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On Saturday July 5th, I made an attempt to photograph the
Regent Honeyeater that has been hanging around the "Whispering Gums" Motel at
Newstead. No luck on the Regent- I had arrived too late as it hadn't been seen
since 10 AM and I didn't roll up until early afternoon.
To make up for any disappointment, I turned up at least two,
possibly three Scarlet Honeyeaters feeding in both the same Ironbark that the
Regent favours and in a small callistemon bush in the motel grounds.
One bird (photographed) was in full male plumage, whilst the other was an
immature male, well advanced into adult plumage. A possible third bird was
lurking in a large Wattle nearby but I failed to see it out in the open.
Similarly, I was unable to confirm a possible Western Gerygone that flew
over.
The Scarlets were giving a soft, yet bright tinkling
warble that included snatches of other birds' calls such as Silvereye and
Mistletoebird.
This seems to me a rather remarkable sighting being so far
west of this birds usual haunts in Victoria and follows on the reports of this
species at Sedgewick near Bendigo in late May.
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