Melbourne

Melbourne Museum: Bugs Alive Highlights

Jade Craven · September 20, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I recently went to the Bugs Alive exhibit at Melbourne Museum and it was awesome! I love bugs. It’s overwhelming and there are far too many of them, but I love them. And this section has many of the bug species that I love.

It’s so cool that the museum has a strong focus on live animals. I’m planning to attend again to see what I can learn. I didn’t keep accurate notes about the species observed – part of the perils of adventuring with family. I do know that I want to see the blistered pyrgomorph in the wild. Highly recommend this exhibit to anyone who loves insects or nature photography.

Blistered Pyrgomorph

Giant grasshopper

Other:

Stick Insects

WirraWilla Walk at Toolangi

Jade Craven · March 17, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I have done a lot of walks. Many of those tales have been lost somewhere in the blogosphere but this walk stands out as one of my favourites. I should admit my bias, though.

The Wirrawilla walk is one of the easiest places to see pink robins in spring/summer. Each season, birders descend on here to catch glimpses of these guys and other birds that have migrated here to breed. It is phenomenal – and so accessible.

I love both the Otways and the Dandenongs but have found a lot of those walks to be really overcrowded. Dozens of tourists are at Maits Rest at any given time and are rushing the experience, as many are attempting to do the Great Ocean Road in one day. This little patch hasn’t caught on just yet so, for the most part, it feels like you are by yourself.

The walk is about 2km and can be done very quickly. I couldn’t walk it quickly. I’ve visited here twice for birdwatching and it isn’t a place you can just do quickly. My friends had finished exploring and were eating lunch in the carpark. I ran back to explore it a bit more because it truly needs to be savoured.

Look at the above spider. Yes, many places in the Otways do have similar critters. I think here, the light unfolds a bit differently which makes for a more magical experience.

Cool stuff

Fungi:

There was a sign saying that you get different types of fungi here, which definitely piqued my interest. While the ferns and trees were amazing, I didn’t have much luck with the fungi. I’ll have to return at different times of the year.

Moss

Dawsonia superbia, The tallest moss in the world. The moss is about 8 cm tall and looks like a miniature pine tree. I didn’t think moss could be cool until I returned the second time with my macro lens. It can grow up to 50cm tall in the right conditions and has cute flowers. (This site gets a bit nerdy about it for those interested.)

The trees:

According to the above sign, there are three types of trees that make up the canopy. These are Myrtle Beech, Blackwood and Sassafras. Now, Sassafras is something we don’t normally see in the Otways. Both areas are considered to be cool, temperate rainforests – my favourite kind of rainforest. Probably explains why I feel at home in both places and it Queensland

The walk:

The track itself is quite smooth – a mixture of boardwalks and well maintained paths. There are no steep areas, which makes it friendly for those with health problems. It passes over a couple of small creeks which can lead to beautiful photography if the lighting is right.

This information board explained the entire journey the water takes from here to get to the sea. The water from here seeps into Sylvia Creek, which then joins the Yea River. The cycle continues through the Goulbern and then Murray river, until it eventually ends up meeting the ocean at the Murray River mouth. So, technically, I’ve seen where this water ends up.

I think that’s pretty cool 🙂 I am also easily amused.

Tips:

This information board gives a good overview of the area. I highly recommend reading all of the information boards and looking out for the fauna they describe. It’s also worth sitting in the same area for a while and being patient, as there are lots of hidden creatures here.

There is a public toilet here but be warned, it’s a stinker. There is more then ample car parking.

Photographing Birds at Melbourne Zoo

Jade Craven · August 28, 2015 · Leave a Comment

In late June, Sethy and I made a visit to Melbourne Zoo. It was mostly his day and focused around the stuff that interested him. I did get to spend a bit of time in the great flight aviary though and was surprised at the amount of birds you get there.

I know that these guys don’t count on my life list. I know that in photography circles, this is cheating. I don’t care. This is an awesome way to practice photographing birds in different conditions. They are more used to humans and allow you to get closer to ones in the wild. I didn’t get to spend as long here as I would like – the perils of being with a kid – but we have a zoo membership. We can always go back.

I need to get more photos of my new best friend. I love red tails. I’m desperate to see more species, and various subspecies, of them in the wild. It’s going to take a lot of work though and more money then I have.

A friend on the bird photography site posts so many of these from Byron Bay. I’m keen to see them in the wild, but would love to spend a long time photographing them. Similar to brolgas.

Top town view of one of my favourite ducks. It was so brilliant to be able to get close up views. I’ve gotten photos of these guys, plus musk and freckled in the wild lots of times. I really enjoy being able to capture the nuances and subtleties in close proximity.

Look at the colour variations on its back. I’ve never noticed it before.

Close up view of a Glossy Ibis. I want to return to get closer views as I think I’ve only seen these guys from a distance once.

Heron of some description. I totally need to do more research.

Royal Spoonbill. Haven’t seen spoonbills nearly enough lately, will be making that a priority over the summer.

Outside the aviary

Obviously, the aviary was a true highlight. Outside of there, however, we were able to add a lifer for Sethy. There was a decent amount of bell miners about and I was able to get good views.

This regent honeyeater was in a cage but Sethy was excited to see something that I had seen.

A nice photo of a kookaburra.

We were lucky enough to get really close to a juvenile nankeen night heron. Seth loved getting close, he let us get within 50cm of it. Unfortunately other kids saw how friendly he was and then scared it away.

