My birding project for 2024 is to photograph as many species of Australian birds as I can. The target is 366 for no reason other than it amounts to one for each day but I’ll be very happy if I get 300. This will be mostly short trips around home and day trips to local birding hotspots but I also plan to do several extended trips to various regions in Victoria and interstate.
Common and scientific names are based on Menkhorst et.al. The Australian Bird Guide, Revised Edition, 2020, CSIRO, Melbourne
(Click any image to go to lightbox view to see larger image)
1 January
A modest start from a quick drive around the Bellarine Peninsula
(4 species, running total = 4)
2 January
A morning walk in the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve
(6 species, running total = 10)
3 January
Thunderstorms and rain all morning but I took a chance on the weather fining up in the afternoon and headed for a few of my favourite spots around Swan Bay on the Bellarine Peninsula
(7 species, running total = 17)
4 January
On the hunt for some bush birds today at three of my favourite locations. A few shots are heavily cropped as the birds were a long way away but recorded.
(14 species, running total = 31)
5 January
I visited one of my favourite local beaches to try and find some small shore birds and was lucky enough to get four species as well as a Great Cormorant.
(5 species, running total = 36)
6 January
I spent the morning at Balyang Sanctuary and Jerringot Wetlands in Geelong - two favourites for waterbirds and a few bush birds thrown in.
(15 species, running total = 51)
7 January
Took a quick detour to Clifton Springs Harbour on the way to lunch today. A reliable spot for cormorants, terns and gulls but I was surprised to find corellas in the car park and a Great Crested Grebe on the water inside the harbour.
(6 species, running total = 57)
8 January
Miserable weather all day today but the rain lightened off for an hour or so mid afternoon so I headed out to a couple of local wetlands. Everything was hunkered down and/or a long way off but I managed to find a few.
(6 species, running total = 63)
9 January
I took a morning walk at Blue Waters Lake near home and was pleasantly surprised to capture a pair of Tawny Frogmouths. Thanks Geoff for spotting them. It’s always fun to meet fellow birds photographers, particularly when they are so good at spotting birds.
(5 species, running total = 68)
10 January
I spent the day at and around the Western Treatment Plant in Werribee. It was very windy so many birds were hunkered down out of view and (typically for this site) were often a long way from the road so most photographs are, at best, ID shots but happy to see them.
(18 species, running total = 86)
11 January
I visited Serendip Sanctuary and You Yangs Regional Park today. Both were very quiet birdwise but I managed a few of the target species for these locations..
(4 species, running total = 90)
12 January
It’s getting harder to ‘round up’ the local suspects - five new species today and I needed five locations to get them.
(5 species, running total = 95)
13 January
A quick trip to the lighthouse at Point Lonsdale this morning to see if I could find a Pacific Gull, which, bizarrely, I have not yet seen this year. I did manage to spot a female Nankeen Kestrel roosting in the window of the lighthouse and a Singing Honeyeater ‘hiding’ in a bush beside the track.
(2 species, running total = 97)
15 January
No birding yesterday but back on the hunt for a Pacific Gull today and this time success! Not sure how it took so long - about ten locations over two weeks and finally found on the Barwon River. Also captured a pair of Galahs at Yellow Gums Reserve.
(2 species, running total = 99)
18 January
After two birding-free days, I got out for walks at two local wetlands this evening. Bird 100 was particularly inauspicious - a solo female Common Blackbird - and 101 was equally so - three Common Starling found on a TV antenna - but I redeemed the evening’s effort with a Black-shouldered Kite at Begola Wetlands.
(3 species, running total = 102)
20 January
My wife and I spent the weekend at the family farm, mostly doing maintenance - painting, slashing grass, clearing weeds - but I found time in the evening for a little bird photography and was treated to three new species sighted on the farm. Fortunately, they were also new for this challenge. The Goshawk flew into this tree about 60 metres from where I was and this is the only shot I managed before it was chased away by a pair of brave but vociferous Willie Wagtails. The frame here is heavily cropped.
(3 species, running total = 105)
21 January
Another day of work on the farm but I took an early morning walk and found this family of Laughing Kookaburra - surprised it has taken me so long to get this relatively common bird but very pleased to capture the two adults and juvenile in the one frame.
