A brief summary of a trip we made to Cape Conran Coastal Park in East
Gippsland, Victoria.
My wife and I spent a two week vacation (15-25 May 2006) riding the East
Gippsland Rail Trail from Bairnsdale to Orbost (~100km) then the road
south to Marlo and east to Cape Conran Coastal Park (~35km) where we
stayed for several days exploring the area.
The rail trail is quite different from other trails in Victoria, with
forested sides most if its length giving good opportunities to hear and
see birds (the Princes Highway is mostly away from the trail). The
further east we went the 'wetter' the vegetation became with increasing
species of broad-leaved shrubs and trees. Most birding was done around
Cape Conran with rides out to Cabbage Tree Flora Reserve and nearby heaths
and woodlands.
Highlights were the following
- Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos feeding at chest height in trail side
wattles near Nowa Nowa We watched several birds ripping open the trunks
of Acacia's to extract grubs.
- good views of Southern Emu-wrens in heath along the Old Coast Road
- Rose Robin in the Cape Conran cabins area
- Southern Brown Bandicoot in the nearby camping area (seen during the
middle of the day)
- Long-nosed Bandicoot on the Conran-Cabbage Tree Rd.
- Australian Fur Seal at Salmon Rocks (including one that had been
attacked by a shark near Pt. Ricardo and was on the beach trying to
recover)
- an Agile Antechinus in the cabin that kept us entertained each evening
with its antics
- White-bellied Sea-Eagle at Point Ricardo
- Azure Kingfisher at Yeerung River bridge
- Ground Parrots calling in Conran heaths each evening
- micro-bats foraging under our cabin awnings at night and flying passed
our faces as we observed them
- frogs calling at most times of the day and night
A downside was coming across a feral Cat stalking a terrified Southern
Brown Bandicoot in the Conran camping area.
The weather was cool and we had some rain for a few days but this is a
quiet time of year for visitors to East Gippsland and we largely had the
area to ourselves.
If your visiting Victoria be sure to put Cape Conran on your list of fauna
sites, it's different to anything else in the state and has large areas of
habitat to explore.
Some links:
1. East Gippsland Rail Trail - http://www.eastgippslandrailtrail.com/
2. Cape Conran Coastal Park (Parks Victoria) -
http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/resources/05_0724.pdf
3. Envt. & Heritage Report for East Gippsland -
http://www.affa.gov.au/content/output.cfm?ObjectID=D2C48F86-BA1A-11A1-A2200060B0A02843
4. Endangered species in East Gippsland - http://www.geco.org.au/endangered.html
5. Cave dwelling bats of East Gippsland -
http://www.werple.net.au/~gnb/fobc-bf/batpamphlet.html
[all fauna sightings will be forwarded to the Atlas of Victorian Wildlife]
Martin O'Brien
Melbourne
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www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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