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Bill and I went to Bruny Island for a 3 night break in early June. The weather was perfect, clear crisp days and cool nights except for the last day which didn't really matter.

 

We stayed at the Inala Reserve for a second but by no means final time. Inala is owned and managed by Dr Tonia Cochran who runs tours and accommodation on a former farm at South Bruny Island. Tonia must have one of the best office views ever - her desk and computer overlook the raptor feeding area and she has a birds eye view of the daily activities.

 

The Jurassic Garden contains plants from when Australia was part of the super-continent of Gondwana.

 

The John Bowen, a small ferry was running a shuttle service between Kettering and Bruny as the Mirambeena, which is a double deck car ferry, was in dry dock. The John Bowen could be described as a low-sided punt and we had views of the D'entrecasteaux Channel as we sat in the car for the crossing. This Brown Falcon was sitting on power lines at the Neck as we drove south.

 

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Once we arrived an unpacked I hot-footed it up to the Raptor Hide as I was keen to see the Wedge-tailed Eagles this trip. This white morph Grey Goshawk was perched in the late afternoon sun.

 

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We went for a walk around Inala, once the fire was lit. There was a wallaby in the home paddock that kept a close eye on us.

 

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As the sun dipped below the trees the wallabies came out in force, including this wild white one.

 

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A female Scarlet Robin litted along beside us.

 

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Edited by Treepol
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Next morning I went to the Hide before breakfast where this Brown Goshawk was perched.

 

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I checked once more before we drove to the north of the island and was delighted to find the family of 3 Wedge-tailed Eagles. This one is last year's chick.

 

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Our first stop was beautiful Barnes Bay where Pied Cormorants soaked up the sun and Little Black Cormorants dried their wings at the jetty.

 

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We stopped for lunch at the art gallery cafe at Dennes Point where the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos were feeding in a banksia tree.

 

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Back at Inala about 20 Flame Robins were hopping around the paddock near the Hide.

 

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Next morning the mist was rising along with the sun. Here is the view from the kitchen window at Inala

 

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and over the Jurassic garden,

 

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Today we were going to drive into South Bruny NP and spend some time around Daniels Bay. This White-faced Heron was catching the morning sun.

 

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Around the corner there were hundreds of gulls sheltering in the calm water,

 

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and Masked Lapwings were feeding on nearby lawns.

 

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The Black-faced and Little Pied Cormorants were spending the morning at a local jetty at Lunawanna.

 

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Black Swan were floating in a flooded paddock further south.

 

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This rabbit grazed contentedly on the grass at the Lighthouse car park.

 

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This is the view west from the lighthouse,

 

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and east over Lighthouse Bay, towards Fraiar's Rocks which is home to a colony of Australian fur seals.

 

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Lighthouse Beach and the Keeper's Cottages

 

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This is Cloudy Bay Beach later in the day.

 

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I spotted this feeding flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos late in the day.

 

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Sadly, that was our last day on Bruny. Next morning we packed up and headed back to the ferry, where it was a very different day to the one on which we arrived.

 

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@@Treepol

What a wonderful place for a short vist (or even a longer one!).

The photos of the birds of prey in particular are beautiful - but you got a good range of interesting birds.

Thank you for posting

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What a glorious 3 days. The scenery is stunning and you certainly got plenty of good bird sightings.

 

Thanks for sharing with us :)

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@Treepol Loved reading this and thank you for posting. The photos are so interesting and I've been studying them closely in preparation for my visit to Inala. Every single bird in your photos will be a Lifer for me! Are the birds with the Wedge-tailed eagle Black currawongs?

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Alexander33

@@Treepol

 

Gorgeous scenery and fascinating birds. Just beautiful. With the intense heat settling in for another Texas summer right now, you have me dreaming of going there. It looks absolutely lovely.

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@@Treepol nice little trip report. A very pretty place.

 

@@Galago The birds with the Wedge-tailed eagle are ravens (probably Little ravens, possibly Forest ravens but hard to tell from that image). All Currawongs have yellow eyes.

Edited by Geoff
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So lovely … one day!

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@@Treepol nice little trip report. A very pretty place.

 

@@Galago The birds with the Wedge-tailed eagle are ravens (probably Little ravens, possibly Forest ravens but hard to tell from that image). All Currawongs have yellow eyes.

 

Currawongs are forest ravens..

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Fantastic pictures Treepol..Looking forward to getting down to Bruny soon.

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@@Treepol, thanks for the report. I have had my eye on this exact itinerary while planning a future Australia trip. So, it's great to see more first hand impressions and pictures. Are there any chances of seeing a Pink Robin on Bruny Island or is that species better in other locations on Tasmania? That's a bucket list bird for me...just so striking.

 

Thanks, Alan.

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@@Treepol nice little trip report. A very pretty place.

 

@@Galago The birds with the Wedge-tailed eagle are ravens (probably Little ravens, possibly Forest ravens but hard to tell from that image). All Currawongs have yellow eyes.

 

Currawongs are forest ravens..

 

 

@RichB

 

The Australian Currawongs belong to the genus Strepera in the family Artamidae and hence are considered to be more closely related to Australian magpies than ravens & crows, even though they look similar. All Australian ravens and crows are obviously in the genus Corvus including the Forest Raven (Corvus tasmanicus).

 

The question was whether the birds with the wedge-tailed eagle were Black currawongs. As I stated above, all currawongs have yellow eyes and the birds in the image have silver eyes and are corvids. With a bit of research i have since realised that the only corvid in Tasmania is the Forest raven hence the birds in the image are Forest ravens which are NOT currawongs.

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@@Treepol Tasmania has long been in our list to go places, but Africa got in the way! your TR is pulling all the right strings.... One day soon.. when I get Africa out of my blood momentarily.

 

thanks for sharing the lovely trip.

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@@TonyQ @@wilddog @@Galago @@Alexander33 @@Geoff @@twaffle @RichB @Kitsafari thanks for reading along - maybe we could have an ST GTG at Inala sometime?

 

@@Atdahl Pink Robins are sometimes seen at the Secret Hide on Inala - we ran out of time and didn't try this trip, something to go back for. I have heard of Pink Robin sightings on Mt Wellington tracks above Ferntree.

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@@Treepol, thanks for the tips. I have added that to the ole memory bank (which doesn't seem to be able to hold as much as it used to...)

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At first I read the title as Bunny Island. No wonder there was only one rabbit. It is Bruny Island. Great little getaway. Love the wallabies all over. Rare find to see the white wallaby. Looks like you lucked out on the weather and left just in time.

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