Strider     Magazine

No 3

Bridging the gap 

Watching Wildlife In Victoria

In this edition of watching wildlife in Victoria we take a journey of discovery to seven of the most prominent places in Victoria to see wildlife in the wild! 

DANDENONG RANGES NATIONAL PARK

Situated just 33km east of Melbourne, the Dandenong Ranges have been a favourite weekend destination for Melbournians for over a century.  Given national park status in 1987 to protect large tracts of remnant forest, the Dandenongs provide a welcome escape from city life at an time of the year.

Highlight:

Birds:

The park boasts a high diversity of birdlife, with parrots being a particularly prominent group.  The major picnic grounds attract crimson rosellas, sulfur-crested cockatoos and galahs, allowing for very close encounters and wonderful photographic opportunities.  Elsewhere in the park yellow-tailed black-cockatoos may be heard and seen as they fly above the treetops in search of food.  Laughing kookaburras, eastern yellow robins, grey fantails and grey currawongs are quite easily seen and regularly visit picnic areas, while several species of honeyeater call the national park home.  The melodious song of the golden whistler is as distinctive as its black, yellow and white plumage.  More cryptic but no less abundant are species such as thornbills, pardalotes and mistletoe birds.  Listen out also for the calls of the pilotbird, bell miner and eastern whipbird; they are more-often heard than seen due to their penetrating calls and secretive nature.

Mammals:

By day, the mammals you are most likely to encounter are the swamp wallaby and echidna.  Swamp wallabies prefer to shelter in areas with dense undergrowth during the day, and often the first indication of their presence is a ‘thump-thump’ as they bound away.  They graze in open areas overnight however, so try such places (eg. Neumann Track) in the early morning and late afternoon.  Echidnas are more active in warmer weather, and late spring-early summer is the best time to see these busy termite-eaters.  They have exceptional hearing but very poor eyesight, so approach quietly and you should be able to get very close without disturbing their activity. 

The Dandenong Ranges’ forest comes alive after the sun has set, with wallabies bounding around on the ground and possums and gliders scurrying through the treetops.  Common ringtail and brushtail possums and sugar gliders are relatively abundant and easy to locate by spotlight.  The greater glider, Australia’s largest glider, is quite localised and thus harder to find; try Minak Reserve.  Least obvious is the yellow-bellied glider, which is locally uncommon and highly mobile.

Reptiles:        

GRAMPIANS NATIONAL PARK

The Grampians National Park is a wildlife watcher’s dream.  The diversity of habitats present within the park enables a wide range of animals to thrive; 195 bird species, 35 mammals, 28 reptiles, 11 frogs and 6 native fishes have been recorded.  A 260km drive west of Melbourne on the Western Highway, this park is perfect for that long weekend escape. 

Highlight:       

Koalas thrive in the manna gums around Halls Gap, and no visit is complete without spotting an individual sleeping overhead as you walk down the main street.  The trees in the park opposite the supermarket are a great place to start.  Listen for the guttural grunts of male koalas during the night; they are extremely loud.

Birds:

Birds are abundant and any length of visit to the Grampians National Park will reveal several dozen species.  A notable species is the long-billed corella, which feeds in large numbers on the lawn outside the shops at the north end of Halls Gap (a great photo opportunity).  Listen for the characteristic ‘creaky door’ call of the gang-gang cockatoo, a beautiful grey bird with orange-pink features.  Sulfur-crested and yellow-tailed black-cockatoos also occur in the park, and crimson rosellas are common. 

Beware of the laughing kookaburras around Halls Gap.  Their daring raids on picnic tables and hampers are a regular occurrence.  The spring wildflower display, possibly the best in the state, brings the eastern spinebills and New-Holland and crescent honeyeaters to life.  They dart from flower to flower, often oblivious to human presence.

A high number of raptor species call the park home, including the wedge-tailed eagle, whistling kite, swamp harrier, brown falcon, nankeen kestrel and black-shouldered kite.  Circling above the rocky escarpments and cliff faces is the rare peregrine falcon, a prize sight among bird watchers.  A pair nest on the cliffs above the Troopers Creek campground.

Mammals:

More species of the kangaroo family occur there than anywhere else in Victoria, and you can’t help but encounter at least a few of these.  Both eastern grey and western grey kangaroos are found in the park.  The eastern greys are in fact grey in colour, and can be easily seen and photographed at Zumstein picnic ground.  The individuals there are quite tame as up until recently they were hand-fed by visitors.  This action is now frowned upon due to dietary concerns, but the kangaroos will still allow you to approach very close, so don’t forget your camera.  Western grey kangaroos are in fact a browny colour, but otherwise resemble their grey cousins.  They can be seen in heathy woodland, but aren’t readily accessible like the eastern greys at Zumstein.  

Keep an eye out for echidnas in the drier parts of the park, and at night you should spot common brushtail and ringtail possums.  Species to look out for are the endangered squirrel glider, which inhabits the red gum forests in the north of the park, and the eastern pygmy possum, which likes to feed on banksia flowers in heath woodlands.

