Outings continue to be well attended and invariably there is an unexpected sighting that brings great excitement. Penny Manning. Editor.

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1 This newsletter contains important information about the BLBC AGM. The Agenda, a Proxy Form and a Nomination Form for the Committee are to be found AT THE END OF THIS NEWSLETTER. BLBC would like to see some new faces on the committee. Please think about contributing to BLBC in this way and contact Dallas Wyatt (Secretary) or Gil Smith(Convenor) at if you would like more information or to offer to help. Nominations must be received by 5.00 pm on Friday April 13, Put Saturday May 12 in your diary and come to the AGM in the Chisholm Room at Koala Conservation Centre on Phillip Island. Outings continue to be well attended and invariably there is an unexpected sighting that brings great excitement. Penny Manning. Editor. Convenor s Report This convenors report would be quite lengthy if I was to recount my past 2 months travelling to New Zealand, 4 sub-antarctic islands and Antarctica. I'll keep it brief by limiting it to Bass Coast birding. The March Saturday outingwas to Outtrim.We managed tofinish the walk before it got reallyhot.agood number attended the walk including visitors from Melbourne. Birds seen included 4 species of honeyeater, Varied Sittella, White-throated Treecreeper, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Mistletoebird and Blue-winged Parrot. The March Friday outing fell on Good Friday. To everyone s surprise, nearly 20 people turned up to the Desalination Plant outing, including another 5 visitors. Over 30 bird species were recorded. Highlights were a juvenile Nankeen Night Heron, Golden-headed Cisticola, 2 Black -shoulder Kites and 9 Bluewinged Parrots. As always Happy Birding and don't forget our A.G.M. 10am Saturday 12th May at the Koala Conservation Centre. Gil Smith, Convenor -1 -

2 Reflections of a birdwatching newbie I have always loved birds, but have never really had the time to pursue birdwatching as a hobby. Working, and bringing up children who were never really interested in the outdoors meant that the idea of spending time walking, identifying birds and photographing them was out of the question until recently. I joined Birdlife Australia and Birdlife Photography many years ago, and avidly read the magazines and watched jealously as outings and talks were advertised. Last year my husband, Neil and I moved permanently down to Phillip Island. This has allowed me to almost retire and to finally have the time to pursue some of my own interests. I discovered the Bass Coast Birdlife group (BLBC) on the Birdlife website, and booked myself in to an afternoon trip to the Wonthaggi Desalination plant. And what fun that was! A nankeen kestrel sitting on a bridge, honeyeaters I hadn t seen before and lots of water and bush birds in the regenerated bushland. I have been going on the BLBC outings for a year now, and have loved every minute. Not only have I been learning about birds, but I have now been to so many places around the Bass Coast area that I didn t know existed. Who knew that Wonthaggi had spectacular heathlands, wetlands and coastline? Or that there were scarlet honeyeaters at Foster? Or koalas at Inverloch? Or that Reef Island existed? Allnewtome. Along with finding new places, it has been a delight to meet otherbirdwatchers. Everyonehas been so friendly and helpful, and so generous with their knowledge and skills. When I first started a year ago, there was a huge group of birds I called LBBs (Little Brown Birds) which I had no hope of identifying. I now know that real birdwatchers call them LBJs(Little Brown Jobs), but of course real birdwatchers alsoknowthemallbyname.tomyhugesurprise,icannowidentifysomeofthethornbillsafterhaving differences in plumage, behaviour and calls explained to me multiple times. As with any specialist group, birdwatching has its own lingo. For example, grey fan is short for Grey Fantail and GST for Grey Shrike-Thrush (very sensible as it is very difficult to say quickly!). I call Grey Fantailsthe lookat moi bird,becausetheydancearound inthebranches,showingofftoanyonewho stops to look. I am currently having difficulty with naming the white honeyeaters White-plumed, White-naped, White-eared, White-cheeked etc. I can tell them apart, but can never quite remember which white name applies to which bird. Along with LBJs, there are two other groups of birds that I was never able to separate, raptors and shorebirds. Now I can identifysome of theraptors, but Iusuallyhavetotake photos and scourthe bird books before identifying the majority of them. And shorebirds, well, what can I say? Even with still photographsinfrontofme,ithinkiwillalwaysstruggletoseparatethem. IwantedtowritemyreflectionstothankallofyouintheBLBCgroupforyourfriendshipandgenerosity in sharing your knowledge. I look forward to every outing with great anticipation. Sue Woolley. -2 -

