The Musk Duck - March 2021
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The Musk Duck
Volume 5 Number 17 March 2021
CONTENTS
Pg2- Convenor’s Report
Camping at Clarkesdale
Pg3- Gong Gong meeting
Pg4- Bird Count 2020
Pg5- World Wetlands Day
Pg6- Feb. midweek outing
Pg7- Lal Lal Outing
Pg8- Snipe Count
Pg9- Bogey birds
Pgs 9&10
Clarkesdale Report
Pg 11 Local sightings
Many thanks for your
contributions and photos.
Keep them coming, send
contributions to-
jennygarley@hotmail.com
Editor- Jenny Garley
Juv. Pallid Cuckoo being fed by foster-parents – Clarkesdale Photos- Jenny Sedgwick
Meetings & Reports
Birdlife Ballarat Branch convenor 2021 AGM report
2020 started off as usual with members attending outings and meetings in February and March including
our 2020 AGM. We even managed our autumn camp to Port Fairy, however what was usual and familiar
then changed for all of us. When the restrictions were lifted the important bird surveys at Clarkesdale
were performed, and both midweek and end of month outings although with restricted numbers, went
ahead. Despite the effects to our planned syllabus, our Branch managed to keep its members connected
via the publication of Musk Duck. Thanks to Jenny Garley, Ian Ashton and members who contributed, it
included topics on members favourite places, and individual outings along with many great photos.
On another positive, we were successful in obtaining Ballarat council community grant funding to print
2000 Common Birds of the Ballarat Region flyers. We have distributed some of these to our tourism
centres and during the Bird Identification tours in conjunction with the Golden City Paddlesteamer on Lake
Wendouree.
Once Federation University has their students back in class, we expect to be able to return to our
monthly meeting nights. Until then, I encourage members to join the outings and Clarkesdale surveys
that contribute to understanding the wonders of birds. I thank all committee and general members for
their contributions to the branch during a challenging year.
Have your bino’s focused on birds and your efforts to support habitat conservation.
Louise Humble
Camping at Clarkesdale over the New Year Jenny Sedgwick
Several Ballarat birders saw off 2020, and the New Year in, camping at Clarkesdale. The weather having
been so wet and mild, the bush was fresh and the birdlife pumping, with much breeding and nesting
activity evident.
This Pallid Cuckoo chick was rather obvious, raucously begging.
He had first been heard some weeks previously. At that stage
we had witnessed a pair of Yellow Robins feeding it high in a
eucalypt.
By the time these photos were taken, the buzz about camp
was that 3 species had been observed in succession trying to
quieten him down. We saw the White-naped Honeyeaters feed
it several times, following or followed by Yellow Robins. How
tiny the morsels looked against the giant hungry beak!
At one point one of the Robins was just looking a bit cross,
back turned with the chick carping in its ear.
A Grey Fantail had also been observed by other campers,
though we didn’t see it. Research appears to show that
Pallid Cuckoos are very generalist when it comes to hosts
but more often than not, it is honeyeaters used. An
experienced birder suggested that the White-naped
Honeyeater was probably the original host.
Fledglings may be fed by their hosts for up to 6
weeks. Feeding by “unrelated species” appears to be
very common for this cuckoo (perhaps because of the
large size differential between the cuckoo and many
of its hosts)- fledglings raised by very small hosts
may be hungrier and beg more frequently from
passing birds.
2
Meetings and Reports
‘Pallid chick constantly
whinging and whining,
White-napes and Yellow
Robins provide on-site
dining.
Sitellas and Shrike-tits are
foraging here,
While Kooka looks back
on the past mad year.’
Photos- Jenny Sedgwick
The richness of species around over those few days is illustrated by the attached eBird survey.
Bird Paddock Clarkesdale survey Jan 3, 2021
20 min. 9.05 am 17 species
New Holland Honeyeater, Eastern Yellow Robin, Yellow-faced Honeyeater,
Grey Fantail, White-naped Honeyeater, Superb Fairy-wren, White-throated Treecreeper, Striated
Pardalote, Varied Sittella, Australian Magpie, Grey Shrike-thrush, Crimson Rosella, Sulphur-crested
Cockatoo, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Spotted Pardalote.
