Immature Pacific Gulls

Sand islands in the Gippsland Lakes provide important resting and breeding habitat for a large range of waterbirds. While conducting monitoring surveys by boat we came across an immature Pacific Gull (Note 1) holding a small eel while being watched by Silver Gulls, Black-faced and Great Pied Cormorants (Note 2) – see following photo. Standing in the background and out of focus was a second immature Pacific Gull and a Little Black Cormorant.

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

The fresh dead eel was most likely caught by one of the Cormorants as Gulls tend to be scavengers (Note 3). The second Pacific Gull suddenly took an interest in the eel and the bird in possession turned to take off – see second photo below.

A short aerial chase ensued which ended when the eel was dropped in deeper water and the Gulls lost interest in the potential feed. I suspect the two Pacific Gulls and all of the others waterbirds present were not particularly hungry given they did not show much interest in the readily available eel meal.

The following photos are cropped sections of the above flight shots showing more detail.

Notes:

(1) Pacific Gulls take about five years to reach full adult plumage. Juvenile birds are fully brown with a fully dark bill - at this stage they are sometimes miss-identified as Brown Skuas. Both birds in the photos show two colours on the bills and whitish forehead feathers so these are second year immatures.

(2) All five resident cormorant species found in mainland Australia and Tasmania can be seen on the Gippsland Lakes; they include Great, Little Black, Little Pied, Great Pied and Black-faced Cormorants.

(3) An earlier Avithera post showing a pair of mature Pacific Gulls scavenging Black Swan eggs can be seen here: https://avithera.blogspot.com/2019/10/pacific-gulls-scavenging-swan-eggs.html

Brown Honeyeater attacking its reflection

Many bird species attack their reflections in windows, mirrors and other shiny reflective surfaces. They do this because they cannot recognise their own reflection and instead they think the bird they see is a rival. This occurs during breeding season when males are defending territory and female mates against rivals.

This was the case at Dry Tank Campground in Gundabooka National Park. The area is dominated by mulga woodland (Acacia aneura). A Brown Honeyeater was very vocal around our camp site and soon after setting up, we noticed the bird taking an interest in one of our vehicle’s side mirrors. Having seen how some birds become obsessed with their reflection to the detriment of their own wellbeing and breeding success, I had a brief photo session and then covered the side mirrors with a couple of plastic bags. 

My aim was to use this opportunity to take some close up photos of a Brown Honeyeater (1) rather than capture the bird attacking its own reflection, so most of my shots were studies of this fairly plain, aptly named honeyeater, which has a wide distribution, surprisingly loud calls (2) for a small bird, and is always super active (3).

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

The following photos captured the bird pecking its reflection.

NOTES:

(1) The photos show a male in breeding condition with a black gape - the gape is yellow in non-breeding males.

(2) The Australian Bird Guide notes regarding voice, “Highly vocal with a bewildering array of calls”.

(3) The Australian Bird Guide notes “Aggressive in defence of food sources, active and alert with swift, darting flight”.

Brown Quail at Cassilis Cemetery

A pair of Brown Quail were found at the cemetery in the Cassilis Historic Area near Swifts Creek. The Cemetery and adjoining reserve are located in a beautiful valley and support a surprisingly rich number of bird species.

The Quail were found in a patch of blue periwinkle (Vinca major – see end note below), an introduced invasive weed. While this weed is contained in this location by the surrounding mowed grass and grazed farmland, it is out of control, as is blackberry, along the Tambo River beside the Great Alpine Road between Bruthen and Swifts Creek.

The Brown Quail pair were no doubt only temporary residents at the cemetery and while they were there, the periwinkle provided ideal cover and protection for them.

One bird was particularly shy, while the other, possibly the female, offered some rare close up photo opportunities. 

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

While the bird stood out against the dark green periwinkle, its beautifully patterned plumage provides effective camouflage in most habitats this species lives in.

NOTE: Periwinkle is an invasive weed, particularly species like blue periwinkle (Vinca major), that spreads from gardens to natural areas, forming dense, smothering mats. It outcompetes native plants for light, water, and nutrients by suppressing other vegetation and hindering the growth of young trees. It spreads via runners and fragments carried by water or dumped garden waste, and it can be toxic to humans and animals. 

