Blog Archives

March - Lake Benalla, 'a drought refuge for birds over summer'

24/3/2019

Fourteen participants attended our outing on 14 March, enjoying a leisurely walk around the southern half of Lake Benalla. The lake has been a drought refuge for birds over our very hot and dry summer, and we were pleased to record 32 different species for the morning. There were a lot of small bush birds around the bridge on to Jaycee Island, including Spotted and Striated Pardalotes, Red-browed Finches, White-browed Scrubwren, White-browed Treecreeper and a good number of Superb Fairy-wrens. And there was the beautiful Azure Kingfisher which flashed past under the bridge and quickly disappeared downstream.

Thanks Margaret Walshe for the photos. For a complete list of the birds recorded, please see our eBird list at https://ebird.org/australia/view/checklist/S54160519

Next outing Thursday 11 April 2019 to Euroa.

Please note we will not be able to do the planned walk along Holland’s Creek via Willis Little Drive. Instead we make a morning visit Euroa, looking over the fence for water birds at the water treatment plant, then going to the nearby Euroa arboretum.

We will meet as usual in the car park behind the Seniors Building in Benalla at 9.30am on Thursday 11 April. Please wear comfortable footwear and bring binoculars and any food and drink you require. The arboretum will be open for native plant sales when we visit.

Kathy Costello

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March 14 - 'a walk around Lake Benalla's southern section'

7/3/2019

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Our first activity for 2019 will be on Thursday 14 March. I only recently found out I had written the wrong date on the hand out on U3A enrolment day, so 7 March is wrong. Apologies for the confusion. Our walks will be on the second Thursday in March, April and May.

Please meet in the car park behind the Seniors Building at 9.30am, for a morning walk around the southern section of Lake Benalla, which includes Jaycee Island. The lake track provides an excellent introduction to the birds of our region, because it supports a good variety of water birds and bush birds. Please bring a water bottle and any food you require. You will enjoy the walk more if you have binoculars and comfortable shoes.

Please note that the walk will be automatically cancelled if it is a day of Total Fire Ban.

Kathy Costello
Mobile 0447 625755

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Birdwatching

If you would like to know more about birds in the Benalla district and would appreciate help in identifying birds, this group could be for you. The program involves mainly morning walks in local habitats rich in a range of bird life such as Reef Hills, Winton Wetland and Benalla Lake. There may also be an all day outing to a more distant location. Bring along a pair of binoculars to gain more value and enjoyment from this activity.

Convenor and contact details

Kathy Costello 5762 5755 Mobile 0447625755
coskoy@bigpond.com

Photographs - Andi Stevenson

Meeting Times

Six meetings:
Semester 1 - March, April and May.
Semester 2 - September, October, November.

2nd Thursday 9.30am to 12 noon

Meet at the car park behind the Benalla Senior Citizens Community Centre. Check newsletter for times and details.

Please note that outing arrangements may be altered if pandemic regulations change and are automatically cancelled on days of total fire ban.

New members

If you are new to the birdwatching group, check out Birdwatching - Notes for Participants - you will also find a video link in the notes which may assist you to adjust your binoculars