Twofold Bay
Over the last couple of years we have had some interesting birding trips around the Eden area. This year we spent most of our time birding at sea rather than on the land. We were lucky enough to be invited on a pelagic boat trip which turned out to be a relatively pleasant five hour trip out to the continental shelf and back. Most of the birds were seen around the continental shelf and these included Wandering Albatross, Yellow-nosed Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Shy Albatross, Fairy Prion, Wilsons Storm Petrel, Grey-faced Petrel, White-chinned Petrel and Northern Giant-Petrel however Short-tailed Shearwater and Wedge-tailed Shearwater were also seen on the way out. On shore there were cormorants and a White-bellied Sea-Eagle at the jetty.
If you aren’t lucky enough to make it onto a pelagic trip you can also see some pelagic species from the coast near the Green Cape Lighthouse. From here you can also take a walk into the coastal scrub and heathlands. Last year we saw Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, twenty or more Eastern Whipbirds and Beautiful Firetail here.
Some interesting birds can also be seen around the township. This year a White morph Grey Goshawk was flying around the cliffs in Yallumgo Cove, a White-headed pigeon and an Australian Figbird were seen in a garden on Imlay Street, friends of ours previously told us they had seen a Chanel-billed Cuckoo in the park on Bramble Street.
Eden
Last year a walk around Lake Curalo revealed Southern Emu-wren in the grass bordering the caravan park (near to the fish cleaning amenities block), Scarlet Honeyeater, Yellow-tailed Black- Cockatoo, Eastern Whipbird, Satin Bowerbird on the board walk, and on the lake were Eastern Curlew, Eastern Reef Egret and Bar-tailed Godwit. This year although many of the birds were still present on the lake the interesting birds in the forest surrounding the boardwalk were mostly not seen and parts of the bushland appeared to have been cleared!
If you are driving back to Melbourne from Eden, Maxwells Flora reserve is worth a visit. This year we saw a small flock of Topknot Pigeon, Wonga Pigeon, a Rose Robin and Lewins Honeyeater on this walk. You can access the walk via Maxwells Road, off the Princess Hwy.
Eden Bird List
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