Nine people attended our trip to the Mt Meg Nature Conservation Reserve on Chesney Vale Road on 9 October 2019. The reserve is located in the Chesney hills overlooking Winton Wetlands. It was a lovely spring morning, and we enjoyed watching the bird activity all around us, as well as the spring wildflowers.

​Three Rufous Whistlers constantly called and chased each other. We observed 2 pairs of Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes, several Grey Fantails and later a Striated Pardalote, all feeding on insects in the canopy. A colourful male Mistletoebird perched in the sun and was admired by everyone. We did well to find a pair of Western Gerygones, small grey warblers with a beautiful song. It was also good to see several spring migrants from northern Australia; 2 male White-winged Trillers and a pair of Sacred Kingfishers.

Photographs - Andrea Stevenson

We enjoyed the birds and the wonderful scenery at John and Freida’s Chesney Vale property on Tuesday 2 May. There was a cool breeze and birds were hard to find, although we enjoyed great views of a Wedge-tailed Eagle flying overhead. Four Dusky Wood swallows were hawking insects above our heads then landing high in a large eucalypt. It was good to see two Restless Flycatchers, a bird that is becoming increasingly rare in the district. Thirteen bird species were recorded for the morning. Thanks to John and Freida for hosting our visit. We all enjoyed our picnic lunch, Frieda’s cakes and a cuppa afterwards.

​Our June activity for 2017 will be on Tuesday 6 June. We will meet at 10am at the Benalla Golf Club on the Midland Hwy. Please park in front of the practice fairway, just north of the main car park. Vaughan Cowan will introduce us to some attractive, wooded areas of the golf course, and a large dam in a quiet corner of the course. The fairways and large trees attract large numbers of birds. A small section of the walk may be a little rough under foot.

We will then have lunch at the golf club. Please let me know by Thursday 1 June if you will be coming to lunch so I can reserve a table. Also let me know if you would like a lift. Ph 5762 5755.
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Bring binoculars if you have them, sturdy walking shoes, a water bottle and any nibbles you need en route.

Kathy Costello

Our April outing was a leisurely walk around the red gum woodland area at Lake Benalla on Tuesday 4 April.  Some of the most interesting sightings included a kookaburra with a mouse in its bill and at least 8 Yellow-billed Spoonbills.  At a drying waterhole, we watched from a bridge as four bird species fed for an extended period: Yellow-billed Spoonbill, White-faced Heron, Australian White Ibis, and a beautiful Azure Kingfisher, which dived repeatedly into the water catching small fish which had no escape. We recorded 28 bird species for the morning.
 
Coming up on Tuesday 2 May 2017 - Visit to private property at Chesney Vale

Our May activity will be at John Lloyd and Frieda Andrews’ property at Chesney Vale, overlooking Winton Wetlands. We had a very enjoyable visit there last year, and we have been invited to return this year. Please meet at Barkly Street, on the old tennis courts behind Aldi, at 10am, on Tuesday 2 May. We will car pool from there. It will be a morning activity, but I’d encourage you bring your own picnic lunch, and maybe a mug, as it is a lovely spot to eat and chat after the birding activity. Wear sturdy shoes and bring binoculars if you have them.
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The Chesney Vale hills are home to a number of threatened woodland birds. Last year we found three of them on the property: Brown Treecreeper, Hooded Robin and Diamond Firetail, among the 30 plus species recorded. I look forward to seeing what turns up this time.

Kathy Costello, Convenor

​U3A Benalla’s Birdwatching group resumed in September after a two month winter break.  We were fortunate to be invited to visit John and Freida’s lovely bush block in the Chesney Vale Hills on Thursday 8 September.  It was a mild day & our group of 13 saw a number of uncommon woodland birds on the property.

A small flock of White-browed Babblers moved quickly through the garden, but they were difficult to observe. Everyone had close looks at a pair of Jacky Winters which perched quite close to us. We also saw a pair of Crested Shrike-tits, with their attractive lemon breast and striking black and white head.  Eastern Rosellas and a flock of Red-rumped Parrots were seen well, plus a Restless Flycatcher which made its distinctive scissors grinder call as it hovered nearby. A Dusky Woodswallow perched on a branch above our heads, several Brown Treecreepers flew onto nearby tree trunks, and a small flock of White-winged Choughs was easy to see up ahead. Those of us who walked a bit further up the hill were lucky to find a couple of Diamond Firetails feeding on the ground, while three Hooded Robins chased each other through the trees.
 
We were lucky to see so many woodland birds in such a small area. The Chesney Vale Hills are an absolute treasure for birdwatchers. We recorded 34 species in this small area. The list has been entered on EBird http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist/S31635063
 
We ate lunch on John’s new deck, with cake, tea and coffee supplied by Freida.  It was lovely to have Rupe join us, as he recovers from his accident.  After lunch, we made a brief visit to Duck Pond, at the far end of Winton Wetlands.  The beautiful Pink-eared Duck showed very well in the scope, but there were few other birds around, so we finished up and headed back to Benalla.  Many thanks to Freida and John for their hospitality.
 
Our next outing is on Thursday 13th October, a day trip to the Warby Ranges. Meet at Barkly Street car park at 9.45am, bring morning tea and lunch and a folding chair if you have one. We will car pool and share transport costs. Our main bird walk will be along Pangarang track.