CHILTERN NATIONAL PARK (VIC) & NSW SOUTH WEST SLOPES 12-16 OCTOBER 2006
Follow That Bird ran its first trip to Chiltern in Victoria 12-16 October
and it was an outstanding success. This successful trip was despite the very
dry conditions that are prevailing over eastern Australia at the present and
despite the varying weather conditions that we encountered during our trip.
One day we had very hot dry heat-wave conditions, another was all hot dry
winds while another was drizzling rain, over-cast, cold and cloudy but there
were also two perfect spring days so providing top birding conditions. While
on the hot dry days, birds were somewhat difficult to find, on the other
days, we had great birding at each stop made.
On the first day our route took us down the Hume Highway to Yass, stopping
enroute at Vickers VC Rest Area and that gave us a chance to see the Towrang
Convict Camp and do our first birding, with plenty of bushbirds to see like
Yellow-rumped & Buff-rumped Thornbills. After Yass, we took the Hume &
Hovell Track down to Burrinjuck Dam, stopping off at Captains Camp, where
nesting Buff-rumped Thornbill & Noisy Friarbird and many calling
White-throated Gerygones, delighted us during lunch. At Burrinjuck Dam,
nesting Brown Goshawks, and Rufous Whistlers, Leaden Flycatchers, New
Holland & Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were easy to find. We finally reached
Gundagai where our stay at the Garden Motel at the top of the town gave us
great views over the area and we enjoyed the most beautiful rose garden
backed by many Australian trees and scrubs. Lurking in the garden were
Superb Fairy-wrens, Brown Thornbills and Double-barred Finches, while
Eastern, Crimson & Yellow Rosellas visited the garden as well!
After the usual hours early morning walk around north Gundagai, and seeing
both Collared Sparrowhawk and Nankeen Kestrel, we were off to Mates Gully
TSR, near Tarcutta, a White Box/Ironbark woodland vegetation community well
known for its wintering Swift Parrots. All the Swifties had departed for
Tasmania by now, but we found plenty of other good birds here including
Choughs, Peaceful Dove, White-browed Woodswallows, Black-chinned & Fuscous
(nesting) Honeyeaters. Our stop in Holbrook along the River Walk yielded
returning summer migrants like Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous Whistler and
White-throated Gerygones, all calling well. One of the highlights of the
trip was the two hours we spent at the Wonga Wetlands at Albury, managed by
Albury City Council. Top birds were female Musk Duck with 2 little
ducklings, 6 Glossy Ibis, Intermediate & Great Egrets, Shoveler,
Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Restless Flycatcher, Grey-crowned Babblers,
Whistling Kite, Bee-eater & Little Frairbird. Good bird hides, excellent
walking tracks and varying water levels and wetland types added to the great
wetland experience. We reached Chiltern at dusk.
Next morning our pre breakfast walk took us down to the Lake at Chiltern,
near where Henry Handel Richardson's former home "Lake View" looks over the
wetland. Plenty of birds to see, with House Sparrows, Starlings and
Blackbirds in the gardens of Lake View, and Royal Spoonbills, White Ibis
and Cormorants roosting on an island in the Lake. The air was full of the
sound of White-browed Woodswallows, and calling Reed Warblers, Little
Friarbirds & White-winged Trillers. That day we visited a number of sites
within Chiltern National Park at Frog Hollow, Omega Mine, Indigo Goldfield
Cemetery, Honeyeater Picnic Area, Ballarat Rd & Lancastershire road and
Lappina Track areas. The next morning we extended our sites to include
Chiltern Cemetery & adjoining Bushland and Bartleys Block. The highlights
from our visit to the National Park included seeing and hearing Painted
Honeyaters at Indigo Cemetery and Bartleys Block, finding Black-chinned and
Fuscous Honeyeaters wherever we went, White-browed & Dusky Woodswallows at
many places both nesting and feeding young, seeing Turquoise Parrots at
Honeyeater Picnic Area as well as a Yellow Robin on a nest and Brown
Treecreeper with 2 young, Little Lorikeets were seen feeding three young,
and Leaden Flycatchers and White-browed Babblers were located at many spots.
Raptors included Wedge-tailed Eagle and Collared Sparrowhawks at 2 sites,
while Yellow-tufted and Brown-headed Honeyeaters were common , the latter
also seen feeding young. We topped off our stay in Chiltern by attending the
annual Ironbark Fair for two hours on the Saturday morning and became
engrossed in all the rural activites of the Region.
We reluctantly departed from Chiltern late morning making our way first to
Howlong, on the Murray River, where we lunched at a riverside park and
watched the nesting Sacred Kingfisher, Noisy Miner and Welcome Swallows,
while Yellow Rosellas commuted across from Victoria to NSW and back again.
We spent an hour at The Rock Nature Reserve, where Weebill, Yellow,
Chestnut-rumped & Inland Thornbills were soon located and Western Gerygone,
Rufous Whistler& Brown Treecreepers were calling strongly. Back to Gundagai,
checking out the lagoons along the Murrumbidgee River for waterbirds. Our
early morning walk at north Gundagai on the final morning yielded Goldfinch
and Shining Bronze-cuckoo, new for our list and then off to Colac,
Adjunbilly & Wee Jasper for the morning. While this area really was the most
drought affected that we had passed through in the five days we were away,
we still managed to see more White-browed & Dusky Woodswallows, calling
Rufous Songlarks, and plenty of Brown Falcons and Kestrels. In Buccleuch SF
near Wee Jasper there was a Brush Cuckoo and Striated & Brown Thornbills,
while at Wee Jasper, we saw King Parrot and plenty of Yellow-faced
Honeyeaters. We arrived back in Sydney about 6 pm, having located over 130
species of birds and experienced a lovely part of southern NSW, parts of the
upper Riverina and and the Chiltern Box/Ironbark forests. Evryone
experienced great company, great birding and we visited some lovely old
towns of that Region. (Alan Morris)
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