Black currawong & friends, Tahune Airwalk, Huon Valley

I was on the look out for those Tasmanian endemics during our April holiday. On this occasion a lifer flew right on to the outside tables of a cafe and said "Here I am, tick me off!"

Black currawong, Tahune airwalk,Tasmania, April 2014

The Tahune Airwalk is one of those elevated canopy walks. I walked another once in Western Australia. On both occasions I was enamoured with the possibility of some close-up shots of those little feathered creatures that always seem so distant in the upper most branches. Not to be!

I did however come across my first Bassian Thrush sighting for the year. Always a good bird for the year list!

Bassian thrush, Tahune Airwalk, Huon valley, Tasmania

I had caught a definite glimpse of a male Pink robin but only a female posed for photographs.

Pink robin, Tahune Airwalk, April 2014

This Crescent honeyeater had it's banksia feast interrupted

Bird on!

Birds adding colour to the forest, Tarra Valley

Eastern spinebill, Tarra Valley

This spinebill was a late arrival at a flowering tree that was already playing host to several honeyeater species at the weekend. The location is the steep rainforested valley of the Tarra River in Gippsland. New Holland honeyeater and Crescent honeyeater were also present at this tree (I don't know the name I'm afraid).

New Holland honeyeater (above and below) 

I failed to get a decent picture of a Crescent honeyeater despite it being the bird I was most interested in. I rarely see them! 

Crescent honeyeater (male)

Crescent honeyeater (female)

But let us not get distracted by honeyeaters when there are cockatoos and parrots to be found!

Rosellas, Australian king-parrot, Sulphur-crested and Yellow-tailed black cockatoo were frequently seen.

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo (above & below) 

Sulphur-crested cockatoo

Australian King-parrot (immature or female)

Some Australian icons were commonplace. Kookaburras were easy to photograph - Superb lyrebird not so on this occasion. I saw two female lyrebirds but the extremely dim rainforest light meant that the birds became a brown blur in my photographs. I fondly remember this day in 2011 when a lyrebird explored at arm's length enabling photography and video with short lenses.

Non-feathered Aussie fauna was also seen including wombats, koalas and possums but a chance sighting of a platypus was a highlight.

Laughing kookaburra

Platypus (a distant, cropped view, taken from a bridge over the Tarra River) - a rare opportunity for a photograph of this unique animal.

Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday

Bird on!

Mouth of Powlett River

Many and varied honeyeaters seen at the Ti-tree car park allowing good views and photo opportunities. A nice surprise was a Crescent honeyeater, a Victorian first for me.

Leaving the coastal banksia and ti-tree habitat a short trudge over the dune reveals a magnificent surf beach. Returning via the Powlett River estuary enables views of estuarine, reeds and salt-marsh habitats.

Today the flowering coastal banksia around the Ti-tree and Echidna car parks provided the best birding.

I have placed this car park on my list of Great Birding Car Parks!

Red wattlebird (Anthocaera carunculata)

Red wattlebirds seemed to be outnumbering Little wattlebird 10 to 1.

Little wattlebird (Anthocaera chyrsoptera)

Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) 

Crescent honeyeater (Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus). Not a great photo but I was surprised to find one.

Looking west towards Kilcunda

There were a dozen or so surfers at the time.
Mouth of Powlett (below).  I was expecting a sand barred entrance but the river does flow to the sea. It has even cut a channel through the rock platform.

Sooty oystercatcher (Haematopus fuliginosus) 

Eastern grey kangaroo footprints (My guess - based on the 2 metre distance between prints and seeing some roos locally)

 

Kangaroo Island

As a birder KI was certainly a great place to be. The other travelling families, bless 'em, insisted they didn't mind the convoy being halted while Pete checked out something that "might be new"! As usual the jewels in the crown were not easy to find (dips on glossy black cockatoo & diamond firetail for example) but a lot of birds I don't see much were really "in your face".

One place I returned to was Duck Lagoon - only about 11km from Kingscote. The 1st solo outing was nearly short-lived due to the size & voraciousness of the mozzies. It was saved by the discovery of the Aerogard Kath had planted in the "in-car picnic box" - what a woman!

I was hoping to tick Yellow-billed spoonbill at Duck Lagoon but dipped on this first visit (an evening). I had childhood memories of seeing yellow-billeds at farm-dams etc.  The return trip was at dawn revealing the spoonbills roosting in trees which was a little surprise for this nuff-nuff!

Duck Lagoon - the white specks are roosting spoonbills

Restless Flycatcher

Even with a borrowed scope, Murray Lagoon was altogether uninspiring, visually & birdially.

But it was good to get up close & personal to lots of old favourites:

Scarlet robin

That $#@! trophy belongs IN VICTORIA!!!

"Hmmm, wonder what's on?"

Lifers included the following:

Purple-crowned lorikeet

Crescent Honeyeater - this one trying to feed on honeycomb at Crawford's Honey Farm

And we are also very relieved to be able to post pictures of our namesake ....

Go TURNSTONES!