Category: Rare Sightings

Activity update ... and a question ... have you seen any Scarlet Honeyeaters in Benalla recently?

10/11/2020

Hello everyone

I have planned a local morning activity at the Broken River Natural Features Reserve, opposite Reef Hills, this Thursday morning. We will meet at the car park behind the Seniors building at 9.30am. Our numbers are still restricted by COVID to a maximum of 10 participants. So please email or ring me if you would like to attend.

It looks as though most of the forecast rain will fall on Wednesday, and it should be pretty clear by Thursday morning. If all else fails we can go to a café for coffee and cake instead.

I would be very interested to know if any of you have seen any Scarlet Honeyeaters in Benalla recently. I heard one calling in Grant Drive 2 days ago. It would be great to see one on Thursday morning. The male is a stunning bright red little bird, and a rare visitor from coastal NSW and Qld to our area. There was an influx of them to Benalla 3 years ago. They particularly like flowering red bottlebrushes, and flowering mistletoe.

Photo: birdlife.org.au

Kathy Costello
0447 625755

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November - Honey Suckle Creek, Violet Town

18/11/2017

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Ten people attended our last activity for 2017 on Thursday 9 November, and what a lovely day it was. We set off along the walking track from the football oval heading east the old Hume Hwy where we crossed the creek for the return walk. We found several nesting birds. One was a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike on a very flimsy nest high in a red gum. Further on a Noisy Friarbird sat in a much more substantial hanging nest near the road bridge on High Street. Also heard near this bridge was the Scarlet Honeyeater, and after a few minutes the bird was spotted in a red gum tree across the road. We had better views of an Olive-backed Oriole, several Eastern Rosellas, Sacred Kingfisher and a tiny, but beautifully marked Spotted Pardalote. It was surprising to see a flock of White-winged Choughs near the creek and not far from houses. We recorded 32 birds during the walk. The bird list can be viewed HERE

We then drove to a private property near Violet Town to eat our lunch in a lovely shady garden. We watched Red-browed Finches and Superb Fairy-wrens hopping around our feet, and listened to a Rufous Whistler calling nearby. Other birds seen here included several Diamond Firetails, Peaceful Doves and Crimson Rosellas. Property owner Roberta showed us the old saucepan in a shed where the Grey Shrike-thrush makes its nest each year and a nest box for Striated Pardalotes. A pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles soared high overhead, and above them was a lone dark morph Little Eagle. We then enjoyed a walk around the large garden, with many plants in flower. Just before we left a male Scarlet Honeyeater showed itself briefly on a yellow flowering sage bush. Roberta was very pleased to finally see one in her garden.

Scarlet Honeyeaters in Benalla

Photo Richard Gregson, Birdlife Murray Goulburn

A lot of Scarlet Honeyeaters are currently visiting Benalla. These tiny birds are usually found down the east coast of Australia, with few coming into Victoria. This spring they arrived in large numbers, probably sent south by a severe drought further north. If you happen to see a tiny, red-headed bird in your flowering bottlebrush or grevillea, that is the male bird. The female is brown. They have been visiting many gardens in Benalla. For a tiny bird, the male has a loud tinkling call.

Kathy Costello

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Rare sightings -

10/6/2016

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Owlet Nightjar, photographed by Stan Bellingham at Mollyullah in Feb 2016. It is a nocturnal bird, rarely seen in the daytime.

White Goshawk photographed by Alec Adkins in his Benalla backyard on 10 April 2016. It is a rare bird for this area.

Kathy

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February's newsletter report - our first session

1/3/2016

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There was an excellent response from members to the new U3A Birdwatching program. Over 20 people attended the first meeting, and were introduced to printed field guides for Australian birds, several smartphone apps, websites, and instruction on how to adjust binoculars for your individual eyesight. Bev Lee has kindly put this information on the Birdwatching page on the U3A website.

We spent some time discussing the unexpected appearance of an Eastern Koel in Benalla before Christmas. It is a large cuckoo with a very loud, persistent call, and it woke one of our participants at 3am one morning.

After morning tea, most of the group reconvened at Lake Benalla for a short walk to practise their new binocular skills. We had good views of 20 native bird species, including both Brown and White-throated Treecreepers, a Restless Flycatcher and a pair of Sacred Kingfishers, not far from the library car park.

Next meeting Thursday 10 March 10am – 12 noon. Meet at Lake Benalla at 10am, beside the walking track behind the library, for a gentle stroll through the red gum woodland. Bring binoculars if you have them, and a water bottle. If you want morning tea, you will need to carry whatever you want to eat. Please note the walk will be automatically cancelled if it is a total fire ban day.

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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

Activity update ... and a question ... have you seen any Scarlet Honeyeaters in Benalla recently?

November - Honey Suckle Creek, Violet Town

Rare sightings -

February's newsletter report - our first session

Birdwatching

Convenor and contact details

Meeting Times

New members

Outings etc....

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