​Visit to Glenrowan West Thursday 8 November 2018
 
Our final activity for the year was a visit to Pauline and Brent’s property at Glenrowan West, on a cool but sunny morning. Pauline led us to the bushland area of the property on a steep hillside, then to a dam with mature eucalypts and wattles providing shelter for birds coming in to drink and bathe, before we returned to the house to admire the views and enjoy a shared outdoor lunch.
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Honeyeaters were a feature of the visit, with 8 species recorded. The best of them was a male Black Honeyeater feeding near the dam. This tiny bird is a rare visitor from inland Australia, perhaps driven south by drought conditions there. Others included Fuscous, Yellow-tufted, Yellow-faced, Brown-headed and White-plumed Honeyeaters. Of interest also were White-winged Trillers and White-browed and Masked Woodswallows feeding on the ground in a paddock and perched along a fence. We had good views of a pair of Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes and an Echidna. Smaller bush birds such as Weebills, Buff-rumped Thornbills and White-throated Gerygones were more difficult to observe. There were also plenty of birds around the house with bottlebrushes and grevilleas in flower.

Thanks to our hosts for a most enjoyable morning.  An impressive 39 bird species were recorded. Thanks to Andrea Stevenson for providing the photos!

Kathy Costello

Our group was fortunate to visit private property in the Upotipotpon district on Thursday 13 September. We had a warm sunny spring morning to enjoy a guided walk around the bushland, looking for birds as well as identifying a few waxlip and leopard orchids among the shrub cover.

Highlight was a pair of resident Tawny Frogmouths roosting close to the house. We also found a pair of Eastern Yellow Robins, and had close views of a party of White-browed Babblers feeding on the ground. A Collared Sparrowhawk landed high in a tree. There were lots of fresh scratchings of Painted Button-quail, but these shy birds remained elusive. Owner Mike said one bird walked across the driveway as soon as we left the property. We saw a number of Brown Treecreepers, White-plumed Honeyeaters and Superb Fairy-wrens. The locally rare Gilbert’s Whistler was heard calling from over the road, but did not show itself.

Thanks to owners Ann and Mike. It was a pleasure look for birds on a bush block that retains much of the original native vegetation of the area.

22 bird species recorded. eBird list https://ebird.org/australia/view/checklist/S48712603

Coming up on Thursday 10 May - Bird Watching at Euroa 

Please meet at the car park behind the Seniors Building at 9.30am, where we car pool for a trip to Euroa. We will go birding in the morning, followed by lunch at 12.15pm at Seven Creeks Hotel in Euroa. We will do a short walk along Seven Creeks in the town, then visit the Euroa Arboretum on the old Hume Highway south of the town centre. If time permits, we will look through the fence at the adjacent water treatment plant to look for waterbirds on the ponds. As usual, please wear sturdy shoes and bring a water bottle and binoculars if you have them.

If you are interested in coming to lunch in Euroa, please ring or email me by Tuesday 8 May, so I can confirm numbers with the hotel. Ph 5762 5755 or coskoy@bigpond.com

Please note that our birding program will be in recess over winter. Our first outing for semester 2 will be on Thursday 13 September 2018.

​Kathy Costello

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

The group’s final outing for the year was to the Molyullah district about 30 km south of Benalla. On Thursday 10 November eight of us travelled along O’Dea Road to the intersection with Schulz Road, where bushland meets farmland in the pretty Sams Creek Valley. A lot of birds were calling as we walked along the road. A female Rufous Whistler flew onto her partially-completed nest in a dead mistletoe just above us while the male watched from a nearby tree. We also saw the delicate nest of the Grey Fantail.
 
Two White-throated Treecreepers landed on a nearby trunk, while a Sacred Kingfisher and a Kookaburra were also seen. A number of honeyeaters were calling, and we had a good view of two of them, the Yellow-faced and the White-naped Honeyeater. The plain-looking Fuscous Honeyeaters were difficult to identify high in the trees, and although we could hear a number of White-throated Gerygones calling quite close to us, it was frustrating that we did not get a look at this beautiful little bird.
 
Near our parked cars, a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike was spotted low in a nearby tree, and on a farm dam over the road was a pair of Australasian Grebe and an Australian Wood Duck with 5 small ducklings. Our bird list can be viewed on eBird at  http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist/S32646622
 
We then drove to a nearby property, where we ate our sandwiches while admiring the view over the valley.  While the Superb Fairy-wrens, White-browed Scrubwrens, King Parrots, Noisy Friarbirds, Mistletoebirds and Silvereyes fossicked around the garden, owners John and Janette answered our many questions about their beautiful property. 

​After lunch they then took us to several spectacular waterfalls not far from the house.  Thank you to both of them for their generosity and time.  We loved the place.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the birdwatching program this year. U3A Birdwatching will continue next year, with 3 sessions in April, May and June.                         

​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.

​Ten members of the group visited a sheep property 5km west of Benalla on Thursday 9 June.  After days of wet weather, we were lucky the rain held off for our morning walk.
 
As we drove in, there were two White-necked Herons and a White-faced Heron in a nearby paddock.  In the garden we saw an Eastern Spinebill, a few Superb Fairy-wrens, and a small flock of Red-browed Finches which flew into a shrub beside the driveway.  
 
A short walk took us to a high point on the banks of the Broken River, with a sandy beach below and great views along the river.  We continued our stroll through some massive River Red Gums, looking at White-plumed Honeyeaters, Eastern Rosellas, White-browed Scrubwren and a Grey Shrike-thrush on the way.
 
In the distance we identified two Australian Shelduck (used to be called Mountain Duck) and a large flock of Little Ravens in the paddocks.  A flock of about 70 Galahs flew into the River Red Gums as we made our way back to the house for a late morning tea under the carport.  Some of us had close views of a female Scarlet Robin along the driveway as our cars left the property, making a total of 25 species for the morning.
 
Thanks Carole and Godfrey for organising our visit. It was a great spot to finish the birdwatching program for the semester.
 
A detailed list of birds recorded at each outing is available for download below. Please ring Kathy Costello if you would like a printed copy.

​What’s happening in Semester 2?
There will only be three monthly outings, on Thursday 8 September, Thursday 13 October and Thursday 10 November, as Kathy is unavailable in July and August. More details will be provided in later newsletters.