G'day all
I'm just back from some field work (establishment of bluebush under
cereal crops) up near Terrick Terrick National Park. (Northen Plains,
Victoria). Naturally I found a few hours to do some birding in the
park. My first visit to this oasis so I mostly stayed around the
southern end near the picnic area. Lots of nice dry country birds we
don't get down Hamilton way. I saw about 40 species in and around the
park. Highlights were Zebra Finch, Peaceful Dove, Black-faced
Woodswallow, Hooded Robin, Red-capped Robin, Ringneck, Southern
Whiteface and Black-chinned Honeyeater. Other good birds seen while
travelling around the area: Brolga (pair west of Mitiamo), Banded
Lapwing and a Barking Owl.
The Barking Owl was flushed from a roadside she-oak and flew into a
peppercorn. It sat there in clear view while I got my binoculars and
then let us look closely for several minutes until we thought we should
leave it in piece. My first Barking Owl in Victoria and only my second
sighting (first was a pair in the Darwin bot gardens a couple of years
ago). My colleagues were most impressed with this handsome bird.
We wandered around in the national park grasslands for a while yesterday
afternoon but couldn't conjure up a Plains Wanderer. What do they do
during the day? Do they flush like quail or sneak away? Lots of rain
on the plains on Wednesday night - up to 30 mm and 20+ was common. It
should be a good season for the grasslands and the birds.
Cheers
Steve Clark
Hamilton, Vic
http://members.datafast.net.au/clarkja/sw_birds.htm
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