RobHynson
Well-known member
Hi Chris.
best place for the rails is between the public toilets and the succulent garden in the SW of the garden. Best to look in low vegetation, they won't necessarily be near water like most rails.
Rob
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3 weeks in Australia - itinerary questions (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter pandachris
- Start date
Hi Chris.
best place for the rails is between the public toilets and the succulent garden in the SW of the garden. Best to look in low vegetation, they won't necessarily be near water like most rails.
Rob
pandachris
Well-known member
Thanks both. I've not been online much in the last week, sorting out the final details of the trip and work etc.
It was Mark C and we've now made contact and arrangements. I suspect he's been out of range for a while.
My only previous experience of penguins has been of African Penguins which are active most of the time so I wasn't aware of the crepuscular nature. Sounds like we might be heading for the Royal Park or the Botanical Gardens in the day time and perhaps head for St. Kilda in the late afternoon. We can keep the Penguin Parade as a back-stop.
I chose Serendip because of it's size. We're actually heading for Kennett River and Koalas but wanted somewhere to get started. I think we'll be in the You Yangs the following day and they sound like they deserve more than an hour's flying visit.
Thanks for the Sunday offer. We're actually going to the Western Treatment Plant on the Saturday, after You Yangs.
I might start a trip report in the relevant forum and try to keep it up to date. Not sure yet whether I'll have the time/commitment/internet access but I'll make a start.
It was Mark C and we've now made contact and arrangements. I suspect he's been out of range for a while.
My only previous experience of penguins has been of African Penguins which are active most of the time so I wasn't aware of the crepuscular nature. Sounds like we might be heading for the Royal Park or the Botanical Gardens in the day time and perhaps head for St. Kilda in the late afternoon. We can keep the Penguin Parade as a back-stop.
I chose Serendip because of it's size. We're actually heading for Kennett River and Koalas but wanted somewhere to get started. I think we'll be in the You Yangs the following day and they sound like they deserve more than an hour's flying visit.
Thanks for the Sunday offer. We're actually going to the Western Treatment Plant on the Saturday, after You Yangs.
I might start a trip report in the relevant forum and try to keep it up to date. Not sure yet whether I'll have the time/commitment/internet access but I'll make a start.
Platy
Well-known member
Just a side note that daylight saving will end in Victoria at 2am April 2nd, clocks go back an hour. So if you are perhaps planning to go to the Penguin Parade it will probably start around 5.30-6pm.
There are plenty of places to check out on Phillip Island, Rhyll Inlet and Observation Point can be good spots for waders and other birds.
If you've seen penguins at St Kilda and don't care to see more at PI, I suggest hitting Cape Woolamai at dusk for the shearwaters instead. (There's a short walk down the beach to a set of stairs, which take you up to a walking track that is surrounded by the shearwater colony, front row seats).
If you have time there are also good spots around Wonthaggi (Wonthaggi heathlands), which is maybe a 40 minute drive from Phillip Island, where you could see Southern emu-wrens, but depends how patient you are/how much time you have to make it worthwhile.
You're packing a lot in to a short amount of time! Good luck, have fun and I hope the weather is kind to you!
There are plenty of places to check out on Phillip Island, Rhyll Inlet and Observation Point can be good spots for waders and other birds.
If you've seen penguins at St Kilda and don't care to see more at PI, I suggest hitting Cape Woolamai at dusk for the shearwaters instead. (There's a short walk down the beach to a set of stairs, which take you up to a walking track that is surrounded by the shearwater colony, front row seats).
If you have time there are also good spots around Wonthaggi (Wonthaggi heathlands), which is maybe a 40 minute drive from Phillip Island, where you could see Southern emu-wrens, but depends how patient you are/how much time you have to make it worthwhile.
You're packing a lot in to a short amount of time! Good luck, have fun and I hope the weather is kind to you!
pandachris
Well-known member
Thanks to Rob and MJB for the recommendation of Kingfisher Park. We had a great time there, even though we missed some of the endemics.
We saw the shearwater roost at Swan Lake on Phillip Island which was easy to access and also fantastic for Black Wallabies and plenty of birds. We got sort of told off by the warden for being there after dark (he actually acknowledged that we looked like we knew what we were doing, which is probably an exaggeration. Snakes. The car park is closed at dusk but there's a pull-in close by.
The Powerful Owls might have gone from the Botanical Gardens. There had been no reports since February when we were there. One staff member we spoke to though that the owls might have moved on when the Fruit Bat roost was 'relocated'. We wanted to see the bats so went, as instructed by same staff member, to Centennial Parklands. The roost is close to the Spruce Goose burger van (excellent burgers) and there were lots of birds in the area too, but 4 Buff-banded Rails were the highlight (we couldn't find any in the Botanical Gardens despite quite a search). They were along a stream near the Spruce Goose and the roost. There's a small, cuboid brick building in the trees and close to the stream and they were quite easy to see near this.
We saw penguins at St. Kilda and managed to get back to Melbourne for some comedy shows.
We saw the shearwater roost at Swan Lake on Phillip Island which was easy to access and also fantastic for Black Wallabies and plenty of birds. We got sort of told off by the warden for being there after dark (he actually acknowledged that we looked like we knew what we were doing, which is probably an exaggeration. Snakes. The car park is closed at dusk but there's a pull-in close by.
The Powerful Owls might have gone from the Botanical Gardens. There had been no reports since February when we were there. One staff member we spoke to though that the owls might have moved on when the Fruit Bat roost was 'relocated'. We wanted to see the bats so went, as instructed by same staff member, to Centennial Parklands. The roost is close to the Spruce Goose burger van (excellent burgers) and there were lots of birds in the area too, but 4 Buff-banded Rails were the highlight (we couldn't find any in the Botanical Gardens despite quite a search). They were along a stream near the Spruce Goose and the roost. There's a small, cuboid brick building in the trees and close to the stream and they were quite easy to see near this.
We saw penguins at St. Kilda and managed to get back to Melbourne for some comedy shows.
Hi Chris,
Sounds like you had a great trip. My wife and I are heading to Australia from California for 13 days at the end of November. Our routes don't exactly overlap, but we will be going Brisbane - Sydney - Melbourne. Just wondering if had and recommendations for any of that territory based on your visit. We love great birds, but also just great scenery and fun, so no limits on what you can recommend. Thanks!
Conor
pandachris
Well-known member
Hi Conor
There are many people on birdforum with much more knowledge about the region than me but I'll be happy to help. I'm just taking a delicious break (smoked eel, duck carpaccio) from a long days birding on the Ebro Delta (my 3rd ever Bluethroat is bird of the day so far) with a late flight tonight. I'll hopefully find some time over the next few days.
There are many people on birdforum with much more knowledge about the region than me but I'll be happy to help. I'm just taking a delicious break (smoked eel, duck carpaccio) from a long days birding on the Ebro Delta (my 3rd ever Bluethroat is bird of the day so far) with a late flight tonight. I'll hopefully find some time over the next few days.
That sounds great. How was the Erbo Delta?
pandachris
Well-known member
The Ebro was superb. My best day's birding in the 2nd half of 2017. I've been there quite often over the last 5 years but there seemed to be more individual birds there than on previous visits. Thousands of Glossy Ibis, thousands of heron from several species, lots of flamingos, numerous harriers, 4 Ospreys, about 20 Kingfishers, plenty of waders and evidence of migration still going on. The Bluethroat was my personal highlight, but it was really the overall quality of the birding that is making me want to extend our visit to Tarragona next October by a night, to have a couple of days on the delta.
