Highlights Of Bruny Island

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Tara

Once you’ve arrived on Bruny Island by ferry, you will drive off and head down the main road. If you are here for birding, you will probably be staying at either Inala or Captain Cook’s depending on your budget so you need to head south. In this post I will cover the tourist attractions and in the next post I will show you where we saw most of the birds.

Just after leaving the ferry we saw this billboard about conserving the Swift Parrot.

First stop was the Bruny Island Smokehouse. They sell various meats and sauces. You can start building your artisan food picnic here.

There was some pretty amazing scenery on the drive south. There are a couple other places to add to a Bruny Island style picnic – Get Shucked Oysters and Bruny Island Premium Wines.

Since I am fond of cheese, I wasn’t about to pass by the Bruny Island Cheese Co! Free cheese tasting!

I love how they have these educational boards about the Swift Parrots!

Just as you enter the narrow stretch of land you will see the entrance to the Penguin Rookery. Take note as you will want to come back here at night.

What would a picnic be without some sweet treats? The Bruny Island Berry Farm has some delicious jams, cakes and other goodies! Since this is the last stop for food gathering before Adventure Bay, you may want to use their picnic area.

As we came into Adventure Bay, we saw this traditional looking church.

Further down is the Bay of History and the Bligh Museum. We got there too late so didn’t get to go inside………………birding will do that to you!

Destination: Bruny Island, Tasmania

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Tara

Bruny Island is one of Australia‘s top birding destinations but it is also a destination that can appeal to anyone birder or not. If you are planning a trip to Tasmania, I highly recommend a visit here. Bruny Island is easily reached by car + ferry from the mainland. When choosing a rental car, you need to make sure that the company allows its cars to go to Bruny and also that the cars are covered by insurance if you take them on the ferry. We used Bargain Car Rentals who cater to people wanting to visit Bruny Island. Oddly enough, Thrifty seems to encourage people to take their cars to Bruny but when you read the T&Cs it says that the cars are not covered on ferries. Watch out for “Gotchas” like this.

Gotcha!

GETTING TO BRUNY ISLAND

It’s about an hour’s drive to Kettering, then you board the Bruny Island Ferry. The two most interesting spots for birding are represented by the blue dots. The one on the narrow strip is where the Penguin Rookery is. The other one is at Adventure Bay where the Captain Cook Caravan Park and best place to see Swift Parrots is.

Ferries go roughly every 60-90 minutes.

Return fares for a tourist are $30 off-peak, $35 peak and you must have cash only.

THE EXPERIENCE

Loading the cars on the ferry is very well organized, staff will direct you into lanes and motion you forward when its your turn. You can get out and walk around during the 20 minute journey and enjoy the scenery. Here are some pics from my trip.

Photographer Of The Week – Tim Laman

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Tara

This is a older feature I am resurrecting. Each week, I will highlight a gallery of superb bird photography by a professional photographer. I am hoping to provide inspiration both for eco-travel and for us to improve our photography skills.

This week, I am showcasing the gallery of Tim Laman. He has some outstanding shots of Birds of Paradise, both from West Papua (where I was in March 2013) and in Papua New Guinea (where I want to go but am afraid to)! Also check out his Bowerbird gallery, I’ve seen various Bowerbirds in West Papua and Australia but I don’t get shots like these! Since his work is copyrighted, I encourage you to check out his amazing photos on his website.

National Geographic Guide To Birding Hot Spots Of The United States

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Tara

You don’t necessarily have to travel to go birding if you live in the USA! The National Geographic Guide to Birding Hot Spots of the United States shows you birding hot spots you may not have realized so the next time you go visit Grandma you can take her birding as well!

This is my affiliate link, if you use it to purchase this book or any other on Amazon I will get a small commission at no added cost to you. Thank you for your support!

6 Awesome Airport Nap Pods

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Tara

Do you have a long layover enroute to your dream destination? Need a quiet place for a nap or just relax but you don’t have lounge access? Try these airport nap pods as shown on Conde Nast Traveler!

Eastern Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus)

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Tara

The Eastern Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) of Australia is one of only three ground-dwelling parrots in Australia, the others being its closest relatives, the Western Ground Parrot (Pezoporus flaviventris) and the extremely rare Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis).

