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| Tasmanian Masked Owl |
After
leaving Bruny Island we headed to Hobart for a few days of mostly
relaxing, sight-seeing and catching up with friends, setting up the
caravan in the city showground. The odd visit to local bushland
reserves proved worthwhile with Grey (Clinking) Currawongs quite
common.
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| Grey (Clinking) Currawong |
I'd
heard a few Satin Flycatchers earlier in the trip elsewhere in
Tasmania and finally managed to see a male close-up in Hobart's
Waterworks Reserve.
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| Satin Flycatcher |
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| Satin Flycatcher |
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| Satin Flycatcher |
I
checked out Goulds Lagoon and was surprised to see about a dozen
Freckled Duck there.
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| Freckled Duck |
From
Hobart we headed north for a couple of days near
Launceston, where we camped by the pleasant South Esk River.
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| South Esk River near Launceston |
Then
it was on to Latrobe, south of Devonport, for a three-day stay. The
Warrawee Conservation Area and the Mersey River offered some of the
finest forest scenery of the trip.
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| Warrawee Forest Reserve near Devonport |
It was here that one of the star
birds was encountered – the Tasmanian race of the Masked Owl.
I had noted a 2018 ebird record from the Warrawee forest and so it was
there I headed. I found a large and vocal female Masked Owl about
500m from that site, or about 1.3km from the reserve's locked gate.
It was interesting to note that the owl's “twittering” calls were
given far more often and were a good deal louder than those given by
mainland Masked Owls. The Warrawee bird was also a good deal darker
and more reddish-brown than any birds I've seen on the mainland.
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| Tasmanian Masked Owl |
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| Tasmanian Maksed Owl |
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| Tasmanian Masked Owl |
Olive
Whistler was quite common at Warrawee. From
Devonport we again boarded the Spirit of Tasmania ferry for a
comfortable journey back to Port Melbourne.
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| Olive Whistler |
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