Away with the birdos

I had an excellent morning excursion yesterday with the Cumberland Bird Observers' Club. We went to Crosslands Reserve, and during a three hour stroll I counted a very respectable 21 bird species.

I'm not entirely new to bird observing, but I am to the club, and appreciated leader Trevor's introductory talk, on field guides, binocular use, observer etiquette, and lots more.


Trevor has travelled the world pursuing his passion, and he knows his stuff.


We'd hardly started when somebody spotted a white-bellied sea eagle perched in a tree. Out came the binoculars and the 1000mm long lenses. (And out came my $150 Aldi camera too! It did a respectable job as ever.)

Two tawny frogmouths now. No way I'd have noticed them without the trained eyes of the old hands in the group. They look like bits of tree.

Ditto a Lewin's Honeyeater. The regulars had been hearing him and his friends for a while and recognising his call.




My day's 21-species list:
Australian Wood Duck, Noisy Miner, White-bellied Sea Eagle, White-faced Heron, Eastern Spinebill, Crimson Rosella, Australian Raven, Dusky Moorhen, Magpie-Lark, Lewin's Honeyeater, Golden Whistler, Australian Magpie, Grey Butcherbird, Masked Lapwing, Chestnut Teal, Tawny Frogmouth, Superb Lyrebird, Striated Thornbill, Brown Gerygone, Australian Brush-turkey, and Superb Fairy Wren.