I took three days while visiting family in Melbourne to do a bit of birding in the area, eventually deciding on Great Otway National Park and the Great Ocean Road. There are plenty of places to choose from for a couple of days birding out of Melbourne, but I chose this one because of its proximity to the city (about 2 hours), its easily accessible birding, great scenery, and a few key birds. Some useful information for the area can be found in the book Where to See Birds in Victoria by Tim Dolby et al., but apart from that I found virtually nothing of much use online, hence this report.
I rented a car from Budget via www.vroomvroomevroom.com.au. I stayed for three nights at the Lorne YHA Backpackers, which has a small area with tents set up ($30/night for one person). The grounds themselves are rather birdy, with New Holland Honeyeater and Eastern Spinebill attending the flowers and a group of Sulfur-crested Cockatoos that get fed by guests. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos were often seen flying through town.
A nice feature of this area is the proximity of the forest to the town. Just minutes out of town is beautiful Eucalyptus forest. I spent an evening and two mornings birding mostly on dirt tracks above the town, namely the Sharps and Garvey Tracks (well labeled, and maps are available from the information center in Lorne). Although signs indicate that these are for four-wheel drive vehicles only, I had no problem in my Toyota Corolla. Where to Watch Birds recommends especially the Sharps Track for finding Rufous Bristlebird. However, the vegetation has mostly been cleared from the sides of the track, making finding such a skulker unlikely. The Garvey Track was actually much better all-around and had dense vegetation all the way up to the road edge.
No matter, I didn’t hear a Rufous Bristlebird at all along either track. I did manage to find Olive Whistler, seeing two different males along the Garvey Track. White-throated Treecreeper is very common here, and honeyeaters included Yellow-faced and Crecent. Gang-gang Cockatoo and Blue-winged Parrot were both fairly common, but I only saw a single Australian King-Parrot, along the nature trail at Sheoak Picnic Site. I saw one each of Rose Robin and Crested Shrike-Tit. I saw a single superb Koala along the Garvey Track and occasional Black Wallabies would dart across the road.
I spent the middle part of one day driving along the Great Ocean Road, both to enjoy the scenery and look for Rufous Bristlebird. Where to Watch Birds suggests the usual tourist lookouts (such as the Twelve Apostles) as likely places to find it. However, all were crawling with tourists when I was there, and some of them have the habitat fenced off. I eventually got lucky, though. I stopped at an information kiosk about 1km east of the Twelve Apostles (it happens to be the western terminus of the Great Ocean Trail). I walked back along the trail a short distance, then off the trail into likely looking habitat. Pishing brought in the usual suspects—White-browed Scrubwren, Brown Thornbill, Silvereye—and also a pair of Rufous Bristlebirds. They have a distinctive and very loud call which was essential in locating them and eventually getting views. As the other birds moved off, the bristlebirds stuck around and sang their lovely duet.
Another nice stop was in the marshes just outside of Princetown, impossible to miss along the main highway. Although they didn’t hold anything extraordinary, they did contain a nice variety of waterbirds including Royal and Yellow-billed Spoonbills, and several species of raptors including Swamp Harriers quartering over the marsh. I made a quick stop as well in the forests of Cape Otway, but saw nothing of particular interest. There was flock of gulls and terns roosting along a lagoon in Apollo Bay that included two Pacific Gulls.
Black Swan Cygnus atratus
Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides
Maned Duck Chenonetta jubata
Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
Chestnut Teal Anas castanea
Hoary-headed Grebe Poliocephalus poliocephalus
Australian Gannet Morus serrator
Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Pacific Heron Ardea pacifica
Great Egret Ardea alba
White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
Australian Ibis Threskiornis molucca
Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia
Yellow-billed Spoonbill Platalea flavipes
Swamp Harrier Circus approximans
Australian Kestrel Falco cenchroides
Australian Hobby Falco longipennis
Brown Falcon Falco berigora
Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra
Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles
Silver Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
Pacific Gull Larus pacificus
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida
Great Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii
Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis
Common Bronzewing Phaps chalcoptera
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus
Gang-gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum
Galah Eolophus roseicapilla
Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris
Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans
Blue-winged Parrot Neophema chrysostoma
Australian King-Parrot Alisterus scapularis
Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae
Yellow-faced Honeyeater Lichenostomus chrysops
White-eared Honeyeater Lichenostomus leucotis
White-naped Honeyeater Melithreptus lunatus
Crescent Honeyeater Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus
New Holland Honeyeater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae
Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
Australian Raven Corvus coronoides
Little Raven Corvus mellori
Forest Raven Corvus tasmanicus
Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
Fairy Martin Petrochelidon ariel
Tree Martin Petrochelidon nigricans
Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis
Australian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus australis
Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula
Gray Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons
Rose Robin Petroica rosea
Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis
Crested Shrike-tit Falcunculus frontatus
Olive Whistler Pachycephala olivacea
Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis
Gray Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla harmonica
Silver-eye Zosterops lateralis
Superb Fairywren Malurus cyaneus
Rufous Bristlebird Dasyornis broadbenti
White-browed Scrubwren Sericornis frontalis
Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla
Striated Thornbill Acanthiza lineata
White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaea
Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca
Australasian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
Pied Currawong Strepera graculina
Gray Currawong Strepera versicolor
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Australasian Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Red-browed Firetail Neochmia temporalis