Reptiles:

While driving around keep watch for reptiles sunning themselves on the road.  Shingle-back lizards, also known as stumpy tails, are especially common in the drier sections of the national park.  The southern water skink may be seen basking on rock slabs near permanent water, a good place to find them being in the Wonderland Range.  In such areas be on the look out for eastern tiger snakes, and give them a wide berth if encountered.  The robust black rock skink occupies crevices in rocky areas, and is often seen scurrying to such a crevice for shelter.  The mountain dragon and eastern mourning skink are classified as rare and\or restricted species, and both survive in the park.

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD

Over 200km of picturesque winding road, beautiful waterfalls, rugged coastline, lush rainforest and towering eucalypts.  The Great Ocean Road has it all.  Add to that a high diversity of sea and land animals and you have a region that must be seen to be believed.  Starting at Anglesea, 112km south-west of Melbourne, and stretching west to Warrnambool the road is famous Australia-wide, and taking the drive is a Victorian tradition.  With the following information in hand you can enhance your trip by including encounters with the region's fantastic wildlife. 

Highlights:

Female southern right whales visit the shallow waters off Logan’s Beach, near Warrnambool, to give birth and nurse their calves.  Between June and October up to seven cow-calf pairs may be present, and an excellent viewing area has been set up on the sand dunes behind the beach.  It is a true pleasure to watch these giants of the ocean laze around just beyond the surf zone, spy-hopping and occasionally breaching.

In the Angahook-Lorne State Park the beautiful and noisy yellow-bellied glider can easily be seen after dark with the aid of a spotlight.  The tall forest around the Sheoak Creek picnic ground is a good place to view these gliders as well as their smaller cousins, sugar gliders.

Birds:

Birdos travel the great ocean road to see one species; the rufous bristlebird.  Common in the region’s coastal scrub, where it runs swiftly beneath the dense vegetation, it is extremely wary and rarely seen.  At the Twelve Apostles car park however it has become accustomed to human traffic and often feeds in the open, making the car park destination number one for serious bird watchers.  Also be on the lookout for southern emu wrens and beautiful firetails while in coastal scrub.

While viewing the sunset at the apostles, watch the beach below for penguins returning to shore from a day of feeding at sea.  There is a colony of little penguins that nests at the base of the cliff, and at dusk individuals waddle back up the beach to their burrows.  Down the road near Loch Ard Gorge short-tailed shearwaters, commonly known as muttonbirds, nest in summer on Mutton Bird Island.  Further west, on Griffiths Island at Port Fairy, a raised boardwalk takes you through another colony.  Like the penguins, these birds also return from foraging trips at dusk.  While visiting the Bay Of Islands, check out the colony of black-faced cormorants on one of the rock stacks.  This is one of only a few dozen colonies of this species in Australia.  In wild weather, be on the lookout for seabirds swept close to shore.  Albatrosses, petrels and skuas are common.

Unlike most of the east coast of Australia, it is the spectacular white form of the grey goshawk that is more common in the Otways.  Don’t get it confused with the other white bird common in the area, the sulfur-crested cockatoo.  Many other parrot species, including the large red and green king parrot, are found in the forests and heathlands of the great ocean road.

Mammals:

WILSONS PROMONTORY NATIONAL PARK

With only a single road entering the park, the vast majority of Wilsons Promontory National Park is only accessible to hikers, reducing human impact on this fragile wilderness region.  The park is located 200km south-east of Melbourne and contains only one major campground at Tidal River.  From the campground hikers can explore the 100km of walking trails and experience the spectacular and fascinating wildlife that call this park home. 

Highlights:

Birds:

On the drive into the park be on the lookout for emus, as they are regularly seen crossing the road.  Cape Barren geese visit the park over summer to graze, and the ground parrot is present in the heathlands. 

These heathlands are home to a plethora of birds.  Superb fairy-wrens, robins, golden whistlers, wattlebirds, honeyeaters and parrots abound. 

Mammals:

A drive along the main road into the park may reveal eastern grey kangaroos, swamp wallabies, echidnas and wombats.  Try at night for abundant sightings (except echidnas).  These species occur throughout the park, and shouldn’t be too hard to see. 

After seeing the ringtail possums around Tidal River, the banksia woodlands in the park offer a unique possum and glider watching experience.  The tiny eastern pygmy possum, feathertail and sugar gliders visit flowering banksias to feed at night, and although quite cryptic they are certainly worth searching for. 

If visiting ‘The Prom’ in winter, keep an eye out to sea for passing southern right whales.  Sightings are reported each year so you might get lucky.

Reptiles: 

Numerous skinks including the blotched bluetongue lizard inhabit the park, as do several snake species.  The attractive White’s skink may be seen in the heaths and woodlands, with its characteristic white eye ring.  As with much of Victoria, the warmer months are your best bet for finding the reptile fauna active.

