after the sun came up there was very little activity
in the heath.
I spent the late afternoon looking for Southern
Whiteface and Hooded Robin without luck, these species are rapidly becoming a
bogey ones for me. I did observe several Diamond Firetails to compensate
however. As well as the birds I sat and watched a Yellow-footed Antechinus
for more than five minutes as he crawled down a dead tree trunk and sat in the
open on the ground.
Resting up the next day in the swimming pool of my
parents motel in Seymour, I added Crested Shrike-tit, Little Lorikeet and Varied
Sittella to my trip list without leaving the water, a very pleasant
afternoon.
All in all, Kamarooka was a little gem, full
species list below.
Craig Doolan
Brown Quail
Australasian Grebe (with chicks)
Great Cormorant
White-faced Heron
White-necked Heron
Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Crested Pigeon
Common Bronzewing
Galah
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Musk Lorikeet
Eastern Rosella
Red-rumped Parrot
Laughing Kookaburra
Rainbow Bee-eater
White-throated Treecreeper
Brown Treecreeper
Superb Fairy-wren
Variegated Fairy-wren
Spotted Pardalote
Striated Pardalote
Shy Heathwren
Weebill
Inland Thornbill
Yellow Thornbill
Red Wattlebird
Noisy Miner
White-eared Honeyeater
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
Purple-gaped Honeyeater
Yellow-plumed Honeyeater
White-plumed Honeyeater
Fuscous Honeyeater
Brown-headed Honeyeater
Jacky Winter
Red-capped Robin
Eastern Yellow Robin
White-browed Babbler
Gilbert's Whistler
Rufous Whistler
Grey Shrike-thrush
Magpie-lark
Restless Flycatcher
Grey Fantail
Willie Wagtail
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike
Dusky Woodswallow
White-browed Woodswallow
Australian Magpie
Australian Raven
White-winged Chough
Diamond Firetail
Welcome Swallow
Silvereye
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