Have just returned from 14 day trip to Victoria, last visited in Sept. 2008 during the drought.Spent half of time in Fitzroy not birding, rest of time around Bendigo, with a day at Werribee and a trip to near Barham, NSW as well. Birding could not have been more different to 2008, with healthy looking habitat and beautiful understoreys of wattle blossom and other wildflowers. Birding started with a day-trip to Werribee STW with Bob & Sadhna Cook on Sunday 4 /9, overcast with a cold wind and some showers, but great birding, as always. Highlights included Musk & Blue-billed Duck, many White-necked Heron, Baillon’s Crake (6), Spotted Crake (3), Buff-banded Rail, Spotless Crake (missed by me), Red-necked Avocet, Striated Fieldwren (seen at 3 separate sites),Brown & Rufous Songlarks. We managed 79 species, with our only honeyeater being Noisy Miner. Monday 5/9 saw us headed to Cambells Rd. in the Kamarooka Section of the Greater bendigo NP. We stayed put on a crest near a small waterhole for most of the middle of the day and were rewarded with 10 honeyeaters (Red Wattlebird,Yellow-faced,White-eared,Yellow-tufted,Brown-headed,Purple-gaped,Striped, Tawny-crowned, Yellow-plumed & White-fronted). Other good birds included Brown Goshawk, a flock of 50 Pelican overhead, Dusky Woodswallow. But the real highlight was excellent views of Shy Heathwren by the roadside in 2 places. Later in the afternoon, we added Fuscous Honeyeater and a solitary Black-tailed Native-hen at a dam further down the road, and heard Crested Bellbird. Tuesday 6/9 and we were off to Lashbrook Rd ,SE of Barham, to locate the feral population of Ostrich.After a shaky start (we were too far down the road), we spied one 500m away on a ridgeline, and then another walking through the canola field. We ended-up with 70m views of another 4 back on the main road. We also found 5 Grey-crowned Babblers along Lashbrook Rd. (but not the Chestnut-crowned we’d been told about), White-winged Triller, female Flame Robin, White-fronted Chat and Blue-faced Honeyeater. The next day, Wednesday 7/9, was my first visit to Terrick Terrick NP. The birding around the campground at the base of the mount was so good we didn’t get time to check-out other areas of the Park. Best bird there was Gilbert’s Whistler, a male and a female at separate sites , my second-only sighting 21 years after first seeing it at Brookfield CP in SA. Horsfield’s Bronze and Shining Bronze Cuckoos were both present, as were Red-capped and Hooded Robin, Chestnut-rumped and Yellow Thornbill, Mallee Ringneck, Rufous Songlark,Grey-crowned Babbler, Western Gerygone and Black-chinned Honeyeater. We had great views of a perched Hobby on the drive home. Thursday 8/9 was a quieter day spent around Heathcote where we managed a male Flame Robin atop Mt Ida, along with Pallid, Fan-tailed, and Shining Bronze Cuckoos further down the slope. Later, along Forest Drive on the other side of town, we spied Brown Quail, nesting Yellow Thornbill,Crested Shrike-tit, White-plumed, Fuscous & Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Olive-backed Oriole and Weebill. Our last birding day (Friday) was spent at the Bendigo STW and the nearby Whipstick section of the Greater Bendigo NP. Unfortunately a biting cold wind restricted both birds and birders but we did manage to see Musk Duck, a flock of 30+ Black-tailed Native-hen, Swamp Harrier, a lone Silver Gull, and both Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebe before we called it a day. During our stay we had a few walks around Bob & Sardhna’s Axedale property and managed to add Rufous Night Heron (2 juveniles) and Buff-banded Rail to their property list, whilst Black-chinned Honeyeater, Musk Lorikeet, Brown Treecreeper, Brown-headed Honeyeater, and a covey of 5 Painted Button-Quail kept me more than interested. Our trip netted me 156 species including a lifer (Ostrich), as well as advancing my Victorian list by 7, my NSW list by 2, and my 2011 year list by a whopping 65. Many thanks to the Axedale mob of Bob, Sardhna and Marlene.
Russ Lamb, Maleny,SEQ ===============================
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