Honeyeater Picnic area, Chiltern, Victoria.

A day in the Chiltern Woodlands trying to find some sun amongst the glume.

Australia, Day Fourty Two.

 

Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris).

I was up and out a little earlier that Deb and Renate so I went for a walk just up the road towards the Motorway, on the way I picked up Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina), Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata), Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula), Galah's (Eolophus roseicapilla), Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa), Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata), Little Raven (Corvus mellori) and Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus).

Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae).

White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos).

Fuscous Honeyeater (Ptilotula fusca).

Fuscous Honeyeater (Ptilotula fusca).

After a while Deb picked me up along the road saying Renate had decide to have a quiet moring so we went out to some nearby woodlands and parked at the Honeyeater Picnic area where we went for a walk around a nearby pool with the delightful name Cyanide Dam finding Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae), Yellow-faced (Caligavis chrysops) and Yellow-tufted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops), Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis), Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys), Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) and just before we turned on to the White Box Walking Track a pair of Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius).

Flame Robin (Petroica phoenicea) female.

Flame Robin (Petroica phoenicea) female.

Rose Robin (Petroica rosea), a bad shot of a female.

We walked along the trail until we reached the track called All Nations Road where we soon found a group of 4 or 5 female Flame Robins (Petroica phoenicea) feeding in the dark under scrub, whilst watching these birds we came across a female Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) but it was very difficult to get close to and I only managed a really bad shot.

Gang-Gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum).

Gang-Gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum).

In the same area we had good numbers of Honeyeaters which included several Fuscous Honeyeater (Ptilotula fusca) as well as good numbers of Yellow-faced and Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, a couple of male Gang-Gang Cockatoo's (Callocephalon fimbriatum), White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea) and as we walked back to the car we had a cracking male Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang).

Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa).

Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa).

Back near to the car park we had good views of a Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) before heading back in to town for some lunch and to pick up Renate, on the way we had a small flock of Yellow-rumped Thornbills (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) feeding on the roadside.

Gang-Gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum) female.

After eating we all went out to the woods again to try and find the Rose Robin but we did not find it again, however on the way back in we had a Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) and in the woods we had a nice female Gang-Gang Cockatoo, White-naped Honeyeater (Melithreptus lunatus), Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis), Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus), Scarlet Myzomela (Myzomela sanguinolenta), Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis), Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa), Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana) and a stuning Crested Shrike-tit (Falcunculus frontatus).

Crested Shrike-tit (Falcunculus frontatus).

Crested Shrike-tit (Falcunculus frontatus).

We headed back out of the woods and had a drive along the road towards Barnawartha, on a run of fencing we found another group of Flame Robins but this time there were at least two males as well as another male Scarlet Robin, it was just a shame we were starting to loose the light.

Flame Robin (Petroica phoenicea).

Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang).

We returned to the Motel and had a bit to eat before turning in early for another morning in the woods nearby.