White-browed Scrubwren

I am in awe of bird photographers. I study their photos, imagine the effort needed to produce such glorious results, imagine the cost and weight of the equipment they use, admire their knowledge of bird behaviour.

So I don't do bird photography. Give me an insect or a plant any day. But this beautiful White-browed Scrubwren sat on a post close to me and I couldn't resist. I'm cheating really because they are birds that don't mind human company.

Homerton

Question. Why do blowflies congregate on tree debris on sunny days? The photos aren't great but in one you can see that there are thirteen in one small area. When I disturb them they buzz about noisily for a few seconds and then land again in the same area.

Yesterday we came down to our farm at Homerton for a few days but I'm a bit wary because today we've seen two Tiger Snakes and a leech has had a good feed of my blood!

The Wiltypolls (hairy sheep) we bought to keep the grass down around the house have pushed through the electrified fence into the farm paddock so the grass is rather long. They are very cute sheep but ... Hmmm. Plan B?

But my bird list is good so far. Forty-one species around the house paddock, including a Swamp Harrier. Haven't seen one of those here for years. And the Blue-winged Parrots are back in the same spot as last summer.

I'm amazed at how many White-necked Herons there are at the moment. There were one or two in nearly every swamp in the 300 kms between here and Geelong. I think that on the way home I'll gps each sighting and atlas them.

The holy grail

Finally. A Baillon's Crake.

This little bird has eluded me for 25 years, my bird-watching life. I was always at the right place too late, or too lazy to travel to the right place at the right time, but this week one of our bird club members led a group of us to the right place at the right time. And there they were, five of them, on a wetland in the middle of Geelong.

It was overcast and drizzling but we were able to see them clearly moving around the reeds and rushes within three metres of us. We saw them flying, with their legs dangling, from one shelter to the next. We watched them chase each other across reeds lying flat on the water's surface. And we were surprised at how little they are. They were beautiful but our wonderful guide told us we should see them in full sunlight when their colours are truly stunning so I'll go back, when it's sunny.

More of the plains

The Little River carves through the landscape and has rocky banks and cliffs. It is in this harsh environment that an aged Hop-bush Dodonaea viscosa survives despite a decade of low rainfall. The bushes we saw were covered in red seed cases.

We found the the nationally vulnerable Large-fruit Groundsel Senecio macrocarpus in the grassland ,and the beautiful Blue Devil Eryngium ovinium - hard to believe it's in the Apiaceae family.

Also hidden in the grassland was a baby Singing Bushlark. The adults were quite agitated until we moved on.

Hiding its face

It's a bit like reading a word for years but never hearing it said so it's a big surprise when you hear it pronounced properly. That's how it was for me today when Polly found a Hidden Violet Viola cleistogamoides. I've seen photos and read descriptions but never would have recognised this little beauty if I'd been by myself. It's a tiny plant, the flowers face downwards and it's the leaves you notice first. My highlight of the club excursion to a private property near Anglesea - although it was hard to beat the killer view of an Australian Owlet-nightjar sitting on a low branch.

Foxed

Mother shelduck spotted me as I approached the swamp and started to lead her ducklings out of the water onto the bank. This plan was thwarted by the sudden appearance of a fox on the bank! She quickly and noisily turned them around and drew the ducklings to deeper water. The fox moved away into the trees.

I managed to get several bad photos whilst simultaneously moving to hide behind a tree. This image has been cropped because I didn't have the zoom on.

Brown Quail at last

I was watching Rainbow Lorikeets, Scaly-breasted Lorikeets and Spangled Drongos in the vegetation at the caravan park behind the dunes at Emerald Beach. I glanced at the ground, and looked again. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Seven Brown Quail pecking around near my feet. I'd never seen one before and now I had a feast.

Eventually I remembered that I had a camera in my hand and took a couple of very ordinary photos, but at least it's evidence. When I went back after checking my bird book to confirm my ID I couldn't find any. Sadly we had to pack up and leave but I'm betting they'll be out and about tomorrow morning.

Fellow campers

We settled ourselves into a spot in a caravan park at Airlee Beach for a couple of weeks. Two Bush-stone-curlews standing very still under a tree - maybe under the impression that we couldn’t see them - watched us very carefully as we set up our van. They growled if we got too close. I didn’t know stone-curlews do that.

We relaxed into our camp chairs ... and saw a big blue butterfly land in a shrub several metres away. That was the end of relaxing.

It was a male Common Eggfly Butterfly Hypolimnas bolina nerina (known in New Zealand as the Blue Moon Butterfly). Apparently each male defends a territory about 30-40 metres apart and usually rests on a leaf one or two metres above the ground. This particular butterfly was not very active so I was able to get a reasonable photo.