Kay Parkin Birding: Winter birding at Gluepot

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Winter birding at Gluepot

At 5am this morning I rugged up warm and headed out into the freezing dark night. After stopping to buy a coffee I drove north to collect my mate Chris. We had planned a few hrs birding in the mallee at Brookfied Conservation Park. However, as we got further north we both realised that Gluepot's call was simply too strong to ignore so we kept driving.... 90 minutes later we were at Gluepot.

The aim of today was not to find the usual Gluepot nicities but rather to experiment with our cameras. We did see some nice birds though including Striated Grasswren and a gorgeous pair of Gilbert's Whistler.

Hiking in the remarkably healthy Triodia we flushed a Button-quail, saw a few Miners and enjoyed Red-capped and Hooded Robins. Striated Pardalotes, Weebill and Jacky Winter were also in good numbers.

Here are a few photos from today!

Do you want to start bird watching?

Birding is a great hobby and can be done easily and without much expense. You can simply go for a walk and take note of the birds you see! If you are new to birding you may not know what the birds are called so I'd suggest carrying a note book so you can make some notes on their colour, size and markings so you can then identify them when you get home.

To identify them you can use an Australian Bird Field Guide - I'd suggest Pizzey, otherwise you can use a website which has photos of Australian birds such as www.bushpea.com

You can start listing every species of bird that you see. You will be surprised at how quickly your total increases. It is so much fun and you could encourage your family and friends to join you.

You will need a pair of binoculars - 10 x 40 is a good size. I use Nikon Monarch but try them out in the shop to get a light pair that suits you.

BIRDER

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Winter birding at Gluepot