Author: paul

Actually you DO have warranty. The problem is that if you buy overseas for most brands the local agent or distributor will not honour the overseas warranty. What this means is that you must send your goods back to the country of origin for warranty work. I know that some manufacturers will honour warranty on products bought overseas – Apple are certainly doing so with the iPad, for example. I know that Nikon Australia doesn’t honour warranty on overseas purchased goods. I’m unsure about Leica and Swarovski.

Actually Bintel’s price is only about $300 more than you can buy them in the US at the moment. Forgetting all the pro- and anti-GST arguments, the shipping and insurance from the US would cost about $120-$150 – so for a small premium, you are getting a local warranty and supporting a local company. I noticed that a few months ago someone commented that Bintel’s prices were quite competitive internationally – so well done to them!

Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria

Hi Steve,

White-throated Nightjar – best spot is the “helipad” in Bunyip State Park (an easy drive from Narre Warren North). Follow the Princes Highway west through Berwick and Pakenham and exit north at Tynong North Road. Follow this until it intersects with Gembrook-Tonimbuk Road and turn left (east). Turn right (north) onto Link Road. This road is good for Sooty Owls. Follow Link Road all the way to the end and turn right (west) onto Back Creek Road. Follow the signs to the trail bike unloading area – also known as the helipad. Anywhere in the parking area is OK – there’s a covered picnic area that we’ve always found reliable.

Sooty Owl – a very reliable spot (other than Link Road) is Badger Weir near Healesville Sanctuary. A longer drive than Bunyip from Narre Warren North, but well worth it if you get the chance. I’ll let you use Google Maps to find it as the directions would be quite long. You need Badger Weir Road in Badger Creek (very near the Sanctuary). The reserve is closed to traffic in the evenings, but provided you park outside the gate, you can walk in (about a 10 minute walk to the picnic area). There’s at least a resident pair of Sooty Owls that you should be able to hear from the picnic ground.

Hope this helps.

Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria

Hi All,

There was an interesting article and video on the plight of the Orange-bellied Parrot and the recovery efforts at Melaleuca in Tasmania.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/conservation/holding-the-fate-of-a-spec ies-in-caring-hands-20110128-1a8fm.html

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Hi all,

Frank O’Connor called me at around 5pm to say that he’d just seen the Stilt Sandpiper at the Western Treatment Plant. The bird was on the rocks on the far (northern) side of the Austin Lagoon. The bird was see on rocks on the eastern side and then flew to rocks on the western side, before flying back into the “pack” of stints and Curlew Sandpipers in the middle of the northern side.

Frank also saw 30+ Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers and 1 Long-toed Stint in Pond 4 of the Western Lagoons. Apparently the birds were visible from the centre track, looking south.

Paul Dodd

Docklands, Victoria

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Happy New Year everyone!

I’ll write a more complete update a little later, but after seeing the Terek Sandpiper at the Western Treatment Plant yesterday, we decided to spend our last few hours looking in various crake spots around Melbourne for Baillon’s Crake. Conditions were almost unbearable at 44 degrees C and very windy. We checked out the Borrow Pits and Conservation Ponds at the WTP first, with no success. From there we worked our way through wetlands at Point Cook and Mount St Joseph’s Pond. By now it was around 6:30pm and we had a choice – should we go to Banyule Flats or Edithvale? Banyule Flats is a great spot, but did we really fancy wading through reeds in high temperatures and winds hoping to see a crake. Edithvale is the spot where we’ve seen more Baillon’s in the past than anywhere else. In good years it was possible to see them scurrying around on the fringes of the mudflats from the hide quite easily. However, there has been so much rain and water around and the hide is now closed, so we weren’t really sure what to expect.

In the end, Edithvale won – simply because we wouldn’t have to walk as far in the heat. We got to the hide at around 7:30pm, and realised that we couldn’t really see much from the carpark (in a previous year we have seen a Painted Snipe from the carpark!) There is a viewing platform near the hide and from there we could see out across the wetlands, and could see some promising looking mudflats. The temperature had now dropped to a very bearable 28 degrees, so we didn’t mind spending time here – besides, we realised that this would be our last birding spot of the year. At 8pm we heard a Baillon’s Crake calling from the reeds immediately to our left (NE of the platform)! These reeds are outside the fenced wetlands, and are very thick and very tall (2m or more). After waiting patiently for more than half an hour, we were finally rewarded with a brief look at our final bird of the year, Baillon’s Crake – bringing our total to 389.

