A sunny Winter’s Day at Willowind Farm

I dropped by the folks’ farm in Moorooduc yesterday. They live on a 10 acre block with large pine trees down one side and a Eucalyptus woodlot along another edge. The long driveway is bordered by rows of Willow Trees. Next door is a free range egg farm guarded by several Mareema Sheepdogs that have been trained to guard the chickens from foxes. Given the number of chickens we find in the sheep yards they do miss a few visits by the local foxes. A few raptors also tend to regularly stop by and watch for chicken stragglers. I have counted 24 bird species so far at the farm. The property has a nice mix of native and introduced mature trees as well as some native bushes for the smaller birds. I  photographed a few below, along with some nicely coloured fungi.

Brown Thornbill, Willowind Farm, Moorooduc, Victoria

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Female Spotted Pardalote, Willowind Farm

Grey Shrikethrush, Willowind Farm

One of four Dusky Woodswallows roosting in a local tree in the late afternoon sun.

Large Fungi, Willowind Farm, Moorooduc, Victoria

Apricot tree Fungi, Willowind Farm, Moorooduc, Victoria