April - Reef Hills State Park

The Birdwatching group made the short drive to Reef Hills State Park on the southern edge of Benalla for their April outing on the 13th. This 2400 hectare park hosts a large variety of birds and is well worth a visit.

​Some Grey Box is flowering heavily at present, drawing a number of honeyeaters to feed. We spent our time birding along Wattle Road, and after a quiet start saw a good number of small birds. Many were attracted to puddles in the road.

We had great views of 2 pairs of Scarlet Robins. The males were chasing each other, perhaps in a territorial dispute.  Thanks Jim Burnell for the lovely photo of one of the Scarlet Robins.

​There were a lot of Grey Fantails, with pardalotes and thornbills often heard but difficult to see. Fuscous and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were feeding in the Grey Box blossom and a flock of Red Wattlebirds flew overhead.

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Slide show photographs - Andi Stevenson

​Here is the link to our list on eBird
https://ebird.org/australia/checklist/S134920973
 
Please note there will be no outing in May, as I will be away on a birding trip to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Instead there will be an outing on Thursday 8th June. Details to be advised.
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Kathy Costello