Pale-headed Rosella at Yanda Campground

In August 2024 we camped for a few days at Yanda Campground below Bourke on the Darling River in the Gundabooka National Park. At the time there had been good local rains and the campground and surrounding area was clothed in lush verdant green annual forbs and gasses. In this arid region conditions like this are the exception with dry bare ground more normal as shown in the following screen shot satellite image of the area from Google Maps. 

Floods in the Darling River will also bring a flush of green but only to the area of inundation which does not include the higher areas where the campground is located. This was the case when we were there again in July 2025. A recent flood down the Darling had triggered a flush of green growth up to the flood line but above there it was dry and barren bare earth, the verdant green of August the previous year long gone. The flood had triggered a massive outbreak of lerp on the fresh new leaves of the River Redgums where honeyeaters, Spiny-cheeked, White-plumed, White-fronted and Singing, were hyperactive, gleaning sugar which was almost dripping from the leaves.

In August 2024 we found a pair of Pale-headed Rosellas at the campground which were attracted beyond the normal limit of their south westerly range by the rare bounty of short lived seeds.

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

At times the bird was hidden from my sight and from the camera, by the lush vegetation in which it was feeding.

All of the rosella (Platycercus) genus are spectacularly beautiful including the Pale-headed Rosella. The following shots of the feeding bird at Yanda show just how brilliant their feather colours are.

The bird looked to be feeding exclusively on a very prickly looking green seed from (I think), Medicago polymorpha. Common names include Trefoil, Toothed Medic, Burr Clover etc. While green, the seed spines are soft, however when they dry out and stiffen they can make camping and walking around in bare feet a painful experience.

Our experience at Yanda shows just how variable conditions are in outback arid Australia and how many bird species move in response to the boom and bust extremes of food supplies. 

Noisy Friarbird

Friarbirds are a distinctive group of large honeyeaters with varying amounts of bare facial and/or head skin. The Noisy Friarbird has the most bare skin of the four Friarbird species found in Australia.

The Australian Bird Guide describes the Noisy Friarbird as bold, belligerent and gregarious - they can be found in small groups to large flocks. I agree with the ABG assessment, however from my experience single birds are also common. 

Single birds can be rather elusive and hard to approach but I recently encountered a single bird at close range and before the bird recovered from my surprise appearance and took off, I managed two photos which, when cropped, show the bird’s bare head and facial skin fairly well.

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

Without feathers (ear-coverts), the ear hole, which all birds have and we rarely see, is obvious in the photos. 

The casque, the protrusion at the base of the upper mandible, also stands out and I wonder what purpose, if any, this provides? A quick search suggests the purpose of casques on birds is unknown though there are a number of possible explanations.

The evolution of bare skin in birds has been driven by thermoregulation and/or feeding hygiene and not sexual selection. The Noisy Friarbird’s bare skin may be a survival advantage but to my eye and aesthetic bias, it is not pretty. 

Rose Robin

The Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) is the most commonly recorded Petroica robin (1) found in the BirdLife East Gippsland Region. It is the most arboreal of the genus and is more flycatcher like in its hunting – less of a “perch and pounce” onto ground-based prey approach.

At Walhalla recently a male Rose Robin was observed in the tangled branches of an introduced deciduous tree where it was seen to hold out and flutter its wings which were held in a downward position – see the first photo below. It was not a hot day and there did not appear to be another Rose Robin present – male or female. A little research suggests this behaviour in males is a territorial display which is consistent with spring breeding when birds are establishing and holding breeding territory and looking to attract a mate. 

The following photos are of the subject male. 

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed. 

Finding any of the red (Petroica) robins in the field is always a cause for some excitement. 

(1) The Petroica genus in Australia comprises the following five robin species: Scarlet, Flame, Red-capped, Pink and Rose.

Brown Thornbill

Six species of Thornbills are found in the BirdLife East Gippsland Region; Brown, Striated, Yellow-rumped, Yellow, Buff-rumped and Weebill. Browns are by far the most often encountered and recorded. Of the 4,480 surveys (at 5/12/2025) recorded by BirdLife East Gippsland in its region, Brown Thornbills were recorded in 1,733 of the surveys. Only Superb Fairywrens, Grey Fantails and Australian Magpies were recorded more often. The frequency of recording for the other five Thornbill species found in the East Gippsland Region fall way behind the 1,733 records for Brown. Other records are, Striated 701, Yellow-rumped 458, Yellow 430, Buff-rumped 96 and Weebill 56.

