Bird watching

Victoria is quickly becoming a destination for serious bird watchers, twitchers and chasers from all over the world.

The shire has much to offer bird watchers, with a large range of native species, migratory birds, as well as many rare and threatened species able to be seen.

The Long Forest Nature Conservation Reserve is a fantastic haven for birdwatchers. Around 200 bird species have been recorded in the reserve. Keep your ears tuned for the distinctive calls of the Barking Owl, Jacky Winter, Speckled Warbler, Red-Capped Robin, Rufus Whistler, Crested Bellbird, and Diamond Firetail. These are just some of the birds of the threatened Temperate Woodland Bird Community the reserve protects.

The Lerderderg State Park is home to Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos which are sometimes preyed on by the area's most spectacular predator, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle which nests in tall trees in the side gullies. Other birds to look out for are White-Naped Honeyeaters, White-Throated Treecreepers, Crimson Rosellas, and Gang-Gang Cockatoos which are often found by the noise they make cracking eucalyptus nuts.

The Wombat State Forest will impress bird watchers with several State-listed threatened bird species sighted including the Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Grey Goshawk, Australian Masked Owl, Powerful Owl, and Square-Tailed Kite.