The Babbler

Number 42 November 2016

Occasional newsletter of Birdlife Australia Murray Goulburn Branch

Birdlife Murray Goulburn

President: Mike Kerr

Ph 035763 3349 Email: kerrm4947@gmail.com

Secretary: Val La May

Ph 035799 2135 Email: vlamay3@gmail.com

Forthcoming activities for 2017

After trialling 9am starts throughout 2016, and

following feedback from members, we will revert to

10am starts for the 3 winter months (June, July and

August) while continuing with 9am starts for the rest

of the year.

Sat 1 Feb 2017 9am Bird survey at Winton Wetlands

Sat 18 Feb 2017 9am. Meet at Tahbilk Winery,

O’Neils Rd near Nagambie, for walk around Tahbilk

wetland and visit to Mitchelton Winery.

Sat 18 March 2017 9am. AGM at Euroa Arboretum.

Meet at the Arboretum. We will do several walks in the

area during the day.

Sat 8 April 2017 9am. Cathedral Range. Meet at

Taggerty at 9am.

The full program is on the back page of this

newsletter. See also our website at

http://birdlife.org.au/group-events/birdlife-murray-

goulburn/ and the BLMG Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/birdlifemg/

Queries about our website and Facebook pages can be

emailed to Graham Boast graham@reckonhelp.com.au

THE CRYPTIC MARKINGS OF THE

WONGA PIGEON

Christine Holmes took these photos of a Wonga

Pigeon on her property. Although it is a strikingly

marked bird, it is amazing how its plumage blends in

with the sticks and bark on the ground.

Contents 1. Forthcoming outings. Wonga Pigeon

2-5 Travels in Colombia, Parts 1 and 2

5-6. Winton Wetlands survey reflections

6. Vale Barry McLean and Nigel Lacey

6-11. Reports of outings

12. Program for 2017

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TRAVELS IN COLOMBIA Part 1

A snapshot of Colombia and its birds

Kathy Costello

Val LaMay and I joined 8 other Aussie birders on a trip

to Colombia, run by Chris Doughty’s Peregrine Bird

Tours in August 2016. Our Colombian guide was Pablo

Florez, an expert birder, co-author of the book

Birdwatching in Colombia and an ever-helpful and

obliging tour guide. Colombia has more bird species

than any other country. It is near the equator, it has

extensive lowland forests, two coastlines ,and three

chains of the Andes Mountains with valleys in between,

providing a plethora of habitats for birds.

Where did we travel?

We travelled to five different areas of the country. Mitu

is a remote town in the tropical lowlands of the

Amazon Basin, near the Brazilian border. Inirida is a

larger town in the remote lowlands near the

Venezuelan border. A few days were also spent on the

Pacific Coast close to the Panama border (see Val’s

article below). In the Western Andes near Medellin we

birded at about 1700 metres above sea level, and later

climbed higher still to 3500 metres near the capital

Bogota in the Eastern Andes. Both areas provided

some stunning landscapes and birds, and welcome

relief from the heat and humidity of the lowlands.

Roadside birding in the Western Andes provided stunning

views. Photo Val La May

Hummingbirds

The highlight for me was the large number of

hummingbirds we saw, some at nectar feeders, others

in forests and mangroves. One was even hawking

insects around the boats at Inirida. They occurred in

all areas, from the Green-bearded Helmetcrest which

lives at high altitude in the exposed scrubby paramos

of the Eastern Andes, to the rarely seen 7cm Amethyst

Woodstar of the wet lowland forests around Mitu, and

found for us by Miguel, a great guide from a local

Indian village. In all it was wonderful to see 42

different hummingbirds, although my Colombian field

guide lists well over 150 species.

Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird displaying just the way our group

saw it near the Inirida River.Photo by Rob Belterman, from

HBW photographic library.

