OBPs on the Bellarine Peninsula 
wrap-up of OBP things for 20f2 ... 
OBP sightings on our local patch for 2012 
• A juvenile (banded at Melaleuca from breeding season 
2011/12) was seen and photographed at Airey’s Inlet in 
April. It was near the main bridge over Painkalac Creek 
and it is well worth those of you who are down that way 
in autumn 2013 keeping an eye out for migrating birds 
in unexpected areas. 
• Two adults were observed in saltmarsh near Breamlea, 
in July, a week before the official survey. 
• One adult observed at Swan Bay in September. 
...Craig Morley* 
volunteered their time and efforts to complete the surveys 
in 2012—a wonderful contribution. About 20 of these 
participants were new to the Bellarine Peninsula OBP 
Working Group and there are now well over 300 entries on 
the contact list! Thank you! 
OBP survey dates for 2013 
Please put these in your diaries for next year and I look 
forward to working with many of you to survey for Orange- 
bellied Parrots and Blue-winged Parrots in 2013. It has 
been agreed that the survey dates will be the week-ends 
of 18-19 May, 27-28 July and 14-15 Sept. 
Volunteers for 2012 
Once more a huge thank you to all who have helped 
during the 2012 OBP season, whether it was helping with 
surveys, identifying plant species, providing photos, 
offering feed-back on the draft proposal, allowing access 
to your land or simply providing much appreciated 
encouragement by way of emails, texts or phone calls. A 
very BIG thank you to each of you. Over 60 observers 
If you would like more information about OBPs or would 
like to register as a volunteer for the 2013 OBP surveys, 
please make contact with Craig .... 
craigmorley5@bigpond.com or telephone 5221 4604. 
*Bellarine Peninsula Orange-bellied Parrot Working Group 
Co-ordinator 
Bird observations 
December 2012-January 2013 
N ow that wetlands in northern Victoria are drying, we 
have experienced an influx of water birds. Australian 
Spotted Crakes have been seen at many local freshwater 
wetlands; the rarer and shyer Spotted Crake has also been 
noted, along with Baillon’s Crakes and Buff-banded Rails. 
Freckled Duck and Pink-eared Duck have been noted at 
several sites that they rarely visit. Good numbers of 
Banded Stilts and Red-necked Avocets are present at 
several locations. Red-kneed Dotterels are now present at 
many sites, with flocks of more than 100 birds around 
Hospital Swamp. 
One of our rarest waterbirds, the Painted Snipe was 
located at Hospital Swamp, adding to the amazing list of 
birds from that site over the past six months. Pacific 
Golden Plovers have been seen in good numbers near the 
Bellarine coast. 
Large flocks of Curlew Sandpipers have also been noted. 
However, few Ruddy Turnstones have been seen this year 
and the numbers of Eastern Curlew continue to decline. 
Eastern Koels have continued to be reported from around 
the Highton/Newtown area. These birds parasitise Red 
Wattlebird nests, so keep a look out for any wattlebirds 
feeding strange youngsters! Brush Cuckoos are another 
unusual species observed lately. 
Spotted Harriers present a hazard to bird watchers driving 
around Geelong as it is difficult to concentrate on driving 
...Barry Lingham 
when these stunning birds are close by. Some parrot 
species start to move back out of the forests. The large 
numbers of Blue-winged Parrots near Anglesea can be 
expected to return to the farmland and wetlands on the 
Bellarine Peninsula over the next month. Gang-gang 
Cockatoos are on the move, with some recently reported 
from Barwon Heads. 
Chestnut-rumped Heathwren are not often reported, but 
the heathland around Anglesea to Wensleydale is the best 
place to look. A White-throated Needletail was also noted 
there—have been very few sightings of ‘swifts’ over the 
past two years. 
The local bird populations and species numbers are 
excellent at present, signified by the extraordinary 152 
species noted during the Bellarine Challenge Bird Count in 
December. Get out and enjoy our marvellous birds while 
numbers at a peak. 
Observers: 
AHa, Angus Hartshorn; BL, Barry Lingham; BGp, Bird Group 
Excursion; BML, Bernie Lingham; BWo, Bev Wood; CBC, 
Challenge Bird Count; DHe, Dean Hewish; DR, David Rantall; 
DTy, David Tytherleigh; GT, Graeme Tribe; JDg, Jeff Dagg; JN, 
John Newman; MHe, Marilyn Hewish; PT, Peter Turner; RGa, 
Rob Ganly; TFI, Tom Fletcher 
[The following observations are only a fraction of those submitted. 
All reports will be published in the Geelong Bird Reporf\ 
14 Geelong Naturalist February 2012 
