The Gun Club Track comes Good

One of the interesting birding sites around Mallacoota is the track along the Airport fence to the Gun Club.  We have seen quite a few interesting species along there from time, including a Ground Parrot on one occasion.  Just recently it has been rather thin: last time we drove around we didn't see a single bird.

That changed a bit this morning.  OK, it changed quite a lot!

First up I saw a bunch of birds with white rumps swooping around.  I stopped the Pajero to look at them (failed, they'd swooped on by) and as I looked up there were a couple of quail-beasts on the track.
Zooming in showed them to be Stubble Quail - the first I have seen in the Mallacoota area.  Checking with my eBird download it is only the 5th time they have been reported to that site in this area.  Woo hoo!
Then I caught up with the white-rumped rascals.  Tree Martins - 14 of them.


The good species continued with a Tawny-crowned Honeyeater (haven't seen one of them here for  while) of which I couldn't get a good photograph.  

I then noticed a couple of sparrow-shaped items perched in the fence.  On clapping the bins on them they paused just long enough to be identified as Beautiful Firetails.  Only the third time I have seen them (all 3 sightings in the Mallacoota area).  That sorted out Bird of the Day!

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