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November 2016 3

The humid lowlands in eastern Colombia

Our visit was soon after the wet season, and in low-

lying areas the rivers were still very high. At Inirida,

most of our birding was done by boat on the massive

Inirida River which flows into the Orinoco River on the

Venezuelan border. The locals travel by longboats with

an outboard motor. Many Indian families had wooden

longboats crafted from a single log. Our boatman

skilfully guided our metal longboat into small flooded

inlets where we were able to get close to birds that

were more wary when we were on foot.

We had great views of Scarlet Macaws, Amazonian

Umbrellabird, four species of kingfisher, and a number

of woodpeckers including two striking large species

that reminded me of Woody Woodpecker, the Lineated

and the Crimson-crested Woodpecker. Throughout the

tour, our guides worked hard to locate various skulking

antbirds, antshrikes and antwrens that lead

unobtrusive lives on the forest floor. We did well in the

boat, seeing Black-crested Antshrike, Blackish-grey

Antshrike and the Great Antshrike. The colour schemes

don’t vary much, black and white, black, grey and

white, some with streaks, some with a few spots,

some with a splash of chestnut. It was difficult birding.

Birding by boat at Inirida. Photo Kathy Costello

Our rarest bird was the Orinoco Softail, which wasn’t in

our field guide, although it is known in Venezuela. It is

a flooded forest specialist. As more birders get to these

remote areas, no doubt other species will be added to

the Colombian field guide. The biggest disappointment

was dipping on the Hoatzin, a signature bird of the wet

lowland forests. We found out that they migrate north

in the wetter months, so our timing was a bit out.

Another special treat from the boat was seeing Botos

every day. These are large pinkish-grey river dolphins,

which seemed to enjoy seeking out our craft. First you

would hear a small splash, and a pinkish head or two

would suddenly appear close by, followed by a

leisurely swim for a few minutes before they drifted

away.

Birding was easy from this covered bridge near Mitu. Photo

Kathy Costello

Our motel at Irinida was on the banks of the river, and

for several days we were lucky to see a pair of

Sunbitterns feeding in the flooded back yard. Also in

the late afternoon, huge numbers of Fork-tailed

Flycatchers arrived to hawk insects around the

communications towers in Inirida near our motel. And

after we left our restaurant at night, we saw Lesser

Nighthawks hunting for insects around the street lights

in the middle of town.

River transport meets road transport at Inirida. Photo Kathy

Costello

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The birds of the Western Andes. A visit to

Las Tanageras Reserve

Our group enjoyed watching tanagers which are small

birds of tropical forests in Central and South America.

Most of them are beautifully-coloured, and they were a

particular feature of our birding in the Andes. Among

the tanagers seen were Golden, Glistening-green,

Flame-rumped, Gold and Black, and Rufous-throated

Tanagers, so you get some idea of the colours. We saw

over 30 of them throughout the tour.

We spent 2 nights at Las Tanageras Reserve owned by

the bird conservation organisation Pro Aves, enjoying

long walks along roads and tracks, and then watching

the bird feeders at our lodge in this beautiful area of

the Western Andes.

Some of the birds seen by our group were Sickle-

winged Guan around the grounds, 16 hummingbirds at

2 bird feeders, Andean Mot Mot, Red-headed Barbet

and Toucan Barbet and a beautiful White-capped

Dipper in a stream near the lodge. Although South

American birds such as toucans, macaws and

woodpeckers are familiar to many people, there are

many lesser-known species such as foliage gleaners,

puffbirds, trogons, jacamars, euphonias, manakins,

cotingas and tinamous. The neotropics are wonderfully

rich in birdlife. Our group recorded about 470 species,

many of them difficult to see birds in remote locations.

Bird of the trip by popular vote

Bird of the trip, after a vote, was Guianan Cock-of-the-

Rock.

Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock. Photo

Salvadori@rogers_com.jpeg from HBW photographic library

We visited a site near Mitu, climbing a rocky outcrop

covered in tall forest, and found two bright orange

males. They are large, spectacular birds. A bonus en

route was a close look at of a pair of Blackish Nightjars

sitting on the ground in dry leaf litter near the base of

the outcrop. Not so good was that we disturbed some

huge yellow and black striped bees as we climbed the

outcrop. Two of our group were stung, thankfully only

once, but the sting penetrated four layers of clothing.

Rocky viewpoint near Mitu. Photo Kathy Costello

Subsistence agriculture

Around Mitu, there are about 20 indigenous villages,

each with their own territory and language. We usually

drove to a local village with Pablo our Colombian

guide, who hired a bird guide from the village. We then

birded along the many trails through the surrounding

Varzea or white sand forest. A typical village consisted

of simple unpainted wooden houses, a community

meeting hall, a primary school and a dirt soccer pitch,

and was home to about 20 families. The villages we

visited were usually located on a stream or river and

had electricity and at least one TV. Each community

practised traditional agriculture using chagras, small

clearings in the forest, where manioc (or yucca) and

pineapples were planted. Some coca and bananas

were also grown. After about five years when the poor,

sandy soil was exhausted, another chagra would be

cleared for cultivation.

Source. Birdwatching in Colombia, by Jurgen Beckers

and Pablo Florez.

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November 2016 5

Our group near Inirida. Photo Sue Abbotts

I will always remember one village near Mitu. We were

returning through the village after a morning of birding

when the heavens opened, and a thunderstorm

enveloped us. Our guide asked a local man if we could

join him under the verandah of his wooden home.

After a few minutes we noticed a laptop computer on a

small wooden table. It turned out he was studying

sociology by distance education. That blew away all my

assumptions about education in the villages. The

wonders of satellite communication.

I was impressed by Colombia, and surprised by its

cultural diversity, from remote Indian villages, to black

communities on the Pacific coast, to large bustling

cities. The population of Bogota is 10 million. We saw

huge coffee plantations in the Andes, as well as many

small family farms with a few dairy cattle or sheep,

and maybe a field of potatoes. And we flew over

thousands of square kilometres of lowland rainforest.

The people were friendly, the airlines reliable and the

infrastructure impressive.

TRAVELS IN COLOMBIA Part 2

Utria National Park (Pacific coast) 15-18

August 2016

Val La May

5:30a.m. Eleven groggy birdos and two guides

assemble at Utria Lodge for our morning coffee before

searching for local birds. It’s barely daylight (the days

are short in tropics) but already the sky is full of flying

creatures.

We are hoping to find the Uniform Crake, which one of

our number had seen near her cabin, so envy of her

sighting is spurring us on. We will also be seeking the

usual quota of rainforest skulkers: those mostly grey,

brown or black birds, such as the many Antbirds,

which are difficult to see in the forest gloom. We are

also on the search for the Brown Wood-rail, which

occurs only on the Pacific coast of this region.

I am distracted by the abundant flying creatures.

Some are microbats, but there is a green-winged

insect in large numbers. Butterfly? Moth? Later I

managed to photograph one that landed on the beach.

Still, I mis-identified it as a butterfly, when it is in fact

a migratory moth Urania fulgens.

Migratory moth at Utria National Park. Photo Val La May

But insects are a diversion from the main business of

bird-finding. Today is an easy walk over flat country

without the need of gumboots. The day’s catch of birds

includes Yellow-crowned Night-heron on the beach, a

Western Osprey patrolling the river, Blue-headed

Parrot, a White-whiskered Hermit hummingbird (and 3

other species of hummers), a Pied Puffbird and so on.

Alas, no Brown Wood-rail. But we did see a

surprisingly large and colourful Agouti in the Lodge

garden. We had earned our breakfast at last.

