Beautiful weather for birdwatching and of course enjoying the warm sunshine. Here are some photos taken by the members. An industrious bee made an appearance and a little spider! A chatty Fuscous sang to our group too.

u3a Myrtleford Murmungee – eBird Trip Report

Eight of us went out in beautiful clear weather for this time of the year. We picked up Denise in Myrtleford and met Jan and Jenny at Nason Springs. 

This spot never fails to have something of interest. It looked a bit slow to begin with but we saw a Little Eagle in a tree then a pair of Hooded Robin. Just as we were leaving we saw a mixed group of Turquoise Parrots and Red-rumped Parrots which gave a chance to compare the two.

From there we went to the Duck Pond at Winton Wetlands just because it was on the way. Morning tea was a further detour to the boat ramp (tables, toilets and tea).

The next spot was right at the northernmost part of the Killawarra forest but there were Flame Robins and Brown Falcons to see along the way. North West Track dam is a real mecca for honeyeaters in winter as the ironbark is flowering so well. There were White-browed Babblers nest building there. This was our lunch spot.

Forest Camp further south is usually good but there was a group of primary students on a day camp making too much noise to get anything really.

Overall it was a very relaxing day in pleasant company and lovely sunshine.

and a link to the eBird trip report

u3a Warby Ranges – eBird Trip Report

Monday 26th June.

The weather was not looking very good but since we were tired of being stuck indoors, eight birders went out to the Beechworth area. As expected the birding was not the best and the weather was stubbornly dreary. The highlight was probably the non-bird sitting in a tree near the rail-trail. This koala was not pleased about being disturbed and kept turning to put his back to us. We changed the lunch stop from sitting out at Lake Sambell to the warmth of the Beechworth Bakery. We ended up with 35 species seen.

Gang Gang	Sulphur Crested Cockatoo	Yellow-tailed Cockatoo
Kookaburra	Grey Shrike-thrush	Golden Whistler (h)
New Holland Honeyeater	Yellow-tufted Honeyeater	White-browed Scubwren
Australian Raven	Yellow Robin	Willie Wagtail
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike	Wood Duck	Black Duck
Masked Lapwing	White Ibis	Red-browed Finch
Yellow-rumped Thornbill	Flame Robin	Eastern Rosella
Crimson Rosella	Satin Bowerbird	Pied Currawong
Superb Fairywren	Australasian Grebe	Welcome Swallow
Australian Magpie	Rock Dove	Coot
Little Pied Cormorant	Purple Swamphen	Mallard
White-faced Heron	Tawny Frogmouth

On the 8th May, 4 of us went to the green tea farm area on Mt Porepunkah Road. It was a bit cool to begin with but we were in the sun for most of the time. 

A list of birds can be found through the eBird list on eBird Australia Checklist – 8 May 2023 – 227 Mount Porepunkah Road, Bright, Victoria, AU (-36.711, 146.97) – 25 species

We birded for over an hour and saw 25 species but the cold was probably reducing the number around.

Coffee at the Riverdeck was nice to finish up with.

11 u3a members went to Winton Wetlands on the 24th April. The weather was warm, sunny and no wind so excellent all around. We went to Nason Springs on the Wang side of the Warby ranges to stretch legs and look at the Turquoise Parrots and got fleeting looks at them. Then we went across the range and past most of the wetland to Mt Meg Conservation Area across the road. This spot can be a bit hit and miss and this time was only so-so. Going to the main wetland sites we started with morning tea at the boat ramp then up Boggy Creek and on to Green’s Hill for lunch and a walk. Finally we went to the Duck Pond. We stopped briefly at Nason Springs on the way back.

https://ebird.org/australia/tripreport/121820