Nature walks with my camera: In search of sea birds

With the weather forecast predicting sunshine, I decided to take a trip to the beach in an attempt to find some sea birds. It was also a good opportunity to go and explore parts of Phillip Island that I'd always wanted to check out, but just never got around to.

First stop was the Fishers Wetland near Churchill Island.

A curious Brown Thornbill stopped to look at my camera.

Brown Thornbill, Acanthiza pusilla

Silvereye, Zosterops lateralis

A lot of the birds were showing off their wonderful breeding plumage, like this Great Egret.

Great Egret, Ardea alba

And the first new spotting of the weekend - a pair of Pied Oystercatchers.

Pied Oystercatcher, Haematopus longirostris

I continued on to the Oswin Roberts reserve, via the cemetery wetland.

Little Black Cormorant, Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

As I got out of the car I heard a beautiful whistling song, which took me a while to locate - and even longer to get this shot of a Rufous Whistler and his katydid lunch.

Rufous Whisler, Pachycephala rufiventris

A noisy gumtree had my neck craning upwards to find a family of White-eared Honeyeaters - another new spotting. Since doing some research I've come across several websites claiming that these birds sometimes scavenge human hair for their nests. While it's normally mammal hair they acquire, they having been noted to occasionally swoop down and pluck some hairs from an unsuspecting bushwalker's head or woolen jumper as they pass by. I was thankful that I had worn a hat that day!

White-eared Honeyeater, Lichenostomus leucotis

Superb Fairy-wren, Malurus cyaneus

Red-browed Finch, Neochmia temporalis

White-eared Honeyeater, Lichenostomus leucotis

I heard a familiar call that I recognised as the 'bird that got away' on my Adelaide trip - a Golden Whistler. On that trip I followed a bird from tree to tree for ages, only getting a shot of it's back. This time I was determined to get a better shot and my patience eventually paid off.