Tawny Frogmouth at Geelong Botanical Gardens

[Peter Fuller <>]

This afternoon, a friend was showing
me the location of the Gang gang Cockatoos he saw earlier in the morning
in Eastern Park, Geelong.

After spotting a single Gang gang in
a large gum on the entrance to the Geelong Botanical Gardens, we searched
the surrounding trees, thinking that it was strange for a Gang Gang to
be in a tree all by itself. Scanning the trees with my binoculars, something
grabbed my attention out the corner of my eye; it was my  friend waving
frantically and jumping around trying to catch my attention. He pointed
excitedly into a pine tree, and i shuffled over as fast as i caught, but
with the caution of not scaring away what he was pointing at. After a moment
of squinting and adjusting to the darkness under the pines, my eyes focussed.
 A pair of Tawny Frogmouths!!! in roost on a low branch in the pine
tree. Extraordinary! A new bird for both of us in the wild in the most
unlikely of places, at the most unlikely of times(12 noon on a cloudless
Saturday afternoon). Definently a birding highlight....i'm still a little
shocked!

I searched the archives and see that
tawny frogmouths have been reported in Queens park and are  very common
throughout the Brisbane Ranges, but have they ever been recorded so close
to the city?

Peter