Author: ockendencreek
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Local Herons.
I stumbled across this beautiful White-necked Heron (Pacific Heron) recently with its breeding plumage on full show. It was beside a small dam as I walked by. It’s sometimes called a Blue Crane in Australia. The White-necked is uncommon around my location as they are more associated with larger wetlands and streamsides. The White-necked Heron…
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Round 3 Norfolk Island a Bird Haven.
The Masked Booby influx was just beginning when we visited (3rd to 10th September 2025). This species is one of the first to arrive, on this occassion we were at Point Howe on the north eastern tip of the island. They just find a grassy patch and plonk down for a nest place. I joined…
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Norfolk Island (Round2)
Norfolk Island Pines were the dominate species when Captain Cook discovered the island in 1774. It wasn’t until Lieutenant Phillip Gidley King arrived under orders from Governor Arthur Phillip with convicts from Port Jackson in March 1788 that a settlement began. The Colony in NSW was on the point of famine and King was sent…
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Norfolk Island–Western Pacific Ocean (Part1)
We recently spent seven (7) magnificent days on this island paradise. It’s a beautiful volcanic remnant with steep cliffs, fertile soils and a slow pace to life and lots of seabirds in the Spring-Summer period. The local population of some 2000 relies mainly on tourism, fishing and farming. The island has a brutal colonial British…
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Testing the Fishing Gear.
Winton Wetlands today the Pelicans were testing out their fishing gear. We saw at least 85 birds near the overflow exit at Stockyard Creek. The water level was very low. Very few other birds except for an Australasian Darter a few Whistling Kites and a Brown Falcon. We were only there for a short time…
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Rosellas a joy to see.
The Crimson and the Eastern Rosella seem to be the dominant form in the Rosella group near home. However lately we are seeing the Yellow form of Crimson a bit more. They are all wonderfully coloured birds a joy to watch. The Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius) is the usual friendly rosella in our garden. Beautiful.…
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Birdwatching near Glenrowan Victoria.
My morning walks close to home often are a welcome surprise. Clear skies and a cool morning add to the wonder of nature with the birds. Sulphur Crested Cockatoo feeding on emerging buds of Ornamental Pear in our backyard. Very inquisitive, noisy and sometimes mischievous. We usually see them in large flocks, sometimes hundreds. Another…
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Exploring Quiet Country Roads in NE Victoria
I decided to stay close to home today making an early start in the cold morning (-2.4c) air. It was beautifully clear and sunny nearby where I walked but fog was visible in parts of the valley below. The short loop of 5.3km is on quiet country roads. I took the binoculars hoping to spot…
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Birdwatching in Winton Wetlands: Key Highlights and a few Species Sightings
We took a trip to Winton Wetlands recently to follow up on previous sitings of Swift Parrots. We returned to 11 Mile Creek Woodland (part of the Reserve) hoping to see them again, but they had moved on. There have been further reports of Swifts in the adjacent Warby Range National Park in recent days.…
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Discover Winton Wetlands: 6th August 2025
This large area of public land at Winton, Victoria is managed by the Victorian Government for conservation purposes. The original Winton Swamp system made up of some 13 small wetland areas totalling about 7000Hectares was taken over by the state government in 1971 and flooded to create Lake Mokoan for a irrigation storage. This resulted…
Walking Glenrowan and Beyond 