Mallacoota Camp 17 – 20 March 2014 – Merryl and Ian Wright

Shady Gully Caravan Park was once again the base for activitiesand happy hours over this autumn camp at Mallacoota.The weather stayed fine throughout and even on the warmer days, a light breeze kept the birders happy. With numbers of observers ranging between 13 and 27 on various days during camp, there were many eyes and ears in the field, and totals of 124 species and 2077 birds were recorded over the four days.

Who was there?

There were fourteen BirdLife East Gippsland members present including John and Pam Hutchison, Len and Jacquie Axen and Ian and Merryl Wright who between them had coordinated the activities. Other East Gippsland members were Chris Healey, Ken Sherring, Ron Mackenzie, Pat McPherson, Gary and Heather Cousens, Kath Gallagher and Dot Owen. Mallacoota birders Bob Semmens and Jeremy Pickett-Heapswere on hand to show us some of their favourite birding spots, with locals Gerry Rushton and Martin Groom also taking part in some of the walks.

Our group was also joined by BirdLife Yarra Valley members Peter and Valerie Fowler and from BirdLife Melbourne, Lyn Abreu, Margaret and John Bosworth, and Jack de Zoete. Jack had been staying at Shady Gully independently, and having noticed a bunch of birdos wandering aroundjust couldn’t resist tagging along.

Day 1 – Casuarina Walk (37) and Mallacoota Waste Water Treatment Plant (46) (Number of species recorded at each site given in brackets)

Several keen birders had arrived on Saturday and Sunday, and so there was time onMonday morning for a group to take a stroll through Casuarina Walk, just one of the lovely bits of bushland near Mallacoota’s main centre. Rewarding sightings of two Rufous Fantails and a Superb Lyrebird boded well for a great camp and we were not to be disappointed!

After lunch when more of the group had arrived and settled in, we were off to the Mallacoota Wastewater Treatment Plant and lagoons just out of town. This is a great birding spot with both open farmland and some bush adjacent to the lagoons, and although bird numbers were down on Spring 2012 figures, a total of 46 species was recorded. Mixed flocks of hundreds of ducks, grebes and coots were seen, as well as a good range of bush birds, with a total of 59 species and over 1500 birds seen in just a couple of hours. Thanks to Bob Semmens for organising access to this site.

Day 2 – Shipwreck Creek (50) and Betka River and Beach (28)

On Tuesday we all headed south toShipwreck Creek in the Croajingalong National Park. Two groups took different paths across the heathlands, beach or bushland, swapping routes after morning tea, giving everyone a chance for a glimpse of the 24 Southern Emu-wrens which obligingly made an appearance. A Ground Parrot was also heard (John Hutchison managed to get a photo the day after the camp) with two Striated Fieldwrens, two Red-browed Treecreepers, two Beautiful Firetails and a flock of Little Lorikeets also getting the birders quite excited!

On the return journey to Mallacoota, a stopwas made at Betka Beach, where three Hooded Plovers, two Red-capped Plovers and two Sooty Oystercatchers were seen on the sand bars in the estuary.

In the evening, Jeremy Pickett-Heaps showed the group a DVD he had made highlighting the fascinating behaviour of some of our beach nesting birds.

Day 3 – Double Creek Nature Reserve (45), Karbethong (14), Mirabooka Hill (14) and Captain Stephenson’s Point Lookout (15)

The day began at Double Creek where we again split into two groups with the first taking the Double Creek Rainforest Loop Walk, and the second group following the track along Double Creek Arm, spotting an Azure Kingfisher, with teams swapping routes after morning tea. After lunch back at our base camp, birders moved to The Narrows walking track near Karbethong followed by the Lagoon Boardwalk at the foot of Mirabooka Hill. The afternoon was rounded off with the scopes in action from the Captain Stephen’s Point Lookout overlooking the entrance to the Mallacoota Estuary, finding five Australasian Gannets, 23 Australian Pied Oystercatchers and one Eastern Curlew. At the end of the day we all repaired to the Mallacoota Hotel Bistro for a great meal with good company.

