It’s mid-May and flames are at their peak, Flame Robins that is.
The first birds arrived over a month ago and I’ve been seeing small numbers on most visits to the Muckleford bush since then. While this handsome robin is often seen in open areas of grassland and also across the plains, the first arrivals appear to concentrate in the forest, before expanding their local range as winter sets in.
The images below are of a small flock of about half-a-dozen birds, all adult males, moving north along Mia Mia Creek. It was special to be able to recline in my chair and watch on as the birds approached, and then pass me by.
Flame Robin (adult male), Mia Mia Track, 6th May 2024
The northern hemisphere migrants have mostly left and the only potential visitor with any sort of reliability is the Double-banded Plover, a species that may be seen in low numbers on Cairn Curran in some years.
One of the few resident waders is the Black-fronted Dotterel, a species that ranges across a broad range of habitats from large water bodies to small wetlands and even open bushland and farming areas, so long a there is some water nearby.
The birds pictured below, part of a quartet, were disturbed initially by the unwelcome appearance of a low-flying Whistling Kite, followed by a Brown Goshawk. Some opportunities to capture some brief flight shots in the golden late-afternoon sunshine resulted.
Black-fronted Dotterel, Picnic Point (Cairn Curran), 7th May 2024
Today’s post features a relatively common local species, the White-fronted Chat.
There are five species of Australian chats, with recent research demonstrating an evolutionary relationship with the honeyeaters. The White-fronted Chat is the only chat we are likely to observe locally, although another species, the Crimson Chat, sometimes appears as a vagrant after bumper breeding seasons inland, their usual haunt.
Writing this note I was reflecting on what appears to have been something of a decline in numbers of the White-fronted Chat over the past decade. It is a bird of the plains country where it can be found around the margins of wetlands (especially lignum wetlands) and in areas of rough grassland, both native and exotic. It will often feed in open areas, including crops and pasture but for breeding requires small shrubs or tussocks, so tends to favour areas with these features for much of the year.
The images below are of a small flock at Picnic Point (Cairn Curran Reservoir). The birds were feeding along the shoreline on insects, possibly brine flies (Fam: Ephydridae), that were congregating in large numbers on algae and associated detritus. You can see the flies in a number of images below, particularly image VI.
The sexes are quite different and while the first image is clearly an adult male, the subsequent images, apart from the last, appear to be scruffy immature males. The last image is an adult female, enjoying the dying rays of sunshine on some gibber-like terrain. This is the type of habitat where on a grander scale you might encounter the Gibberbird Ashbyia lovensis, an unusual endemic Australian chat that is restricted to the arid interior.
White-fronted Chat (male), Picnic Point, 5th May 2024
At this time of year our local hawk-owls are entering their breeding period and this is when you are more likely to hear them calling.
Recently I’ve had numerous local reports of calling Barking Owls and Powerful Owls – last night I heard both species calling in town, along with our smallest local hawk-owl, the Southern Boobook.
The sequence below, taken mid-afternoon yesterday, features a Powerful Owl roosting on an exposed limb of a veteran River Red Gum. This is somewhat unusual as owls are often pestered by small birds when in the open, which is one reason they often select a spot inside the canopy of a dark-foliaged tree such as a Blackwood to spend the daylight hours.
The last two profile images clearly illustrate why the owls belonging to the genus Ninox are known as hawk-owls.
Yesterday I spent some ‘quality time’ with a pair of one of my favourite woodland birds – the Chestnut-rumped Heathwren.
While they remain reasonably common in suitable habitat throughout the Muckleford bush they are shy and difficult to photograph. Most views are had as they run ‘mouse-like’ through the understorey. I’ve had success by sitting quietly, sometimes for more than an hour and waiting for better views as they become accustomed to my presence.
The following series of images are of a male Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, showing some of its distinctive features and behaviour. The females are less strongly marked with buff tones on the ‘eye-brow’ and underneath. The males tend to be more curious and willing to venture into the open.
I have a theory, completely unproven, that this species breeds quite early in the season, as in my experience they are quite vocal in the early winter as they establish their territories. Their territories shift subtly from year to year but always feature good quality understorey, often dominated by heath as well as fallen wood.
From late spring through summer they can be hard to find, although they do occasionally venture to water to quench their thirst.
Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Muckleford State Forest, 3rd May 2024
Rufous uppertail-coverts
Distinct streaking on the throat and breast, and white supercilium
Orange-brown iris
Typical view of this furtive species
They are mainly ground foragers but will also chase insects low in shrubs
About to scuttle off into the undergrowth – the rufous uppertail-coverts on show
Regular observations of Fan-tailed Cuckoos in late autumn are apparently the ‘new normal’. The bird pictured below descended to the ground in front of me to pounce on a hairy caterpillar as I was watching a small flock of Varied Sittellas.
A brief examination of observation data suggests that this species is becoming more common in central Victoria during the cooler months. Typically regarded as a partial migrant, its arrival in late winter is quite apparent as it heralds its arrival with distinctive far-carrying trills, generally more obvious in the early hours or around dusk.
I have no idea as to whether these ‘autumn fan-tails’ have arrived from further south (they do travel as far as southern Tasmania), or simply part of a small resident breeding population.
Comments, suggestions or theories are invited …
Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Muckleford State Forest (north of Pullans Road), 30th April 2024
So many of our local native species including owls, microbats, Brush-tailed Phascogales, rosellas, treecreepers and gliders depend on tree hollows for nesting and sleeping. As trees in our neck of the woods grow so slowly, it can be many decades before a tree is old enough to have suitable hollows and our wildlife really struggle. Nest boxes are one measure we can take to help our beautiful and unique fauna.
The Newstead Landcare Group was fortunate to receive a Victorian Landcare Grant to purchase and install nest boxes for wildlife on public land around Newstead. We bought the boxes from local ecologist and nest box aficionado Miles Geldard of Wildlife Nest Boxes and were delighted to have a special event to put most of the boxes up in the Rotunda Park on April 7th. About 25 people turned up to hear Miles talk about the design, construction and placement of nest boxes. He’s a fascinating presenter and has many insights into how we can help wildlife get the most out of the boxes – for example putting the entrance on the side of the box makes it more likely that small mammals like phascogales will use the box and how charring the inside of the lid stops feral bees taking the boxes over. After he introduced us to the subtleties, we then helped Miles install most of the boxes in the park. A few large boxes for Barking Owls will be installed in a secret location. Our group will be checking all the boxes regularly to see who’s using them and for maintenance.
While nest boxes are a great help, they are not nearly as good for wildlife as natural hollows in either living or dead trees, standing or on the ground. Natural hollows provide much better insulation for both heat and cold. So the very best way we can help is to leave dead trees and wood on the ground so that hollows can form and our wildlife survive.
Miles Geldard describing the wonderful array of nest boxes, Rotunda Park Newstead, 7th April 2024
Common Brushtail Possum box
Microbat box
Common Brushtail Possum box in veteran Grey Box
Miles explaining the rationale for box selection and placement
Site, height and orientation are all considerations in successful next box placement
It’s a nice time of year with a changing of the seasons and with it a changing of the ‘guard’.
Flame Robins, Pied Currawongs, Eastern Spinebills have been arriving in good numbers since early April. Interestingly I’ve heard Fan-tailed Cuckoos several times, as well as Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters – calling not long after dawn around the house. The only previous time I’ve recorded this honeyeater locally was in July 2022.
The following images, all familiar faces, are from the Rise and Shine, taken a couple of weeks back.
White-plumed Honeyeater, Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve, 15th April 2024
Dusky Woodswallow
Brown Treecreeper
Grey Currawong
Also noted on this visit: Painted Button-quail, Willy Wagtail, Eastern Yellow Robin, White-naped Honeyeater, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Fuscous Honeyeater, Red-rumped Parrot, Eastern Rosella.
As the heat of summer fades and flowering finishes, the number of insects and other invertebrates to be found on the shrubs and grasses declines. There are, however, still quite a few things to find around the place.
I was quite puzzled to find a curious-looking winged insect on the side of our house at Strangways. Unlike most insects, its wings stood quite high above its body even at rest and it had 2 long antenna-like tails. I’d not seen one of these before – uploading my shot to iNaturalist revealed it to be a Mayfly. The AI identifier on iNaturalist seems to get better all the time and observations get uploaded to the Atlas of Living Australia to help map our flora and fauna.
