BIRDS of KILMORE, AUSTRALIA: Brown-headed Honeyeater

17/11/2019

Brown-headed Honeyeater

BROWN-HEADED HONEYEATER Melithreptus brevirostris

On the road between Kilmore and Sugarloaf Creek; the beautifully named Nanny's Creek Road; the road widens to leave a small treed area where the concrete bridge crosses the creek.

The bridge spans the small and often dry, Nanny Creek. I have no idea who Nanny was. Our old books give me no information. An early mid-wife perhaps!

This area is populated by large numbers of fairy martins, pardalotes. and numbers of various honeyeaters.

It is a good spot to visit, there is always something to see.

Last Friday I noticed a number of small birds I had not seen or noticed, before.

Bigger than the resident pardalotes, these brown headed birds had an olive sheen to their backs. Each had a brown head and cheek, with a white stripe behind the eye. The eye patch was a creamy yellow colour on the adult birds. What I took to be the younger birds had a paler, bluish eye patch.

The books tell me, Brown-headed honeyeaters are reasonably common bird to this area, but it was a new sighting for me.

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KILMORE

Kilmore is thought to be the oldest inland town in Victoria, established in 1837. The small settlement is thought to have been named Kilmore by William Rutledge, who probably desired to remember his family connections inn County Cavan Melbourne.

In 1841, William Rutledge obtained from the Government of NSW, 5120 acres of land in the now named area of Kilmore.

Kilmore is now predominately a commuter town of Melbourne. Indeed it is in danger of becoming an outlying suburb of Melbourne.

Kilmore does however retain its rural feel. It is still surrounded by farmland. There are still a number of larger family run farms as well as many smaller allotments being run as small or hobby farms.

On the eastern side of the Northern Highway, which runs through the centre of the town, is a large area of land, put aside by our early settlers for public use. This land now contains a golf course, a race track, showgrounds and a cricket ground. Adjacent to these facilities is a large area of native forest, running up to a hill, overlooking the town. Atop this hill is a blue-stone tower, built in 1924, of stones from the Kilmore Goal, to commemorate the 1924 journey of Hume and Hovell, as they mapped a route from Sydney to Port Phillip.

This is a beautiful area of eucalyptus and wattle trees, with an under-story of shrubs, grasses and in Spring, many flowers. Many native animals and birds live in the area giving the many walkers a glimpse of Kilmore as it used to be.

In the middle of the Kilmore Golf Course, is a large lake, the old Kilmore Hospital Reservoir. The lake and its surrounding trees and reeds, are always filled with large numbers of water loving birds.

Kilmore is very blessed to have been left this legacy of such beauty.

SOME VALUABLE REFERENCES

Dark Emu. Bruce Pascoe's book challenges our understandings of the aboriginal people of Australia. He tells the stories of these people as farmers and carers of the land, caring for, planting, harvesting and storing plants,managing fish stocks and building permanent stone shelters. A book to change many of your long held ideas.

A wonderful book, so full of information and such a pleasure to read.

Gould League Of Victoria

Seven book series
BIRDS OF SOUTH EASTERN AUSTRALIA
1. Urban Areas
2. Ranges
3. Oceans, Bays and Beaches
4. Inland Waters
5. The Dry Country
6. Rare Species
7. Farmlands

BIRDS OF THE LOWER KING PARROT CREEK
Published by the Strath Creek Landcare Group

Something from Overseas

KIBRIS'IN KUSLARI Birds of Cyprus

by Niyazi Turkseven

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