Bird watchers spend day talking technology and exploring bush

BIRD expert and bird-watching tour guide Simon Starr led more than 20 local enthusiasts on tours through Loddon bush on Sunday.

Simon was the key speaker at Loddon Plains Birds Day Out held by the Loddon Plains Landcare Network with a grant from the State Government’s volunteer innovation fund.

The day started with a presentation at the Inglewood Goodshed (LPLN headquarters) on birds of the Loddon region ranging from the flood plains of Durham Ox to the gold country of Wedderburn, with stories relating to revegetation, better farming practices, and the impacts on bird communities and bird behaviour.

Simon also talked about technology and the way it has helped bird watchers and monitoring.

He spoke on the importance of citizen science and how volunteers are able to engage with recording data and identifying bird species and their locations.

This brought up discussions about local volunteers with their trials and tribulations on ways to improve research, citizen science and bird volunteering.

After lunch participants spent the afternoon being guided to key hotspots throughout the Inglewood and Wedderburn area in particular the Mt Korong Nature Conservation Reserve.

“The day was a great success for the region, it was a very enjoyable day with Simon and a great feature for the bird-watching community,” said Landcare facilitator Will Sanson.

Bureaucratic hurdles behind demise of Easter egg hunt

INCREASED Parks Victoria red-tape for holding events has been cited by Friends of Kooyoora for dropping two major activities.

Convenor Robert Scholes said the annual Easter egg hunt and Kooyoora Spring Festival would not be held this year.

“Even in the light of increases in followers and members, and the success of many of our regular activities and annual events, the group has found that decreasing active volunteer numbers and increasing bureaucracy requirements to hold events in Parks Vic parks and reserves has led to the organisation deciding that many of the activities and projects that it previously conducted are no longer viable,” he said.

“The bureaucracy in terms of paperwork has got beyond a joke. It’s facing every organisation.”

Friends of Kooyoora committee has also decided not to run local bushland tours this year.

Mr Scholes said the group would instead focus on major projects including production of a new local butterfly, dragonfly and damselfly field guide, the bush colours book project, documentation of local rare and endangered flora and establishing weather stations in Kooyoora Ephemeral Soaks.

He said the group also aimed to provide connection and resources to the community through its resource centre at Bridgewater.

Regular activities would be conducted at the centre on Sundays, Mr Scholes said.

Centenarian Nance back in home town

A CENTENARIAN is returing to her birthplace on Saturday for a birthday celebration.

Nance Esmore (nee Hancock) will mark her 101st birthday with a return visit to Dunolly.

Nance’s grandfather was George Hancock who was known as one of the grand pioneers of the Dunolly area.

Nance is looking forward to catching up with relatives and local families who have stories to tell and photos to share about the old pioneering families of Dunolly. The family is meeting at St John’s Church on Saturday morning for an informal gathering to hear the wonderful Fincham organ and to tell stories and share reminiscences over a light lunch in the St John’s Hall. Nance married local lad Arthur Esmore who worked in Dunolly at the Crouch Reel factory and the Peter’s Soap Factory. Nance Hancock was the granddaughter of George Hancock who established the Model Farm in 1858.