The Australian Bustard is an unusual visitor to our part of the world in north east Victoria. The Bustard is usually found on the dry open sand plains and spinifex grasslands of outback Australia. We saw a few on a road trip to The Kimberley (NW Australia) in 2013, they are relatively common in northern Australia. The males can be up to 1metre in height and weigh anything up to 7kg. They are powerful in flight and young birds especially males can roam great distances, like this one. The Eurasian Bustard is well known in the northern hemisphere but under threat like many bird species.
A good friend of ours spotted this bird near the Benalla aerodrome in July 2025. She nicknamed him ‘Bernard’ as the first person to report it on eBird. There was an earlier report of a Bustard briefly seen at night crossing a road about 40 kilometers west of Benalla, we suspect the same bird. ‘Bernard’ wandered around for quite a number of weeks in the paddocks close to the Hume Freeway and the airport, not at all concerned by the road noise or the numerous photographers. He was quite a celebrity on eBird as the news got out. We saw this bird on several occasions at this site. The ground cover of rushes and tall weeds in the paddocks seemed to provide good habitat for him. Birders travelled long distances to experience this rare visitor, he obliged by staying put. ‘Bernard’ eventually disappeared, we hope he made it back to the outback to join his mates, quite a journey.
A lucky encounter for 2025, thank you ‘Bernard’.
Walking Glenrowan and Beyond 
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