BAY OF FIRES (LARAPUNA), TASMANIA

In early December 2012 we spent some time in the beautiful Bay of Fires Conservation Area, camping at Cosy Corner and enjoying the start of the southern summer. 

Taylors Beach

The bay came by its name when an English ships' captain, Tobias Furneaux, saw the fires of the original indigenous inhabitants along the beaches when exploring the east coast in 1773. Larapuna is the alternative name for this area.

The oystercatchers weren't particularly shy and it was nice to see them regularly on many of the beaches  we visited around Tasmania.

Pied Oystercatcher

Sooty Oystercatcher

It was unusual to see these gulls clambering about on some shrubbery near the campground. It seemed they were picking tiny berries from among the foliage, a bit of a change from their usual fishy fare.  

Silver Gull

One of the more common Tassie endemics was present but by no means allowing close proximity, the image below taken from some distance off.

Yellow-throated Honeyeater

A small flock of Black-Cockatoos did a flyby then settled in some nearby gums where one sat out in the open for a half decent shot.

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo

I was pleased to spot a Frogmouth when walking one of the tracks a bit further inland one morning. Not a common occurrence because they are usually so cryptic when settled into their day time roost.

Tawny Frogmouth

Meanwhile back at our campsite a Shrike-thrush was being very conspicuous when pecking at it's reflection, even though the car mirror had been turned in earlier to prevent this from re-occurring. 

Grey Shrike-thrush

The granite boulders along the shoreline are splashed with orange lichen making for a colourful contrast against the blue summer sky. 

Cheers & Happy Birding

MURRAY MUSINGS

After leaving Jindabyne we headed to Victoria via Tumut. Along the highway we pulled up to observe the damage the huge bushfires of 2003 had wreaked on great swathes of the foothills and mountains.  

A devastated landscape

This is similar to what it would have looked like before the fires. It will take up to one hundred years to get back to its former glory.

View from Black Perry Lookout

At one of our camping spots in northern Victoria we spotted this wallaby browsing on some low growing shrubs.

Swamp Wallaby

Our first camp on the Murray River was at Greenbank Reserve near Yarrawonga, well clear of the River Red Gums that have a habit of dropping limbs at any time. 

We had some nice views from our front yard. 

And some noisy visitors dropped by for some human watching. These corellas were in flocks numbering hundreds, their raucous calls heard all day as they moved up and down the river. They are the cheekiest of parrots and I love watching their antics.  

Little Corellas

Another of the parrot family that we observed nearby was this rosella, nowhere near as obtrusive as the former but a bit more colourful.

Eastern Rosella

Our next stop was Barmah Lakes campground where for a day and night we had the place to ourselves. The next day a large group of school kids came in for a spot of camping and canoeing,

reminding us a bit of the recent corellas, but not as cute! 

River Red Gums at Barmah Lakes

The bird life here wasn't prolific either but I was able to snap a couple of shots of woodland species. The first a superb vocalist that is always a delight to hear. The second a bird that spends almost as much time foraging on the ground as in the trees.

Grey Shrike-Thrush

Brown Treecreeper

We also came across the burnt out remains of this massive Red Gum on one of our walks. 

Clare in gum