Evening Picnic Meeting FEB. 9 at Gong Gong Reservoir
After nearly a year we were able to have an outside gathering of more than 10 to welcome in the new
Year. On the 9th February our usual meeting night, 15 members and 1 visitor met at the Gong Gong
reservoir for an evening picnic, much chatter and a
brief walk. Grey Fantail, Yellow-faced Honeyeater,
Superb Fairywren along with an echidna.
Louise
Ballarat Birdlife members relaxing at the 'Gong'
– Photo Amanda Ashton
March 2021 page 3
Meetings & Reports
The Ballarat Bird Count 2020 Year Number Number Number
of of of birds
teams species
As the Birdlife Challenge Count was cancelled due to the
1985 1 145 Not
pandemic, it was great that we as friends could come together
recorded
and still count the birds of the Ballarat district.
The count was quite challenging, in part because of the 1995 1 127 5666
weather on the day. 1996 1 133 5891
1997 1 127 3033
It has been a strange and interesting year not only for us 1998 1 119 2569
humans but many spring/summer visiting bird species are 1999 1 132 2558
either in low numbers or missing completely. 2000 1 141 4442
2001 1 136 3067
There is hardly a Black-shouldered Kite, Triller or Rufous 2002 1 135 3020
Songlark in the district. Nobody recorded an Egret.
2003 1 143 4711
We had just four teams survey the district and there were gaps
2004 1 131 4129
in the coverage. But we still managed a few surprises.
Silver Gull was added to the Enfield district list and a Spotless 2005 1 119 2646
Crake the only crake recorded. 2006 1 128 2671
2007 1 137 4577
Three Avocets at the end of the rowing course near Convent 2008 4 153 5251
Corner were a surprise, as were Royal Spoonbills at Learmonth 2009 5 154 4849
and at the top of the ‘LBJ’ (Lord Clyde Rd Nr Clunes). 2010 5 145 3775
Latham’s Snipe were flying around at Learmonth. 2011 5 154 4569
Varied Sittellas were only recorded in the Creswick forest. 2012 4 164 22677
2013 6 156 5312
Results 2020 2014 6 160 12534
There were 135 species recorded and 4741 individual birds 2015 6 155 8523
counted.
2016 6 142 5082
The 2020 teams 2017 6 155 6718
Ambika’s Enfield team. Ambika Bone, Indra Bone and Bernd 2018 5 145 9742
Golombiewski. 2019 4 150 12780
Recorded 1557 birds of 94 species 2020 4 135 4741
John’s Lake Wendouree Team. John Gregurke, Louise Humble, Annette Ferguson and Jenny Garley.
Recorded 1467 birds of 42 species
Roger’s Senior moments in abundance team. Roger Thomas, Helen O’Donnell, Murray Grant and Ian
Ashton.
With a combined age of 290 years!
Recorded 1190 birds of 111 species
Roy’s Creswick team. Roy Chester, Amanda Ashton and Neil Capey
Recorded 525 birds of 60 species
A big thank you from Roger and Ian to all for taking part in the Ballarat Bird Count.
4
Meetings and Reports
World Wetlands Day in 2021 celebrates the
50th year of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. To
assist in raising awareness on the important role
wetlands play, our Birdlife Ballarat branch once again
joined with the Golden City Paddlesteamer to conduct
bird ID tours on Lake Wendouree on the afternoon of
7th February.
Promotion for the event included an article and
photos of Roger Thomas and myself in The Courier
and a 6:30 AM radio interview by the Local ABC.
The Sunday afternoon of the tours remained mainly
overcast, however that did not stop 47 community
members enjoying the birdlife on the Lake from the
vantage point of the Paddlesteamer. This event also
gave us the opportunity to promote Birdlife Australia
and other local birdwatching sites with the distribution
of our Common Birds of the Ballarat Region flyer.