WINTON WETLANDS SURVEYS—SOME

REFLECTIONS

Val La May

BirdLife Murray Goulburn has completed 182 quarterly

surveys around Winton Wetlands in four years. We

have seen a total of 145 species of birds. In the first

year, 2013, we saw 115 species; in 2014, 21 more

new species; in 2015 five new species added and this

year 4 new species added. This progression is pretty

much the classic curve of diminishing returns. That is,

there are only a certain number of species to be seen

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at the Wetland and increasing effort is required over

time to add new species to our tally.

How does our total at Winton Wetlands compare to the

total as listed in the eBird Hotspot report for Winton

Wetlands? The comparison is rough and ready because

we have broken our listing into around a dozen sub-

sites at the Wetlands. In any case, as at 12 November,

189 species had been seen at Winton Wetlands,

according to eBird. So we have missed a few species!

Notable birds we have not yet seen include the

following:

Emu (latest sighting Oct 2015)

Brolga (latest sighting Nov 2012)

Swift Parrot (latest sighting Apr 2011)

Fuscous Honeyeater (latest sighting Nov 2012)

Grey-crowned Babbler (latest sighting Mar 2011)

Varied Sittella (latest sighting Mar 2011)

Interestingly, although several of us have seen Musk

and Purple-crowned Lorikeets at the Wetlands, we

have yet to report them during our surveys. The

surveys are a snapshot of the birds there at a specific

time. Hence there is an element of luck involved in

what species we report.

This year we counted a total of 8,925 individual birds

at the Wetlands. That may seem a large number, but

our highest annual total was in 2014 with a whopping

32,500 individual birds counted! The following species

have a grand total of more than 500 individuals seen

this year:

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo-2658

Straw-necked Ibis-577

Grey Teal-555

Little Corella-505

However, 2016 has not been notable for waterbirds. In

our bumper year of 2014 we counted over 20,000

Grey Teal. The month with the highest total of species

was November 2013, with 89 species reported.

As the abundant water at the Wetland starts to dry up

and the aquatic food increases and becomes more

concentrated, hopefully the bumper bird numbers will

return. And, we have all those ‘missing’ species to

keep looking for.

Vale Barry McLean

We are sad to report that Barry McLean passed away

on 10th October 2016. Many members will remember

Barry as a keen member of Murray Goulburn Branch

who also served as president from 2007 to 2010. He

had previously been a long-time member at Mildura

Branch, and he had been president there before he

and Roberta settled in the Violet Town district. He was

instrumental in pioneering the entry of our observation

data into Eremaea (now eBird). He and Roberta were

regular faces around the club and both took a keen

interest in native plants for which their enthusiasm will

have inspired many. Barry was also a long time

member of the CFA.

Since relinquishing the presidency in 2011, many of

you will know that Barry has struggled with dementia

but he was obviously still content to quietly sit and

watch the birds go by.

Vale Nigel Lacey

Another of our members, Nigel Lacey, sadly passed

away late in October after a lengthy period in hospital.

We will miss him at our quarterly bird surveys at

Winton Wetlands, where he was an enthusiastic

participant.

INTERESTING SIGHTINGS

Don Roberts reports Australasian Bittern at

Gemmill’s Swamp, Mooroopna for 2 to 3 weeks in

October 2016. The bird was last seen on 28 October.

Don’s previous records at Gemmill’s show a bird visited

the same area at the swamp in October each year

from 2010 to 2012. Prior to that, he had not seen this

species at Gemmill’s since the 1970s.

It is good to see that Great Crested Grebe have

returned to this region. Three were seen on our most

recent survey at Winton Wetlands on 9 November

2016. A number of pairs have also been reported at

Moodies Swamp, on the Benalla Tocumwal Road.

Back in 1990, Don Roberts counted 150 nesting pairs

of Great Crested Grebe at Moodies Swamp.

Anne Finlay photographed a male Koel at Murchison

recently, and reported the sighting to Birdline Victoria.

The Koel is also back in Benalla, and probably

elsewhere in our region. Just listen for a far-carrying,

repeated whooping call, and you may find one hiding

in thick foliage nearby.