HATTAH-KULKYNE NATIONAL PARK

Located 580km north-west of Melbourne, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park is suited to holidaymakers who have at least 3-4 days to make the trip.  The park is teeming with wildlife, and is one of the best places in the state to view arid species usually associated with the ‘red centre’ of Australia.  Red kangaroos, hopping-mice, grasswrens, dragons and geckos are just a sample of this diverse fauna.  Be warned though, it can get incredibly hot in Summer!  Visit in Autumn or Spring to avoid the intense heat.

Highlight:

Undoubtedly the highlight of a visit to any of the parks in north-western Victoria is the sight of a male malleefowl tending to his mound of sand and leaf-litter.  The mound is used as an incubator for eggs laid by the female, and may reach a diameter of several metres.  The birds themselves are quite rare due to habitat loss and predation by foxes, but with a little effort should be able to be viewed. 

Birds:

The diversity of parrot species that either inhabit or visit the park is astounding. Regent, mulga, red-rumped and ringneck parrots, sulfur-crested and Major Mitchell’s cockatoos, yellow rosellas, blue bonnets, little corellas, galahs, budgerigars and cockatiels.  There is also a large representation of honeyeaters and raptors. 

Try the Lendrook Plain and Nowingi Track for mallee emu-wrens and striated grasswrens, and the various lakes for visiting waterbirds.  Emus are common and hard to miss as you travel around the park.

Mammals:

Western grey and red kangaroos shouldn’t be hard to spot, particularly if you take a night drive along one or more of the dirt tracks within the park.  Brush-tailed possums are often encountered at night, and with a spotlight and a little perseverance smaller species such as Mitchell’s hopping-mouse and the southern ningaui may be sighted.  Be on the lookout too for pygmy possums while spotlighting. 

By day echidnas roam the landscape in search of their favourite food – termites.  While driving be careful not to run over individuals as they cross the tracks.

Reptiles:

This park is one of Victoria’s best places for viewing reptiles, with most major groups well represented.  Bearded dragons are often seen basking on tree stumps, logs or any other suitable elevated site, while shingleback lizards prefer the road and track surfaces.  Sandy regions are home to the mallee and painted dragons, much smaller in size than their bearded relatives, and are also the place to find desert skinks and roaming sand monitors.

Lace monitors on the other hand are arboreal, so prefer to live in wooded regions.  Burton’s snake-lizard may be found in the litter beneath eucalyptus trees, and eastern bluetongue lizards are common and can be encountered just about anywhere.

By night the gecko fauna comes to life.  Spotlight river red gum trunks for marbled geckos, and try mallee trees for eastern spiny-tailed geckos.  On the ground terrestrial foragers such as the tessellated, beaded, wood, beaked, thick-tailed and Bynoe’s geckos may be seen.

CROAJINGOLONG NATIONAL PARK

Protecting 100km of Victoria's coastline and adjacent heathlands and forest, the Croajingolong National Park has a spectacular fauna.  Over 250 bird species have been recorded, along with many interesting mammals, reptiles and amphibians.  The park is situated 500km east of Melbourne, stretching from Bemm River in the west all the way to the New South Wales border.  

Highlights:

Birds:

Other birds worth making the effort to see are the wonga pigeon and satin bowerbird, both of which occur around the Wingan Inlet camping ground.  The rare eastern bristlebird and ground parrot occur in the parks heathlands.  The area between Shipwreck Creek and Little Rame Head is a good starting point. 

Waterbirds such as black swans, white-bellied sea-eagles, Caspian terns and Australian pelicans are plentiful, with Malacoota Inlet being a prime location.  Check the inlet’s sand bars for waders too. 

Superb lyrebirds and azure kingfishers are found in the park, along with beautiful rainbow lorikeets which feed on the flowering banksias around Wingan Inlet.

Mammals:

Reptiles:

CHILTERN BOX-IRONBARK NATIONAL PARK.

Relatively small and inconspicuous this park, situated 275km north-east of Melbourne near the town of Chiltern, protects over 4,300ha of Box-Ironbark forest.  This habitat type, which once spanned much of north and central Victoria, has been decimated by widespread clearing for agriculture.  The Chiltern Box-Ironbark National Park is therefore crucial to the survival of several rare and threatened species once common in the state. 

The vast majority of Victoria’s box-ironbark forests have been cleared for timber and agriculture, hence the importance of this national park.  It is a stronghold for several of the state’s rare or threatened bird and mammal species – the regent honeyeater, swift parrot, turquoise parrot, brush-tailed phascogale and squirrel glider.

Birdwatchers flock to the park in winter and spring when the ironbarks flower, as this is the best time to view the birds mentioned above.  The regent honeyeater is the most sought after of the three.  Mammal lovers will set out at night to locate the squirrel glider, listed as vulnerable in Victoria.  While spotlighting there is also the opportunity to view no less than four other possum and glider species – the feathertail and sugar gliders and common brushtail and ringtail possums - all while keeping in mind that brush-tailed phascogales are a possibility.  Eastern grey kangaroos are common, as too is the tiny yellow-footed antechinus. 

REFERENCES

Watching Wildlife: Australia.  Lonely Planet, 2000.

Mammals of Victoria.  Peter W. Menkhorst (ed), 1995.

Victoria’s National Parks.  Parks Victoria, 1999.