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Trip Report - Bellarine Peninsula, Port Campbell, and Altona, Victoria -

To: "Troy Mutton" <>, <>
Subject: Trip Report - Bellarine Peninsula, Port Campbell, and Altona, Victoria - 7/10 - 9/10/7
From: "Tim Dolby" <>
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:43:58 +1000
Hi Troy,

Re the Zebra Finch at Cherry Lake (Altona). I think that these are
possibly naturally occurring birds. In the last few months for example
Zebra Finch has been seen at: Western Treatment Plant, 2 pairs in
Walsh's Rd area, 02/10/2007, 7 birds at Paradise Road, 24/07/2007;
Lerderderg Gorge: 20 birds, 24/08/2007; You Yangs, flock of 40 Zebra
Finch, northern edge of park, along Drysdale Rd. They have also recently
been recorded from near Melton (i.e. along the Toolern Creek) and near
the Melbourne Airport. (Not to mention the inner city birds i.e. Merri
Creek.)

Another good bird on your list is the Gull-billed Terns at Lake Gherang.

Cheers,

Tim Dolby


-----Original Message-----
From: 
 On Behalf Of Troy Mutton
Sent: Sunday, 14 October 2007 11:33 AM
To: 
Subject: Trip Report - Bellarine Peninsula, Port
Campbell,and Altona, Victoria - 7/10 - 9/10/7

Hi all,

Have been in Melbourne for work for the last week, and was able to spend
a few days before what I had to do to go birding. Picked up my hire car
early Sunday morning 7/10 and drove around Geelong, finding a likely
looking place at Lake Lorne. Good numbers of ducks here, with the
highlight being 2 Freckled, 1 Blue Billed and 2 Pink eared Ducks. Also a
Swamp Harrier harrassing a pair of Black Swans and their chicks. It
looked like it was trying to swipe a chick, and was quite interesting to
watch. A Brown Falcon also did a flyby. A good start to the trip. After
I'd had my fill, I decided to head over to Barwon Heads - there wasn't
much about, apart from hundreds of people, but I did waste a lot of time
chasing down a Pacific Gull to get a decent photo. A few Stints and
Red-capped Plovers on the beach, and not alot in the lake. Headed over
to Belmont Common after that, where the highlight was a Purple Swamphen
flushing a Latham's Snipe immediately in front of the hide! The Common
is very full at the moment, and I'm looking forward to a return visit in
a couple of months when it will hopefully have a bit more mud about the
edges. Off to Hospital Swamp after that, and as it was really full, and
getting late I just went down the public access road to see about 2000
Black Swans, and that was about all I could easily make out on the
water. There was a Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo calling off to the east. I
know it was a Horsfield's as I saw the diagnostic red spot on the tail -
just jokes. It allowed me good extended views through the scope. Good
book by the way Mr Dooley.

Next day was off to Lock Ard Gorge to try for Rufous Bristlebird, and
despite the belting rain on the way, as I pulled the car in at the
carpark, there was one on the edge. Great views of it with bins, but as
soon as the camera was out, it took off. Walked around to the Arch and
once again, as I came back to the car there was one on the path, but as
soon as the camera was up, it disappeared. There was also a Peregrine
Falcon and Singing Honeyeaters about at Loch Ard Gorge. Off to Lake
Gherang to see the Brolga, which I didn't see. There were Gull-billed
and Whiskered Terns there, some Sharpies, Curlew Sands and a couple of
other waders that I couldn't ID, they were just a little bit too far
away. In my mind I was turning them into all sorts of fantastic birds,
but in all reality, they probably weren't. I suspect that there was at
least one Pectoral Sandpiper there, and I have no idea what the other 6
were. I digiscoped them, but very poorly, and you can't make out what
they are.

Last day saw me out at the Swan Island mudflats at about 5.30 am with
the low tide. Birds out and about feeding included Eastern Curlew, both
Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits, Royal Spoonbill, and a possible
Greenshank. It was a good 100 metres away, but took to bobbing its head
in alarm when I trained the scope on it. I stooged around trying to get
the camera out to take a digi shot of it, and by the time I was ready to
take more (poor) photos, it was gone. Anyway - off to Point Cook to see
the Blue-winged Parrots at Spectacle Lake, and see them I did.
Magnificent birds. They all got scared and flew away as I drove in, and
I was a bit disappointed to think that that was going to be my only,
fleeting view of them, however as I walked in to the hide, they started
to flyby and perch in nearby trees, and stayed around for the rest of
the morning. There was a pair of White-fronted Chats near the bird-hide
- a tick for me and one I hadn't even thought about before going there,
and inside the hide, on the right hand slot under the swallow nest, a
Black-tailed Native-Hen put in a show. There wasn't much else going on
at the hide, so I headed off to Cheetham Wetlands. On the circuit there
were Rufous Songlark, Singing Honeyeater, a Striated Fieldwren, and a
pair of heart-attack inducing Brown Quail. It had been so peaceful just
walking along listening to the birds that the explosion of them flushing
nearly killed me. At the tower were 3 Pallid Cuckoos, and lots of
Whiskered Terns feeding. There was also a huge flock of waders that got
up and did a circuit, but they were too far away to ID.

Off to Altona after that. There was around 30 Whiskered Terns at the
creek mouth at the southern end of Apex Park (I don't know the name of
the creek though!), 3 Pacific Gulls, 10 Royal Spoonbills and 3 Little
Egrets, among the Crested Terns and Silver Gulls. Also saw a Spotted
Pardalote on the walk to the creek mouth. At Cherry Lake, Altona, there
wasn't much of anything, although there was a pair of female Zebra
Finches - would these be escapees or "legitimate", wild birds? On the
more wooded NE side of the lake was a single male White-winged Triller.
That was the end of the trip.

I would like to thank everyone for reporting their sightings and trip
reports to birding-aus and the local birdlines, as it gave me something
to base my visit around.

All up 102 species over 3 days, including 5 ticks made for a great few
days birding. If anyone wants a full species list, feel free to email me
and I'll send something on.

Cheers
Troy
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