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Cranbourne Botanic Garden, a large
area of natural bush, 45km SE of Melbourne is the place to go for a
'birding fix '. Last Friday [16/11], in perfect weather, a
friend and I checked out the springtime happenings there.
Driving into the park a Pallid
Cuckoo was seen sitting out on a dead tree, a Brush
Bronzewing flew up ahead of us and gave us a wonderful view of its
magnificent colours and a Swamp Harrier flew
overhead..
In the carpark White-plumed
Honeyeater, Red Wattlebirds, Superb
Fairy-wrens, Grey Shrike-thrush,
Eastern Yellow Robin, White-browed Scrubwrens, Spotted Turtle-Dove,
Blackbird and Common Myna were ticked
off.
Leaving the carpark New Holland
Honeyeaters were seen busy feeding fledged young, Dusky
Woodswallows, Striated Pardalotes, Brown
Thornbills were acting like they probably had young and Grey
Fantails flitted around.
The birds seen at a dam were a
Pacific Black Duck with one young,
Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes, Purple Swamphen,
Dusky Moorhen and a White-necked heron lurking in the
shallows. Whilst looking at a Little Pied
Cormorant sitting up in dead tree Welcome
Swallows, Pacific and Silver Gulls, Little Raven, Common
Starling, White-faced Heron and a Great Cormorant
were flying over.
Australian Magpies, Magpie-lark, Masked Lapwing and
Willy Wagtails were seen in a nearby grassy
area and White-eared
Honeyeater, Striated Thornbills, male and
female Satin Flycatchers, European Goldfinch and a
Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike were seen back on the bushland track
.
Lunch time, at a lovely spot on a side
track reached after tracking down a Fantailed-Cuckoo,
revealed many more birds than expected. Laughing
Kookaburra, Horsefield's and Shining
Bronze-Cuckoos, Yellow-faced and White-naped
Honeyeaters, Spotted Pardalote, Golden and Rufous
Whistlers were added to the list. Pelicans and
Straw-necked Ibis were flying
over.
On the track back to the car
Silvereyes were ticked off. As expected at Cranbourne we had a fantastic birding day with
52 species seen .
Val Ford
Sorrento, Vic
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