This little guy was hanging out in the pygmy hippo enclosure. Love the illusion.

I probably wont be blogging about further trips to Melbourne zoo, because the animals are kinda generic. Glenn has made multiple trips and gotten some mad photos. It really is a great place to both practice and learn.

I may add various photos as webpages to this site as we are getting a number of good ones.

Finding the Swift Parrots at Macleod Train Station

Jade Craven · June 14, 2015 · Leave a Comment

The swift parrot is a bird that has been on my bucket list for a while. They’ve been known to hang around Ocean Grove and various parts of Melbourne. In the past, I’ve been too scared to try and find them in their favourite locations. Really dislike going to new areas.

A couple of weeks ago, Owen Lishmund reported that a decent number of swifts were at the area near the Macleod train station. So many birders went and visited… and I couldn’t. At that time, my grandfather was extremely ill and I was at home helping out. Sadly, he passed away.

Yesterday was the second proper day off I’d had in a couple of weeks. My first ‘day off’ was on Thursday when Glenn and I saw Jurassic World. (That was non negotiable. I’m a nerd.) I very nearly didn’t go because I was exhausted and had a really bad anxiety day. I was getting really funky symptoms and was doubting my decision to go. I started to get excited once I got on the Eltham line. I was really impressed at how green and leafy the suburbs appeared and mate a mental note to explore some of them later.

And then… I was there!

I didn’t actually find the swift parrots immediately. I added that pictorial pause there for dramatic effect. My notes, based on a previous Facebook comment, said I should look at the trees in front of the town hall. I did… but I wasn’t sure what tree. I could see a lot of rains. There was a musk parrot. I could see birds moving around at the top of the branches but, despite my telephoto lens, I couldn’t get a clear view. They were hanging around in one main tree at a time. They flew to one next to it and then flew across the road.

I followed them across the road. They were a lot easier to see and I started taking photos. My neck was starting to hurt from looking up so often so I thought “stuff it” and laid down on the grass next to the footpath. I used my backpack as a pillow and started clicking away. It worked, and I got some awesome/clear photos. I heard people walking up behind me and felt self conscious. Then I stopped caring, as I was getting such clear views. The voices weren’t moving though. I turned around. There was a group of people with telephoto lenses pointing up towards the tree I was looking at.

It was Bill Twiss!

“Jade! There are swift parrots in the tree above you!”

It was pretty awesome. I’d been there for about half an hour and had been photographing the birds in that time. I’d actually wondered why there wasn’t any other birders there. Apparently he and a mate had been there for a couple of hours, after dipping on the swifts in winchelsea. They had seen some scaly breasted lorikeets nearby but they didn’t show up again.

I also met Dean there, who I had previously met at the regent honeyeater release. It was pretty amusing, but it was also awesome to catch up with a few birding mates. I’ve really missed solo birding.

These are the photos I took yesterday.

I have since learned that this is a magpie nest. One of my friends photographed the magpie while it was in there. Seems unnecessarily messy. I’m going to need to research nests. There was a book I wanted to buy but alas, I’ve spent over $750 on dentist nonsense this past week.

I was able to learn a lot about the birds although, as usual, it raised more questions then it answered.

I could see the ‘lerps’ which had attracted the swifts originally. I have no idea how they discovered them in the first place, this is such an unassuming location. Have they been seen here in the past? Was this discovery only made because Owen happened to walk past at the right time?

People have commented that there was at least 20 swifts. How do so many know to be there at any given time? Do they have a way of communicating, or do they just travel in a pack.

I’m curious as to where they would head after this. Swifties have been noticed in small numbers at Deakin Uni (Waurn Ponds) and Winchelsea. Maybe this population will head to Yellow Gums Estate? None have been observed there so far.

Finally – does their diet extend beyond lerps?

It was fascinating to see and I’m looking forward to learning more about them. I’d love to know if any of our observations can contribute to citizen science projects, or any other research, about the species. I’m hooked now!

Summary of John Youngs Night Parrot Talk in Melbourne

Jade Craven · March 4, 2015 · Leave a Comment

On Sunday Night, I had the pleasure of hearing John Young talk about the Night Parrot. I had debated going but knew I would probably regret it if I let the anxiety win.

Russell Woodford did a fantastic write up at Birding Aus. The formatting is a bit wonky, no paragraphs, but it covers the main points. I also thought that the following was interesting:

John thought that people may have incorrectly identified bourkes parrots as being nights parrots in the past. This means that some of the data may not be accurate.
He thinks that the Qld parrots seem to be isolated to a very small colony. Perhaps the one that *may* have been sighted in the NT was different, somehow?
While he despised feral cats, he was sympathetic towards people who had domesticated cats that are properly controlled. So many birders are anti cats, which can upset me as I’m very much a cat person.

The footage was fascinating. It didn’t seem like a kangaroo, as others have described it. It reminded me of a cockatoo or a lorikeet bouncing. I don’t know if the extended wings is a typical behaviour.

I completely support his reasons for not releasing further information. We can’t risk it – not until we have a better of understanding of what we are dealing with. Youngs approach is slow but it is the one that poses minimal risk to the birds.

It was a compelling evening. Additionally, events like this attract the ‘whos who’ of the local birding community. I can now say I’ve seen James Mustafas awesome beard.

I’m not overly obsessed with finding the bird but I hope that John Young is able to learn more about it. It’s behaviour is so unique.

Oh – and has anyone researched whether it is similar in any way to the ground parrot or kakapo?