My parents own a bushblock about 20 minutes away from Ballarat. It is a place I’ve loved and loathed. I used to hate going there as a kid, preferring the solitude of the family home once all four of my siblings were there. The property could be fun but not when siblings invited all of their irritating friends.
I’m more appreciative of it now, I love the particular type of bush it is. You can get awesome fungi if the winter is cold enough! Last winter, I was craving a trip to the bush. My family were going to the bush block. I asked if I could go with them and do some sneaky birding.
As usual, I struggled to bird because my nephew was there. I swear he knows when I really want to be by myself and chooses that moment to be clingy, ignoring my pleas to be quite. He knows how to be quite but just chooses not to, even when he’s said he wants to go birding.
I walked around and took photos of everything that moved. This is a Buff rumped thornbill.
Random bird nest.
This is an immature grey strike thrush. I’ve recently learned that strike thrushes can have different calls depending on the region. No wonder I got confused at Toolangi!
There was a scarlet robin hanging around a huge tree on the neighbouring property. Next winter, I need to return to Ocean Grove Nature Reserve to check out the robins.
I was walking along the side that borders a neighbours farm when I saw what I thought was a clump of sticks high up in the tree. Initially, I thought it was a nest. Turned out it was a koala! It looks a bit different to other koalas that I’ve seen, like the nose is too big. I ended up getting my family to come and see it. Nice to know that the native animals love our little sanctuary.
White eared honeyeater. Awesome to see something different.
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I really want to return to the Ballarat region, and other parts of central Victoria, to bird. I love seeing the difference in various types of bush and forest. This trip was a bit of a bummer but any birding was incidental.