Browns are sedentary and occupy a wide range of habitats with dense vegetation across most of East Gippsland, which may explain their greater abundance compared with the other thornbill species which have narrower habitat preferences in East Gippsland. 

Of all the Thornbills, I think Browns have the greatest repertoire of calls which can include mimicry of other species and they also have harsh churring scolding alarm calls. Their main calls are fairly easily recognised which helps identify these small brown birds in dense vegetation which therefore results in a higher reporting rate.

Found most often singly or in pairs they can sometimes be found in family parties. Recently, while birding alone, I encountered such a party comprising five birds which I first noticed by their scolding alarm calls. At first I looked for the cause of their agitation which most often will be due to the presence of a predator. However it soon became apparent that I was the source of their agitation as they were clearly focused on me as they moved about in a bush close by. I took this rare opportunity to capture some close up photos.

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

Olive Whistler

On the mainland Olive Whistlers are uncommon compared with Golden and Rufous Whistlers. In the East Gippsland region, comprising the Wellington and East Gippsland LGA’s, out of all the Birdata surveys which include the three Whistler species found in the region, the number of birds reported are; Olive 273, Golden 5,514 and Rufous 9,363. 

Clearly the abundance of the Olive Whistler is very low compared with the Golden and Rufous, even taking into account the likely under reporting of Olives due to their retiring habit and tendency to inhabit dense undergrowth in wet forest habitats and higher more remote country during the summer. The Olive Whistler’s distinctive call is often the first indication of their presence.

Olive Whistlers are altitudinal migrants moving to higher elevations over the warmer months. On a recent (23/10/2025) visit to the Mt St Gwinear area in the Baw Baw National Park, several Olive Whistlers were heard calling by the carpark in Snow Gum (E pauciflora) woodland. After observing for a while I concluded there were two pairs with the males calling to advertise and claim adjacent spring breeding territories.

The following photos were obtained of one of the males (note the grey head – females have a brown head).

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

BirdLife East Gippsland members have recorded a total of 4,619 surveys in Birdata, of which only 34 surveys include sightings of Olive Whistler (Golden 1,218 and Rufous 596) – a further testament to just how rare this whistler is.

Bush Stone-curlew

The Bush Stone-curlew is a large, unusual, endemic, nocturnal, ground dwelling shorebird/wader that is mostly heard when making its eerie wailing calls at night. By day it loafs and sleeps, usually in the shade of a tree, alone, in pairs, or after the breeding season, in small flocks, using its cryptic plumage as camouflage which can make them hard to find. Being ground dwelling they are particularly vulnerable to fox and cat predation.

With a wide distribution across mainland Australia they prefer open woodland and forest near watercourses and wetlands and perhaps somewhat surprisingly they can be found in urban and semi urban areas, especially on the margins, though I have even found them on nature strips in densely built up areas. 

 Recently while driving in Byron Bay, roadside temporary signage and a cordoned off area using stakes and plastic tape around a mango tree alerted me to the presence of four Bush Stone-curlews. The following photos were taken of two of the birds as they loafed/slept in the shade of the mango tree. The birds rest/sleep either standing, semi standing with legs bent at right angles at the knees or fully prone as seen in the photos.

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

Being a member of the shorebird/wader family and having very long legs the Bush Stone-curlew must have evolved in watery habitats. However it has gone bush, on an evolutionary time scale, as its name suggests and now lives a terrestrial life. A number of other endemic shorebirds have also done this, for example the Banded Lapwing and Inland Dotterel.

Pheasant Coucal - non-breeding

A previous Avithera post in December 2021 featured a Pheasant Coucal in breeding plumage – see the following photo and the link to the 2021 post below for more information and photos. 

This post shows a Pheasant Coucal in mostly non breeding plumage though there are some black feathers on the legs and lower belly. 

Coucals are sedentary and common however they are more often heard then seen given they frequent dense vegetation. The breeding season is from October to April when they can be seen in breeding plumage.

Just like the bird in the 2021 blog, this one visited our daughter’s NSW  Northern Rivers  garden where it foraged in the densely planted garden beds. As for a number of ground dwelling birds, their plumage offers good camouflage.

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

Link to December 2021 post:

https://avithera.blogspot.com/2021/12/pheasant-coucal.html