REPORTS OF OUTINGS

Mangalore Flora Reserve and Seymour

River Walk

Saturday 18 June 2016

Fourteen stalwart members of BirdLife Murray

Goulburn walked into the Mangalore NCR from the

Taungurung Country Rest Stop. About two and a half

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November 2016 7

hours later, fifteen members emerged from the

Reserve. How is it so? A late-comer from Alexandra

found us in the scrub.

Many eyes find many birds: our group saw 42 species

in the Reserve in the grey light of Saturday, compared

with 25 seen by Kathy Costello and me a week earlier

during a reccy visit on a sunny day. Sadly, no Gilberts

Whistler or Hooded Robin. But repeated sightings of a

small group of White-browed Babblers and also a pair

of Crested Shrike-tits, and about 30 Flame Robins.

Also we had a nice little feeding flock in the small

plantation at the Rest Stop, including excellent views

of Yellow Thornbills.

After lunch at New Crossing Place, we braved the cold

wind and walked upriver to the vineyard. Again a nice

feeding flock of Spotted and Striated Pardalotes and

several species of thornbills. They were gleaning

insects off the damaged-looking Red Gum leaves. No

raptors seen on the day at either location.

Male Scarlet Robin at Mangalore. Photo Di Padron

Thanks to everyone who turned out and also for

looking after each other in the scrub at Mangalore.

Our luck on the day extended to Don Roberts' carload,

when Don spotted a pair of Brolgas not far from the

Nagambie Bypass. Graham Boast photographed the

Brolgas and reported them to Birdline Victoria.

Val La May

Brolgas at Nagambie. Photo Graham Boast

Rushworth State Forest

Saturday 16 July 2016

Our outing on 16 July 2016 began in beautiful

sunshine, a wonderful winters day. After meeting in

Rushworth we moved on to Halfway Dam on the

Whroo-Rushworth Road. This is a good place for

flowering Correa shrubs in the winter, which was the

case, attracting Eastern Spinebill, Red Wattlebird,

White-plumed, White-eared, White-naped and Brown-

headed Honeyeaters. Other birds observed were

Varied Sittella, Grey Currawong, Weebill, Brown, Buff-

rumped and Striated Thornbills and a pair of Scarlet

Robins.

On the way back to the cars we searched an area of

Blue Mallee which had been harvested to produce

eucalypts oil, the regrowth of 60 cm looked ideal for

Chestnut-rumped Heathwren as it proved to be. Heard

by a few members but only seen by Manfred.

Balaclava Mine. Photo Marg Clarke

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Yellow-tufted Honeyeater seen at our lunch spot. Photo Marg

Clarke

For lunch we drove to the picnic ground at the Whroo

Historic Reserve Balaclava Hill section. After eating we

walked the circuit track around the hill and observed

many of the species we observed in the morning such

as Spotted and Striated Pardalotes. New birds not seen

earlier were Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Yellow Thornbill

and a lone Little Eagle.

For the 16 members it was a great days birding.

Don Roberts

Warby-Ovens National Park, Wenhams

Camp and Picnic Ground

Saturday 20 August 2016

A bitter morning, fog, cold wind greeted eleven hardy

birdos on 20 August 2016. Peter had a look around the

previous Tuesday and found a spot with many

Grevillea Alpina in flower, so we observed many

Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters and a few Eastern Spinebill.

Other species seen were Brown, Buff-rumped, Yellow-

rumped, Striated and Yellow Thornbill, Weebill, White-

browed Babbler, Varied Sittella, Red-browed Finch and

White-browed Scrubwren.

Well-rugged up on a cold winter day. Photo Marg Clarke

By lunch time the sun had just started to break

through, which continued on for our afternoon walk

along the fast flowing creek, some species observed

were Jacky Winter, Scarlet and Flame Robins and

Dusky Woodswallow. For the day we recorded 40

species, a good total considering the bitter conditions

in the morning.