Eastern Ground Parrot photo from Wikipedia

I took these photos in Strahan and Melaleuca. I wasn’t fast enough to get a clear shot.

You will usually have to flush a Ground Parrot to see it. This means walking carefully through the bush where they are known to live and watching for them. When disturbed, a ground parrot flies swiftly just above the ground before dropping back into the vegetation. The presence of the bird is often only revealed by its characteristic dusk and dawn call, a clear whistling sequence of notes which rise in pitch before fading. It is silent in flight. Please do not harass a Ground Parrot. Once you flush one, get your camera ready, walk slowly towards where he landed and he will flush again. Get your photo, then leave the bird alone.

The Ground Parrot is found in scattered populations along the east coast of Australia, from south-east coastal Queensland and in pockets in north-east and southern New South Wales, through to coastal areas of Gippsland in Victoria and the islands of the Bass Strait to its stronghold in Tasmania. The most reliable place to see them is in Strahan either near the old airport or near the Wilderness Lodge.

Blue dots are Strahan & Melaleuca – best places to see Eastern Ground Parrots

LEARN MORE ABOUT EASTERN GROUND PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife

NSW Environment

Biodiversity Australia

VIDEOS

Unfortunately there aren’t any videos of Eastern Ground Parrots on YouTube where I can embed them here. There are a few short clips filmed at Strahan on IBC but you need to view them over there.

A Surprise Flushing Of Eastern Ground Parrots

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Tara

Our Melaleuca guide had told us to be at the boat dock at a specific time which I can’t remember, around 11am so we reluctantly left the OBPs and headed off down the path leading to the dock. There were some informative signs along the way to tell you about the local birds which is great because most people who do this trip are not as bird crazy as I am! It’s very educational!

As we walked along the raised wooden footpath, all of a sudden an Eastern Ground Parrot flushed and flew about 10 meters away, landing in the tall grass. I grabbed my camera and slowly walked in his direction. He flushed again and I frantically grabbed some shots. They aren’t great shots but at least I got to see him! He went further away and I decided not to follow as I didn’t want to upset him.

We were the first to arrive at the dock so waited for the others while enjoying the scenery. As I watched the others approach, no one else managed to flush a Ground Parrot.

The boat ride took us through spectacular scenery to a small beach where lunch was served.

Even though it was the first day of autumn, it was freezing out there so we were glad we had borrowed jackets from Par Avion. After lunch, the boat took us back to the dock. No more Ground Parrots so we retraced our steps to the OBP hide to spend some more quality time with them before the “normal” tourists showed up.

Earthflight: The Complete Series

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Tara

This spectacular series was the sensation of the bird lovers community on Facebook for weeks! You just can’t beat the way they filmed it so you felt like you were flying alongside the birds! Each DVD features a different geographic region, the only complaint I had was that I think it should have been split up further with more footage!

This is my affiliate link, if you use it to purchase this product or any other on Amazon I will get a small commission at no added cost to you. Thank you for your support!

A New Way To Sleep In Economy Class

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Tara

I’ve been spoiled in being able to use miles to do most of our long-haul flights in business class. This seems likely to change as airlines are starting to release fewer business class to partners for redemptions. This father-son team came up with a clever solution and did a Kickstarter fundraiser which raised enough funds to get the project off the ground.

I’m not quite convinced, I think if your head is forced back like that your jaw will fall open and you will end up looking like a dork snoozing with your mouth open!

Have a look for yourself!

Beautiful Firetail (Stagonopleura bella)

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Tara

Don’t call them vain, they didn’t ask to be called Beautiful Firetails……………..even though they are!

The beautiful firetail (Stagonopleura bella) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 1,000,000 km². The species inhabits temperate shrubland habitats in Australia. The ones in the photos were seen in Melaleuca sharing the Orange-bellied Parrots’ food. The beautiful firetail is endemic in Southeastern Australia. Its distribution range extends from Newcastle to Kangaroo Island, however, the bird is most prolific in Tasmania and off-shore islands. It lives in coastal heathland, forests and shrubbery, never far from water. Its preference for near water habitats was shown in a study of its occurrence in intact forest areas of the Victorian Central Highlands, where it was almost exclusively found in riparian habitat. Doing the Melaleuca trip with Par Avion is a great way to see them.