It's been a while since I birded the Truganini Reserve in Taroona, only a matter of a few kilometres from the centre of Hobart. I sought shelter from the wind at the weekend, in this reserve, and determined to get back there in better conditions, which I did yesterday. Although it's only about 43 ha., and pretty narrow, it's certainly worthy of mention. It runs from the main road upto the Mt. Nelson lookout and, according to the notice at the entrance, takes about 90 minutes for the round trip. I'll take their word for that, as I only birded the first 7 or 800 metres or so. I recorded around 30 species in or flying over the reserve, which for the first part at least, follows the creek line, and consists of eucalypt,
with fairly dense undergrowth. I managed to take all the accompanying images in the 3
hours that I birded there, but I also managed shots of Golden Whistler, Yellow-throated Honeyeater, Beautiful Firetail, Scarlet Robin, Blackbird and Silvereye. Perhaps the birds are used to people, or I was just lucky, but it was a great birding and photography session. Other birds seen included Dusky Woodswallow, Green Rosella, Dusky Robin, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Shining Bronze-cuckoo, Yellow Wattlebird, Crescent Honeyeater, and Striated and Spotted Pardalotes. All in all, well worth a visit.
Pictured are, top right,Strong-billed Honeyeater, bottom right, Black-headed Honeyeater, top left, Pink Robin, bottom left, Tasmanian Scrubwren. The Strong-billed and Black-headed Honeyeaters are endemic to Tasmania, as is the Scrubwren.
Beaut photos, the scrubwren is a ripper.
ReplyDeleteThanks Duncan. As a photographer you might appreciate that the scrubwren was tsken at 1/40th sec. on a 300mm lens, handheld! Some days you can get away with it, and others you can't get shots in ideal conditions sharp--speaking personally of course!
ReplyDeleteWell, I bet you smiled when that image came up on the monitor!
ReplyDeleteWell I might have felt a smug feeling of self satisfaction flow over me! Balanced, of course against the many "might have beens", "not quites", and "better luck next times"! It's always a bitter sweet pastime, so you have to make the most of the few, very few, that give one some pleasure.
ReplyDeleteLas Deak used to see Forty spotted Pardalotes there in the 1980s. I wonder if they are still there.
ReplyDeleteIt's not typical Fortyspot habitat. Having said that, there have been several records over the years from Taroona and Mt. Nelson areas.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - when I lived on Mt Nelson we had them regularly for three or four years in the late 80s but I don't think my parents have ever heard them since. Ken Harris mistnetted a couple in the early 70s at the top of Mt Nelson.
ReplyDeleteA Couple of years ago, a Birds-Australia Conference group came across one in the gully reserve between Hytten Hall, and the Life Sciences buildings at the University. Surely this must have been a lost individual!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I didn't check was whether the thornbills were Tasmanian or Browns, or perhaps both. Has the Scrubtit been recorded here? There were considerable numbers of Tas. Scrubwrens, obviously the numbers boosted by juveniles.
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