Day 4 – Genoa Creek Track and Falls (29), and Gipsy Point Croajingalong Walk(15)

Making a first stop at Gipsy Point, John Hutchison took us to the rubbish tip where Glossy Black-cockatoos had been sighted in the casuarinas in 2012, but there was no luck on this visit. With some degree of disappointment we drove on to the Genoa Creek Track and Falls. Another Red-browed Treecreeper was recorded here and 35 Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos were seen gathering in the top of the canopy – a rather unusually high number. Several camp participants chose to head off during the morning, some to return home and others exploring some of the other lovely sites around the Mallacoota region.

After lunch at the Genoa Caravan Park grounds, those birders still with the group took a final walk along the Gipsy Point Croajingalong track where three roosting Nankeen Night Herons provided the highlight. After a long day of birding, most of the group opted for a meal out at one of Mallacoota’s cafes, before heading off the next morning.

Other bird records

Over the four days of the camp, we also recorded birds in and around the caravan park and Mallacoota township, and any incidental sightings on the way to or from our outings. These included some species that had not been recorded at other sites including Common Bronzewing, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Brown Falcon, Caspian Tern, Gang-Gang Cockatoo, and Dusky Woodswallow.

Another jam-packed and rewarding camp – thanks to all organisers and participants!

FULL LIST OF BIRDS ON NEXT PAGE

Complete list of birds seen at Mallacoota Camp 17-21 March 2014

Musk Duck
Black Swan
Australian Shelduck
Australian Wood Duck
Pink-eared Duck
Australasian Shoveler
Grey Teal
Chestnut Teal
Pacific Black Duck
Hardhead
Australasian Grebe
Hoary-headed Grebe
White-headed Pigeon
Common Bronzewing
Crested Pigeon
Wonga Pigeon
White-throated Needletail
Australasian Gannet
Little Pied Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
Australian Pelican
Eastern Great Egret
Cattle Egret
White-faced Heron
Little Egret
Nankeen Night Heron
Australian White Ibis
Straw-necked Ibis
Royal Spoonbill
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Whistling Kite
Brown Goshawk
Collared Sparrowhawk
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Brown Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
Purple Swamphen
Eurasian Coot
Australian Pied Oystercatcher
Sooty Oystercatcher
Red-capped Plover
Hooded Plover
Masked Lapwing
Eastern Curlew
Caspian Tern
Crested Tern
Pacific Gull
Silver Gull
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
Gang-gang Cockatoo
Galah
Rainbow Lorikeet
Musk Lorikeet
Little Lorikeet
Australian King Parrot
Crimson Rosella
Eastern Rosella
Ground Parrot
Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Powerful Owl
Azure Kingfisher
Laughing Kookaburra
Superb Lyrebird
White-throated Treecreeper
Red-browed Treecreeper
Satin Bowerbird
Superb Fairy-wren
Southern Emu-wren
White-browed Scrubwren
Striated Fieldwren
Brown Gerygone
Striated Thornbill
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Buff-rumped Thornbill
Brown Thornbill
Spotted Pardalote
Eastern Spinebill
Lewin's Honeyeater
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
White-eared Honeyeater
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
Bell Miner
Little Wattlebird
Red Wattlebird
New Holland Honeyeater
Brown-headed Honeyeater
White-naped Honeyeater
Eastern Whipbird
Varied Sittella
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
White-winged Triller
Golden Whistler
Rufous Whistler
Grey Shrike-thrush
Dusky Woodswallow
Grey Butcherbird
Australian Magpie
Pied Currawong
Grey Currawong
Rufous Fantail
Grey Fantail
Willie Wagtail
Australian Raven
Little Raven
Restless Flycatcher
Magpie Lark
White-winged Chough
Jacky Winter
Scarlet Robin
Rose Robin
Eastern Yellow Robin
Silvereye
Welcome Swallow
Tree Martin
Common Blackbird
Common Starling
Mistletoebird
Red-browed Finch
Beautiful Firetail
House Sparrow
Australasian Pipit
Total species recorded 124
Total number of birds 2077