Thanks to Tim and Wendy Sandiford, Amanda Ashton,
and Roy Chester who along with myself provided the
commentary. Twenty-six species were found, most
being the usual suspects, except for the Australian
Hobby, who remained obligingly perched on a tree on
the island closest to Pipers.
On the 9th March at 6 PM the Birdlife Ballarat branch
has booked the Paddlesteamer for an outing on the
Lake.
Louise Humble
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to outing participant Anna Every for her
photos from the outing.
Australian Hobby - Anna Every
Nankeen Night-Herons - Lake Wendouree - Anna Every
March 2021 page 5
Meetings & Reports Midweek outing Wed. Feb. 10, 2021 Mullawallah Wetlands & Recreation Reserve Wetlands Haddon It was wonderful to get together and do some birding on this lovely summer morning. Starting at Mullawallah where the water level is high and the reed beds and bush are thick and lush after the generous rainfall recently making it hard to see in some places. We recorded 24 species here, Baillon’s Crake always a highlight. No Latham’s Snipe were seen even after some gumboot action along the edge by the author. After morning tea at Haddon Lion’s Club Park, we arrived at Recreation Reserve on Racecourse Rd Haddon. This is a BEN Biodiversity Reserve, a list of the 50 Crown Land reserves they manage can be found on their website. After shuffling cars so as not to disturb an amused local farmer we proceeded to the mullock heap on this site that gives a good vantage point over the wetlands. We saw less birds overall compared to our visit the same time last year, particularly waterbirds, perhaps due to the extra water around this year. Highlights here were Golden-headed Cisticola, large flock of Brown-headed Honeyeaters and a Common Bronzewing. Raptors were missing today, one exception a Swamp Harrier at Mullawallah. 31 species seen for the day compared to 56 last year. Thank you to Helen for keeping our bird list and to all who attended. Jenny G. Preening Blue-billed Duck - Carol Hall 6
Meetings and Reports
Lal Lal Outing
Sunday February 28 2021 began with clear skies. 8 members
met at the Lal Lal hotel car park by 9am.
A short walk to the old water tower and the nearby dam
sighted White-naped Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird and
Australian Wood Ducks, along with and a small flock of
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos.
We then moved on to Lal Lal Falls and took the trail walk.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, White-faced Heron, Yellow-
rumped Thornbill, Welcome Swallows and a surprise finding,
confirmed from photos, a Juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle.
From here we travelled by Harris Road via Mt Egerton to the
small township of Gordon. The small playground park and
walking trail opposite that leads to the cemetery revealed a
number of small birds. Spotted Pardalotes, New Holland
Honeyeater, Red-browed Finches, many Grey Fantail, Superb
Fairywren, Brown Thornbill, two birds of prey a Collared
Sparrowhawk and a Wedge-tailed Eagle.
We then travelled
towards Ballan to the
Bostock Reservoir.
A single Great
Cormorant the only bird
on the water. Juv. White-bellied Sea Eagle - Doug Wilson
White-throated
Treecreeper and a Varied Sittella entertained us on trees nearby
during lunch.
On to Hunts Bridge, by now the day had warmed up and most of the
campers had moved on.
Yellow-faced, White-eared and White-plumed Honeyeaters along
with Laughing Kookaburra and Australian Magpie. Through the back
roads of Mt Doran heading to Lal Lal the farm dams revealed Grey
Teal, Australian White Ibis, Masked Lapwings and a single Black-
fronted Dotterel.
In total 42 species were sighted. Thanks to Amanda for recording
the bird list.
Louise
Humble.
White-faced Heron - Mario Gross
Laughing Kookaburra - Ian Ashton
March 2021 page 7
Meetings & Reports
Lake Learmonth and the Snipe count
On the 23rd of January 2021 there were surveys across Victoria recording Latham’s Snipe numbers.