Don Roberts

Mt Samaria State Park

Saturday 17 September 2016

We were lucky to have a fine day for our outing to Mt

Samaria. Fifteen members turned up and we all

managed to pile into only 4 cars, which later proved to

be a helpful decision.

Jacky Winter at Mourngag Cemetery.Photo Di Padron

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November 2016 9

En route, we stopped at the Moorngag Cemetery. The

roadside here supports a good stand of mature trees of

varying species with a reasonably healthy shrub layer

and has historically proven to yield a good mix of bird

species. There was not a lot of blossom evident so we

only found 2 species of honeyeater but we did observe

6 different 'Thornbills and Allies' as well as a few

Varied Sittellas, which are always a bit hit-and-miss.

We then decided to have our morning tea near the

Samaria Well site at the entry point to the Mt Samaria

State Park. Here, the Grevillea alpina was flowering

profusely as was the mistletoe.

As a result, we observed a good many Yellow-faced

Honeyeaters and some Spinebills but it was the Buff-

rumped Thornbills who put on the best show by

brazenly feeding in the low shrubs and groundcovers

almost at our feet.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater. Photo Di Padron

Our plan was to then travel up the ridge track to the

plateau but we soon encountered a freshly fallen tree

which blocked any further progress uphill. So we

decided to do some birding from the road in the

immediate vicinity in the vain hope of finding a

Spotted Quail-thrush, which are known to inhabitat

this section of dry exposed ridge. Fortunately, a 4WD

convoy soon arrived on their downhill journey off the

plateau and they were able to saw and winch the tree

clear of the road, thereby enabling our party to

continue uphill to the Sawmill site as per our original

intention

Striated Thornbill. Photo Di Padron

We lunched at the Sawmill site and birded in the

immediate vicinity, where the rather wet conditions

underfoot repeatedly checked our progress. We did

hear Lyrebirds and Don's expert ear also heard a Rose

Robin, but the birding was relatively quiet. But some in

the group had good views of 2 pairs of Eastern

Whipbirds.

The birding may have been a little quiet (Species total

=55) but we did have our share of hiccups to liven the

day - and we had no less than 4 full cakes provided by

our members! A very pleasant day of social birding.

Mike Kerr

Pangarang Lookout and Pine Gully, Warby

Ranges

Saturday 15 October 2016

Last Saturday, in spite of short notice for a hastily-

arranged outing to replace our cancelled camp at

Mathoura, 15 members turned up on a glorious day in

the Warby's. We also welcomed 2 new members from

Benalla: Len & Rae.

It was difficult to keep looking for birds, as the many

orchids and butterflies kept distracting us. We did a

long walk up to Pangerang Lookout, where those with

keen hearing heard Chestnut-rumped Thornbills.

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10 The Babbler

Pangarang Lookout. Photo Di Padron

Dollarbird near the lookout. Photo Marg Clarke

Other birding highlights were Dollarbird, Rainbow Bee-

eaters, a nesting Varied Sittella and Leaden Flycatcher.

Sadly we didn't spot Turquoise Parrots, although 10

had been seen in the area earlier in the week.

The track was badly eroded in several places. Although

it is a walking track with a locked gate restricting

vehicle access, tyre tracks had caused obvious

damage, exacerbated by recent heavy rains. Several

channels on the track were 60cm deep, although the

Buff-rumped Thornbills found them a great spot for

bathing.

Altogether we recorded 34 species during the walk.

Varied Sittella on its beautifully-disguised nest. Photo Di

Padron

Lunch at Pine Gully was followed by a walk around the

circuit track, where Ann Kerr found 2 Speckled

Warblers in the gully. Orioles and Black-faced Cuckoo-

shrike were seen in the picnic area. A lot of water was

in the stream and flowing down the waterfall.

Pine Gully waterfall as it’s rarely seen.