(1 species, running total = 106)
24 January
Another day at the Western Treatment Plant was rewarded with some terns, raptors and a few other new captures for the year. A quick detour to the You Yangs on the way home and I added one more for the day.
(11 species, running total = 117)
26-28 January
I spent the long weekend driving to NW Victoria and back looking for birds in some of the hotspots. It was very quiet birdwise - I suspect that many of the usual summer migrants have not flown south because of the wet weather further north. However I did manage to find a few, including some of the target species for the region.
(24 species, running total = 141)
31 January
Last day of month 1 in this quest so I tried for something rare. I have always wanted to photograph a Pink Robin but never managed it - until today. I went to a couple of likely locations and after trudging around in the forest for over an hour I had found a few new forest birds - albeit terribly photographed as they were a long way off and in the dark understory but no Pink Robin. I gave up and wandered back to the car park only to find one displaying very nicely on a branch over the creek. I also found three other species on the way home along the Great Ocean Road.
(7 species, running total = 148)
9-13 February
My wife and I took a few days to travel to and from Eden in New South Wales, ostensibly to take a pelagic boat trip. The boat trip was cancelled due to windy weather leaving this trip mainly a leisurely holiday but I did manage to steal a few bird photography moments. The highlight was the number of Sea Eagles spotted in both Mallacoota (Vic) and Eden (NSW). On the way home we dropped in at the Toora Bird Hide to try for Whimbrel and Eastern Curlew. The tide was out and it was a hot 37C and windy day so there were very few birds but we got one of each target species, albeit a few hundred metres away.
(9 species, running total = 157)
17 February
Possibly the worst photograph of the year but I was excited to capture this one. Over breakfast, I had been discussing the birds seen last time we were at the farm and how it had been at least 20 years since I’d seen a Diamond Firetail, which had previously been frequent visitors. Two hours later, this little character appeared in front of the cabin while we were working outside. I snuck into the cabin, grabbed my camera and snapped this ‘just in case’ record shot through the window. The bird flew away before I could get outside and in a better position for a decent shot.
(1 species, running total = 158)
21 February
I went in search of the White-faced Storm-Petrel that had been spotted from the pier at Altona Beach. Alas, no success on the Storm-Petrel but I did manage to capture a fly-by of an Australasian Gannet, a bird I’d somehow not managed to capture near home so far.
(1 species, running total = 159)
24 February
I made yet another attempt to photograph the elusive Latham’s Snipe. I have seen them at three locations on more than ten visits but never managed to photograph one. I got one in Aireys Inlet and decide to push my luck a little to see if I could get any new species at Distillery Creek, having had success there earlier in the year (4 January). My target species was Gang-gang Cockatoo as they are commonly found there and I dipped last time. Best I could do this time was spot a trio flying over the treetops (too high and obscured to photograph) but I did manage three new species there.
(4 species, running total = 163)
26 February
A quick detour to Point Henry on the way home from Geelong was rewarded with spotting a pair of Golden-headed Cisticola in the salt bush. I couldn’t get very close without damaging the salt marsh but with a bit of patience, one bird came close enough for a reasonable ID shot.
(1 species, running total = 164)
2 March
I went in search of the Superb Parrot today and my first stop was Black Swamp near Numurkah in Northern Victoria. I have never been to this location before so was delighted with how beautiful it was in the early morning light. I did glimpse a small flock (of 7-8 Superb Parrots fly through the treetops and spent over an hour searching for them but, alas, no success. However, I was rewarded with hundreds of Tree Martins hawking for insects and found a few perched high in the branches of a tree. A visited a few other possible locations for the Superb Parrot but dipped - one of another day.
(1 species, running total = 165)
3 March
Better luck today at Warby-Ovens National Park with the highlight being a juvenile Sacred Kingfisher begging for the cicada caught by an adult bird.
(12 species, running count = 177)
18-20 March
It’s been a couple of weeks since I was out birding and a two-night stay at Gluepot Reserve in South Australia, on our way to the Birdlife Photography Conference in Hahndorf, was a welcome return to the bush. The avifauna was dominated by (the already photographed) Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater but a few other birds appeared and I managed to capture 9 new species.