3 Birds on Farms Workshop On 21 st February, seven members of the Birdlife Bass Coast group attended a Birdlife Birds on Farms presentation by Dean Ingwersen at Mirboo North. BirdLife Australia recently received funding from the Wettenhall Environment Trust to re-ignite its Birds on Farms project. This project will engage farmers and the local community to monitor woodland birds within agricultural areas across Victoria, and will re-visit sites from BirdLife Australia s original Birds on Farms project (from ) which surveyed birds on over 300 farms across Victoria, NSW, SA and WA. The project also produced guidelines for attracting birds to farms and a publication called Birds on Farms: Ecological Management for Agricultural Sustainability which is still used today by landholders, and incidentally is the most popular booklet ever produced by Birdlife. Birds are widely acknowledged as good indicators of ecological condition; therefore the diversity of birds in agricultural areas can inform the sustainability of agricultural practices and the health of remnant vegetation. The presentation by Dean was very interesting. Apparently one third of all birds live in woodlands, and one in four woodland-dependent species are threatened or declining. The project will provide valuable information on the changes in bird communities over a long period (20 years since original project), and an insight into bird populations in agricultural areas. Findings will evaluate the ecological condition of farms, inform management, identify priority sites for conservation, and produce guidelines for increasing woodland bird diversity in rural areas. Findings will be shared with participating landowners and volunteers. Birdlife are looking for volunteers to participate in the Birds in Farms project, to help carry out bird surveys on farms across rural Victoria. If you are interested in volunteering or would like to learn more about the Birds on Farms project contact woodlandbirds@birdlife.org.au. If you would like an electronic copy of the Birds on Farms: Ecological Management for Agricultural Sustainability publication, see:

4 Phillip Island 150 year Celebrations In 2018, Bass Coast Shire Council will be recognising and supporting the Phillip Island community as it marks the 150th year of the first European settlement on the island. This date recognises the first release of land for selection in 1868 for European settlement. There are many events throughout the year as various organisations and community groups join the celebrations. BLBC is conducting an Island-wide Twitchathon on Saturday November 10 as its contribution to the celebrations. Everyone is welcome to join in. Teams will visit as many Island locations as possible and build up a list of species sighted on the day. There have been two previous BLBC Twitchathons but they have been shire-wide so a new list will begin for Phillip Island. Watch out for further details later in the year but set the date aside now. Put these dates in your diary and make contact if you can be involved. Orange-bellied Parrots Winter Survey dates: 19/20 May 28/29 July 8/9 September Volunteers can take up the challenge to be involved in these surveys. Contacts: Westernport-Bass Coast Jon Fallaw South Gippsland Sam Monks Or birdlife.org.au Hooded Plover and Gull Counts Wednesday 27 July 9.00am Wednesday 20 November 8.30am. Contact: Jon Fallaw jfallaw@penguins.org.au BirdLife Australia Western Port Survey July 8 November 11 Contact: Bessie Tyers (03) bessie.tyers@gmail.com -4 -