Photo Marg Clarke

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November 2016 11

Olive-backed Oriole at Pine Gully picnic area. Photo Marg

Clarke

Salmon Sun Orchid. Photo Di Padron

Thanks to Kathy for organising the outing (and doing

reccies in the area). And also thanks as usual to our

regular photographers Di Padron and Marg Clarke.

Val La May

A big thankyou to everybody who

contributed material for this newsletter.

Kathy Costello,Editor

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12 The Babbler

BirdLife Murray Goulburn Outings for 2017

President: Mike Kerr Secretary: Val La May Ph: 5763 3349: kerrm4947@gmail.com Ph: 5799 2135: vlamay3@gmail.com

Trip cancelled on days of Total Fire Ban. Members requiring transport please contact Mike or Val.

Day &

Date Details Meeting Place & Time Leader

VicRoads

Edition 8 Map Ref

1 Feb.

Wed. Winton Wetlands Survey

Boat Ramp, Lake Mokoan Rd..

RSVP to Kathy Costello 5762 5755

9:00am sharp

34 B9

18 Feb

Sat.

Mitchelton Winery & Tahbilk

Wetland, Nagambie

Tahbilk Winery,

O’Neils Rd., 9.00am Val La May 46 C7

18 Mar,

Sat.

AGM at Euroa Arboretum &

walks in area

Euroa Arboretum, rt. C312

9.00am

Judith

Durston 47 A6

8 Apr,

(2nd

Sat)

Cathedral Range (avoids

Easter & Birdlife camp after

Easter)

Taggerty amenities block

Taggerty-Thornton Rd. 9.00am Bob Tate 62 D7

3 May

Wed. Winton Wetlands Survey

Boat Ramp, Lake Mokoan Rd.

RSVP to Kathy Costello 5762 5755

9:00am sharp

34 B9

20 May

Sat.

Eldorado area

Eldorado Main St. 9.00am Kathy

Costello 35 A6

17 Jun

10am

Heathcote area. (Note later

start for winter)

Heathcote Info Centre,

Northern Hwy. 10.00am 626 F6

15 July,

Sat. 10am

Bushland reserve nr Dookie

chateau, then Tallis winery

Dookie township

10.00 am Karan

Balfour 33 C/D 7

2 Aug

Wed. Winton Wetlands Survey

Boat Ramp, Lake Mokoan Rd.

RSVP to Kathy Costello 5762 5755

9:00am sharp

34 B9

19 Aug

Sat. 10am Chesneyvale area. Mt

Lawson and nearby private

property

Boat Ramp, Lake Mokoan Rd.

10.00am Kathy

Costello 34 B9

16 Sept

Sat. 9am

Mt Black & nearby private

property. (Note earlier start)

Mt Black Rd.

9.00am 46 A6

20th – 23rd

Oct.

Friday to

Monday

Picnic Point Caravan Park, nr

Mathoura, joint camp with

Echuca & District Branch.

MUST book with Secretary.

Picnic Point Rd., Mathoura, NSW

Includes Day outing Sat 21st

9:00am TBD

1 Nov.

Wed.

Winton Wetlands Survey. Boat Ramp, Lake Mokoan Rd.

RSVP to Kathy Costello 5762 5755

9:00am sharp

34 B9

18 Nov

Sat. Mollyullah area. Toombellup

forest and private property

Benalla Rose Garden,

Midland Hwy 9.00am 663 P6

9 Dec

Sat.

Gemmill’s Swamp, Mooroopna,

2nd Sat. for Xmas breakup

Guides & Scouts Hall

Echuca Rd. Mooroopna 9.00am Don Roberts 672 F9

Jan 2018 No outing

7 Feb

2018

Wed.

Winton Wetlands Survey

Boat Ramp, Lake Mokoan Rd.

RSVP to Kathy Costello 5762 5755

9:00am sharp

34 B9

17 Feb

2018

Cussen Park, Tatura Ross St. Tatura, northern end 671 M 2/3