
02/04/2025
In March, 30+ members headed out west to Port Fairy for our autumn weekend away. Running from Friday afternoon to Sunday, it's a chance for us to visit places that are much further away than a typical weekend excursion. We run two weekends away each year - autumn and spring.
Meeting up on Friday, we went for a walk around the wetlands, where several members saw an Australian Spotted Crake among other water birds. We then enjoyed a BBQ dinner together. Afterwards, we had a walk around the jetty and to the Short-tailed Shearwater viewing platform. Unfortunately luck wasn't on our side that night, and we only saw a handful of Shearwaters flying overhead.
Saturday we walked around Griffiths Island and had a number of views of seabirds such as Australian Gannets, Black-faced Cormorants, and even a Short-tailed Shearwater near the lighthouse. We headed to Yambuk area for lunch and a walk along the beach, where we were most surprised to see an Emu on the beach!
On Sunday we headed to a couple of beaches around Kilarney. The weather wasn't great, with heavy winds and some rain - perfect for walking on the beach! We did however manage to see a few waders/shorebirds, including Ruddy Turnstones, Red-necked Stints, Sanderlings, Red-capped Plovers and Double-banded Plovers.
We headed to Tower Hill for lunch and hunkered down in a picnic shelter. There were a number of koalas in the carpark area which gave great views, although they didn't seem too cheery in the wild weather. We then did the wetlands walk which was quite protected and saw lots of waterbirds and a host of bush birds, including Grey Fantails which gave close views.
On concluding the walk, members dispersed to head home. Many thanks to our leaders Inta and Roger for providing an excellent weekend.