#222 Pallid Cuckoo at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, August 28

I went to Woodlands in the morning looking for Tawny Frogmouths, but didn't find any. I was very fortunate however to find a Pallid Cuckoo, a bird that I've only ever seen once before. It was chased off by some White-plumed Honeyeaters before I could get some better photos, but I was very happy to get any photos, let alone see it!

#222 Pallid Cuckoo

#220 and #221 at Greensborough, Victoria, August 27

There have been a few reports of critically endangered Swift Parrots recently from the Greensborough area, and I finally found some time this afternoon to go and have a look. And there were most certainly some Swifties!! Unfortunately, they were too distant and high up the trees for good photos, but I definately got plenty of average photos!!! I also managed a sub-par photos of a Yellow-faced Honeyeater. Not my best day with the camera, but I'll add them to the list anyway...

#220 Yellow-faced Honeyeater

#221 Swift Parrot

#213 to #219 around Newstead, Victoria, July 23

I decided to tag along with on a large group outing to the Newstead area. I do like the peace and solitude of birding on my own, but I had a great day walking around with a really great bunch of people. I also managed to find a lifer - a Spotted Quail-thrush - but it scurried off so fast that I only managed to snap off three photos, all of them extremely out of focus and resembling a vague bird-shaped blob. There were plenty of highlights throughout the day, but seeing an Australian Owlet-nightjar perched in broad daylight was a very special moment indeed!

#213 Red-browed Finch

#214 Fuscous Honeyeater

#215 Wedge-tailed Eagle

#216 Australian Owlet-nightjar

#217 Powerful Owl

#218 White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike (dark morph, race robusta)

#219 Collared Sparrowhawk

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30812624
eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30812674

#212 Blue-billed Duck at the Jawbone, Williamstown, July 16

I got up early-ish today so that I could spend some time at the Jawbone in Williamstown before taking the kids to their swimming lessons. It was a truly beautiful morning. The light was incredible, and the sun warmed me up enough to be comfortable walking around in a t-shirt in the middle of winter! I was fortunate enough to find a few pairs of Blue-billed Ducks, and managed a close-ish approach a few times for species #212 photographed for 2016!

#212 Blue-billed Duck

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30702053

#211 Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo at the Laverton Creek Mouth, Victoria, July 8

I decided to go and have a look around one of my favourite birding locations today - the Laverton Creek Mouth in Altona. The light was perfect and I managed to find some great birds and get some nice photos. I also found a beautiful Horsefield's Bronze-cuckoo for the year photo list!

#211 Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30592687

#210 Song Thrush in suburban Kealba, Victoria, July 8

I see Song Thrush in the backyard quite often, occasionally perched on the back fence, or flying through. They are very, very skittish and fly away before I can get a photo! 

In previous years a male has frequently called from high perches around the yard, but this year he has moved to a nearby street. I hear him call most mornings, but I’ve been unable to locate him. Today I decided to have another go and found him. I felt a bit strange wandering the suburban streets with a big zoom lens and peering into peoples' yards…

#210 Song Thrush

#206 to #209 around Anglesea, Victoria, July 6

Today I thought it would be a good idea to head to Point Addis and do some sea watching. I was hoping for some albatross, maybe a giant-petrel, and who knows what else! I arrived around 10am and found absolutely nothing. The conditions were all wrong. I stayed for a while, ate some delicious sandwiches that my wonderful wife had made for me, listened to some music on the radio, and saw not a single bird. Eventually, I decided to head to my second location - Eumeralla Flora Reserve in Anglesea where I hoped to find the elusive Chestnut-rumped Heathwren...

The conditions at Eumeralla were pretty ordinary. It constantly threatened to rain, but somehow it didn't, and I managed to find some nice birds. I got on to a perched Nankeen Kestrel almost immediately. It was kind enough to allow a close-ish approach for species #206 photographed for the year.

I then spent quite a bit of time wandering around the heath, following the kangaroo tracks, listening for any signs of the Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. On my way, I found a few nice species to photograph, although the poor light certainly put a stop to any 'good' photos. Unfortunately I found no sign of any Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. On my way back to the car, in the exact same spot that I photographed the Nankeen Kestrel, I saw a Crescent Honeyeater and photographed species #207 for the year!

#206 Nankeen Kestrel

#207 Crescent Honeyeater

I then went to Anglesea Heath and drove slowly along the dirt roads to see what I could see. I flushed a Bassian Thrush from the side of the road, and stopped to see if I could relocate it. I couldn't find it. Bugger! A bit further down the road I flushed a Brush Bronzewing from the side of the road. I saw it fly right past the passenger side window, but it zoomed off and I could not relocate it! I was optimistic that I could find both species on the way back, so I continued along the road. I found a few more species here and there, but the heath was mostly quiet today.

On the way out I found a pair of Grey Currawong. They also flushed, but I managed to relocate them and got species #208 for the year, albeit a poor backlit photo! Then, at the end of the dirt road section of Coalmine road where I saw the Bassian Thrush earlier, I decided to get out of the car and approach slowly on foot. This turned out to be a good decision, because a bit further along the road I managed to find a pair of Bassian Thrush and get photo #209.

#208 Gray Currawong

#209 Bassian Thrush

Eumeralla eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30551966
Anglesea Heath eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30552697

After today...
2016 year list: 260
2016 photos: 209