Some Birds in South West Victoria

This is a continuation of our coastal trip in early December 2025. We ventured from Warrnambool towards Port Fairy for lunch. On the way we stopped off at Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve for a short break. Tower Hill is the remains of an extinct volcano, now a lake filled crater. If you want to know more about the western Victoria volcanic region look Here

We were last here many years ago. The site management today by Parks Victoria seems to have drifted away from weed control programs as there were weeds everywhere including noticeable infestations of Hemlock, that is disappointing.

The birds on the cliffs in the next two images are made of tuff and volcanic ash. The Long-billed Corellas with the distinctive curved sharp beak, excellent for digging bulbs are very common across the region. The have expanded their range in recent years as cereal cropping becomes more widespread, sometimes they a real nuisance to farmers. They like to roost in the hollows of the cliff face. The hollows are popular with lots of different species.

Grey Teal were loafing on the shore of one of the lakes.

This Masked Lapwing was not in breeding mode as it was quite peaceful. Usually the are quite aggressive.

Chesnut Teal are common throughout eastern Australia, this one was happy with all its mates at Tower Hill.

Here are Grey Teal along with Eurasian Coot and Australian Swan all of these species are in abundance at Tower Hill Reserve.

The Emu and the Koala are popular with visitors at Tower Hill Reserve.

This Pied Stilt or White-headed Stilt was happy amongst the coastal Samphire on the salt marshes at Port Fairy.

I suspect this is a Black-faced Cormorant they like high-energy coastal environments. My photo is a bit blurry along with all its mates in the next image. They have a zig-zag pattern below the eye which is not seen in Little and Pied Cormorants. I have seen large groups of Black-faced Cormorants in southern Tasmania.

Black-faced Cormorants. at Middle Island, Warrnambool