Bird Walk at Lake Marma

Before our last Yarrilinks committee meeting on 3rd Feb, we got together with Ross Barlow for a walk around Lake Marma to observe the birdlife. Ross is a Murtoa resident and keen birder - you can find his regular column in the Murtoa District Advertiser.

Things got off to a great start with a colony of flying foxes hanging in the eucalypts up near the rotunda at the north end of the lake. Not birds of course, but interesting nonetheless. The flying foxes have been in the area for around a month, attracted by the flowering gums. You can read more about Victoria's flying-fox camps here.

Some of the gums currently flowering around the lake are:

• Sugar gum - Eucalyptus cladocalyx (native to SA)

• Spotted gum - Corymbia maculata (native to VIC nut not indigenous to the area)

• Red flowering gum - Corymbia ficifolia (native to WA)

• Lemon scented gum - Corymbia citriodora (native to QLD and NSW)

Around the west side we spent quite a while trying to spot a pair of tawny frogmouths Ross said roosted in a couple of the sugar gums at night. They are very good at camouflage and successfully hid themselves. We also heard a story from Ross about an injured bird that was taken in by a flock of a different species.

The walk was accompanied by many great conversations about the lake and features of the area. We agreed the Lake is a wonderful amenity for the town. Although birds were not overly abundant, Ross suspected this was due to high summer (and a warm day) and that the birds were elsewhere. We did see some lovely pelicans.

The group was quite enthusiastic and look forward to doing another similar walk, perhaps in spring when more birds are nesting and breeding in the area. A huge thank you to Ross for sharing his time and expertise with us!

This article was prepared from submissions by Corinne Heintze, Unmani, Adrian Tyler, and Tracy Dart. Photos by Tracy Dart.