Latham’s Snipe are listed as Vulnerable in Victoria. The surveys are coordinated by Birgita Hansen who is
based at Fed Uni here in Ballarat.
John Gregurke, Amanda and myself volunteered
to help Jeff Crawley who has been doing the
Snipe counts at Lake Learmonth by himself in
recent years.
We had high hopes of seeing many Snipe as Jeff
Crawley had recorded 90 Snipe during the
November count. During the December Bird
Count, Roger’s team recorded 30 Snipe in a very
short time from the shoreline. Reports from other
birders including Murray Grant and Helen
O’Donnell had seen 100 + from the shoreline.
What was most interesting about this sighting
was that they were flying around in groups of up
to 60 birds without being flushed. Ed Dunens also
recorded approx. 90 Snipe on one visit.
Latham’s Snipe Robe SA Ian Ashton
When we arrived at Learmonth it was cool and misty but that soon burnt off as the morning heated up.
We estimated that we walked approximately 2km during the survey through sometimes, tall, dense and
wet vegetation.
Counting becomes a challenge when snipe fly and land ahead of you making it difficult to know how many
“new” birds are being flushed. We recorded 31 Latham’s Snipe.
There are of course other birds including Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Pied Stilts and Red-necked Avocets.
The photo left shows two Cape Barren Geese. They are believed to be escapees from a local collection
near Clunes.
If you wish to be involved in future Latham’s Snipe Counts contact
Birgita Hansen at b.hansen@federation.edu.au
Ian Ashton
Cape Barren Geese on a misty morning at Lake Learmonth Ian Ashton
8
Meetings and Reports Bogey Bird Report Imagine you have a bogey bird. A species that you have been out and about looking for for several years but always dipped on. Often you will see a bird whizz past you, or you will flush one as you explore promising locations, and you will think to yourself "Was that it? I don't know, probably not. Perhaps it was, but I can't take a tick until I see it through my binoculars." Or you see a promising bird and get your binoculars on it and it's a similar species, but not the one. Disappointed many times. Brush Bronzewing - Neil Capey Now imagine you have been working from home for the last 10 months, sitting at the same desk, looking out of the same window, and you just happen to look up from your laptop and there it is, your bogey bird, just casually waddling across the lawn. In shock, you quickly grab your binoculars (because you always keep them close to hand) but it has disappeared into a thick shrub. You can just see enough of it to make out an identifying feature, so you're sure what it is, but you're willing it to come out into the open again so you can get a better view (and a photo). And then it appears! Presenting, at last, the Brush Bronzewing. (see attached) Happy New Year everyone, and may you all get to see your bogey birds. – Neil Capey Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary Report, Dec. 2020-Feb. 2021 Over the last few months, I have been privileged to gain access to many historical documents relating to Clarkesdale, including plans, bird records, maps, reports, correspondence and photos. These included the wonderful 99-year old, hand-written bird observations of a 15-year old Gordon Clarke in the Linton and Piggoreet area and the 41-year old records of Michael Caine in the Sanctuary. Such records are an invaluable snapshot in time. Ninety-nine years later, I am delighted to note that the majority of visitors are still keeping records of their observations, and even better, kindly sharing them with me so that they can be used to inform and monitor habitat management activities at the Sanctuary. The burgeoning interest in Clarkesdale as a place to study birds and their habitat, and the willingness of volunteers and other Sanctuary visitors to undertake monitoring and record-keeping and share their records with me has meant that I have had many fauna and flora records to collate recently. They clearly show that the Sanctuary continues to be a stronghold for woodland birds, providing high quality, extensive and diverse habitat that we’re continually learning more about and working to improve all the time. Members from four different branches of BirdLife Australia camped in small groups over Summer, each helping me with bird surveys. Field naturalists from the Ballarat, Warrnambool, Castlemaine, Bendigo and Victorian Clubs also stayed at Clarkesdale over January, with most uploading the flora and fauna they recorded during their visits to Birdata, Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, eBird and/or iNaturalist, literally putting their records “on the map”. March 2021 page 9
Meetings & Reports
Notable records at the Sanctuary over this period included an Owlet Nightjar, Brown-headed Honeyeaters,
Mistletoebirds, Crested Shrike-tits, a Peregrine Falcon circling overhead, two species of microbats, over 50
species of moths, many pairs of Sacred Kingfishers, Painted Honeyeaters, Satin Flycatchers, Bibron’s
Toadlets, Long-necked Tortoises and a report of “more Blue-winged Parrots than I could count, enjoying
the bonanza of seeding grasses”. Also garnering great interest, an immature Pallid Cuckoo was variously
supplied with delicacies by White-naped Honeyeaters, Grey Fantails and Eastern Yellow Robins near the
new bird hide.