(9 species, running count = 186)
21 March
While in Hahndorf, my wife and I visited Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens for a walk and the Mt Lofty Summit for lunch. Fairly quiet birdwise but I found an Eastern Spinebill that refused to come closer or out in the open but I managed a record shot.
(1 species, running count = 187)
22 March
I went on two pre-conference field trips to Monarto Woodlands and Laratinga Wetlands today and managed three new species. I was particularly happy to get the Spotless Crake which had eluded me on several attempts earlier in the year at the Western Treatment Plant. Adelaide sub-species of Crimson Rosella was a surprise inclusion as I had somehow missed the “standard version” in Victoria despite it being locally common.
(3 species, running total = 190)
26 March
We stayed in Goolwa on the way home from the Birdlife Photography Conference in Hahndorf and spent a day sightseeing around the Fleurieu Peninsula. An old favourite for both of us is the walk across the causeway from Victor Harbour to Granite Island. While I was off photographing Pacific Gulls, my wife found this character stalking the wilds of the car park at the café…
(1 species, running total = 191)
28 March
On the way home from South Australia, we did a quick recce trip through Cobboboonee National Park in preparation for a more extensive trip there later in the year. We found several birds but the highlight was a pair of Azure Kingfishers, one of which posed nicely on a branch.
(1 species, running total = 192)
5 April
I was going through the list of birds photographed so far to identify any “easy gets” that I hadn’t captured yet and I realised I was missing one of our most common urban birds - the Rock Dove (common domestic pigeon). I had to drop my wife at an appointment in Geelong this morning so took the opportunity for a quick side visit to Cunningham Pier, a certainty for Rock Doves.
(1 species, running Total = 193)
8-9 April
I spent two days in Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, in north-east Victoria, primarily chasing Swift Parrots, which had been reported there over the last few weeks but also hoping to see some of the birds common in this area but not found in southern Victoria. I did manage to find several “Swifties” but only flying overhead or high in trees. Still, I was happy to tick this rare and endangered species off as well as 6 other species.
(7 species, running total = 200)
10 April
I took a small detour on the way home from Chiltern to visit a couple of other likely sites for a few target species but dipped on all of them. I did manage to spot a small flock of Zebra Finch in Corowa, just over the NSW border.
(1 species, running total = 201)
21 April
With the news of an American Golden Plover being sighted at the Western Treatment Plant last week, I was itching to get out and find it but was laid up at home with a head cold until today. As expected, the bird was not hard to find as there were a dozen or more birders gleefully pointing it out. It never came close enough for a good photograph but I managed a reasonable ID shot, albeit heavily cropped and with grasses and heat haze blurring the image. I also captured two other newbies for the year, again just record shots, at best - the Cattle Egrets shot through the car window and the Wood Sandpiper about 200m away with now quite strong heat haze.
(3 species, running total = 204)
25 April
Heading east for another attempt at a pelagic trip out of Eden NSW, I stopped for two nights at Cape Conran in East Gippsland and, despite the cold, wet and windy weather, managed to find a few birds including two targets for the region.
(2 species, running total = 206)
27 April
Spent a day driving around the hinterland near Eden. I went on several walks in reserves and the SE Forests National Park but found success driving along roads.
(2 species, running total = 208)
28 April
Took the pelagic boat trip out of Eden today (third attempt in 6 months, the previous two cancelled due to weather) and had a slow start but great finish to the day nabbing 6 species of albatross and 7 other species.
