Last month we planned to spend the day at Serendip Sanctuary in Lara, but rain and hail before we left caused us to change to a half-day walk at Gherang Gherang Bushland Reserve instead.

This small reserve out along Forest Road has an old aqueduct that used to carry the water supply to Anglesea. The reserve has been considerably degraded by quarrying, weeds, rubbish dumpers and trail bikes. Annual weeding by ANGAIR members has helped to reduce the weeds, especially the gorse. Parks Victoria is endeavouring to discourage rubbish dumpers and trail bikes, but the latter were clearly in evidence during our walk.

In some of the stringybark forest there are areas of reasonably intact indigenous vegetation, including some very healthy Grasstrees, providing good bird habitat.

We started up a wide track on the edge the reserve, beside farmland. In the paddocks we saw birds such as Welcome Swallows, and in the trees there were bush birds such as several species of Honeyeaters, but, surprisingly, no Wattlebirds.

We had to skirt areas of water before reaching an old quarry, and then zig-zagged through some pleasant bush tracks.

Highlights were a pair of Scarlet Robins, and a small flock of the very handsome Shelducks. The latter circled around many times, with a couple landing briefly in a tree. We never did find out why they were doing this and where they finally decided to land.

The weather turned out to be quite pleasant, so we ended up staying three hours and saw 27 species of birds, plus Blackbirds and a White-faced Heron en route, bringing us up just short of 30 species.

Below is the list of birds identified:

1. Australian Shelduck
2. Maned Duck
3. Pacific Black Duck
4. Cormorant sp.
5. Laughing Kookaburra
6. Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
7. Galah
8. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
9. Crimson Rosella
10. White-throated Treecreeper
11. Superb Fairywren
12. Eastern Spinebill
13. Crescent Honeyeater
14. New Holland Honeyeater
15. White-eared Honeyeater
16. White-naped Honeyeater
17. Striated Pardalote
18. Brown Thornbill
19. Gray Shrikethrush
20. Australian Magpie
21. Pied Currawong
22. Gray Fantail
23. Magpie-lark
24. Little Raven
25. Scarlet Robin
26. Eastern Yellow Robin
27. Welcome Swallow

Ellinor Campbell