A Mayfly on the side of our house. When I tried to encourage it onto a more photogenic perch it flew off.
According to Wikipedia, Mayflies’ wings and long tails are features of the earliest flying insects. Their juvenile stages live in clear, well-oxygenated water, which may explain why we never see them at our place which is on a ridge with a not very clear dam.
There seem to be very few beetles (except in the leaf litter) at present. I found one tiny specimen on a dried and shrunken Golden Wattle flower bud. Given that the bud was about 3mm long, it’s not hard to see how small this little cutie is.
A very small beetle.
While the middle and ground storeys of the woodland are a bit light on for invertebrates at present, there’s plenty to be found under rocks, fallen timber and throughout the leaf litter. Under a rock on our back yard I was pleased to meet some very beautiful Golden-tailed Bull Ants (Myrmecia piliventris)
Golden-tailed Bull Ant
These magnificent ladies are toothless Bull Ants. To me at first glance that seems a little odd given those mighty mandibles, but if you look closely you can see that the inner edge of their pincers are smooth – devoid of the teeth that other species have (compare to the Black-headed Bull Ant below, photographed a while back)
For comparison, the Black-headed Bull Ant has serrations or teeth on the insides of her mandibles.This Golden-tailed Bull Ant shows the reason for her apt name.Another angle on this impressive animal. The large eyes of Bull Ants give them very good vision.
Grass flower stems are often a good place to find insects and spiders. On one, I found Green Lacewing. This one very generously let me get some really up-close shots without flying off.
Green Lacewing on an old Wallaby Grass flower stemUp close!
There are always plenty of spiders to find, most are very small or miniscule. At the other end of the size spectrum are the Huntsman spiders. I got a few shots of a Beautiful Badge Huntsman on a Golden Wattle. The view of the mouth parts from below can be quite spectacular.
The front view is also pretty imposing, but it wasn’t until I saw the photos on my computer that I could see the red mites this one was infested with, one on a leg and the other very close to those menacing looking mouth parts.
Beautiful Badge Huntsman with mites.
I quite often find much smaller Huntsman spiders on our wattles. I’m never sure if they are just young ones or if they are different species. I’d quite appreciate any illumination here from someone who knows their arachnids!
A much smaller Huntsman on a small Golden Wattle leafAnother view.
So many times, invertebrates leave interesting traces when they themselves can’t be found. I often notice intriguing marks in Golden Wattle leaves, but have no idea who is making them. Again, any information on this one would be greatly appreciated!
Stubble burning is a vexed subject, even in the farming community.
While numerous studies indicate that the economic benefits of stubble burning are short-lived and outweighed by longer-term financial and ecological costs, it continues across large areas of cropping country, albeit at lower levels than much of last century. While retention of stubble has increased in recent decades it is by no means the norm and autumn burning has seemingly become more popular during the recent run of wetter than average seasons.
It is not my intention here to delve further into what is a complex story …
Stubble fires are a magnet for raptors – the first whisps of smoke will attract a a variety of species, often in large numbers.
My observations on the Moolort Plains over many years suggest that four species are especially associated with stubble burns – Black Kite, Whistling Kite, Brown Falcon and the Black Falcon, the latter a threatened species in Victoria. While the kites and Brown Falcon profit from the many large insects (grasshoppers, crickets etc.) that are dislocated by the burn, Black Falcons are mainly focused on small to medium sized grassland birds such as pipits, quail and larks.
The burn shown in this sequence of images was dominated by Black Kites with smaller numbers of the other three raptors mentioned above. There were two Black Falcons, possibly three – not an insignificant number for such a rare (and beautiful) raptor.
The behaviour of the birds before, during and after a stubble burn are certainly interesting. Black Kites will happily fly close to and through the fire front, landing briefly to take insects on smoldering ground. The Whistling Kites tend to float above the fire, descending when conditions are calmer. Black Falcons likewise can be seen soaring, often dropping to a lower level when actively hunting. On a number of occasions during this burn I observed Black Falcons making fast, low level passes in pursuit of prey, one cameo involved two individuals with a second apparently chasing the other which had successfully snared a luckless bird.
Moolort Plains stubble burn with Black Kites, Picnic Point, 12th April 2024
Natural Newstead 