Dam Diamond Doves

Finally, after almost 3hrs of waiting, a small flock of Diamond Doves flew in – success! Their red-ringed eyes were very apparent, and after a quick sip of water, they flew back to an overhanging branch, before disappearing into the bush. The entire interaction lasted about 20s – still, the 3hr wait was worth it!

Also-rans: 2017 birding roundup

2017 was a busy year (aren’t they always?) so I didn’t get around to writing trip reports for every bird outing. That’s not to say that we didn’t do a respectable amount of birding though, because looking back at the photos, we had some fantastic experiences! Here is my promise to you, Constant Reader: shorter…

Neighbourly Spotlighting

We continued to scan the trees near the billabong, and one of the kids shouted “Possum!”. We all trained our torches on the branch and I thought to myself, “what a tiny Possum – perhaps it’s a joey”, until it dawned on me that it was actually a Sugar Glider. That’s right folks: a Sugar Glider, in suburbia!

Also-rans – Part 3 (Bunyip, Serendip, Avalon, Woodlands)

This is the third post in a series about short, ad-hoc, unrewarding, or repeat birding trips. As always, we had lots of fun being outdoors, and we have a few not-so-good photos that are worth sharing. Bunyip State Park – October 2014, March 2015 Bunyip State Park is probably one of the most diverse parks that we…

Bird Boxes in Bendigo

It was some months since we last did a ‘big birding day out’ so we were really looking forward to the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in early June. I had read intriguing bird reports from a small reservoir on the outskirts of Bendigo, so I was eager to try my luck. ‘Crusoe Reservoir’ and ‘Number 7 Reservoir’…

Great Ocean Road Wildlife Bonanza

As a birder, you have no doubt felt the crushing disappointment of a ‘dip’: you read consecutive reports of sightings in the area, you psyched yourself up, you left home at an ungodly hour with a full tank of petrol, you drove 200km in terrible weather conditions, and not only were your target species elusive,…