I was surprised to find that 35 species of birds recorded nesting or with young in Clarkesdale this spring-
summer were not recorded as breeding even irregularly at the Sanctuary according to the 1999
Management Plan. It was encouraging to note that at least 14 of the 32 birds and seven of the 25 other
vertebrate fauna presumed locally extinct in the same Plan have been recorded in the Sanctuary over the
last two years, along with two additional bird species: Grey Goshawk and Spotless Crake, and six frogs.
Eighty-eight species of indigenous plants have also been added to the respective lists published in the
1999 plan, bringing the total number of indigenous plant species recorded to 339, a remarkable figure
that captures the significant floral diversity in the Sanctuary underpinning Clarkesdale’s value as bird
habitat along with its wetlands, woody debris, hollows, leaf litter, fungi, invertebrates, 325 native planted
species and varying vegetation strata.
In unseasonally mild conditions, BirdLife Ballarat members undertook their quarterly bird surveys across
five 2ha sites in February, with the morning’s highlight coming after the surveys when Ron, Peter and Ian
flushed two Latham’s Snipe from the centre of Gordon’s Lagoon as they retrieved the fauna survey
camera. Along with the successful nesting of many waterbirds this spring-summer, this is seen as a
positive indicator that we are getting the balance of water levels right with the renewed siphon pipe
system, providing suitable habitat for various types of waterbirds.
Twenty members of the Field Naturalists’ Club of Ballarat came to Clarkesdale in February to study some
of the Sanctuary’s 30 species of grasses with grass identification expert Ian Clarke, author of “Name those
Grasses” (2020), and despite the paucity of recent records at Clarkesdale, BirdLife Australia’s Chris
Timewell assessed the key habitat attributes of various sites across the Sanctuary, identifying several
spots suitable for inclusion as fixed monitoring points for bi-annual surveys of critically-endangered Swift
Parrots. Sites deemed suitable were characterised by mature stands of rich, nectar-producing Eucalypts
such as Ironbarks, Yellow Box, Candlebarks and Scentbark, abundant hollows, coarse woody debris and
mistletoe.
All being well, here are a couple of dates for your diary: Friends of Clarkesdale Working Bee, Saturday
April 3, 10am-12.30pm; the next BirdLife Ballarat surveys at Clarkesdale: Tuesday May 4 th, 2021 from
8.45am at the Clare Miller Environment Centre (for 9am start) until 12.30pm at the latest. Visitors are
welcome to join in (Covid-19 restrictions permitting). If you have any questions, feel free to contact me
via email: emily.noble@birdlife.org.au
Emily Noble
Coordinator, Clarkesdale Sanctuary
Nesting White Morph Grey Goshawk Clarkesdale 2020
Jenny Garley
Eurasian Coot family Gordon's Lagoon Clarkesdale - Annette Ferguson
10Meetings and Reports
LOCAL SIGHTINGS
Satin Flycatchers breeding at Ditchfield Lane
– Mario Gross
White Morph Grey Goshawk Ditchfield Lane -
Mario Gross
Lone White-winged Chough - North Gardens Wetlands - Wendy Sandiford Juv. Shining Bronze Cuckoo - Lake Wendouree -
Mario Gross
March 2021 page 11You can also read