5 Birdlife Bass Coast Program May December 2018 Date Location Leader Saturday May am. AGM. Chisholm Room, Koala Conservation Contact: Centre. Phillip Island Tourist Rd. Phillip Island. Friday May pm. Fishers Wetland, Samuel Amess Drive, Churchill Island. Parking area on left hand side of road. Saturday June 9. Wonthaggi Dalyston Rail Trail. Park at Guide Park, South Dudley Road, Wonthaggi. Friday June pm. Oswin Roberts Reserve, Harbison Road, Phillip Island. Contact: Helen Saturday July am Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Cranbourne Gardens. Ballarto Road Cranbourne. Meet at the Stringybark Picnic Area car park. Contact: John Friday July pm. Saturday August am Friday August pm Saturday September 8. Friday September pm. Saturday October 13. Friday October pm. Saturday November 10. Friday November pm. Saturday December 8. Summerlands Peninsula. Meet in the Flynns Beach car park, 1019 Ventnor Rd., Summerlands, Phillip Island. Desalination Plant Wetlands, Wonthaggi. Meet in the Desalination Plant car park off Lower Powlett Road, Wonthaggi. Corinella Foreshore. Meet at the Rotunda, cnr Peters St. and The Esplanade, Corinella. Morwell National Park. Kerry Rd. (off Jumbuk Rd.), Jeeralang Junction. Grass Tree Ridge, 155 Thomas Rd. Middle Tarwin. Meet at the house at the end of the long drive. Western Treatment Plant, Werribee. Meet at the entrance at Details on booking. Bookings Essential before Friday October 5. Wonthaggi Heathlands, Campbell Street, Wonthaggi. Car park at end of road. Phillip Island 150 Year Celebration Twitchathon. Meet at Scenic Estate Reserve, Phillip Island Tourist Rd., Newhaven. Powlett River Beach and Bush. Tea Tree car park to right off Mouth of Powlett Road. Korumburra and environs. Meet in car park of the (former) Railway Station (behind the Caltex Service Centre) off the South Gippsland Highway. Contact: Penny Contact: Jenny Contact: Dallas Contact : Karen Sue Contact: Nola Contact: Sophie Contact: Gordon Contact: Nola

6 2018 Annual General Meeting Invitation You are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of BirdLifeBass Coast to be held on Saturday 12 May 2018 at 10.00am at the Chisholm Room, Koala Conservation Centre, Phillip Island Tourist Road, Phillip Island. AGENDA 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. Apologies 3. Minutes of 2017 Annual General Meeting* 4. Reports: Convenor Treasurer Conservation Officer Barb Martin Bushbank 5. Correspondence for the period from 13 May 2017 to 12 May Election of Committee Members 7. Other Business At the conclusion of the meeting, Morning Tea/Coffee will be available, followed by a presentation by Mike Cleeland, Education Officer at the BunurongEnvironment Centre in Inverloch. Mike runs a busy program that is always well supported and much enjoyed by the participants. Mike is an entertaining speaker and I am sure he be of great interest to members and visitors. *If you wish to obtain a copy of the documents relating to the 2018 Agenda please contact the Convenor, BirdLife Bass Coast, on or AGM Proxy Form I (Please print).... hereby appoint (Please print).. to represent me and act as my proxy at the Annual General Meeting of BirdLifeBass Coast to be held on 12 May Signed by Member Signed by Proxy.. Dated If you are unable to attend the AGM and wish to record your votes, please complete the Proxy Form and return to the Secretary, BirdLifeBass Coast, PO Box 257, San Remo Vic Proxy Forms must be received prior to 5.00pm on Monday 7 May A scanned copy of a signed Proxy Form ed to by 5:00 pm on Monday 7 May 2018 will also be accepted. -6 -

7 ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2018 At the Annual General Meeting of BirdLifeBass Coast on Saturday 12 May 2018, the election will be for office bearers, namely, Chair (Convenor), Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and five committee members. Nominations for office bearers and committee members are currently being sought from members residing in the BirdLifeBass Coast area AGM Nomination Form If you are interested in joining the Committee of BirdLifeBass Coast, please complete the form below and return to the Secretary, BirdLifeBass Coast, PO Box 257, San Remo Vic All nominations must be received prior to 5.00pm on Friday 13 April A scanned copy of a signed Nomination Form ed to by 5:00 pm on Friday 13 April 2018 will also be accepted. If you are unsure if your Nomination will arrive on time by post or if you are unable to get a proposer and/or seconder please still send the form as requested but ALSO with your name and phone number and a committee member will ring you to ensure that your nomination is formal. Name of Candidate*:... Nominated for -Position:... Proposer*: (PLEASE PRINT)... Signed:... Seconder*: (PLEASE PRINT)... Signed:... I, (PLEASE Print)... agree to be nominated for the above position Signed:... Date:... Return to: BirdLife Bass Coast Postal Address: PO Box 257, San Remo VIC *The candidate, proposer and seconder must be financial members of BirdLifeAustralia and reside within the BirdLifeBass Coast Branch area. -7 -