Since we had made no plans for New Year’s Eve – fully expecting to be still out looking for Masked Owls, we weren’t really sure what to do now! Ultimately we managed to crash a friend’s New Year’s Eve party (thanks Bill!) and have a well-deserved glass of champagne!

Paul Dodd and Ruth Woodrow

Docklands, Victoria

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We just tracked down the Terek Sandpiper at the Western Treatment Plant! That’s our 388th bird for our VicTwitch 2010.

The bird is currently on mudflats to the north-east of Little River just to the west of a stone breakwater. GPS 37 59.983S 144 37.227E

Sorry I don’t have a map in the car so I can’t tell you the pond number adjacent to the coast.

Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria

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Hi birders,

If anyone is going to WTP today, and comes across the Terek, could you please call me on 0419516669?

Thanks!

Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria

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About 25 hours to go for our VicTwitch 2010.

Yesterday we drove from Ouyen to Murrayville, then south along the famous Murrayville Track into Big Desert. For the first part of the journey we looked for Crimson Chats, but had no luck. For the southern part of the Murrayville Track, and then west along the Red Bluff Track, south along the Border Track and east along Red Bluff Road, we searched for Bustards, but did not see any. The Border Track is cut up so badly that it became impassable south of Red Bluff Road, so we had to abandon that part of the search and headed east along the Red Bluff Road – which was interesting as it basically goes through paddocks. It has long been a goal of mine to drive the Murrayville Track, so even without seeing Bustards at least one goal was reached!

After unsuccessfully searching Big Desert and the area between Big Desert and Telopea Downs for Bustards we head headed south through Kaniva then through Little Desert, completing a full-house of Victoria’s Mallee Parks. We decided to overnight at Hamilton so that we could search for Masked Owls to the west, but have easy access to Portland in the morning without having to drive for hours. After dinner we headed west to Casterton, then to Strathdownie to search for the owls. We searched Grubbed Road and Wilkin School Road in areas where the forest abuts open heath. We had no success, so decided to call it a night around midnight. We were driving along Grubbed Road heading to the Glenelg Highway, in a spot with forest and open heath between two plantations. In the headlights of the car, we saw an intermediate morph Masked Owl – a largish bird, brown wings and pale but quite noticeably mottled breast and underparts. FINALLY! This bird (along with Bustard) has been a bogey-bird for us for the entire year! Masked Owl – number 387 for the year! The owl noticed us and, grabbing its meal, slowly flew off to the forest in the distance.

This morning we headed to Portland and spent some time searching for Baillon’s Crake at the Aloca Wetlands with Rob Farnes. The weather has been so mild and still recently that there is not much point in seabird watching, as nothing is being blown into shore. From Portland we called in to Killarney Beach – but few birds there (not even the usual Sanderlings).

As we were driving home the car began to shudder – uh oh, something was wrong. At Inverleigh we pulled over into a service station and checked the wheels and tyres, but could find nothing wrong. I called my local Mitsubishi dealership and persuaded them to have a look at the car and sort out the problem first thing in the morning. Anyway, we proceeded to drive home and on the Princes Freeway near Werribee there was an incredible noise from the front right of the car, the car pulled violently to the right and I could see bits of something flying everywhere. I managed to pull over into the emergency lane, and waited for a gap in the traffic to assess the situation. I got out and saw that the front driver’s side tyre was completely shredded – our FOURTH shredded tyre of the year and our SECOND shredded tyre of the last two weeks.

I called RACV and they informed me that a tow truck would be there within the hour. I have to say that it is pretty hairy sitting in the emergency lane of the Princes Freeway with the trucks and cars zooming past, just inches from the mirror. At least it gave us a chance to check up on emails, make some calls and check Birdline. What should we notice? Two TEREK SANDPIPERS at the Western Treatment Plant. Now that is the definition of frustration – sitting in a disabled car with a bird we desperately need for our year list not more than a few kilometres away! By the time the car was sorted out we had lost light, and could not go for the bird. Let’s hope it’s still there in the morning!

So tomorrow we will search for the Terek at the WTP and continue our search for Baillon’s Crakes anywhere we can think of to look!

Paul Dodd and Ruth Woodrow

Currently back in Melbourne…

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Hi everyone,

Ruth and I are really keen to find a Baillon’s Crake in Victoria before this year is out. If you know of any recent (last few weeks) sightings, can you please let me know!

Other species we have a slim possibility of seeing would be Terek Sandpiper and Painted Snipe, both of which have been seen in Victoria in the last few months. If you are aware of any recent sightings of these species, please let me know!

Thanks and all the best,

Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria

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