A MODEST TARGET FOR JANUARY

I like setting myself targets. I like achieving them. There's no point in setting an unachievable goal. Where's the joy in that?

This month, January 2023, I set myself the target of seeing 100 species of birds. I thought this would be easily achieved because I was starting the year on the Cocos Islands (giving me such wonderful starters as Purple Heron, White-breasted Waterhen, Asian Brown Flycatcher - photo above by Bill Russell, Rosy Starling, Common Redshank and, best of all, Common Kingfisher) and having to overnight in Perth on the way home (Western Wattlebird, Laughing Dove, Australian Ringneck). I had my name down for a January pelagic out of Port Fairy, so I figured I could achieve 100 birds without too much difficulty. Of course, I did all my normal walks around home, which includes walking to Hay's Paddock, Willsmere Billabong, Burke Road Billabong and Darebin Parklands. I visited Banyule and Wilson Reserve and I did a walk at Historic Woodlands Park. Unfortunately, my pelagic was cancelled. The captain reckoned the swells were too great, and it would have taken us five hours to reach the shelf. Suddenly I realized that January was drawing to a close and I was not going to achieve my 100 birds. I drove to Jells Park and managed to add Australasian Darter and Australian Reed Warbler to my list. I drove to Healesville, but all I saw new for the year were Silvereyes, a beautiful male Rufous Whistler and a Grey Shrikethrush.

It was 24 January and my total was 94. If only that pelagic hadn't been cancelled, I'd have made it easily. I set off for Karkarook, hoping for a Blue-billed Duck, a Greenfinch and a Goldfinch. I saw none of those. I did manage a Hoary-headed Grebe, so I was now just 5 off my target. I made lists of all the 'easy' birds I hadn't yet seen. There were lots of them! Surely I could find five in a week. I decided to visit Fern Tree Gully. I remembered Rufous Fantails flitting around, just above my head. Too easy! When I arrived at the Dandenong Ranges National Park, I saw two new birds before I left the carpark: Australian King Parrot and Gang-gang Cockatoo. With renewed confidence I set off on the comfortable walk (I think it was called 'Meanderers Track') - none of those 100 steps for me. I wasn't in training. I wanted to see some birds. I wandered around for a while. I saw lots of rabbits and one wallaby, several Eastern Yellow Robins, Grey Fantails and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, but nothing new. No hint of a Rufous Fantail. It seemed ridiculous. There were so many common birds not on my 2023 list. Yet I couldn't see any! Suddenly, I glimpsed something different with a family of fairywrens: a Red-browed Finch, number 98! Perhaps I could make it after all. But no, I was forced to go home without any more ticks for my list. I decided I would not go birding on Australia Day. There were two reasons for this: being a public holiday, I thought there'd be hoards of loud holiday-makers at any birding spot I cared to visit, and the forecast was for a grey, overcast day, with fog in the outer suburbs, conditions not really conducive to birding. However, when I did my early morning walk, the birds seemed to be particularly active. I looked at the sky, and thought I might as well have a go. So I drove to Sherbrooke, with dreams of lyrebirds and whipbirds enticing me. There was a very light misty rain as I parked the car. Immediately I heard a treecreeper, then a Fan-tailed Cuckoo, but I couldn't see either of them. I set off, determined to add just two birds to my list. It was a pleasant walk, but there were few birds. The light rain persisted and I doubted I was going to see anything other than parrots. Then I saw a female Australian Golden Whistler. At last! Number 99. Then, finally, a White-throated Treecreeper. I'd made it. I drove home happily, having achieved my modest target. The difficulty is that I want to do it all again in February!