(13 new species, running total = 221)
Species list
American Golden Plover
Apostlebird
Australasian Darter
Australasian Gannet
Australasian Grebe
Australasian Swamphen
Australian Hobby
Australian King Parrot
Australian Magpie
Australian (Mallee) Ringneck
Australian Pelican
Australian Pied Oystercatcher
Australian Pipit
Australian Raven
Australian Reed-Warbler
Australian Shelduck
Australian Spotted Crake
Australian White Ibis
Australian Wood Duck
Azure Kingfisher
Banded Lapwing
Banded Stilt
Bar-tailed Godwit
Bassian Thrush
Bell Miner
Black Falcon
Black Kite
Black Swan
Black-browed Albatross
Black-chinned Honeyeater
Black-faced Cormorant
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-fronted Dotterel
Black-shouldered Kite
Blue-billed Duck
Blue Bonnet
Brolga
Brown Falcon
Brown Goshawk
Brown Skua
Brown Thornbill
Brown Treecreeper
Brown-headed Honeyeater
Buff-banded Rail
Buller’s Albatross
Campbell Albatross
Cape Barren Goose
Caspian Tern
Cattle Egret
Chestnut Teal
Chestnut-crowned Babbler
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
Collared Sparrowhawk
Common Blackbird
Common Bronzewing
Common Greenshank
Common Myna
Common Starling
Common Tern
Crested Pigeon
Crested Shrike-tit
Crested Tern
Crimson Rosella
Curlew Sandpiper
Diamond Firetail
Dusky Moorhen
Dusky Woodswallow
Eastern Curlew
Eastern Reef Egret
Eastern Rosella
Eastern Spinebill
Eastern Yellow Robin
Emu
Eurasian Coot
Eurasian Skylark
Fairy Martin
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Flesh-footed Shearwater
Forest Raven
Freckled Duck
Fuscous Honeyeater
Galah
Golden Whistler
Golden-headed Cisticola
Great Cormorant
Great Crested Grebe
Great Egret
Grey Butcherbird
Grey Currawong
Grey Fantail
Grey Shrike-thrush
Grey Teal
Hardhead
Hoary-headed Grebe
Hooded Plover
Hooded Robin
House Sparrow
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
Latham’s Snipe
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Black Cormorant
Little Corella
Litle Eagle
Little Egret
Little Grassbird
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Raven
Little Tern
Little Wattlebird
Long-billed Corella
Magpie Goose
Magpie-lark
Masked Lapwing
Mulga Parrot
Musk Duck
Musk Lorikeet
Nankeen Kestrel
Nankeen Night-Heron
New Holland Honeyeater
New Zealand Albatross
Noisy Friarbird
Noisy Miner
Northern Mallard
Pacific Black Duck
Pacific Golden Plover
Pacific Gull
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Cormorant
Pied Currawong
Pink Robin
Pink-eared Duck
Rainbow Bee-eater
Rainbow Lorikeet
Red Wattlebird
Red-browed Finch
Red-capped Plover
Red-capped Robin
Red-kneed Dotterel
Red-necked Avocet
Red-necked Stint
Red-rumped Parrot
Regent Parrot
Restless Flycatcher
Rock Dove
Royal Spoonbill
Rufous Bristlebird
Rufous Fantail
Rufous Songlark
Rufous Whistler
Sacred Kingfisher
Satin Flycatcher
Scarlet Robin
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Short-tailed Shearwater
Silver Gull
Silvereye
Singing Honeyeater
Slender-billed Thornbill
Sooty Oystercatcher
Southern Whiteface
Speckled Warbler
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater
Splendid Fairy-wren
Spotless Crake
Spotted Dove
Spotted Pardalote
Spotted Quail-thrush
Straw-necked Ibis
Striated Pardalote
Striated Thornbill
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Superb Fairy-wren
Superb Lyrebird
Swamp Harrier
Swift Parrot
Tawny Frogmouth
Tree Martin
Turquoise Parrot
Varied Sitella
Variegated Fairy-wren
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Weebill
Welcome Swallow
Westland Petrel
Whimbrel
Whiskered Tern
Whistling Kite
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
White-browed Babbler
White-browed Scrubwren
White-browed Treecreeper
White-capped Albatross
White-chinned Petrel
White-eared Honeyeater
White-faced Heron
White-fronted Chat
White-fronted Honeyeater
White-headed Stilt
White-naped Honeyeater
White-necked Heron
White-plumed Honeyeater
White-throated Treecreeper
White-winged Fairy-wren
White-winged Black Tern
White-winged Chough
Willie Wagtail
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
Wood Sandpiper
Yellow Thornbill
Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Yellow-plumed Honeyeater
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
Yellow-throated Miner
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
Zebra Finch