Spring has passed and into summer. Spring/summer is always a good time for birds in the area, as birds that moved/migrated north for autumn/winter return. Here is a summary of those warm weather returns.
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos whistle as they flapping lazily across the sky; cuckoos, including the trilling Fan-tailed Cuckoo, are back; the kek kek kek kek of the Sacred Kingfisher is around in greater numbers this year, at Coogoorah among other places; and Latham’s Snipe is working the mud, including at Allen Noble Sanctuary.
Other notable returns include Fairy Martins (try the Aireys Inlet Treatment Plant); Mistletoebirds (Gherang Gherang Bushland Reserve); Blue-winged Parrots (Coogoorah or sometimes at the playground in Aireys Inlet); and Olive-backed Orioles (easy to hear the orri-olly-oriole at Distillery Creek, but hard to see).
Two of my favourites are the swooping Dusky Woodswallow (locations ad hoc), and the super-noisy Rufous Whistler (possible wherever there is bush).
Dusky Woodswallow
Rufous Whistler
James Orton