With varied landscapes encompassing mountain, bushland, desert and coastal regions, Victoria is home to a diverse range of birdlife ranging from the vibrant to the rare. This week, we thought we’d look at three very different birdwatching hotspots in Victoria, which offer something for hard-core twitchers and novice birdwatchers alike.
The endangered Turquoise Parrot
Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park
Touted as one of Australia’s best birdwatching locations, the Box-ironbark Forest of Mt Pilot National Park is home to the endangered Regent Honeyeater, the stunning Turquoise Parrot, the Painted Honeyeater, the Speckled Warbler, the Mistletoe Bird, the Barking Owl, the Square Tailed Kite and the White-Browed Babbler. The dams surrounding Chiltern attract many of these bird species and it’s the ideal place to bring a chair and wait for the birds to come to you.
Superb Lyrebird
Sherbrooke Forest- Dandenong Ranges
Known for its Mountain Ash forests and beautiful fern gullies, the landscape of the Dandenong Ranges looks like something out of a fairy-tale and supports a wide range of birdlife including cockatoos, robins, parrots and the famous Superb Lyrebird. There are plenty of walking tracks if you feel like taking in the bushland and seeking out shier species such as the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo, Eastern Spinebill, Powerful Owl, Eastern Yellow Robin and the Superb Lyrebird. However, you can also take a picnic to Grant’s Picnic Ground and eat your lunch whilst observing a wide array of colourful bird species including Galahs, King Parrots, Crimson Rosellas and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, as well as Long-billed and Little Corellas.
Splendid Fairy Wren
Hattah-Kulkyne National Park
The Mallee region in north west Victoria is an accessible place to see bird species more commonly associated with Australia’s arid inland as well as waterbirds drawn to the nearby Murray river. Wetland species to watch out for include ducks, Royal Spoonbills and pelicans, but the bigger drawcards are the elusive arid species which rely on the unique habitat of Mallee woodland with a ground layer of spinifex, and open areas dotted with red river gum and blackbox. This part of the Mallee region is considered the best place in Australia to see the Striated Grasswren and the Mallee Emu-wren, currently listed as a globally threatened species. Other elusive arid species to be spotted here include Malleefowl, Apostlebird, Splendid Fairy-wren, Yellow-Plumed Honeyeater and Crested Bellbird as well as an array of endemic inland parrots including the Mulga Parrot, Blue Bonnet, Major Mitchell Cockatoo and the Regent Parrot. Birdwatching in this region is best done by walking its various tracks, but as the Mallee region is flat and low-lying, it’s easy going for most fitness levels.
Explore some of Victoria’s stunning natural landscapes and discover the thrill that comes with catching a glimpse of a rare bird with Melbourne on the Move. We offer bus hire from Melbourne with a driver and can cater to groups of any size. To learn more about our capabilities, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by calling 1300 55 86 86.