Tag Archives: Point Addis

Calls of the forest

Walking through an Eastern Australian eucalyptus forest, one of the loudest natural sounds a visitor could hear would be the White-throated Treecreeper. While a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo could be louder when heard close-up, (and they are very loud), shear decibels for size would have to go to the treecreeper. I found this one in its usual position – climbing vertically up the side of a tree, and occasionally stopping and calling. The small orange marking indicates that it is a female.

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White-throated Treecreeper – Point Addis Ironbark Basin walk, Anglesea, Victoria

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white-throated-treecreeper-point-addis-great-ocean-road-anglesea-victoria

Moving around the tree and working her way up the trunk looking for insects, ants and grubs. 

Point Addis Scrubwren

While photographing the Rufous Bristlebird at Point Addis recently, a White Browed Scrubwren decided it was safe enough to feed alongside the Bristlebird. It foraged amongst the leaf litter hunting for small invertebrates. These small birds usually are very timid and are more often heard scolding trespassers than actually being seen. The adult birds have very distinctive brows that always seem to make them look angry…

White browed Scrubwren, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria,

White browed Scrubwren, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road.

White browed Scrubwren, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria,

Turning over leaf litter and small pieces of bark to find invertebrates…

The Rufous Bristlebird of Point Addis

There are two species of Bristlebirds found in Victoria – the Rufous and the Eastern. The Rufous can be seen along the Great Ocean Road from Anglesea to the border, while the Eastern Bristlebird is found in only a few areas of far eastern Victoria. I have attempted to photograph these species 6 times in the last few years and while I was successful the first time I tried for the Eastern I have not had much success with the Rufous. I have glimpsed it a few times at various locations but I have not got a good look at it or managed to even get close to taking a decent image. It is a shy, ground feeding bird that hides for much of the day. The photographs below were taken on my last trip to Point Addis. I finally worked out where they can be easily photographed and scored a few nice images.

Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

A furtive bird with some interesting colours and feather patterns

Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

The Bristlebird hunted along the ground and allowed us to get quite close – as long as we stayed low as well. 

Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

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Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

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Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

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Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

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Rufous Bristlebird, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria

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Striated Thornbills of the Iron Bark Track

Near the turn off from the main highway (also called the Great Ocean Road) along the Point Addis Road is a small carpark and the start to a wonderful short walk around a mixed growth forest. At the moment the tall Iron Bark trees are flowering and while there may not be a huge number of species there are very good numbers of a few forest species. Walking around the forest track we came across the usual birds like Red Wattlebirds, Eastern Yellow Robins, New Holland Honeyeaters and Rainbow Lorikeets and a few rarer birds like the Gang Gang Cockatoo and Varied Sitella. While trying to find a Painted Button Quail that we could hear calling we became immersed in a small feeding flock of Striated Thornbills. Their cousins the Brown Thornbill are quite common in most forests and even in my own street in suburbia but striated seem to be a bit rarer and difficult to photograph – they are always on the go, hunting for insects and chasing each other. It is a real treat to find (usually by their calls) and photograph these tiny 10 cm birds.

Striated Thornbill, Point Addis Iron Bark Track, Victoria

Striated Thornbill, Point Addis Iron Bark Track, Victoria

Striated Thornbill, Point Addis Iron Bark Track, Victoria

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Striated Thornbill, Point Addis Iron Bark Track, Victoria

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The Surfers at Point Addis

Surfer, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Surfer, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

While looking for albatross and whales off Point Addis (near Bells Beach) along the Great Ocean Road, we watched the surfers riding waves close to the Pt Addis cliffs. This is the first time I have tried human action shots – the techniques for shooting small fast birds seems to work on slower moving targets as well…

We admired the riders, good skills, lightweight wetsuits and freezing water in Winter…

A few good rides by the blue board rider…

Surfer, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Surfer, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Surfer, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

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Surfer, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

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Surfer, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

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Surfer, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

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and a few wipeouts by the others…

Wipeout, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Wipeout, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Wipeout, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Wipeout II

Bath time at Point Addis

After a long rain storm at Point Addis, on the surf coast near Anglesea, I watched the birds come out and make the most of the rain puddles. This little male Superb Fairy Wren was fully focussed on having a good clean. He would spend a minute or so bathing, fly up to a post, preen and then back into the puddle again. Takes a lot of work to keep your feathers in shape.  His female companion was much more nervous and only took a few quick flying dips.

Male Superb Fairy Wren, Pt Addis,

Male Superb Fairy Wren, Pt Addis,

Male Superb Fairy Wren, Pt Addis,

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Male Superb Fairy Wren, Pt Addis,

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Male Superb Fairy Wren, Pt Addis,

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On some scrub nearby an immature Crimson Rosella watched the action. Over time his feathers will slowly turn a vibrant crimson. The mottled colours helps the bird stay camouflaged as they learn the skills required to survive. Unless they are in the open like the one below they can be very hard to see and find in the trees.

Immature Crimson Rosella, Pt Addis

Immature Crimson Rosella, Pt Addis

An example below of the bright colours of the adult Crimson Rosella,  photographed a month back at Welch Track in the Dandenongs.

Crimson Rosella, Welch Track, Dandenongs Ranges National Park

Crimson Rosella, Welch Track, Dandenongs Ranges National Park