Our September outing was to Reef Hills State Park, on the southern edge of Benalla. Although the morning was sunny, there was a cold wind blowing, so we had to work hard to identify birds in the waving branches. We moved to a more sheltered area and started seeing a few more birds. They’re not silly.
Our birding highlight was a pair of Varied Sittellas; thanks Brian for spotting them. Unlike the treecreepers which move up a tree probing the bark for insects, the smaller sittellas land high in the branches and work their way down the bark. Other birds seen included a pair of Rufous Whistlers, Brown Thornbills, Grey Shrike-thrush, White-winged Choughs, Grey Fantails and several honeyeaters. We looked hard for a Mistletoebird which was calling above us, but failed to locate it. All up 14 species recorded.
We then drove to the nearby Broken River Natural Features Reserve, and found some different birds near the river. It was nice to see and hear a pair of Western Gerygones here. These small birds are nearly all summer breeding migrants to our area. Another summer migrant, the Australian Reed-Warbler, had also arrived and was calling from the reedbeds where it nests. We had good views of a pair of Striated Pardalotes in a dead tree near the river – they nest in small hollows – while a Black-Faced Cuckoo-shrike flew down river. Eight species recorded here.
Our eBird checklist for
Kathy Costello
- Reef Hills https://ebird.org/checklist/S196197393
- Broken River Natural Features Reserve https://ebird.org/checklist/S196198143
Kathy Costello
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